For All Cap Ebb and Grow Users

[pluto420]

I have been trying to find a good thread about the cap e & g system but haven't been able to find one yet so thought I would start this and see if I can get a good discussion going and compile a good overall document on the system.

If you are using the cap e & g system please give your feedback to the following questions and feel free to add anything else of interest you can think of.

What medium do you use? Were there other mediums you tried and then switched? I have tried stg inserts and hydro-ton but have much better results with hydro-ton.

Did you do any customizations to the system like raising the buckets 1 inch higher than the controller? I put 1 inch spacers in the outer bucket so the inner bucket wouldn't be sitting in water all the time. I also put hose clamps around all the tubing after I had one come off and get water everywhere.

Do you use the Cap system for both veg and flower? If so what were your feeding schedules for both stages? If you don't use the system for both veg and flower what did you use for veg and how easy was it to move/transplant to the cap system?


How often did you change the rez?

Which Nutes do you use?

Pros and cons of the CAP system?

Thanks to all

 

[blueybong]

Great idea! I'm interested in hearing from experienced users.

I did a DIY control bucket and I'm currently using it as a recirculating DWC. I'm following Lucas Formula which has been very stable. I'm flowering with Botanicare Pro Bloom & CalMag.

Next grow will be a true E&G.

 

[GreenThumbSucker]

Great idea! I'm interested in hearing from experienced users.

I did a DIY control bucket and I'm currently using it as a recirculating DWC. I'm following Lucas Formula which has been very stable. I'm flowering with Botanicare Pro Bloom & CalMag.

Next grow will be a true E&G.

Im using an Ebb and Grow right now. Having good results with it. Im also using the Lucas Formula, with very good results. See my signature line for my current grow.

 

[morrisgreenberg]

havent found a grow yet that had success with STG inserts, although STG's other types like cubes work well but not with theE & G, on stg's youtube video they put a piece of PVC inside the buckets to raise the insert so it doesnt sit in water, even the E & G instructions say if plants do not look healthy raise each bucket, you can see why it could happen, given that 2 inches of water at the bottom can accumulate salts. these issues can be solved by raising buckets or flushing monthly. one thing thats not discussed is actual flushing, sinces theres water everywhere inside the tubing it will take a few days to get it all out, my flush method goes like this. day 1 - dump rez fill with plain ph's water. day 2 - after the first 24 hours and a few flood cycles the ppms in your rez will be higher after mixing in with leftover water in the system, for this i dumpe the rez again and add ph'd plain water again. day 3 - after another 24 hours i dump and addback again or until my rez water ppm is less than 200. i do this only because theres so few flodd cycles to give it a thorough cleaning withing a day and tons of clay pellets hold onto salts, no matter the medium monthly flushing is key to never have problems, so IMO only the cleaning of clay and a good flush are the only laborious parts of using this system, completly idiot proof and amazing growth rates, actually the only system out there that comes close or surpasses the growth rate is aeroponics, which i have ditched for this

 

[blueybong]

Morris ~ I'll be starting my next plants by seeds and once they have a decent root system, I'll be transferring them into the E&G.

Q: how low does the plant sit inside the inner bucket?

Q2: should I cover the Rockwool with hydroton when transferring?

Thanks!

 

[morrisgreenberg]

you can set the plant or cube pretty low, the highest flood line is like 3 inches low from the tip of the bucket, so when adding your pellets you need not go all the way up, you will still have plenty room. make sure you place the rockwool cube 1/2 inch above flood line, this way the RW wont get wet, only the roots. what i do is i stick my buckets in with clay and all before i put plants in and let her flood for a cycle, i do a little digging in the clay pellets and find where its wet and just plop my RW cube 1/2inch above the wet clay pellets and voila! i dont think you need to cover thr rw unless you intend on getting the RW wet with each flood, this is why place 1/2in above waterline, we do not want constantly wet RW here, could cause issues down the road, like stem rot! other then that it wont be wet and it wont have algae, gosh these systems blow out beasts, do yourself a flava and let em veg for a month and give each bucket atleast 2sq ft

 

[mrduke]

hell yeah this is a great system I've been usung it for over a year with great results. Like mo said its almost fool proof and yes flushing takes a few days of res changes, Ionly do this at the end of the cycle. in this setup adding H2O2 really helps in keeping shit clean.

anyone ever tried coco chips in the E&G ???

 

[pluto420]

Yeah I am done with my stg experiment in this system. But with the rocks it is great.

If you want to do a good cleaning or rearrange the buckets how do you go about getting the water out of the controller bucket, lines, and outer buckets without getting water everywhere?

 

[morrisgreenberg]

drag a bin or tub in the room and pull the last bucket on the line and hold the line up higher...for real you think theres a way to not get water everywhere? let me know if you pull this off =)

 

[pluto420]

I know I have not been able to do it without getting water all over the place. But I just thought I would see if someone else came up a unique idea to do it. I basically do what you suggested and its to closest i have gotten to making the least mess to clean up.

 

[mrduke]

when i pull mine out I stack all the outer buckets in to two or three piles then get the old lady to help and we both carry them and the control out to the yard and dump its a pain in the ass but works

 

[blueybong]

I have a small fountain pump that fits nicely on the bottom of the out bucket(inner bucket goes into an empty bucket). I then pump the nutes out into one gallon jugs.

