EBB AND FLOW need help

i have a few questions if somebody can help,my table size 4x6 feet,the pump fills it in 8-9 minutes and drains it in 6-7 is that too much,im using clay pellets and when i first turned the pump on the plants started floating around i quess i can put a rock in eack pot did anyone have this problem,and how often should i flood the table is 2 times per 24hours to little should i go with 4 times every 6 hours,and the timer that i can buy at the store has a minimum setting at 15 mins the ones that have lower time settings are to expensive like 100 euros,can i flood for 15 minutes and it takes about 6-7 to darin and how often is enough

and do u have to clean the pellets,i cleaned mine for 15 minutes under the shower and they still have some residue left over,is this detremental for the plants or can it mess with the solution in the reservoir likr EC or PH

You will be straight you did the right thing by washing them in the tub. I do that as well until the runoff going down the drain is clear. One I dea i found very successful is I use one gallon pots fill those up with pellets and put those in the flood table. Much easier solution for transferring in and out of veg/flower and easier to clean up after. here is a picture of my old setup before i invested heavily into it.

Also I flood every 4 hours my timer is a 15 minute one i have no issues at all.

how long does it take to drain

never timed it about 5 minutes maybe?

I have always flooded 2 or 3 times per day for 30 minutes each time. I filled my tray with hydroton this last go around and the results were phenomenal. It's a royal pain in the ass to deal with and I may go pots this next time around. You just have to make sure the pots have holes right?

Cleaning hydroton is a ROYAL pain in the ass. I used > 100l of hydroton in my tray so it took me some time to get it all cleaned. I drilled 6 big ass holes in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. Then cut a circle out of some wire mesh fencing and put it in the bottom of the bucket. Instant hydroton cleaner. Just leave that in the tub for about 15 - 20 minutes PER bucket, then shake and repeat. Takes about 30 - 40 minutes per bucket to get it rinsed out.

I filled the entire tray the first go around to see how big the root balls really got. Now I know about what size pots I need to be safe.

I do hate that the pots will add height though.

Anyway, to answer your questions 2x /day for 30 minutes each time works well for me. I do use rockwool cubes though and they retain moisture quite well. I use 4x4 rockwool cubes.

laserbrn said:

I have always flooded 2 or 3 times per day for 30 minutes each time. I filled my tray with hydroton this last go around and the results were phenomenal. It's a royal pain in the ass to deal with and I may go pots this next time around. You just have to make sure the pots have holes right?

Cleaning hydroton is a ROYAL pain in the ass. I used > 100l of hydroton in my tray so it took me some time to get it all cleaned. I drilled 6 big ass holes in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. Then cut a circle out of some wire mesh fencing and put it in the bottom of the bucket. Instant hydroton cleaner. Just leave that in the tub for about 15 - 20 minutes PER bucket, then shake and repeat. Takes about 30 - 40 minutes per bucket to get it rinsed out.

I filled the entire tray the first go around to see how big the root balls really got. Now I know about what size pots I need to be safe.

I do hate that the pots will add height though.

Anyway, to answer your questions 2x /day for 30 minutes each time works well for me. I do use rockwool cubes though and they retain moisture quite well. I use 4x4 rockwool cubes.

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what about the ph,i have a RO filter and the ph when i add nutes gets to about 6.2-6.3 and then tomorow it gets to 6.6-6.7 then i add some sulfuric acid like 1-2ml rep 200-250l and it gets to 5.8,now my question is do i have to mess with the ph soon as it gets off that 5.8 level or can i leave it if it gets to 6.something or 5.3-5.4,how srict do i need to be with the ph

Well, that's a good question. The stricter you are with your ph the better. Different strains seem to like differing ph levels, but a good rule is 6.0. 5.5 - 6.5 is okay. Outside of that is where the trouble begins. So keep it as close to 6.0 as you can all of the time. The only exception is that if it's above 5.5 I won't ever add ph up.

