My first hydro grow I designed an ebb and flow system. Using 6" PVC, I place the pots into the pvc, pump water into the pvc, and I installed a slow drain and a overflow preventer inside. Well first off, this setup is requiring a great deal of water (25+ gallons) to flood my plants, and the 2nd problem is , I'm a little over 2 weeks in flowering and the root system is starting to stop draining on some of the drain pipes. Next grow I am thinking about running tubes to the base of each plant and giving them a fast drip/flow of water from the top. This will allow me to monitor water flow and I can just drain the pipes, instead of flooding. The tubes are sealed and the root system is so large I cannot remove any plants, so Ive been unplugging clog from drain pipe, which is only temporary. Anyone think a drip system would work better? Drip system would also help me lower reservoir size(25-30 gallons is tough to work with, and expensive). Any thoughts, any other methods? I would like to keep the 6" pipes if possible.
Can you post pics? Ive been wanting to do something like that myself. It sounds like a pretty bad ass setup.