 

[pluto420]

GreenThumbSucker,

I read your journal and have a few questions if you dont mind.

First I noticed you kept your ph around 5.6 or 5.7 and you obviously had great results. I have always kept my ph around 5.9 - 6.0. I always thought ph was supposed to be higher that you use? You have more experience with me. I assume you would suggest lowering mine?

Secondly it appeared your flood schedule was 2 times a day during the early veg stage and then when the roots came out the bottom you went to 3 times. Did you ever go above 3 times during flower?

Thanks!

 

[Quemado]

Would you go with a 600w or 1000w for a 12 site set up? In a 4'9x4'9 tent

 

[national]

I USE 2 600 HPS WITH MY 12 SITE GOOD COVERAGE I THINK !!! COULD POSSIBLY USE 2 400 HPS OR 1 1000 HPS WITH GOOD REFLECTOR

Would you go with a 600w or 1000w for a 12 site set up? In a 4'9x4'9 tent

 

[GreenThumbSucker]

GreenThumbSucker, I read your journal and have a few questions if you dont mind.

First I noticed you kept your ph around 5.6 or 5.7 and you obviously had great results. I have always kept my ph around 5.9 - 6.0. I always thought ph was supposed to be higher that you use? You have more experience with me. I assume you would suggest lowering mine?

Secondly it appeared your flood schedule was 2 times a day during the early veg stage and then when the roots came out the bottom you went to 3 times. Did you ever go above 3 times during flower?

Thanks!

Hey, sorry it took so long to get back to you. If you look at the manufacturers instructions for most hydroponic ferts, they say to run your PH at 5.6-5.8. Anything between 5.6 - 6.0 is pretty much fine though. The reason I keep mine lower is because PH tends to rise and I dont like to have to mess with it. When I knock the PH down I will shoot for 5.5 - 5.6. Less chance it will go up out of range. If you run it higher you have to mess with it more often.

Once I had PH way too high for a couple days and I had some really weird bizarre growth and do not want to experience that again so I dont take chances..

The last three 3 or 4 weeks I usually knock it up to 4 times per day.

 

[Jack*Herrer420]

Would you go with a 600w or 1000w for a 12 site set up? In a 4'9x4'9 tent

1000w for sure.

 

[fluffygrrrl]

great thread, I've been looking for a forum just for ebb n gro users. It would be nice to have an exclusive thread just for us. Thanks for the tips so far, it can save all of us some headaches. I like the idea of buying hose clamps, can you find them anywhere Pluto? I bought 18 buckets and 2 1k lights. Using GH nutes. Hydroton. I am going to make a diy ebb and flow tray system to veg separately. Currently vegging and patiently waiting until the construction of my sealed grow room is finished.

My question.... I want to keep my reservoir out of the grow room because of heat issues and also I have a perfect spot next to my utility sink to clean drain, & fill. It is approx 6 feet away from my room. Is there any problems having it that far away? Can I keep the controller with the res as well, and just add extra lines? Can I add a pipe to thread hose through the drywall so I can keep the room properly sealed? I'm adding co2.

 

[pluto420]

Hey, sorry it took so long to get back to you. If you look at the manufacturers instructions for most hydroponic ferts, they say to run your PH at 5.6-5.8. Anything between 5.6 - 6.0 is pretty much fine though. The reason I keep mine lower is because PH tends to rise and I dont like to have to mess with it. When I knock the PH down I will shoot for 5.5 - 5.6. Less chance it will go up out of range. If you run it higher you have to mess with it more often.

Once I had PH way too high for a couple days and I had some really weird bizarre growth and do not want to experience that again so I dont take chances..

The last three 3 or 4 weeks I usually knock it up to 4 times per day.

Thanks for the answers. I lost this thread for a few days when the forum software was changed. The PH makes sense. I am going to give that try.

 

[pluto420]

great thread, I've been looking for a forum just for ebb n gro users. It would be nice to have an exclusive thread just for us. Thanks for the tips so far, it can save all of us some headaches. I like the idea of buying hose clamps, can you find them anywhere Pluto? I bought 18 buckets and 2 1k lights. Using GH nutes. Hydroton. I am going to make a diy ebb and flow tray system to veg separately. Currently vegging and patiently waiting until the construction of my sealed grow room is finished.

My question.... I want to keep my reservoir out of the grow room because of heat issues and also I have a perfect spot next to my utility sink to clean drain, & fill. It is approx 6 feet away from my room. Is there any problems having it that far away? Can I keep the controller with the res as well, and just add extra lines? Can I add a pipe to thread hose through the drywall so I can keep the room properly sealed? I'm adding co2.

Yes you can get the hose clamps pretty much and hardware store. I got mine at Home Depot. The size that worked for me was clamping range 3/8" to 7/8". Just dont tighten the clamp too tight. Nice and snug but if you grind it down as tight and you can get it you might cut into the tubing.

I dont see any problems with keeping your res that far away. Just need the tubing like you said. I dont have the space to put mine outside so its in the same room and only a few feet away but dont see why longer would be a problem. The main thing I think is to keep the controller and buckets the same level or having the buckets slightly higher.

Good luck!