A few Ebb and Flow questions?

Well hello folks. First post here. I have been posting at a few other forums, but it seems I get no replies from experienced growers. My questions seems to either get no response, or responses from 14 yr olds. Nothing wrong with a 14 yr old I might add, just looking for experienced replies is all. Anyway, on to my situation.

I have a 400W Hydro-farm HPS. Its about 15 yrs old. Was used for one indoor hydro inexperienced grow back then and has since sat on a shelf. I have plugged it in every few years, and recently cleaned it up and plugged it in and it still works.

My plan is to now grow in a DR80 Grow tent (2.8x2.8x5.3) with said light. I have decided on an Ebb and Flow system.

I only plan on maybe 3 plants at a time. I understand how the system works, but have a few questions.

In a small environment like the grow tent, how big a reservoir and how big a flood tray (and how DEEP of a flood tray) would you go with for say 3 plants, 4 at the most?

I plan on using rockwool after germination, then into netpots filled with hydro rocks. Would you use 6" net pots?

And my other concern using this system is the roots. When I ran a DWC in my other grow (I used an Emily's Garden), the roots grew well out of the pot and down into the reservoir. So what do I do about the roots coming out into the flood tray? Wouldn't being exposed to air like that be a bad thing?

Someone suggested laying a coco mat down in the bottom of the flood tray. is this a good idea?

So those are my main questions. My plans are coming together nicely, and my equipment is almost collected. So any information I get from the experienced ones brings me closer to my dream, nice sticky buds. lol. Thanks for reading.

Peace.

...you've got alot of options using flood beds. Myself, I pull my clones out of an aeroponic clone station, then into 3 inch netted pots, where I let veg for a couple weeks...then into 6" x 6" x 6" square pots for flowering. Getting air to the roots isn't a bad thing, it's the light that you need to keep away from your roots. ( pics below )

...for a 400w HPS, I'd get a 3' x 3' flood bed...(aka footprint) If it fits in your tent. Why don't you just make your own room unstead of buying a tent? ....you can easily build a structure out of 2x4's and black and white poly (aka panda poly) for 1/4 of the price.

...I flood my beds as deep as possible without completely covering my hydroton, or touching any leaves. I use a 25 gallon res with a 3x3 footprint

trichlone fiend said:

...you've got alot of options using flood beds. Myself, I pull my clones out of an aeroponic clone station, then into 3 inch netted pots, where I let veg for a couple weeks...then into 6" x 6" x 6" square pots for flowering. Getting air to the roots isn't a bad thing, it's the light that you need to keep away from your roots. ( pics below )

...for a 400w HPS, I'd get a 3' x 3' flood bed...(aka footprint) If it fits in your tent. Why don't you just make your own room unstead of buying a tent? ....you can easily build a structure out of 2x4's and black and white poly (aka panda poly) for 1/4 of the price.

...I flood my beds as deep as possible without completely covering my hydroton, or touching any leaves. I use a 25 gallon res with a 3x3 footprint

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Hey, thanks for the reply. I need the grow tent vs a structure because I need the option of a quick tear down if needed, so wood is not really an option for me at this time.

I am not sure what you mean by footprint.

So in the pictures, your pots do not rest on the bottom of the flood tray, there is space between the bottom of your pots, and the bottom of the flood tray?

And how deep of a tray do you use?

PeaceLuvPot said:

Hey, thanks for the reply. I need the grow tent vs a structure because I need the option of a quick tear down if needed, so wood is not really an option for me at this time.

I am not sure what you mean by footprint.?

Click to expand...

...footprint is slang for a floodbed. Alot of people refer to the 4x4 floodbed as a "footprint" for an 1000 watt light, as an example.

PeaceLuvPot said:

So in the pictures, your pots do not rest on the bottom of the flood tray, there is space between the bottom of your pots, and the bottom of the flood tray??

Click to expand...

...yes, they do rest on the bottom of the floodbed.

PeaceLuvPot said:

And how deep of a tray do you use?

Click to expand...

