DIY Ebb & Gro , NFT Hybrid idea

Hey

Whats up all ? i just finished a harvest and grow journal not to long ago with a NFT system it all went well. Now i am expanding as we have opened a medical marijuana collective in CA and have the proper paper work to go ahead and law down some seeds for our members.

So over the last few days i have been reading many DIY tutorials and the last couple have been the Ebb and Gro DIY for the control bucket. http://www.aquahub.com/store/diygbuildebb.html

I have a good deal on a brand new control bucket from a hydro shop so i will just be buying one i think as it would be same price to make.

My HYBRID idea is...

Using 5 gal buckets, setting the controller to flood the buckets to say half way and leaving the upper half to some NFY sprayers.

My goal is to have the Control bucket flood the plant buckets half way then the sprayers come on for 15 min intervals and if the water level gets to high in the bucket i will drain it back to the resvioir.

The problems i see are just getting my timing right for he flood and sprayers so i dont over fill anything and flood stuff.

i have 20 x 5 gal buckets , ill get a 70 ish gal resivoir, set it to flood 50 gals into the buckets , which is half way filled. Then make the sprayers activate for 15 min intervals every couple hours. , after a few sessions of the sprayers the control bucket would then Drain all buckets back to my main resivoir in which i can control temps and do my flush's etc.

Here is a little blue print , please let me know what you guys think of the idea ! i may start creating it today i have most of the parts in the house now !

Anyone feel its a good or bad idea ?

ive done it.. its a good idea but,, be very careful when drilling holes for the grommets.. the cap ebb and grow buckets are predrilled and hardly ever leak but all the ones ive tested (2.5gallon) develope a small crack at the bottom of the bucket that shoots of the holes i drill.. .i dont know if the plastic is thinner or what..

use silicon for safe measure.. it sucks draining 55 gallons of water all over your ceiling from upstairs..

5 gallon buckets do work better with the grommets.. hardly every had leaks with them and ive used alot..

and your going to do a top drip ebb and flow? i think you would be better with just a ebb and flow..

doniawon said:

ive done it.. its a good idea but,, be very careful when drilling holes for the grommets.. the cap ebb and grow buckets are predrilled and hardly ever leak but all the ones ive tested (2.5gallon) develope a small crack at the bottom of the bucket that shoots of the holes i drill.. .i dont know if the plastic is thinner or what..

use silicon for safe measure.. it sucks draining 55 gallons of water all over your ceiling from upstairs..

5 gallon buckets do work better with the grommets.. hardly every had leaks with them and ive used alot..

and your going to do a top drip ebb and flow? i think you would be better with just a ebb and flow..

Click to expand...

No no , its a ebb and flow that only fills the 5 gallon buckets half way . Then for 15 mins every 2 hours i will have 360 degree Sprayers under the lid next to the net cup. Its a combination of NFT sprayers up top and Ebb and Flow in the bottom , im using the ebb and flow to only flood half way and re collect my NFT sprayer run off back into my main tote. So flood from the bottom ,Sprayers from the top.

What do you think ?

this pic explains more

seems to me the sprayers are a waste, the object of ebb and flo is to give the roots time to dry and recieve O2. I'd just run the setup as intended or do all NFT and use the brain bucket for your drainage.

more of an aero/ebb/flow... seem like the mist would be a good idea..
i read the plant likes to be somewhat dry at the very top, and very wet at the feet with a 50/50 in the middle .. this system seems to cover all the bases..

are you going to mist all day. looks like a nice set up..
if you mist during floods you might overflow.. so watch out

the last mist schedule i used was on for 15 mins then off for two hours then on for 30 mins then off for two hours and repeated that cycle. I see the biggst problem is risk of sprayers and flood happening at the same time but im sure i can time that right ... i hope lol

About to pick up a couple more parts , sprayers and irrigation tubing my controler buckets should be here soon

them sprayers clog alot also.. the red ez-clone emitters
as far as the controller are you making one or buying the cap one/? there was a diy for the controller on here..

also flooding pulls oxygen to the roots during draining.. so be sure to off set the mist with the floods if that makes any sense..i would not mist after the floods so stuff can dry a little and pull fresh air..

I can pick up a new controller for 70 bucks so im going to do that , im not 100 percent sure on the controll options of the box ? can you make it so it only uses its drain function ? and can you totally custimize the interval of time between draining and flooding ?

rubberguard said:

I can pick up a new controller for 70 bucks so im going to do that , im not 100 percent sure on the controll options of the box ? can you make it so it only uses its drain function ? and can you totally custimize the interval of time between draining and flooding ?

Click to expand...

can u make it only use the drain function... yes .. there is a female plug on the controller with two recepticals.. like a household socket..

the top drains and the bottom fills.. or vice versa

can you set the flood and drain intervals.. yes... there is a timer on the front of the controller that allows you to set them on or off every 30 minutes..

with 3.5 gallon buckets your going to get huge plants.. i hope you do this

My buckets are the same version of th ebb and gro buckets but 5 gallons. I have to see how the controller floods them , will it fully flood the full 5 gallons or can i make it just flood half way ?

I would like it to only flood my 5 gallon bucket about 2-3 gals max and let sprayers do the resy up top.

the 3.5 gallon bucket fits in the 5 gallon bucket... the controller for the ebb and gro is set up for a 2 gallon bucket and they are alot shorter,
so if your using the taller 5 gallons i think your flood line might be okay.. kinda high really still though maybe.
you can raise each plant bucket from the floor or you can take the probe at the very top and place it lower with a drill and paddle bit.. pliers..

well the person selling me the controll units explained the timer is 24 hour based so i should be able to find a good setting between NFT sprayer timer and Flood/Drain Timer to make sure i dont do anything to stupid and over fill the buckets. I suspose i could safe guard that having a small enough resivoir that i couldnt even push a full 5 gallons in every bucket.

I have 20 x 5 gal buckets , so it would take 100 gallons to fill all buckets. I want some of the resivoir to be used for the NFT Sprayers. Since i only want the buckets to flood half way do you think somthing arouin and 75 gallons would be big enough ? 50 dedicated to flooding and extra 25 for sprayers if all the timers were to be on same time.

Plus with a max of 75 gallons of water in circulation in a system that could hold 100 i would be safe on flooding , yah ?

you dont have to fill the whole 5 gallon buckets.. with 20, 5's a 55 gallon will work for you..especially if you drop the fill line probe.. http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/10-inch-pot-wrim-mesh-sides-and-bottom-10pack-p-2419.html
the mesh buckets with a rim will fit in the 5 gallons and you can mount your 360 emitters aiming down on the rims around the mesh pot that hold your medium..

your timer does work 24 7.. but in 15 minute intervals.. which it shuts off when the fill probe senses water and shuts down.. usually takes about 10 min.. and then when it senses its full it clicks the drain pump on to empty..

Ok cool i have all my lids and buckets now , im going to start with drilling the lids and mounting sprayers. When i get my Controll unit ill start connecting the bottoms togather for the drain / flood pumps. Im not quite sure what part they use inside the bucket that drains it , i guess there is a inline drain that i can connect into the 1/2 inch irrigation tube that goes thru the bottom of the buckets ?

Ahh i see how it drains now , the 1/2 inch tube doesnt go inside at all it hits a T joint which part of the T goes inside the bucket VIA a gromet. Easy stuff

yeah, use a paddle bit.. it think 11/16th... or 13/16??? and use a 1/2 grommet and then the 1/2 t.. or 90... and thats it.. claps are optional but not usually needed and caulking is also optional.. use aquarium silicon if you notice a leak..

you gonna fuck with this system still??