Few questions about EBB & GRO bucket system setup

[SoHigh420]

Hi all,

Im planning on starting my first hydro grow here pretty soon and im going to be using a DIY EBB & GRO system.
I found a kit to build the controller box for the bucket:
Ebb & Flow Control Module Kit - $89.95 : VerticalHydro Shop!, Free Shipping on Orders Over $99.99 (http://verticalhydro.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_5&products_id=4)

Has anybody used this particular kit before??

Anyways i need help understanding how the grow buckets should be connected together.
Do i just drill 2 holes in the bottoms of the buckets on opposite ends except for the last ones and run tubing to them?
I plan on running 6 -9 buckets.
Should i have 1 hole in the controller bucket for each line of the grow buckets?
I have a few more questions but this seems like enough for the moment lol

Thanks for any advise:D

[keylime]

The controller kit is attached to a bucket the same size as the pots you use for your plants.
Your buckets that the plants sit in are connected to each other by generally 1/2" tubing. The holes are drilled on the side of each bucket as close to the bottom as possible. A grommet is inserted and a barb fitting goes into the grommet and the tubing is attached to the fitting(s). You can have several (I have 7) buckets hooked up in tandem, all having "Ts inserted in the rubber grommets and maybe 12-15" of tubing going from one bucket to the other. The end bucket would not need a T, but just an elbow. Then the other end is hooked up to the control bucket also at the lowest point possible.
HOpe this helps

keylime

[tinytoon]

There has got to be about 20 peeps that started using that setup in the past 6 months. Try googling ebb&gro instructions and such and I am willing to bet your answers are there. Btw I run 18 buckets on mine and will be adding 3 more when I can.

[scottcc5s]

Like they said, pretty popular way to go and if you search you will find a lot of info on it. Happy with my first efforts with my 12 buckets, pretty low maintenance once you get it all setup. Change your water once a week and keep PH in line and you will be very happy. Good luck :)

[SoHigh420]

Thaks for all the input guys:thumbsup:
I just have a few more questions and ill be on my way..
If I plan on running 9 buckets, how big should my res be?
And what size pumps should I get for the res and controller bucket?
Should the pump in the CB be smaller than the res pump?
I just want to get the right equipment the first time and do it.
I also want to get decent sized pumps in case I want to expand my system

[keylime]

Thaks for all the input guys:thumbsup:
I just have a few more questions and ill be on my way..
If I plan on running 9 buckets, how big should my res be?
And what size pumps should I get for the res and controller bucket?
Should the pump in the CB be smaller than the res pump?
I just want to get the right equipment the first time and do it.
I also want to get decent sized pumps in case I want to expand my system

The size of your buckets dictate the size of the res. If you have 9 5gal buckets, 9x5 and one control bucket, so a total of 50 gallons, minus the space taken up by your hydroton. Pumps are generally 300 gph or in that range. If you want to fill faster, you might try a higher pump, but I really don't think that's necessary or desirable. I have a total of 28 3gal buckets running that size water pumps.

keylime

[SoHigh420]

The size of your buckets dictate the size of the res. If you have 9 5gal buckets, 9x5 and one control bucket, so a total of 50 gallons, minus the space taken up by your hydroton. Pumps are generally 300 gph or in that range. If you want to fill faster, you might try a higher pump, but I really don't think that's necessary or desirable. I have a total of 28 3gal buckets running that size water pumps.

keylime

thanks for breakin it down for me:thumbsup:
i was just reading throught the CAP ebb & gro instructions (pdf) and i was looking through the parts needed and everything is based on 1/2" tubing and connectors. I was going to use the 3/4" tubing and fittings. Anything wrong with that? i figured if i was using bigger buckets (5gal) it wouldnt hurt to use bigger lines and fittings. Anyway i noticed on the parts list i noticed they included 90 degree elbow fittings for the controller bucket feed line that have a hole in it to break the vacuum seal in the tube....
ive been googling for the past 20 minutes and i cannot find the part they have. could anyone supply me with a link to find this particular part? Maybe i dont even need it? could i just punch a hole in the tubing about an inch above the water level and it have the same effect? or would this create too many air bubbles in the water lines?

sorry for the million and a half questions lol im totally new to hydro and i just wanna do it right:rastasmoke:

[keylime]

I think the bigger the better. I use 1/2 lines in 3 gal pots, and I lost a good harvest and turned it into a lousy one.... and it could have been prevented with larger lines. I had never thought about it until it happened. What was happening near the end of the grow, roots would develop a lot. So, on DRAIN, water slowly flows to the control bucket, and along with the water running through the tubes, there are also particles of roots slowly plugging up the line. I had never thought of it until it happened to me. I think it first happened after about 9 months of not checking the lines. I really didn't know what was going on except some buckets were not filling properly...
I faithfully clean the lines out every other harvest.

keylime

[scottcc5s]

Keylime:

Good point, I never thought about lines getting plugged up. How do you clean the lines out? What do you use?

[keylime]

Well, I use an air hose, seems to do the trick.

[SoHigh420]

can anybody answer my last question?????
......please?:stoned:

[keylime]

thanks for breakin it down for me:thumbsup:
i was just reading throught the CAP ebb & gro instructions (pdf) and i was looking through the parts needed and everything is based on 1/2" tubing and connectors. I was going to use the 3/4" tubing and fittings. Anything wrong with that? i figured if i was using bigger buckets (5gal) it wouldnt hurt to use bigger lines and fittings. Anyway i noticed on the parts list i noticed they included 90 degree elbow fittings for the controller bucket feed line that have a hole in it to break the vacuum seal in the tube....
ive been googling for the past 20 minutes and i cannot find the part they have. could anyone supply me with a link to find this particular part? Maybe i dont even need it? could i just punch a hole in the tubing about an inch above the water level and it have the same effect? or would this create too many air bubbles in the water lines?

sorry for the million and a half questions lol im totally new to hydro and i just wanna do it right:rastasmoke:

You can stop googling, as long as you have a small drill bit. When the pump in the nutrients comes on, the pump of course sits at the bottom of the 50 gal barrel. it travels up to the top of the barrel where it exits and goes back down towards the control bucket. At the top of the barrel, rather than kinking the tubing, you need to install an elbow. Install the elbow, and then using the drill, punch a small hole into that elbow at such a place that when the water pump is on and pumping the water to the control barrel, the water will spray out through that hole and the water stay inside the barrel, not in your face or out the top! That's all it is :)

keylime