Calling all Flood & Drain Experts

I just changed from a aero system that I was running for 7 years. I'm done with all the maintenace with that system so I am now going to a flood & drain. I have a 4X8 table holding 36 baskets, now what I am researching times to flood & how long to flood in the 24 hour period. The table is full & over flowing within 5 minutes of flooding start up. I need to know like if my lights come on at 7:00 PM for 12 hours, how many times do I flood & how long. That also goes for the other 12 they are in the dark. Thanks for any help as I want to get started tomorrow with my little darlings.

i would need more info to say for sure..but to wing it, if your in veg, with 18 hrs of light, a good schedule for soil is flood the table 6 times or so, give or take a feeding. flood the table so the water is at the top of the pots(cloth pots work verry well with this system) and than stop pumping, and drain. as for the 6 hours of darkness, feed once or twice. if your in flower, flood the table 3 or 4 times in the light, and same in the dark. however if you are doing hydro, youll probably want to flood the table a few more times in each setting. seriously though, cloth pots area blessing in this system.

All grows I did with both Ebb & Flow and also Ebb & Grow seemed the best schedule was flood 4 times a day for 15 mins a shot. If your overflowing in 5 mins sounds like a bigger drain or smaller pump is in order but thats just IMO.
Kinda confused how soil was brought into this but no matter I never got dirty :)

You have never said what you have inside those baskets. There is a big difference between having, say rockwool and hydroton. You have also not said the size of your water pump, which may also make a difference. The frequency depends quite a bit on those factors. The hydroton will require more flooding than the rockwool. A 50 gal per hour pump will have to run longer than a 300 gal per hour pump.

keylime

Hydroton in the baskets, I will not be vegging in the table just flowering so the time table will be for flowering. Have a 300 gallon per hour pump.

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Originally Posted by THC7

Hydroton in the baskets, I will not be vegging in the table just flowering so the time table will be for flowering. Have a 300 gallon per hour pump.

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With that in mind, I would agree with tinytoon, 3 or 4 waterings @ 15 minutes each.

keylime

I do 4 watering during the day. And 3 at night, mostly to give roots fresh air. I do mine for 30 min, but my pots take about 10 min to fill and 10 to drain. I use hydroton, and GHE.