I'm getting back into growing and have been designing an ebb & flow bucket system to go in a 4'x4' tent. I'm uncertain if I've properly designed it though and would love input from people who have more experience with these things. The intention is that the buckets will be elevated above the reservoir (that sits outside the tent) and will flood every 3 hours. I'm going to use mapito as my medium so I want it to rinse regularly. The elevated section of PVC will have a small hole drilled on the top to prevent siphoning when the pump turns off, and my intention is that the height of that bend will prevent the water from going higher than it in the buckets, like this but with 16 buckets instead. I've made a blender-render of my concept so far, what do you think? (The buckets are 4 gallon, 10" across and about 14" tall. The PVC is 1.3" OD)
After staring at my design for a few hours I realized that there would be an uneven amount of pressure for the two circled bulkheads... So I moved the uptake to the center, I think this will make it less prone to overflows but I'm not certain that it will prevent them entirely which is my main issue. Here is the updated version.
What is stopping the roots from plugging up the drain system . Looks like a nightmare for leaks .... All drains and external plumbing are prone to leaks . All systems with growing pods smaller then the main reservoir are prone to over flow because or restricted drains. How can you remove sick or dead plants or if the plant hermiphides ?
I will be using cloth bags within the buckets to contain the roots and medium to prevent them from reaching the drain. I had kept leaks in mind which is why I'm going to go with screw on bulkheads that I can torque down and seal, doesn't seem to be a problem as long as the surface is flat. My last RDWC system had more bulkheads than this and still no leaks, so I'm not too worried about that. Overflow, however, is what I'm more concerned about. The elevated PVC in the middle should prevent that by capping the water level and pressure below that point, which is why it turns right before the top of the buckets. It's a 4'x4' room which I'll be able to access from 3 sides so I can reach each plant. All of the plants will be clones from the same mother and won't be in veg long. I'm pretty sure I won't screw it up bad enough to kill or herm my plants.
Nice system .seemed to work good . Why change to another system when you had such great success you first time out ? Wished I could say I did that good in the first year of trying to grow and if i did i would have wouldnt change a thing .
Thank you [: I had to tear that grow down on my birthday actually, it will be 2 years ago next week. The landlord wanted me to move across the country and grow for her and when I said no she threatened to evict us if I didn't take it down immediately. I've since moved and don't have the space to do that exact setup again. It worked well, but I realized it could be improved on and this is where it's taken me. 1'x1' per plant and a much shorter veg time will leave less room for things to go wrong. I'm also 100% sold on using Mapito as the medium in an Ebb & Flow setup running every 3 hours after a few years of research.
I have two 4x8 grow tents I have one 4x8 tent harvesting every 10 to 12 weeks . Plus a 4x5 walk in closet for veg plants . Depending on the strain , I have anywhere from 2 to 4 plants per tent . Each plant is its own 20 to 30 gallon tote . Root systems are massive and the roots have allot of medical uses . I started off with a AF 20 general Hydroponic AreoFlo hydroponic system .
Man that is awesome stuff. I'm thoroughly impressed. Also I've just started a couple incredible bulks. Mind if I hit you up with a few ?s Here's the first. How much stretching do they do? I'll be growing 4 plants in a 2×3. 2 Incredible bulk 2 Banana hammock rbx1 .
I would love to say that every grow has been successful , it hasn't ….. My plants grow all most twice the size they are when put in budding if they have the room grow that much in the tent . The complexity of my growing operation is (A) I use just clones (B) I veg my plants 10 to 14 weeks before they go into the budding tents . (C) All plants going into either of budding tents need to be of the same strain. (D) Is all the plants going into the budding tents need to be the same size . (E) Is each plant is its own 20 to 30 gallon tote with a 350GPH pond pump and a fish tank bubbler . (F) keeping up with on average 12 different 20 to 30 gallon hydroponic systems everyday takes allot of RO water. Right now I am looking at a new 350 GPD RO system because my 100 GPD RO system is only producing about 10 gallons every 24 hrs . Plus changing the water , adding new nutrients, spraying and testing PH levels and adjusting is a full time job for someone who is disabled .
Float switches You have issues , I don't know of any float switch that is 100% reliable ….. You can put your grow operation into container that will hold the same amount of water that your hydroponic reservoir does. If you have a leak then you will not have to worry about damage to your home ( If the grow tent is inside your home ).
Very nice, I wish I had the space to do the same but I'll be limited to 2 4'x4' tents. I was using 27 gallon totes for that RDWC system and was lucky to avoid root issues by covering the system in mylar to keep the water cool. I would also have to freeze whole gallons of water to place them in the reservoir in rotation. They stretch a lot! They were about just under 2' when I flowered and ended up about 4' tall in some areas. First picture is right after they were put into flower, maybe a few days after. Second is about a week before harvest (I think).
I had a flow issue with my GH AF 20 aeroponic system leading to the most up steam plant dying every grow. Resulting in contaminating my whole system because I couldn't get all the dead roots out of the system. I swore I will never have another system where one plant dying can kill all the rest and there is little one can do to stop it when all the roots are intermingled.
That sounds horrible! Sorry to hear that :[ I agree, that was one issue I had foreseen and partially why I redesigned the system this way instead. Definitely, that strain is aptly named! It will take all the nutrients and CO2 you can throw at it too, I really love these genetics. Excellent mother plants too, I only grow from clones based on the strongest plant from seed. My mother was a mutant though, it would grow 3 branches per node instead of 2.
Personally I think there is allot to your statement as a short veg time . Just because of room/or space for the plant to grow , ventilation, and plant diseases .
Agreed it gets crowded in there to say the least. With my states current limit of zero plants I gotta keep it small and stealth like. Lol
Fantastic happy looking plants! Crowding was an issue for me, I had to remove pounds of foliage and it still wasn't quite enough. I almost forgot I had an update video on that grow part way through flower.