building a drip system need help..

ive been using ebb and flow tables and then switched to the ebb and gro bucket system for a while now.. the proble with the system is that the lines that the nutes go through have been getting clogged up and towards the end of blooming the ones in the back end up needing to be flushed out and its a big headache..

the whole point of this is for me to find the simplest hydro method for running around 36 pots.. the ebb and gro system has 3gal pots which ive been using to do 3k with 12 on each..


what i want to do now is use ebb and flow tables to create a drip system with..

i will be running 1000w for every 4x4 feet.. planning on having a res under the ebb and flow tables containing the nutes with a submersible pump pumping to the tops of the buckets which will contain hydroton.. i was hoping to find a ring to drip out of like the GH waterfarm recirculating systems but i was reading online and found a lot of people just having a single line ran to a bunch of plants just dripping evenly 24/7..

my questions are this:

1. which size buckets should i use to do it with to put 12 plants under each 1k

2. is hydroton the best medium to use?

3. any specific pumps, drip lines, and ring equipment to use?

4. can i drip 24/7?

5. is this the simplest way to run a drip system.. ( i was going to use the gh drip systems but since i want to run 36 its such a hastle to change teh nutes from each bucket like that and also the control unit for that system only runs 8 so thats another problem.. what do you guys think?

1. use 5 gallon buckets (see answer 3)

2.Yes

3.Get the waterfarm drip ring kit and use it in conjunction with 10" net pots

4.no, your roots need oxygen

5.Go dwc

lol pete explain in detail how to use with the netpot and also how to recirculate it.. or are you saying the ebb and flow table will work?


also, what do you think about using ebb and flow tables with netpots and then covering the root zone with pvc liner...? that sounds easier than both solutions.. is there a type of pot i can just put in an ebb and flow table that doesnt require me to cover the roots and i can just ebb and flow it with like 20 pots per 4x4

Ok, I've had the buckets, ebb and flow and now to drip. Been doing drip for quite a while. I have 2 4'x4' trays on top of each other with a couple of 2 by 4s separating them. 1000w hps light . The bottom one is the reservoir, the top one is where the girls sit. I have square pots about 7" x 7" at the top and are about 10" high.
there is a 3" hole for drainage in the top tray.

Using a 500 gph pump I have connected to a 1/2" pvc pipe that goes around the perimeter of the top tray, in other words its also 4' by 4'. I then drilled some holes in that ring of pipe and stuck the 1/4" tubing in there which then goes into each pot. The pot is hydroton, and there is no dripper involved. I just let the water rip thru and the girls love it. No more problems with dripping, no leaks, and the temperature is a lot easier to keep cool in the summer time than 5 gallon buckets being run around all over the place.
Above all its simple. I usually turn the pump off when lights are out. If i'm not home pumps are running 24/7 ...no difference. I find that as long as the plant doesn't have a big rockwool cube attached to it, works fine. Small starter cubes are ok, but I recommend nothing bigger, as a big cube sitting inside the hydroton is too much for the girls and they don't get enuf oxygen.

SpaceNeedle

Can I use 1/2 inch rubber tubing and do you use a drip ring if not how does it drip instead of just shooting out..can I use the drip stakes

Quote:

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Originally Posted by esc0bar

Can I use 1/2 inch rubber tubing and do you use a drip ring if not how does it drip instead of just shooting out..can I use the drip stakes

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well, you can use a rubber hose instead of the pvc pipe, but you'd want to use the tubing from there to the plants. I just stick the tubing right into the hydroton about a half inch down so it won't fall out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpaceNeedle

Ok, I've had the buckets, ebb and flow and now to drip. Been doing drip for quite a while. I have 2 4'x4' trays on top of each other with a couple of 2 by 4s separating them. 1000w hps light . The bottom one is the reservoir, the top one is where the girls sit. I have square pots about 7" x 7" at the top and are about 10" high.
there is a 3" hole for drainage in the top tray.

Using a 500 gph pump I have connected to a 1/2" pvc pipe that goes around the perimeter of the top tray, in other words its also 4' by 4'. I then drilled some holes in that ring of pipe and stuck the 1/4" tubing in there which then goes into each pot. The pot is hydroton, and there is no dripper involved. I just let the water rip thru and the girls love it. No more problems with dripping, no leaks, and the temperature is a lot easier to keep cool in the summer time than 5 gallon buckets being run around all over the place.
Above all its simple. I usually turn the pump off when lights are out. If i'm not home pumps are running 24/7 ...no difference. I find that as long as the plant doesn't have a big rockwool cube attached to it, works fine. Small starter cubes are ok, but I recommend nothing bigger, as a big cube sitting inside the hydroton is too much for the girls and they don't get enuf oxygen.

SpaceNeedle

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I use a very similar setup.

6 leach trays
5 2 gallon grow bags filled with hydroton per tray
1 5 gallon bucket for a rez for every 2 trays
1 132gph submersible pump for each bucket
1/2" vinyl tubing to feed from the pumps
1/4" tee's and tubing to feed from the 1/2" vinyl tubing

No drippers or anything. Just let it rip into the growbags filled with hydroton. I don't have any problem with leaks or clogs. I only have 1 moving part in my whole system, the pump.

Additionally the cascading action of the water waterfalling from my leach trays into my 5 gallon buckets aerates the water VERY WELL so I don't need an air pump or air stone.

Hydro should be so simple that you could leave it for 2-3 days without there being a problem if you can't check on it. That's my philosophy anyway.

I can't take credit; I ripped off that hydro setup from Stinky when I was looking for a cheap quick setup. I've made some changes/improvements but the idea was still hers. Check out her "darkside" log.

Check out my grow log there's a link in my signature,May give you a few idea's.

Dive:stoned:

what do you guys think about using ebb and flow tables with these 2gal pots filled with hydroton

Discount Hydroponics - 8'' Perfect Pot

either just use it as an ebb and flow or i was thinking abouthooking up the 500 gph pump to the 1/2 inch tubing around and then running 1/4'' tubing to each one of the plants and just having them running straight up no drip or anything..

with both systems i will be needing to put 30gal rez's under each table.. ebb and flow will need the whole 30 but im hoping if i do the drip one it wil use much less.. tell me what ya think

Ebb and flow is the only way of growing I've never done. Just sounds like a bunch of BS you can do another easier way.

If you decide on the drip, and run the 1/2" hose around and branch off with the 1/4" lines to each pot, you may not need a 500 gph pump. Depending on how many feeders you are running. I have 15 girls in the tray, and I have lots of pressure, you may be able to get away with a lesser pump even if you have 15..... lesser pump for sure if you have less. At the end of the 1/2" line, I have a valve that I can open to release some of the pressure on the system if I need it. If you only have six 1/4" feeders, you can prolly get away with 250 gph pump.

sn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by esc0bar

what do you guys think about using ebb and flow tables with these 2gal pots filled with hydroton

Discount Hydroponics - 8'' Perfect Pot

either just use it as an ebb and flow or i was thinking abouthooking up the 500 gph pump to the 1/2 inch tubing around and then running 1/4'' tubing to each one of the plants and just having them running straight up no drip or anything..

with both systems i will be needing to put 30gal rez's under each table.. ebb and flow will need the whole 30 but im hoping if i do the drip one it wil use much less.. tell me what ya think

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpaceNeedle

At the end of the 1/2" line, I have a valve that I can open to release some of the pressure on the system if I need it.

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I wish I would have thought of that when I was doing drip, that's a great idea.