I have 2 different sized tables (1) 3 ft. x 3 ft. x 4 inches ....and (2)4ft. x 4ft. x 5 inches that I use. (1) is a veg table, and (2) are flowering tables.
I only use the 3 inch netted pots in my veg table, the 3 inch netted pots are about 2 1/2 inches deep, so I flood that bed about 2 inches deep.

My flowering, I transplant the 3 inch netted pots into the 6x6x6 square pots. Those pots are 6 inches deep, so I flood those tables 5 inches deep.

trichlone fiend said:

I have 2 different sized tables (1) 3 ft. x 3 ft. x 4 inches ....and (2)4ft. x 4ft. x 5 inches that I use. (1) is a veg table, and (2) are flowering tables.
I only use the 3 inch netted pots in my veg table, the 3 inch netted pots are about 2 1/2 inches deep, so I flood that bed about 2 inches deep.

My flowering, I transplant the 3 inch netted pots into the 6x6x6 square pots. Those pots are 6 inches deep, so I flood those tables 5 inches deep.

Click to expand...

Ok, final question, well for now anyway, lol. So then your net pots are somewhat exposed to light (ie, not fully covered in the flood tray with a lid or anything)? Is that ok? Are the hydro rocks enough to cut off the roots from light exposure?

check my grow journall out sounds pretty similar to what you want...yeah the pots just rest on the bottom of the tray..actually if you look at mine the roots are lifting them up off the tray..and yeah to cancel out the light i got this back and white tarp that i layed ofver the top of the net pots and basically the hole table...any other questions..get at me

https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/317301-flood-drain-help-plz-rate.html u might find helpfull dual flood 1 side hydroton n other just plain flood

I just fill my trays full of hyrdoton. Lift the pots a bit and let the rock fall underneath so the pots sit on an inch or so. I fill my trays then to the top to cover and protect all roots and it seals out all light. I built my trays for $5 using concrete mixing tubs from Home Depot. I put 3 in each...this is my first go at ebb and flow and still learing as well but this seems to be working quite well.

I'd use a 3x3 tray with at least a 25 gallon tank. No limit to the number of gallons other than size and money. With a larger rez, your nutrient levels won't fluctuate as much. But, it'll cost more in nutes depending on how often you change it. Flood the table 2 - 4 inches deep depending on how much rock you can fit in the bottom of the pots and still cover the . I don't like the net pots. I like the square solid pots 8-10 in. The roots will grow out the bottom and into the tray, but no worries there man! The DR's are nice.

WhiteWilly said:

The roots will grow out the bottom and into the tray, but no worries there man!

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My plants are doing this but my tray doesn't completely drain so the roots are laying in the water all the time. Is this a problem? I would think so.....

I have tried to come up with a solution but it is a rather difficult problem! My latest idea is a 1x1 wood frame with screen stapled to the top for the pots to suspend in. It still allows the roots to grow out from under the pots in the manner they are now, just on the net instead of in the water. I'm not sure introducing wood and fiberglass screen to the mix are a good idea or not though?

this is a 2x2 would fit perfect in a space that size with a little room for you to work and the pots work good too the whole flood and drain system is a kit from botanicare for like 100 bucks works great.

92redyj said:

My plants are doing this but my tray doesn't completely drain so the roots are laying in the water all the time. Is this a problem? I would think so.....

I have tried to come up with a solution but it is a rather difficult problem!

Click to expand...

I used ceramic floor tiles in the bottom of the tray to keep the pots off the floor and well drained. I just put the 12 x 12 cutting one tile short so there were large gaps in the tiles, but the pots set across these gaps.

Thanks for the reply, I was searching and found this. I went with the wood frame and screen and it is working like a charm.

I just picked up a smaller hydro-farm table with 6" pots for vegging.. The table only floods 3" or so, and that is after I modified drain tube. I am starting in rockwool cubes and sponge like things, not sure what they are called....It came with these wicks that is said to run top to bottom. Am I safe to fill the baskets up to 5" or so? The starter cubes are staying plenty moist but I'm not sure how wet the rocks directly around the cubes are getting.

I was thinking of cutting the 6" pots down to 4" or so and them dropping them in larger 7" baskets when I move them to flowering that floods to 6". Thoughts?