new to flood tables, how often to flood??

[TicalionStalion]

hey guys, so I just got all my gear to set up my flood table. all I need now is an RO unit cuz my damn tap comes out at 380 TDS.

anyway, Im going to be using hydroton, and Im gonna run 8 plants in my 3x3 table under a 600w HPS. Im about to take my cuts and put them into the rapid rooters. once they root in the table they go. Im just not sure how often to flood the table for the new rooted clones. am I going to need to top water them at first before they get established into the table?? I got some root 66, how and when would I want to apply that??

thanks alot guys! helpin me out big time!

take care.

 

[Lazyman]

Yes, for sure, hand water until the plants are well rooted, will take a week or two.

After that it depends on your medium and the size of the plant. With full grown girls soil/coco I flood every other day for about ten minutes, about a 4" flood on a 2 gallon smartpot.

With smaller plants I would flood every few days, they don't drink much when small and overwatering is pretty bad for their growth rate.

 

[TicalionStalion]

Im gonna be using hydroton. thanks!

 

[rmccinc719]

we would take our starter cubes and put them into a 4x4 grodan and then filled the whole tray with hydroton. we flood once a day for the first week then to 2 or 3 times by the second week. by the time we flipped to flower we would feed 4 times a day. once there fat with big buds you might need to flood 5 to 6 times a day.

 

[Pseudo]

there are a lot of factors like your temp, humidity, how much they are using, i personally would flood at least twice a day with hydroton, they are fucked if they dry out when they are getting started, and as they progress you will flood more but for me 6 times is lil excessive, 4 times a day would be my max, you can keep an extra pot full with no plant that you can dig through to get an idea of how much is drying/evaporating, but its not exact because it doesnt acct for plant usage, but it will give you an idea, good luckl!!

 

[TicalionStalion]

thanks alot fellas, Im gonna have lots more questions im sure! feels good to be back, it really does.

Ill post some pics when I get this thing set up. thanks again!

 

[deadbent666]

I do 30 mins every 3 hours for the first 7-10 days then every 5 hours for 10-20 days. Anything under that they start to dry out. It takes about 10 mins to fill and soaks for 20. I use just power clone rooting solution. after that I run it 4 times a day with nutrients. Always with 24 hour light for vegetation.

hope this helps

 

[Godless]

I use pots filled with hydroton placed on a flood table. It takes my pump running for 7mins to fill the tray to the overflow point. I flood 4x during a 12 hour day - once at lights on, once just before lights out and the other two floods evenly in the middle. I flood for 10 minutes to ensure a couple mins at full flood depth. I flood to 2 inches below the hydroton level in the pots.

I found that this schedule works equally well if I am running my room warm or cold. Last run, my temps were up to 85 - this run 74 is my high and the only difference is how much they drink - no signs of over/under watering. I think that the hydroton balls offer a pretty wide range of flood schedule because they promote a lot of oxygen at the roots so it is hard to over water. There is a lot of surface area on the balls so they retain moisture longer than people think - it takes 1.5 days of no watering to notice any wilt at all.

I should note though that I run my humidity really low after budding starts. My humidity range in full flower is 20-40. I'd guess that higher humidity would mean one less flush...

Also, I think there might be a difference if you are putting the hydroton in the 3x3 tray or if you will be putting the plants in pots of hydroton. I would guess that the hydroton dumped right into the tray will retain water longer, so you might want to cut out a flood if that's your deal.

 

[Pseudo]

you better have a nice sized air pump if your roots are gonna be under water for 30 minutes, i have a large utility pump (2200 gph)with 1.25" hose so i can flash flood them, i dont like my roots under water for long periods because they suffocate

 

[TicalionStalion]

just got the stand for my table built. tomorrow the lights goin back up, rooms gettin fogged, hydroton being washed, and we got the clones rooting as we speak.

 

[High Country]

I do the same feed schedule as Godless.

I have a 3x3 table and 600w HPS

I do a 36 plant SOG in the 3x3, straight to 12/12 from clone, trim all lateral growth and just go for single cola girls.

The clones go straight into the hydroton although I have used pots and grodan cubes in the past.

