Ebb n flow buckets ..need advice

jssyjames

jssyjames

Active Member
Hi, been a member here for awhile and usually just read and don't post but i need some advice . Just built a home made 12 bucket (5 gallon buckets) ebb n flo system , 55 gal rez, maxi jet 1200 pumps , used the controls from a titan oceanus 1 to build my 5 gallon control bucket ...3/4 inch feed lines , 1/2 inch pump lines. I clone in rockwool, the small cubes and have 10" net pots for top of buckets and plan to use hydroton . My question is ..will i still only flood 3 times a day with young clones that have about 1" roots from bottom of rockwool cubes that will be in the hydroton ?? would it be better to hand water them from top until roots get established down into the hydroton a ways ?
 
I just put the clone right into the water line. I've never had an issue with it. I also flood 3 times a day during veg, but it would depend on how hot your area is. Mine is only like 70 degrees, and like 30-40% humidity.
 
Thanks for the come back man.. i plan to target water temp around 70dr also , gonna try frozen water bottles first run ! So do you let the water line in the buckets "touch" the rockwool cube so it soaks ?
 
I flood 4 times a day. In an ideal world I go more with new seedlings alas I have a shared res. Every 2 hours to begin, ec about 0.5.
 
Right on ..this water culture is new to me ... was all soil before . Do those little ones require night flooding ?
 
no night time flooding... i flood mine 4 times during 12 hr lights on cycle. my clones were planted in the rockwool cubes also and grew just fine with water submerging most of the cube.
 
Good stuff .... do you guys use any bacteria/algie control ? i have done some reading on the pool shock and might give it a try ... i wonder if straight calcium hypoclorite sold in bulk would be the same as the hth pool shock people have been using in their rez ?
 
if you can keep your res properly aerated and at the right temperature, i would only use these microbe solutions. the best way to prevent algae and shit is to use covers so that there is no light hitting the rockwool. As for bacteria the bacteria in the water shouldn't effect your plant too much but its a good precaution to take, adding a lil great white/S.O.S./aquashield. problems can be fixed with azamax if you dont end up getting those precautionary things
 
Do you make your own tea? .. aquashield sounds like something i might try .. kinda scared to use calcium hypoclorite because if it kills bacteria then it will kill the benificial bacteria as well i would think ..
 
Yeah i was gonna try and get an air stone in the standing water in the bottom of every bucket , gonna be over an inch in the bottom after drainage , don't know if its needed , just air stones in the rez and control bucket might be enough .. plus aquashield or something similar .
 
If roots will be sitting in solution even an inch of it then you will have problems... mine sat in literally an inch of solution an i had every burn then deff from lockout. Buckets need air if water cannot be drained completely. Res has to have a bubbler to move nutes and aerate water. Aquashield has awesome reviews but i dont use anything in mine and my buckets are green an let light through. Keep it clean an you be good
 
Seems to be mixed opinions on the free standing water in the bottom .. i would think an air stone in the bottom of every bucket would avoid any type of root rot .. i guess we will find out . It sure would be a life saver in a power outage . Whats do you guys recommend for a general target ph for the rez ?
 
I aim for 5.6 and don't worry unless it goes over 6.0. Finally settled on canna hydro nutes mainly because they seem to keep the pH so stable.
Deffo agree on standing water being bad and rez maintenance. Keep your rez temps down and the light out and that stops the problems.
 
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