Cheap DIY ebb & flow

Here's a setup I made this weekend. After reading up on the ebb and flow system I thought I'd try it with these bag seeds I got. I went cheap with this hence the title. But I think it'll work.

Buy/procure:
Two storage tubs with the same lip size so the small fits tightly into the big one. Part numbers visible. ($12-lg, $6-sm)
40gph Fountain pump w/ tubing (Amazon less than $10)
Mechanical timer (ie, Brinks $15)
1/8" hole maker (drill)


Mark where you want the fill line to be and drill a few holes like the picture shows. Make a hole above that line for the fill tube. To figure out how fast you want it to drain drill one or two holes at a time in the bottom, mark time. Repeat until desired rate is achieved. My little pump gets to the fill line in 15 minutes. And takes 30 minutes to drain when pump is off. My Brinks timer does 30m increments so I set it to ON for 30 and OFF for 60. Set the timer by your recorded rates.
That's it. Fill the big tub with nutes, drop in the smaller tub with the pump attached, run the pump on the timer. Oh yea, do yourself a favor and get tubs that aren't clear. I painted the bottom with plastidip and covered the lid with vinyl wrap.
Had to show my rejuvenated ogk.

I have a time lapse video of the the fill and drain over six hours but I can't upload it.

loooks legit to me! keep it updated!

30nov15

Bag seeds. Roots bulking up.

Before I moved it to the fill drain system, I had it in this small 1 gallon Dwc to start. Did some trimming/training.

simple, yet, effective.

keep on them updates

I like it, think I'll have the wife make one, we have been thinking about growing like this for a while now a cheap and easy way to test the waters,Thanks

Very good. Simple and effective. I recommend lightproofing it a bit more to avoid algae growth. Great looking roots. Makes me miss hydroponic. Not as easily moved as smartpots though so I will have to live vicariously through grows such as yours.

Well, things were going good then disaster. First the timer shit the bed and the pump wasn't on at all. Of course I didn't give them any attention for two days so they were shriveled. Second, we had a crazy heat wave and It made the nutes solution warm to the touch! The tubs are too thin walled to insulate from the concrete floor. So I gotta encase this in insulation somehow, if I want to continue using it.

So for now it's a bust.

damn dude...thats a bummer. keep you head up.

That setup is very similar to the very first one I did years and years ago. The whole was less than like $40 and it fit in my bedroom closet. LOL.