hush's micro flood and drain cloning cabinet

[hush]

I love flood and drain systems. They make my life so easy. So when it came time to setup a small cloning and vegging cab, I knew exactly what I wanted. The problem is, with the exception of the overpriced Microgarden by Botanicare, there are no flood tables out there smaller than 2' x 2'. The cabinet I chose only gives me a footprint of 27" x 15". So I knew I would have to MacGuyver something together.

I immediately recognized that a standard 1020 tray is the perfect size to work with, which is pretty obvious once you look around and see all the cloning supplies we buy, which are all designed around this size... tray inserts, sheets of starter blocks, and so on. So all I had to do was find a 1020 tray that is heavy duty, and wouldn't buckle under the weight of water and plants.

And then I found it... A company called Perma-Nest makes the exact tray I was looking for, only the outside dimensions are actually closer to 11" x 22", which is even better for my cabinet. Here is what the tray looks like:

So first things first, I had to build a frame to support the tray, and I decided to use 3/4" PVC pipe:

Then the next step was to drill holes for the flood and drain fittings I picked up from the hydro store. I didn't take any pictures of this, but come on, use your imagination!

 

[hush]

Okay, so then came time to figure out what I would use for a reservoir, and I was looking around for storage tubs with the right dimensions, which got me nowhere fast. It then dawned on me that what I needed was something like an aquarium, in shape, so I thought, "Why not use an actual aquarium?"

After taking a few measurements, I instantly knew that a standard 10 gallon aquarium would be a perfect fit! Which was awesome, since this also happens to be the absolute cheapest glass aquarium on the market, because of its popularity. So I went out and spent the $13 at walmart, pulled an old venturi powerhead out of my storage shed, and matched the 2 together for an instant hydroponics reservoir. I also had an old water pump from a Garden of Ease system that I don't use any more. Here is what I ended up with:

Then I decided to black out the sides and back of the aquarium, in order to cut down on the light that will ultimately start growing algae in there (like it does in every aquarium, but it's no big deal, you just scrape it off every so often). I also modified a bio sponge from an aquarium power filter to fit over the intake cone of the powerhead. Now it will serve as mechanical filtration, as well as providing surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize, keeping things healthy and clean.

You can't tell in that last picture because of the flash making a mirror effect, but the aquarium is very dark now, compared to the rest of the cabinet:

Anyway, the cabinet itself is just about 3 feet tall, so not much vertical space, but not much needed anyway. For lighting I'm simply using a 2 x 24w T5HO fixture. It does the trick. Then a single PC fan exhausts the air out the back (there are passive intakes on the floor of the cab, beneath the aquarium). Very simple stuff. A timer floods the table for 5 minutes every 12 hours. The lights are on 24 hours a day.

 

[dank420uk]

Nice one fella that cab looks excellent

 

[hush]

Thank you!

 

[Canna_Gnome]

wow great cab man!

 

[grouchy]

Toss a goldfish in the 10g and it will make some of the best cloning water money can buy. I used a small tank with some fish in it and had 100% success on my clones. When the tank "cycles" it will have a great amount of beneficial bacteria that convert the poop to nitrogen rich water.

 

[hush]

I've actually thought about putting snails and shrimp in there. I just might! I don't want a goldfish though. That would be another mouth I have to feed!

 

[hazydreams]

Thumbs up hush! i like it! great use of the space.

 

[Toadstools]

thats awesome

 

[2000pm]

Lookin good - I'm using those same trays for my bottom feed. Sturdy things.