Need Help with Ebb and Flow setup please!

So I have decided to start my own Hydroponics grow.( ebb and flow). After a few days of lurking this forum and doing some research I almost have everything together. However I still have some questions.

1.)How high should my drain pipe sit? When the pump is running, how much of the pots(roots) should be submerged in solution?

2.)Im not sure if my pump is powerful enough. Its a 60GPH. How fast should my tray fill up to the point its draining through the pipe?

3.)What medium should I use? Perlite? Rockwall? A combination?

4.) Iv heard that 6 times a day for 15 minutes is a good time to shoot for, is this true?

Thanks for the help!!

BUMP...any help out there??

KillerPanda said:

BUMP...any help out there??

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Check out my grow journal (link below). I went the flood & ebb route so check out my problems and learn from them. Also, it's called rockwool heh.

1) As high as you need. If you use rockwool & hydroton as I, you want the flood to reach about 1/2 inch below the bottom of the rockwool.

2)Whats your tray size, how many gallons to fill the height you require. Something like a 2-300 might be better if you need 5 or more gallons in the flood table.

3) If you use rockwool & hydroton like me, stick with the 4" cubes. The rockwool alone has a very high tendency to get over-watered. Inside the hydroton it seems much better.

4) When you start and only have the 4" cubes, one flood every other day or every third day is best. Judge based on weight, again it's very easy to over water with rockwool only.

Thanks for the post!
So im for sure gonna go with Hydroton and rockwool. How much space should i have between the bottom of the net pot and the actual rockwool? ( as in how much hydroton in between)

When you say starting out with just rockwool what do you mean? I was under the impression to plant seedling directly into rockwool/hydroton? Am i supposed to leave the hydroton out at first?

As far as my tray goes its about 5 gallons to fill the entire thing, but maybe 2 gallons to fill it to the right level? So i think my pump will be ok.

And just to make sure, 3.75inch net pots are a good size right?

Thanks again for the help.

KillerPanda said:

And just to make sure, 3.75inch net pots are a good size right?.

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Depends on how u want to do it. You can cover the entire table and have the roots just grow into your trays (they won't grow if light hits them). But, then you can't move the plants around, remove males easily ect, as the roots will become tangled. You'll also need to water often if the roots are just sitting in the tray. That's why I chose to use pots of hydroton, that way each plant has it's own space.

When I started I didn't have any hydroton so I was battling watering issues with rockwool. Maybe it would be better to just put the rockwool with the hydroton right off the bat? Interesting idea I hadn't thought of thanks haha

oo ok i think i got it now! Im for sure gonna go with individual containers like you did. I like the idea of being able to move them if need be, although all my seeds as fem. My seeds will be coming in next week, I cant wait to get started. My first grow was soil, NL. unfortunately a family emergency forced me to move last minute. Bringing my grow with me was not an option so I was forced to trash my whole grow! Iv decided to go with The Church by Green house seeds. Ill for sure start a journal.

As far as nutes go, iv heard alot about general hydroponics 3 part, any suggestions?

I am a little bit confused as far as draining the res! How often should i drain it? and after I drain it how much nutes do i add to the fresh solution? The same as indicated on the feeding schedule? or less because of buildup already in the roots? IDK maybe there is significant build up of nutrients in the roots, Im just trying to avoid burning up my plants.

Once the roots get outside of the cubes it is pretty hard to over water. In an ebb and flow i water 15 min every 2hrs during the light phase and 1-3 during the dark. I lst my plants so i dont care about the weight of the medium keeping it submerged.