DIY Ebb and Flow $50! Instructions step by step

JohnnyToke · Dec 13, 2007

for grins, I built one of these setups last weekend using the tub from Lowes. I encountered a problem of draining. It won't completely drain since the bottom contour of the tub is flat with no channels. I didn't want my roots sitting in a 1/4" of nutes all the time so I havent used it.

I guess I could have drilled the ebb & flow fittings towards one end as opposed to the middle and made the other end of the tub slightly higher....

maybe ill get another tub and try that this weekend and see if it drains better. :joint:

yamaha_1fan · Dec 13, 2007

JohnnyToke said:
I didn't want my roots sitting in a 1/4" of nutes all the time so I havent used it.

I wouldnt worry about it. All my plants are sitting in water

These are the concrete tubs from Home Depot. fill and drain are in the middle, and the tray keeps some water in it all the time as the fittings have a lip.

This table always has water in it. It is so big, it bows and just doesnt drain right. Plants dont seem to care

CanadianGrower · Jan 25, 2008

Nice man i will be looking around for those tubs. Might go 3/4 tho if they got it. en genius.

Merfolk · Mar 21, 2008

tag

DontBanMe · Apr 23, 2008

Hey this is levitikuz, im back i got pics of the grow with those tables so people can actually see the results it spits out....and man does it ever! ill have pics real soon guys, thanks for all the comps peeps!

DontBanMe · Apr 23, 2008

Day 6 Flower

Day 16 Flower

Day 24 Flower

Day 61 Flower: Strain - Mandala Seeds "Sadhu"

Im sorry i dont have pics of the whole table, i was being lazy with pictures back then, but anyways those pics can show you the results you can expect from it.
And i was using the "weak" Lucas Formula for that grow...Those tables work like a charm...
Oh and i wouldnt worry about ur roots sitting in the little bit of water thats left over, it was like that the whole time thru that grow...
Thanks again for the comps, later peeps! :wave:

Merfolk · Jun 8, 2008

How many plants can i max these tubs out with ? Doing a SoG style..

Den0ts · Jun 10, 2008

Merfolk said:
How many plants can i max these tubs out with ? Doing a SoG style..

I would like to know this as well.

surgexvb · Jun 24, 2008

I loved this guide so much I built two of them! I put my own twist on it and it fits well in my hydrohut (3x3x6.5 ft). Instead of PVC I went with cheap stackable shelf unit @ local hardware for $25 and made two tables, IMO its studier than PVC. I used an ebb and flow fitting kit in each tray and sealed it with with silicon. I am using only one tray right now and a 10 gallon res, but soon two trays with a 13 gallon res.

I cant add in pictures from my gallery for some reason, so check them out if you want to see. Thank you for this great guide!

acidblue · Jul 1, 2008

Hey thats a pretty good idea surgexvb!
I also have a HH( I Fuckin Love IT!!!)
Currently I'm doing a soil grow in my HH, but i'm thinking of switching
to an E&F set-up, and this thread has giving me some good ideas.

Hey surgeexvb did you have to build the legs for the table,
or do they come with the shelf unit?

mungoape · Jul 8, 2008

great guide, so easy!

surgexvb · Jul 15, 2008

acidblue said:
Hey surgeexvb did you have to build the legs for the table,
or do they come with the shelf unit?

It came with the legs, no building necessary besides a 2.5" hole for the fittings.

Cheers

DontBanMe · Aug 23, 2008

IDK how many plants it can fit SOG but if you wanna keep the plants small i see no problem fitting 5 plants on each side....so that would be a total of 10 per unit if you kept em around 2 ft.
But IMO if you grew 4 plants in each the size of this Sadhu your looking at a very big harverst....that 1 Sadhu that was just over 3ft gave me almost 4 ounces dry under 1 400HPS.

Im sure the tables could be built better, anything can use improvement but i promise they work so well and its SO SO SO much cheaper then buying a unit and you will get the same results.
Im glad that i could help and give alot of you great ideas....
Keep up the good work yall!!

-Levitikuz

Murphy · Aug 23, 2008

DontBanMe, I hope it's alright to share these pics on your thread, if not, I can delete the post. I came across your thread when I was getting started back up. I was going towards the typical DWC set up but I went this route instead and this very siple and very cheap set up works great!

Same Concept but with Lowes Super Tubs, I've used it in my veg cab and my flower room. Check it out.

The Build

Current photos

DontBanMe · Aug 25, 2008

That looks great and also works great, ya i used the smaller tubs but its the same thing with the bigger ones.
Man those results are just beautiful, i cant believe how cheap we can make em and get the same results as the systems that cost 100 times more.
Good work mate

Rolling Bones · Aug 25, 2008

imnotcrazy said:
Tyler you thinkin somethin like this:

The E&F on the right is made from 2 different height "Nestable" tote boxes

Iimnotcrazy - very nice and clean E&F set up. I just did a few searches and had a hard time finding the "Nestable" Tote boxes. If one was to mimic your set up where would they go to find those boxes....? :rasta:

Thanks. I think that might solve some problems for me.

BigBlack81 · Sep 20, 2008

imnotcrazy said:
Tyler you thinkin somethin like this:

The E&F on the right is made from 2 different height "Nestable" tote boxes.

Please! Can someone give me a hint as to how to do the E&F on the right? Those stackable totes might be perfect for me and my flushing needs for my SOG E&F.

d4twamp · Sep 20, 2008

I used a underbed tote and painted the outside of it black then white, black on the inside for the roots and reflective white on the outside, then I cut holes in the lid to fit the pots, used ebb n flow fittings w/ screens to prevent shit from getting to the res. I've tried it with and without the lid the lid is so much better, no plant matter in the grow table or res plus it keeps the light out and the roots dangle freely. I have some w/ 12 plant sites and they even make bigger underbed totes, USE A LID the plants seem to like it so much better... here are some pics

Hope this helps, D

smokadepep · Mar 1, 2009

i would presume if your roots hang freely, you save on hydroton but would probably have to flood more often, and are at risk of your plants drying out quicker if a pump fails for some time, but not having to use like 50l of hydroton a table would be nice

smokadepep · Mar 21, 2009

if you were to run 2 of the super tubs from lowes side by side off of one pump, and just split it to fill both tubs, what size pump should you get??

DIY Ebb and Flow $50! Instructions step by step

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