flood and drain question????

[rustafa]

the question i have is i see alot of people using flood and drain method and they say there cycles go every 4 hours while the lights are on for about 15 min. Now are they running there pump constantly for 15 min. if so doesnt the reseviour run dry eventually and wouldnt this ruin the pump or maybe am i seeing this whole thing wrong pls explain i was looking at a system simialr to this one but a larger scale this is for example purposes only http://www.superiorgrowers.com/superiorgrowers/products/babybloom_det.gif

any information will be gratefully taken thanks

[divestoned]

i flood my system every 6 hrs while lights on...and not at all when its off.if your resevoir is big enuf you need not worry bout it runnin dry..least not within a week or so.the best method for finding how often to water is to let them get a lil thirsty while you time how long it is before they start to wilt...it is totally possible to over water a flood and drain system.your intent is to water them only as often as necessary (which changes depending on plant size,phase,and how deep the roots are into w/ever medium your runnin).

Dive:stoned:

[rustafa]

the reason i sak this question is becasue o friend of mine has that same exact setup that i posted the link to and it seems if he floods the tray that there will not be enough water in the resevior to pump more water back to tray and i know if you run the pump dry it will ruin the pump. me personally i plan on using hydoton for a medium and placing the plants possibly in 1-2" rockwool cubes. also the cubles should stay right above the water level correct or no. thanks for your input.

[divestoned]

top of cube= top off water line...the nature of "flood and drain"is it returns the water to your res. therefor if your res is big enuff no prob. maybe you need to increase the size of current res.

[latewood]

you have to have a big enough reservoir to allow the tray to be flooded and start to drain back to rez before res level gets below pump. does this answer your question? If you are still queried, then search ebb and flow, and check out the fill/drain fittings. the tall one is the drain.
researchn what size reservoirs are used with a certain model tray. usually 40 gallons for the 3x3 trays I think. peace

[rustafa]

the reason why i am asking these questions is becasue flood and drain seems to me to be the least hassle of all hydropnic systems as in very low maintainance. how much do you think i would cost to build a 3x3 flood and drain system yourself (red. flood table, pump,gromets and all) and would it be better in your opinion to build it yourself other then buying a system becasue i see these 3x3 tables and there expensive and they look so simple.

[latewood]

You can actually buy...just the table and get a good deal...plumb it out yourself. a nice 40 gallon res is only 80 bucks...If you need help finding a good deal; Let me know. I know a guy...lol

on another note. I can show you where to get all the pieces...if you want to build."everything". peace

[rustafa]

80 bucks for a rez sounds pricey couldnt i just buy a rubber maid container that is 40g in volume.. what i do like from those preset tables are the frames that hols the table in place

[latewood]

yes you can...that is what I was going to do, when I was considering ebb and flow.

save up for a table, and buy the stand. but you can easily build a stand also. Keep in mind that ebb and flow is probably the heaviest (weight) set-up you can use, so the Stand has to be sturdy.

[rustafa]

i could use metal piping to build stand with adaptors but that might not work out to well due to them being round i went to school for engineering so i can design stand well i just have no way to get piping welded. is there any way you know of to build a standi can put more footing's to stand more weight just dont know what material to use i would think a square 1-2" piping would be best but then again i dont have acess to a welder. : ) thanks for input btw

[rustafa]

i just saw online some very good ways to build a stand for the flood table made out of wood let me know what you guys think
http://www.jeffalbro.net/cnc/flood-table/flood-table-1-800.jpg
http://www.jeffalbro.net/cnc/flood-table/flood-table-2-800.jpg
http://www.jeffalbro.net/cnc/flood-table/flood-table-3-800.jpg
http://www.jeffalbro.net/cnc/flood-table/flood-table-4-800.jpg
http://www.jeffalbro.net/cnc/flood-table/flood-table-5-800.jpg
http://www.jeffalbro.net/cnc/flood-table/flood-table-6-800.jpg

i know this isnt exactly meant for a flood table but damm it looks good and sturdy and cheap at that so let me know what you guys think

[bud luv]

That would work.

[Irie1]

I have been using 4x4 tables for years. I can honestly say the cheapest, easiest way to make a stand, is to use two 4 foot 2x4's and 8 cinder blocks. I place my res. in the middle and place the blocks at the four corners. Then just place the boards across and your done. Sounds ghetto right? After using the stands and building fancy ones myself, I realized none of them worked as well as the cinder blocks. The blocks are really easy to level, as every floor is different. I just use shims or cardboard at the corners and raise/lower the boards. Works great. Plus, it breaks down and moves super easy. Good luck man!:S1: