Stop roots clogging ebb flo drain

[LostTribe]

I normally use a double bucket system. Top buckets have 1/4 inch holes and drain into lower bucket which has 1 1/2 inch barb drain fitting. Roots sometimes make it down there and clog the drain up causing overflow and a huge mess. I was thinking to try putting weed matting down there or something to prevent it. Also thinking to try and just use the lower bucket by itself The old ones are leaking and I was thinking about saving money on half the buckets.

Any other ideas to keep the roots from stopping up the 1/2 inch barbs?

edit: scratch that single bucket idea i cant have the roots sitting in water anyways.

 

[Creeperpark]

I normally use a double bucket system. Top buckets have 1/4 inch holes and drain into lower bucket which has 1 1/2 inch barb drain fitting. Roots sometimes make it down there and clog the drain up causing overflow and a huge mess. I was thinking to try putting weed matting down there or something to prevent it. Also thinking to try and just use the lower bucket by itself The old ones are leaking and I was thinking about saving money on half the buckets.

Any other ideas to keep the roots from stopping up the 1/2 inch barbs?

edit: scratch that single bucket idea i cant have the roots sitting in water anyways.

Can you post a photo?

 

[LostTribe]

I havent run it in years, still setting up, in fact going to swap to square buckets. The roots eventually make their way down following the water flow into the tubing.

 

[Robbie vapez]

in the old horizontal bigger flood trays you didn't have much of a problem. I have been looking at options in a smaller set up because I have has this problem before.

 

[Ca++]

I just netted, so can't get a pic. My drain is just hosepipe. I run it through the bottom pots wall, right to the middle of the pot. Here, it sits off the bottom. Roots tend to circle pots, trying to escape. So a side exit is soon found. In the middle, it's fine.
The end of the hose is slash cut, like taking a cutting, in order to stop any roots from the inner pot, dropping straight down into the drainage pipe.

I'm not sure if copper mesh would be useful. We can buy fabric with copper weave, to go inside pots. Roots don't grow past it. It's specifically for lining the bottom of them inner buckets. However, you then don't get the little reservoir to drink up. Perhaps a copper mesh can protect your drain better. Though I have no first hand experience with it, to say if it will just fail.

Edit: Actually.. sod mesh, you could just us copper pipe. In theory, they can't grow down copper pipe. So extend your drains to the center of the bucket, using copper (and lots of gaffer tape)

Edit2: I have, in the past, kept net curtain wire in my grow kit. It even had the eyelet in the end. It could follow the pipes to pots I couldn't reach. This is when I didn't pipe to the middle. Often my hosepipe drainage would pass a few pots, using a T-piece to offer a leg into the bucket it was passing. Roots would try and block the T, and take out a row. So the wire would clear the main line, though the one plant might be lost. Then I lengthened that pipe to the middle, and didn't need the wire again. I do keep it in mind though.

 

[Dime]

Not sure what your set up is ,I just used rocks to cover the table, but you could put mesh over the drain,use bigger pipe,reverse the pump to flood the opposite way and switch back and forth as needed,prune the roots near the drain,I also put my pump in a nylon stocking to limit what it adds from the reservoir and a pail with holes in it over the drain.

 

[bigbadbillybob]

if its bucket within a bucket, just turn them every few days, and roots will spiral rather than migrate down feed pipes