Ebb and Grow?

Well im a newb to the forum and growing. Im looking to set up a grow room and i am doing quiet a bit of research. Ive come across the Ebb and Grow set up with twelve 2-gallon pots and a 55gallon main reservoir. (i know most of you know what im talking about but if not)


http://verticalhydro.com/images/Ebb-&-Grow-12-Bucket-L.gif

I would just like to get some input from your experience, as far as how much yeild, positives, negatives. Just the basics, anyother info to do with the system would be cool. any other grow systems that you like/reccomend let me know.
Thanks

hey dude, im ina 4x4x6 tent w/a 600w hps n ebbnflow table. its my first grow but its been super easy, and the plants have already almost outgrown the tent at week 4 of veg lol so if space is a concern w/ur particular grow, than these tables ive noticed werent made for it. i think ima try bubbleponics/DWC next, having them directly in the res itself would save me a ton of space, not to mention when it comes time to clean, the res under the table is a pain to get in an out the tent cuz its so big and awkward...but other than that, thats really the only thing i could ever complain about it. youll save energy by having only one res to heat, also you wont need to add bubblestones to aerate the water since its regularly moving, and my plants are 4 feet tall and still in 5" pots, the roots grew out and are all runnin along the bottom of the table so no need to transplant (not that this was my intention, i just didnt think ahead but it hasnt slowed their growth, im just not able to move the pots around now tho lol)...couldnt tell ya on yield yet bro, but from the way things are lookin, i can at least say with confidence i dont think ima be disappointed so watever works best for ya....good luck buddy!

Thanks for the input man, helps alot. Every bit of info helps me plan a well set up grow room. But, if someone could explain to me in 'stoned terms' wat bubbleponics/DWC is?

And if anyone has grown with the system ive shown please let me know what you think about it.
Also i found a kit that has the same fitting as the Ebb and Grow but allows for use of 5-gallon buckets instead of 2. Is it worth it to move up to the bigger buckets? well i actually get a larger plant and a bigger yeald?
heres the kit iwas talking about http://verticalhydro.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_5&products_id=4
any input is helpful thanks again

yea man, its where you take a tub like a rubbermaid tub and fill it halfway with water, cut holes in the top an set plants in net pots. The bubble deal is you use airstones to bubble the water. DWC means Deep Water Culture. as the roots get longer they pretty much sit in the water.

I think you are on the right track. for your irst time around maybe be better to use a medium like hydroton.
I would look into rapid rooter plugs to start them in. Then rockwool cubes to insert the rapid rooter plugs. (they make them with holes cut) then place that in hydroton once the roots grow out of the bottom.

Anything that will get water to the hydroton will work.

I like my E&G but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that wasn't growing in a basement that has good drainage and concrete floors because you will have water on the ground eventually. Also the buckets are cheap and break very easy which can be remedied by buying their additional bucket kits or just making your own. After my current grow I will be going to a perpetual setup and switching to soil because it will be easier mainly because I grow many different strains. If I was just growing one or two strains that finished around the same time I would keep using it.

Cruzer Thanks for the explination. Makes alot more sense then what google was trying to tell me.
So with the rockwool and rapid rooters, does a guy just take the whole plant (rockwool and rapid rooters attached) and place it in the hydroton? (i know its probably a dumb question)

Teejay thanks for the info, i checked out the journal and nice work. Ill be following along.
The plan at the moment is to either grow in a basement or a existing shed.

I think i might build my own system with 5 gallon buckets though (have access to lots) and my own resovoir. The internet site that had the Fitting and hose kits said that a 5 gallon pail would produce a larger plant, Is there any truth to this? (in the time it takes from clone to harvest would it even matter)

Hey man, I don't think there is a dumb question. I mean, thats how we learn.
Yea, you plant the cube with the cutting in the hydroton. The roots will be just poking out the bottom of the cube when you do.
Thats when you have to remember to water the rockwool cube for the first week or so, so the roots grow into the hydroton. Then you water the hydroton all around the cube for the rest of the grow. Plants do better when the upper third of the root system doesn't get soaked.

Heres a pic of the seedlings in rapid rooter plugs, set into rockwool cubes





After a couple weeks the roots poke out the bottom, then you put in Hydroton




Then you take off the plastic and plant it in the red clay pebbles (hydroton)
The larger the pot size the longer you can veg and the larger the plant.

Here I made rings and watered around the cubes in 6 in pots. These plants got a couple feet tall.




This is just one of several ways to go hydro. Here is a shot of larger pots. My Waterfarms.




Check out my LED/T5?400w journal (link below) for more info.

Krash thats the nice thing about hydro is that you don't need 5 gallon buckets, those two gal pots the kit comes with could grow some huge plants and you can skip the rockwool all together if you want. I went straight from rapid rooters in prop tray to the E&G and just cranked the humidity up in the room and handwatered the RR media for the first week or two. Just make sure when you transplant especially when using rockwool you place 1/2inch above the floodline or you could have some potentially nasty PM problems and algae.

True, you can skip the rockwool. Its really a safety precaution.
A couple hours in a dry rooter cube can ruin your whole day.

Rockwool retains water like mad. Keeps the rooter cubes moist longer between waterings is all.
If you do use it be sure to rinse the rockwool before using with low ph water. PH 5.0 in a bucket overnight will do.

Good Luck.

The Ebb/Grow looked cool to me too as I was beginning to plan out how I'd grow, the price however did not. I went with a very simple ebb/flow table (2x4) and use 6x6x7 planters filled with hydroton to populate the garden, it's been very good and pretty easy to do. Pumping water into one tray makes things much simpler than the amount of hoses/connections for the fancier pre-fab systems IMO