Did someone say DIY mobile ebb and flow?????
- Thread starter fuzygrowth
- Start date
Hiya fuzy, ive been meaning to get to lowes, maybe today, i was at my local hydro store yesterday and i entered through the back and his neighbor had used one to mix concrete so i pointed it out to him , i wouldnt be surprized if i see them on his shelves soon they are perfect tubs. Thanks again for pointing them out and lettin us all know whats up.
peace
bonz
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Nam myoho renge kyo!!!!!!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
peace
bonz
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Nam myoho renge kyo!!!!!!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
TokenBlackGuy
Active member
I picked up two super tubs from lowes.. i got them for 10 a piece and they were under the hardware sign near insulation, attic fans, and bricks.. it took me awhile to find them but i was excited when i did especially for the price.. retail at a hydro store would have been atleast 40 a pop..
I plan on spray painting them white and using a trash can as a reservior and just flood without the drain my msm soil plants with a water/ hygrozyme/ floracious plus.. then for lighting, im going to place a 600 over each one of them..
I plan on spray painting them white and using a trash can as a reservior and just flood without the drain my msm soil plants with a water/ hygrozyme/ floracious plus.. then for lighting, im going to place a 600 over each one of them..
TokenBlackGuy
Active member
hazy said:
i was surprised with lowes too.. I never went there looking for any hydro systems parts but when i finally did.. I was like
.. Im going back today to get the white paint, some 4x4s and bricks.. Im going to make a tray stand and instead of the trashcan reservior, im going to go with a flat reservior like usual systems.. Lowes also has a pretty good irrigation system parts.. I found drippers, tubes, timers..
I have heardthe only part that you may have to get from a hydro store for an ebb n flow is the fill and drain components..
Red_Nine
Member
bartender187...I was about to let everyone know to check in the masonry/concrete department. I went through the same thing a few months back. No one in the store had a clue. Kept sending me to where the rubbermaids were. These are better made than the rubbermaids IMO. Much Stronger.
For you guys who don't want to buy the fill and drain adapters, just use pvc and attach panty hose or cheese cloth over top to keep your roots and/or hydroton, etc. from clogging it. I much prefer the pre made ones for around 10 bucks, but have used the pvc method before with no problems. Make sure you have one drain flush with your table and on set to the height you want the water to rise to. When the pump turns off, the water drains back the tube that sits flush. I know most of you know this, but for those just starting with ebb and flow, I thought I would throw that in. My roots completly fill my trays and start to form a mat. No problems. I don't ever trim my roots.
For you guys who don't want to buy the fill and drain adapters, just use pvc and attach panty hose or cheese cloth over top to keep your roots and/or hydroton, etc. from clogging it. I much prefer the pre made ones for around 10 bucks, but have used the pvc method before with no problems. Make sure you have one drain flush with your table and on set to the height you want the water to rise to. When the pump turns off, the water drains back the tube that sits flush. I know most of you know this, but for those just starting with ebb and flow, I thought I would throw that in. My roots completly fill my trays and start to form a mat. No problems. I don't ever trim my roots.
wreckMEplease
Member
This system seems perfect for my vegging plants. I just built a multi-flow ebb and flow bucket system w/controller for my flowering chamber and i will use this for the kids. Cant wait to have everything up and running. Thanks for the great thread Fuzy
Levitikuz
Member
ok ill tell you how i built my ebb and flow system with all parts from lowes and i didnt buy one sengle part from the hydro shop except for the clay pebbles and net pots....
ok here it goes...
I first used 1/2 PVC and built my table that would hold my plants over my res....take a look
Then i drilled 3 1/2 holes in the bottom of my "smaller supper tub" (these are found un the concrete sectuon as well, and only $5) And stuck these 1/2 "barbs" thru the hole and superglued them from the bottom.
The 1st barb connects to the black tubbing shown above to the sub. pump (120-150 gph found at lowes $17)
The other 2 i drill holes in the sides all around so the water will drain all the way down the the bottom and have no sitting water in my medium when the system drains and i also have small pieces of the black tubing going to my res. (these other 2 barbs are placed at seperate ends of the tub
fore better draining)
the pump can also be adjusted to how much water it is pumping, so i can dial in the flood and drain perfectly....
Then i drilled 3 1 1/2 inch holes in a piece of ply wood that sits on top of the pvc table to support my tub alot better. The 3 holes drilled in the ply wood and in the exact place where the barbs are placed on the tub so they can go thru it and down into the res...
you can also see the piece of ply wood in this pic.
Then i went to wal mart to pick up some "pleather" to drape down from the play wood so that light wouldnt hit my res causing algea as you can see in this picture....
