"ebb and flow" parts?

Hi I'm trying to do a recirculating DWC setup using this guide http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=26343
I don't have access to these exact products for building this where i'm at but I can get similar hosing and fittings.
I was wondering waht difference an "ebb and flow" outlet makes from any similar outlet used for general applications.
I have access to valves, tees, elbows, hosing, etc, of various diamters, but none are sold as "ebb and flow". Also what purpose do the ebb and flow screens serve?
I am wondering if I could replace some of those "ebb and flow" pieces with general application parts, or these ebb and flow have something
special about them. Thanks in advance.

You could try watching the "I Grow Chronic" video and maybe that would give you some ideas?
Unless you buy all your stuff at a Hydroponic store you wont find parts called Ebb & Flow, you will need to use your brain and figure out the system in your head, then put that info to practical use.
I've built all the systems I have and used what I could find, read up on the subject and you will be fine. Good luck

You can make an ebb & flow out of parts from any hardware store. Check out some of the DIY threads here at IC to get an idea. The screens are to keep misc junk from entering the res and getting into the pump....hydroton balls, coco or whatever may get washed down the hole.

That I grow Chronic series is awesome, thats what inspired me to start doing hydro.

The point of ebb and flow is to ebb out and flow over your roots, however you manage that is up to you, only enemy is the leaks. I made mine with a garden hose, a tiny pump and by heating up a nail and melting holes in the hose. Then i just laid it down over a bed of hydroton with a res below where the pump was housed. Connected it to a timer and it works like a charm. Well i dont know if its technically an ebb&floo but its close enough