PH up can be your enemy. Try not to give the res too much down so that you aren't adding up to get it back up. Just lower it each day slowly. I have found that a straw works really well if you don't have anything accurate to measure with. Keep your res filled up and use the ol' little kid holding water in a straw method by pressing your finger on the end of straw while it is sumberged in the ph down bottle. Let your finger off to release the fluid, press it to stop the flow. You can test it out on your res and say fill it up 1/8 straw and see how much that lowers the ph. I usually mark a line at whatever level seems to drop my ph by .2 Usually a 1/4 straw on a 20 gallon reservoir.

Not the most accurate method, but it works.

Most growers have a tendancy to get lazy and will let their ph get to about 6.5 then lower it to 5.5 and start over. I've heard some say this is good, some say it's bad, but it all my grows it really hasn't mattered that much. I've even had my ph as low as 4.5 and said "fuck it" and it came back up into range anyway pretty quickly.

The strictness is up to you, but I would say the more strict, the better you are doing.

So i guess i should invest in a really good digital PH meter??

does thatv work with any ebb and flow set up like the 8 pots with a drip system??
http://www.canadianwholesalehydroponics.com/products.cfm?p_id=1867&show_details=1&catpage=5

I would say invest in one, not necessarily a great one. Since I use flood/drain, I have one that has an external sensor I can leave in the rez. I just posted some stuff with pictures of pH fluctuations in a couple pictures; makes the plants splotchy. Plants NEED enough light, enough nutrients, and a solution that is of the right pH to be absorbed.

fluctuation between 5.5-6.5 is fine, im a believer in less adjusting for a specific number and just letting it float in that range. I flooded my clay pebble ebb n flo 3 times a day for 15 minutes each time, never worried about how long it took to drain, doesnt really matter, you could flood it for an hour if you really wanted to and wouldnt have a problem. If your plants are floating you might me flooding to high.

smppro said:

fluctuation between 5.5-6.5 is fine, im a believer in less adjusting for a specific number and just letting it float in that range. I flooded my clay pebble ebb n flo 3 times a day for 15 minutes each time, never worried about how long it took to drain, doesnt really matter, you could flood it for an hour if you really wanted to and wouldnt have a problem. If your plants are floating you might me flooding to high.

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right now thats my set 3 times a day for 15 mins,this is my first time and the EC of the solution started to rise i set it to 0.4 now it got to 0.7 and the water level didnt change much i got a xxl reservoir its probably from the pellets i should have cleaned them better,i have another question since i live in a shity country and theres no trays for ebb and flow to buy and i cant order em couse of the size i had to make my own tables,i used water resistant plywood and covered it with 2 layers of nylon made the hose fiting for the water pump and the overflow the only problem is that i dont have those creases the draining canals, my surfice is flat with some folds as the nylon didnt come on flat as glass so now i have some pools of water left behind when the solution drains back to the reservoir so some of the plants have a thin layer of solution in witch they sit the ones at the drainig end of the table ,can this couse problems

its not ideal but my first flood n drain was made from wood covered in plastic, it to had little puddles here and there but worked like a champ, your flooding it enough each day to replace that water, just look at a hempy bucket, water sits at the bottom for 3-4 days.

smppro said:

its not ideal but my first flood n drain was made from wood covered in plastic, it to had little puddles here and there but worked like a champ, your flooding it enough each day to replace that water, just look at a hempy bucket, water sits at the bottom for 3-4 days.

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so is 3 times a da in these conditions enuf or should i make it more,i was also thinking of mking some plastic rods to glue to the nylon on the next table thats im bout to make so therey wouldnt sit directly in the pools,how important is this

if you go to home depot around the lighting section they have plastic grates that cover fluorescent light fixture(like in elevators and stuff) a piece of that would work to keep them elevated. wish i could describe better what i was talking about. If you are really interested i might be at HD tonight or tomorrow and i could take a pic.

if u can do that would be great,i dont live in the US so theres no home depo if u can show me a pic maybe i can find something similar

i have another problem,as i said this is my first hydro grow i didnt expect that these clay pellets would be so hasd to clean,i cleaned them with water about 3 washes and some hidrogen 3%,but still my solution witch i set at 0.5 EC vent to 0.8 after about 3 days and the plants are too small they didnt drink the water to make it happen,should i drain some of the solution and add fresh water to dilute it or just leave it,can it hurt my plants