I've been designing a flood & drain system that will flood two large trays (8' x 4' & 6' x 3') from a single large reservoir. The flooding cycles will be staggered so they aren't flooded at the same time. Both tables will be in the same room and growing the same plants on the same schedule. A few issues have all ready come up. The ceiling height in my room is 6'7" with some exposed pipes in a few small areas that lower the height to 6'3". Because of this I want to lower my tray stands as much as I possibly can. The tray stands I'd like to use can be lowered to 11", with the bottom of the tray sitting at about 7" from the ground. With the trays that low my reservoir won't be able to sit directly beneath the trays. Not only that, I'm 100% sure the water level in my reservoir will be higher than the bottom of the tray. I'm assuming this makes a F&D system impossible.The pump could obviously fill the tray but gravity can't drain it? If I'm wrong here let me know. I've been trying to find anything I can online regarding this but have found nothing. Keep in mind I have absolutely no experience here and what follows is purely me trying to solve this issue while still using a "sort of"? flood and drain. This may also all ready exist, I have no clue. Forgive my expert paint skills, this diagram is not to scale in any way. -Pump #1 floods the tray just like it normally would. -The red circle would need to be some sort of pressure release valve (quick research) that would open and allow the tray to drain once pump #2 (an inline pump?) starts it's cycle. -I didn't illustrate an overflow system but I could definitely find something that could fit under the table in case of emergency. I would need to make sure this thing didn't overflow unless there was an emergency. I'd like to not have to dump a reservoir everyday. IFFFFFFF something like this is even possible I can see some immediate risks. This system would need to be pretty perfectly timed. Pump #1 would need to be timed to flood to a perfect level, hopefully without ever hitting the overflow. Then pump #2 would need to kick on pretty quickly after pump #1 shuts off. Pump #2 would have to pump the same amount of water out (minus what the plants keep) that pump #1 pumped in. I've read that if the pumps run dry it can burn them out or something. This needs to happen every. single. watering. Not to mention, the pressure relief valve can't fail. I'll need to do some more research on timers and whether these pumps can be integrated easily without having to mortgage my house. Any help here is truly appreciated. Feel free to rip me apart if this is nonsense. Maybe it's time to start researching a drip or whatever those spikes are. Cheers
If you design it so that the reservoir is below the table, you will only need one pump to feed the rockwool tray and the rest is gravity fed. You still need access to the reservoir for maintenance. You can purchase some large totes to accomplish all this and build a table a couple inches higher than the reservoir totes. As far as timers and controllers and connectors (etc) I order this stuff off AliExpress. You may benefit for some reading on 'ebb & flow hydroponics'. There are some kits you can buy for pretty cheap that will help this kind of project.
The system should be designed by adult ready to harvest plant height. I grow Sativa ,so you want the tray as low as possible. You really want the reservoir lower then the tray and get rid of the 2nd pump. At the same time being able to maintain 65 to 68 degrees F. The more pumps the more heat your creating in your system. I have thought about buying a short flat RV water tank that is only about 6 to 8 inches tall and make a gravity drain the tray to the RV reservoir. Amazon has the tanks How big of a reservoir are you wanting ? Dimensions and gallons ? Personally at this point you my as well go to a Aeroponic system,
I appreciate the response. Unfortunately my trays will be too low to the ground. 7" tray height, 6" rockwool cube, that's 13". Meaning I have 5'4" to ceiling. That doesn't include space my light is gonna take up. Essentially my thread was me figuring out that a traditional ebb and flow won't work. That diagram was me trying to modify the e&f to fit what I'm going to have to do.
7" tray height, 6" rockwool cube. Plant height will start at 13". Leaving 5'4" to ceiling. That doesn't include space for the light. I'm gonna scrog the shit out of my plants and use two large tables to grow fewer plants. This diagram is essentially me attempted to still use some sort of low maintenance E&F system. With the trays so low, I'm not sure i'll have space for a 70-100 gallon reservoir that's only 5-6" tall. Temps won't be an issue. The room will be sealed and climate controlled. I've looked at the RV tanks, but again, none that big and flat. This was a quick attempt to make some sort of modified E&F. Again, I have no experience, all knowledge has been researched via the internet. I know all these parts exist. The theory seems to work, albeit pricier than a normal E&F. But I think might just need to switch it up. Thanks for your input.
idk how you get this. I grow in raised 5gal pails and have plenty of room in the 2x4 tents. I also scrog in a 4x4 space but that's just for one plant at a time. How many plants do you plan on growing in these spaces? 70-100 gallons just seems extreme to me. Have you considered alternative methods? My friend @Sirtootsalot is experienced in rockwool grows and just did one recently: Toots cowboy party in a mars 5x5 tent and fc6500 maybe he can chime in.
Hey guys, a lot of the industrial grows in warehouses use larger pumps and a large few hundred gallon res. In the style you're talking. On a smaller scale I think it's overkill and youd be asking for headaches. When growing either Ebb and flow, or recirculating drip, I'd suggest keeping with Trojans suggestions and using gravity to your advantage. If you're already planning to use less plants and train them, it's the way to go. I'd suggest getting two reservoirs, one for each tray, so if something happens then only one tray is affected. It'll be easier to manage the grow too. The headsapace is an issue, but you can make it work out with training. Here's how I put together my recirculating drip systems. The drains... For this tent i bought a rack. In my closet i built it out. I can help you do something like this, if you choose that route. I'd suggest building your rack, so you can control the height. You need to design it so you still have access to the res for adding water and tweaking. If you go the route you're thinking, I'd suggest talking to a Hydro store that works with larger grows, It'll cost you a good amount of money, but it's doable.
not to mention that if one plant likes heavy nutes but the others don't... thanks for dropping in bro
Yep, also you can stutter the trays in flowering, or run one tray longer than the other with two res. For sure dude, always down to throw my .02 in. Cheers.
OP, you literally have 2 experts and 1 other I'm coming to respect giving you great tips, please listen, and good luck with your grow!
I converted a grey hound bus into a RV. I made all of the tanks ,, fresh gray and black water tanks out of marine plywood fiberglass cloth and resin. You can make yourself a reservoir ,,,But marine plywood isnt cheap