Hey Catatafish where are you getting your 2x4 tops with holes for veg I got the same thing going on the plastic shop around my is trying to dick me around. An how much are you getting yours too.
You don't need 2 washers if you get the correct washers. 1 per connection, 2 per bucket is plenty. Been running the system for almost 2 months now with not even a whisper of a leak and I'm a terrible fabricator and thus my system is a bit crooked. Trust me.
Speaking of Botanicare they just came out with a 10" Aero Bucket w/ mesh bottom that fits right on a 5 gallon bucket. You'll get better roots this way as it will greatly help prevent cord roots (big fat twisted roots) which are not as efficient as the fine roots you see. Cord roots can develop where the water level drops below the net pot holes, exposing them to the air too much. Also helps to keep your water levels steady with an intake float to your res. I just gravity feed via 2-55 gallon water barrels filled with RO water and 1/2" hose.I had my buddy order from a local shop.
The shop had to call botanicare directly to figure it out as no one heard of it. I guess they ship it to somewhere else to cut the holes, then charge you for each hole :, shipping) (be glad its 5's and not a shitload of 2"). Then once their done they ship it to the store directly.
Ill have to get the final price from my friend when i see him next, we work completely different schedules so it may be a few days. I know its not "internet pricing", and probably on the expensive side. I wanna say it was like $2 a hole drilled , plus lid cost, plus shipping(s), plus tax.....not cheap wanna say it was around $210 for the table and lid and all the surcharges.
I figure its well worth the extra cost as and wouldn't hesitate:
1. i dont want to ship friggin flood tables to a house due to people sending shit not stealth (i dont care if they assure me...not worth risk if someone screws up). My buddy just had a full pallet ship by truck and it was left in driveway while he was picking up kids from school. Clear saran-wrap packaging, was assured it would be stealth. Needless to say awkward questions soon followed and my buddy was not happy unwrapping and carry each item inside in broad daylight as he couldn't lift the whole pallet at once.
2. Drilling those holes yourself is gonna suck unless you have awesome tools. Was not fun making my diy version with 6" hole-saw. It actually blows quite a bit drilling it at least to me and i like diy. Big hole saw sizes suck.
3. It will look much nicer pre-drilled more than likely, unless as above, you have some pretty neat tools at hand.
Talk to which ever store you like and show them this so they know what you are talking about:
http://www.botanicare.com/Tray-Lids-P100.aspx
Notice its a 44" lid on the page. They make 44" and 48" trays now...make sure you double check what you are getting.
There are some reputable online retailers that will do this as well such as G-House. Just email them and they can get a special order for you. I already spoke with one place online and it wasn't an issue, just takes a little bit. Like i said though, i cant ship a flood table myself, you may.
I would guess that you placed the one washer on the inside of the bucket. Correct?
Yes I keep water level about 2" above bottom net pot rim. No not aero but RDWC like Snype's buckets here. I have to get pics of my completed system (still in progress) as you know a pic is worth a thousand words...Stone, do you just use those for your net pots in the same system and keep the water level above the bottom mesh? Or are you talking about using in an aero system?
Bingo Frank! Talking about those net pots they just came in today (I believe I also saw 6" size but not 8" diameter don't know why they might not have the 8" size as it's popular). The regular 8" holds about 1 gallon of clay pellets or media the 10" seems to be about 1 1/2 gallons - could be 2 gallons though. Roots don't have any complaints with properly aerated media and I happen to have extra clay pellets.The beauty of those net pots is that the drainage holes are only on the bottom.
A normal net pot has holes all up the sides and all around.
This is when cord roots become a problem.
Heath Robinson talks about this in his ppk threads.
Proof is in the pudding.
Great find stone free!