I have it flooding 6 times a day 15 min each and so far so good, no probs at all....
Oh and i also used screen to cover the 1/2 barbs pumping water in and draining water out so no clay pebbles would clog it up...i attached the screen with zip ties...works like a charm....
If anyone has any questions feel free to aks....
here is how my seeldings are looking like at day 4 in this homemade system made from absoloutely no parts from the hydro store!
i hope that helps you guys out!
ok here it goes...
I first used 1/2 PVC and built my table that would hold my plants over my res....take a look
Then i drilled 3 1/2 holes in the bottom of my "smaller supper tub" (these are found un the concrete sectuon as well, and only $5) And stuck these 1/2 "barbs" thru the hole and superglued them from the bottom.
The 1st barb connects to the black tubbing shown above to the sub. pump (120-150 gph found at lowes $17)
The other 2 i drill holes in the sides all around so the water will drain all the way down the the bottom and have no sitting water in my medium when the system drains and i also have small pieces of the black tubing going to my res. (these other 2 barbs are placed at seperate ends of the tub
fore better draining)
the pump can also be adjusted to how much water it is pumping, so i can dial in the flood and drain perfectly....
Then i drilled 3 1 1/2 inch holes in a piece of ply wood that sits on top of the pvc table to support my tub alot better. The 3 holes drilled in the ply wood and in the exact place where the barbs are placed on the tub so they can go thru it and down into the res...
you can also see the piece of ply wood in this pic.
Then i went to wal mart to pick up some "pleather" to drape down from the play wood so that light wouldnt hit my res causing algea as you can see in this picture....
I have it flooding 6 times a day 15 min each and so far so good, no probs at all....
Oh and i also used screen to cover the 1/2 barbs pumping water in and draining water out so no clay pebbles would clog it up...i attached the screen with zip ties...works like a charm....
If anyone has any questions feel free to aks....
here is how my seeldings are looking like at day 4 in this homemade system made from absoloutely no parts from the hydro store!
i hope that helps you guys out!
Murphy
Member
Nobody has tagged this since thread in a while.....
If your'e still around, Thanks Man! This thread was perfect for what I did in a cabinet! Holds 6 inch square pots great. I suspended mine and it it bows in the center but I cut a piece of 2x4 floro lighting grid and dropped it in to keep everything level.
If your'e still around, Thanks Man! This thread was perfect for what I did in a cabinet! Holds 6 inch square pots great. I suspended mine and it it bows in the center but I cut a piece of 2x4 floro lighting grid and dropped it in to keep everything level.
d4twamp
Member
Ive grown like that too w/ the pots sitting in the tray,
then I tried it like this
w/ a lid and cut holes for the pots to sit in, so the roots could dangle into the tray and I got much better results... the roots seem to like this better. plus the hydroton or plant matter can't get into the tray...
if you had 4 trays in the flower room each w/ it's own res and each one 2 weeks farther than the next into flowering, then you could harvest a tray every 2 weeks..just lift the lids off and move it to the next tray... and replace the harvested tray w/ a fresh vegged tray from the veg room..but that's just my $.02
I've even built them with 12 plant sites. More could be done if you used smaller pots w/ clones and a short veg time.
later D
then I tried it like this
w/ a lid and cut holes for the pots to sit in, so the roots could dangle into the tray and I got much better results... the roots seem to like this better. plus the hydroton or plant matter can't get into the tray...
if you had 4 trays in the flower room each w/ it's own res and each one 2 weeks farther than the next into flowering, then you could harvest a tray every 2 weeks..just lift the lids off and move it to the next tray... and replace the harvested tray w/ a fresh vegged tray from the veg room..but that's just my $.02
I've even built them with 12 plant sites. More could be done if you used smaller pots w/ clones and a short veg time.
later D
Last edited:
Chomas
Member
The only thing is fuzygrowth your rez is too small here. If you dont have your table fully packed with plants, and even if you do, you run the risk of running low on water and burning out your pump. You couldn't go on vacation for a week with this setup because your water would run too low. I'm not trying to hate, just some constructive criticism.
Need system with 4X4 footprint for 1K light. Could hook 2 tubs together with Uni-seal or the like but, does anyone know if the Lowe's tubs have a more right-angled side than those at the Depot , i.e., |__| sides as opposed to \_/?
A verticle side would make connecting the tubs less problematic as well as allowing closer placement and more containered plant content.
Great thread, thanks for starting it...
A verticle side would make connecting the tubs less problematic as well as allowing closer placement and more containered plant content.
Great thread, thanks for starting it...
KUSHEATER1
Active member
setting up two tubs in a dr120 for the next round
