Ebb and Flow Questions

[newhiddengrower]

I have

2 - 4x4 E&F Trays
1 - 70GAL Res
64 x2 - 6x6 Black Square pots and going to use hydrotons as meduim


What size pump do i use for each tray?
what level should my Ebb and Flow fittings be?

Would greatly appreciate it if someone could take a picture of their ebb and flow settings installed on to the trays.

 

[Madrus Rose]

for 2 4x4 trays , it would be a little more recomended to hav a 100gal aerated rez to do the job ....70gals just squeaks u by when the plants get bigger & really uptaking water .

If these tables are 6" deep then one of them holds 50gals when filled up near that 6" level so it seems 70gals is enough but 100gal better . Rule of thumb is 100gals per 4x8ft table, always good. With only 70gals per 2x4ft u'll have to monitor rez
levels/ppms alot more frequently ....
(not so good )

Just so happens that a 4x8ft table that's 6" deep holds --->100gals of water exactly ..and a 100gal rez is 1/2 that dimension only 12" high ...(4x4ftx12" =100gals!)

Pump size , a 4-500gph mag pump shud do u just fine & make sure u use the full 3/4" fittings/throat (largest) and get a good reliable digi timer (hydrofarms good) & approximate the time to fill the table ...then set your overflow to about
1in below the side/top of table .

Really ez stuf but rocks are not forgiving if u forget to reset a timer etc ...they can never be allowed to dry out . Great medium tho =rocks .

 

[newhiddengrower]

well ill have 2 pumps on 2 different timers and flood at different times so i wont have that water problem.


as for the E&F fittings can you show me a picture?

I have the White 4x4 trays. I should flood the whole table besides 1 inch of it?

 

[ThePizzaMan]

Hey new hidden

You need a 396GPH ecoplus(whatever brand is cool) each res, your res needs to be a minumum of 40 gallons per tray. A 70 gallon will prob be OK, but you should get 2 40 gallons...that way you can change nutrient levels per plant stage of growth on each different tray.

For ebb and flood fittings, you will need the 1-3/8ths hole saw to drill the hole. You can get that attachment at home depot. This hole size is large, and you will need the botanicare ebb and flood drain kit....

http://www.4hydro.com/hydroponics/ebbFlowFittingKit.asp

The American hydro fittings will not fit in these large holes. They will only fit the botanicare. if you want to use the smaller(crappier) American Hydro fittings...you will need to use a 1" diameter hole saw to drill your holes.

If you need a quick make shift table for your tray...you can use saw horses from home depot. Bout $20...and should work decently until you can save up(or build) a proper stand. Just make sure to get some 2X4's to put underneath the tray for support...and use one to prop up one side to assist in table drainage.

Good luck!

 

[newhiddengrower]

thank you very much

 

[StoneyMan]

One pump (300 TO 500 GPH). Tee it off...connect to both trays and stagger w/ timers. I use 1/2" Botanicare bulkhead fitting for flood and 3/4" for the overflow (I like my overflow fitting to be larger...just in case).
Madrus Rose is correct about the volume but may be forgetting the amount of water that is displaced by all the pots ect.
No need for a masive res epecially if you stagger your floods.
100 gal res would be great but 70 will do just fine.

http://www.wormsway.com/detail.aspx?sku=BBH202

http://www.wormsway.com/detail.aspx?t=prod&sku=BBH201

http://www.wormsway.com/detail.aspx?t=prod&sku=BBH204

 

[greenmatter]

looks like you already have good math on the pumps and the res. one thing i ran into with staggering flood was that the plumbing unless both are exactly the same will change the time it takes to flood the tray. get digital timers so you can dial it in. sound minor but having to run a pump for and extra 15 minutes to adjust for 90 seconds is not the way to go