3x3 Ebb & Flow System ( a few general questions )
- Thread starter ch33b
- Start date
waterdawg
Well-Known Member
Hey I'm a real newb so take what I say with large amount of scepticism lol. My last setup had a fill tube and a drain, the drain was an ebb and flo drain that I could adjust the water depth by shortening or lengthening the 3/4" pipe. At first when the roots were still inside the net pots i would use a 4" piece so 4" depth of water, as time progressed I would shorten the pipe a bit. When pump would shut off all of the water would drain through the pump. Not sure if yourpicturing it lol. I will try to put a pic up if i can later from laptop. My pump ran 24/7 for the most part always with about 3-4" water in tray like a babbling brook lol.
waterdawg
Well-Known Member
I have now switched to spray manifold in the trays and spray the roots. I am hoping that this will eliminate the need to periodically clean drains. May now be cleaning sprayers though lol. I really love building new systems and seeing how they work. The hydroton filling the whole tray is a viable option I think. Just a little curious as to what happens when the drains plug and how they are cleaned with the rocks and roots around them. Also I really hate cleaning the stuff but a whole tray of it may be easier to remove the roots than in pots. Just my thoughts FYI as I have given it some thought lol. Off topic, but I just ordered some material to make a rail/spray setup where the tops of the rails lift off to transfer the whole thing, pots, plants, and hopefully the roots intact, to the flower room 
. Like I said .... tinkerer lol. Oh one more thing, sorry high lol, but I have seen guys use pots with no cover and just air prune roots, same as rockwool blocks.
. Like I said .... tinkerer lol. Oh one more thing, sorry high lol, but I have seen guys use pots with no cover and just air prune roots, same as rockwool blocks.
District
Active Member
I just cut a protein shaker in half and placed it around the flood and drain fittings just loose enough at the bottom to allow water to flow job done. Anyway heres my first and current set up.Because the pots are only partially filled adding hydroton to the tray gives u more root space.
waterdawg
Well-Known Member
Have you ever had the drains block? Do you flood to the level of the hydroton? And dont the balls float? Sorry for the questions, as I said I like to tinker lol. I have thought about a layer of it in my trays and may still do that some day.
District
Active Member
To be honest some balls do float. But not many. The drains haven't blocked yet none of the peices are small enough. Also yes I do flood to hydroton level. Its early days with filling the trays but no negative affects yet. I decided to just surround the base of the pots rather than transplant. There have been some pretty hefty roots dangling from the pots since day 9 of transplant so I had to do it in my veiw.
ch33b
Well-Known Member
Okay I need some advice, I'm now ready to transplant my rockwol clones into 4x4 rockwol blocks.. when the 3x3 tray fills ...water level is about 2" (from the bottom) which means the bottom part of the pot is the only area where it gets wet.. will this be an issue? I'm hoping its not as roots tend to grow down and hopefully seek out water and nutes.. when they develope they eventually will force there way outside of the cups and sprawl out on to the flood tray which in turns means they will actually be submerged during the flood cycles... PLEASE HELP GUYS!! = )
waterdawg
Well-Known Member
Why are you putting the plants in 4" RW then into pots? Am I getting this wrong? I just put the rooted plant and small cube into the pot with hydroton. Also if your flooding to the bottom of the pot that should work, if you are worried just top water a few times, the rockwool retains lots. My water level was only an inch above bottom of suspended pots and 4" of water. I did away with the rockwool altogether on my last tray and stuck the plants directly into the hydroton and pots, their doing well. Is there any water still in the tray after a flood? Again kind of a newb myself lol.
ch33b
Well-Known Member
rockwol is nice because its holds moisture long which mean less flood cycles... hydroton dries out quicker which means more flood cycles. im using rockwol because my rez will only fill my tray with 1-2" of water, I'm using loose rockwol to stuff the bottom part of the pots instead of using hydroton since my water level wont exceed 2" the hydron wouldnt wet as with rockwol it acts a sponge absoring more water for the roots to draw .. and actually it adds more water to my system without having it in my rez..
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District
Active Member
Oxygen to the roots is a benefit in hydro which is why I went for hydroton. Hydroton allows more flooding so more fresh oxyhen to the roots. More oxygen to me equals better growth but this is also my first run. I mentioned that I had the same problem a shallow flood level which is why I filled my table with hydroton to aid root growth. I said that this would give u more root space plus mean u wouldn't have to build a lid. Guess that fell on deaf ears.
Best of luck.
Best of luck.
District
Active Member
Fair enough.
ch33b
Well-Known Member
Keep me posted on your journey ....
ch33b
Well-Known Member
Yes Waterdawg, the 3x3 tray does completely drain after flood after about 6.5 mins ( pump shuts off ) which is running for about 6 mins the time it takes to fill the tray 1-2" of water = )
waterdawg
Well-Known Member
Ya I wasn't sure about how you were doing your setup. As for the RW cubes, your right. I have seen many flood tables using 4" blocks and being really succeful. I just have never seen them used in conjuntion with pots, interesting! Again I just switched to sprayers so a new thing and trying to get away from everything except hydrton. I really dont like all the water retention myself, but this is new so we'll see. Also I use 4" net pots so very little hydroton but yup a pain to clean.
SnapsProvolone
Well-Known Member
They'll likely need top feed until roots are established
District
Active Member
Well Ive actually got a thrip issue. Used hydrogen peroxide but that seemed to stress them more than the thrips. Binned the mother whichvwssvin soil in the same room
and used mighty wash last night/this morning. Took 3+ hours, to early to tell if its working.