The little ladies are started with nutes at 1.5 EC and this is increased by .1 EC each week.

You will love ebb and flow, so simple.

These girls are 7 days into 12/12

hoorah!


DSCN0408.jpg

 

[Mike Seed]

I do the same feed schedule as Godless.

I have a 3x3 table and 600w HPS

I do a 36 plant SOG in the 3x3, straight to 12/12 from clone, trim all lateral growth and just go for single cola girls.

The clones go straight into the hydroton although I have used pots and grodan cubes in the past.

The little ladies are started with nutes at 1.5 EC and this is increased by .1 EC each week.

You will love ebb and flow, so simple.

These girls are 7 days into 12/12

hoorah!


DSCN0408.jpg

Nice looking setup. What are you yielding per plant/total?

 

[High Country]

Nice looking setup. What are you yielding per plant/total?

Sorry Mike, I've never weighed, personal use and give the rest to friends.

I don't want the dealer reputation.

I call this HORTICULTURE, not growing illegal drugs.

That's what I'll tell the judge!

 

[dtfsux]

make sure the roots are well established when putting into your table. Keep an eye on them the first few days. You will know if they are getting watered or not, no need to top water if the roots are in the flood zone.

I always ran SOG so I always had clones going into my tables. I used the same flood schedule the whole cycle, flood long enough to fill the table, every 3-4 hours during lights on, once during lights off. You can always tweak it. Yes this was using hydroton

 

[TicalionStalion]

well both of my fellow employees at the hydro shop have ran tables, both tell me to do 6-12 clones and veg them out for a few weeks then flower, but will a bunch of cuts with barely any veg time work alot better?? its a tuffy, I was planning only 6-8 at first, I didnt take more than 12 nice cuts, altho I could always take more.

what do u guys think? I just want the best yield.

 

[superultramega]

It depends on the room. If you're tight on space then the SOG will yield more. If you have some room for the plants to spread out you'll yield a lot off the sides of larger plants even from reflected light off the walls, with less maintenance. With one 600 I'd likely opt for the SOG with a larger number of clones. A dozen could fill a 3x3 with a little topping and training in the SOG.
Flood to fill then drain. Time how long it takes your pump to fill the table and set your digital pump timer to that length; once when the lights turn on then every four hours lights on. Once in middle of lights off. That is a great schedule to start with and then adjust from there. Some don't flood at night, some flood every 3 hours, etc. Your plants will tell you if you need to make any changes. (this is for hydroton)

 

[TicalionStalion]

thanks alot man! keep the imput comin guys. got it all set up, just waiting for the clones to root and my RO unit to come in so I can fill my rez and get things flowin! should be tomorrow.

 

[dtfsux]

12 plants is not going to fill a 3x3 tray true SOG style. I ran SOG for 3 years. A true SOG is single cola plants, with 4 plants per square foot. Look at all the big SOG grows, Stoney, Y1F, Eminem, Albert Hoffman, etc. Thats what they did.

Also some strains are more SOG friendly. I had some plants that just conformed to single cola style so easily, and others that just wanted to branch off. My northern lights and powerplant were SOG friendly.

Put as many as you can in there, veg for a while, keeping in mind they will double, maybe triple in size in flower, and just train/trim them as needed. Call it SOG/SCROG, whatever.

 

[TicalionStalion]

need some help fellas, Im settin it all up now. I need to know how many times to flood at first. Im going to be going rooted clones in rapid rooters, right into the hydroton media bed. Im going to veg with my 600w HPS for a week or so, and then flower. but Im trying to set my timer right now for the initial floods, when they first hit the table. Im thinking flood 2 times per day at first, and for 10-15 min intervals?? what do you guys think of that?? Im gonna run the HPS 18 hours on for the week of veg. what times during the day should I do my 2 floods???!?!?!?!

thanks!!!

 

[TicalionStalion]

basically Im gonna have the light come on at 6 am for 18 hours, and off at midnight. now, how do I wanna set up the floods? both during the light cycle? 1 when its on, 1 when its off?? I have no idea whats best. can someone please help me alittle here. trying to get this all setup this afternoon. thanks again!