Running Flood & Drain

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newportbeach949

Active Member
Hey yall i put together a flood & drain table 3 x 6 . Using Half of the table now with 20- 6 x 6 x i think 7 or 8 inch rockwool blocks. The other side filled with hydroton 50l bag, I have 2 hps 400s over the table but only 1 being used, i have a/c keepin temps around 78f with rh 49,

My question is i have been hand watering the cubes one a day for 4-5 days now in the cubes and
i just ran the table for the first time and it seems as tho the rockwool sucked 3 gallons up just being filled 1/3 of the way up the cubes..?

is this normal ? and should i worry over watering with these cubes ?

I have 20 hindu skunk about 10 inches tall, and doing fox farms nutes
 
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Dela

Active Member
the water shouldnt be touching the rockwool blocks at all, you should put the timer on so the water level floods just below the rockwool and then drains out
 
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newportbeach949

Active Member
Dela said:
the water shouldnt be touching the rockwool blocks at all, you should put the timer on so the water level floods just below the rockwool and then drains out
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? i was told from my hydro shop to run it a 1/3 up the cubes, that only an inch above the fill, not sure if your thinking about another hydro:peace: system
 
grandpabear3

grandpabear3

New Member
:peace: well i'm not an expert but i did stay at a holiday in last night!!!

i believe what the gentleman was refering to is .....you shouldn't have your rw on the bottom of the table....but it sounds like you have it sitting on some hydroton...if so....perfect....if not, shame on you.:eyesmoke:

any time you use rw you needn't water more than once a day...(per lights on).:mrgreen:
 
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newportbeach949

Active Member
bugsrnme said:
:peace: well i'm not an expert but i did stay at a holiday in last night!!!

i believe what the gentleman was refering to is .....you shouldn't have your rw on the bottom of the table....but it sounds like you have it sitting on some hydroton...if so....perfect....if not, shame on you.:eyesmoke:

any time you use rw you needn't water more than once a day...(per lights on).:mrgreen:
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thanks my manbongsmilie,

yes i'm useing the hydroton under the rockwool already and just waiting for the cubes to dry out, last time i watered was yesterday at 4pm and the cubes are still heavy and moist right now 230 pmbongsmilie
 
grandpabear3

grandpabear3

New Member
newportbeach949 said:
thanks my manbongsmilie,

think nothing of it....i fuckin love this place and all its done for me so i try to give back and hopefully do more good than bad:roll:

yes i'm useing the hydroton under the rockwool already

good btw i'd keep about and inch and a half of hydroton between the rw and the table.

and just waiting for the cubes to dry out, last time i watered was yesterday at 4pm and the cubes are still heavy and moist right now 230 pmbongsmilie
your only watering during lights on right??? and only at the beginning right/??
and what lighting do you have?

rockwool has a vicious wicking action ...that shit's like a vacuum
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let me know if i can help.
 
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newportbeach949

Active Member
lights are on 18/6 cycle

i have two 400 hps lights over the table with 1 shut off because the plants are all on one side right now.

Yup I only water when lights are on and within the first hour they turn on, I have to go buy a larger res because i only had a 30 gallon and it was not doing the job, so today when cubes dry i'm flushing with water and then hooking up the new 50 gallon res for tomarow.

Do you believe a 50 gallon res will work properly with this table ? or should i go bigger like 60ish ?

thanks man your a big help, i can post more pictures if you request
 
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newportbeach949

Active Member
and i have been water by hand for 4-5 days so yesterday i ran my 30 gallon res to test and the rockwool sucked what seems like it took a 1/5 of my water, so thats the hurdle right now
 
grandpabear3

grandpabear3

New Member
newportbeach949 said:
lights are on 18/6 cycle

i have two 400 hps lights over the table with 1 shut off because the plants are all on one side right now.
damn man...sorry. i could have read that on the first post..lolbongsmilie

Yup I only water when lights are on and within the first hour they turn on,
prefect!
I have to go buy a larger res because i only had a 30 gallon and it was not doing the job, so today when cubes dry i'm flushing with water and then hooking up the new 50 gallon res for tomarow.
holy shit man how the hell is that not enough???? do tell!!!
i have 25 gallon res's and each one supports 1 tray ...sometimes 2.
my trays are 2x4's and i have 32 plants in each one.
you only need to water for about 3-5 minutes

Do you believe a 50 gallon res will work properly with this table ? or should i go bigger like 60ish ?
waaaaayyyyy to big

thanks man your a big help, i can post more pictures if you request
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ya i wanna figure it all out for you:twisted:
now i'm invested and interested...damn you
 
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newportbeach949

Active Member
it starts draining through the overfill but it only has maybe 4 gallons left when the table is filled and starting to cycle,

I will buy a 40 gallon res and try it out, my 30 worked but after 2 cycles i would be afraid of it running out of water, i know i should top off with half strength ever couples days but even then i'm not sure that its enough
 
grandpabear3

grandpabear3

New Member
newportbeach949 said:
it starts draining through the overfill but it only has maybe 4 gallons left when the table is filled and starting to cycle,
so does mine....at the end of the 4 minute flood
I will buy a 40 gallon res and try it out, my 30 worked but after 2 cycles i would be afraid of it running out of water,
it'll only need to be topped off with fresh water every couple or few days...and ph'd to 5.8 of course. no extra nutes...a tank will last you about 2 weeks.
i'm tellin ya check the journal, it might help.

i know i should top off with half strength ever couples days
here i have to disagree as stated above.

but even then i'm not sure that its enough
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we'll get through this:mrgreen:

newportbeach949 said:
i'll grab some picture and a smoke sesh , will be back in 10
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ooohh sounds good ...i'll brb myself!!!

:joint::joint: or maybe a lilbongsmilie:eyesmoke::mrgreen:
 
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newportbeach949

Active Member
Plants are showing a little bit of overwatering , the leaves are drooping a little bit and cubes are still heavyish / wet on the bottoms, so i have not watered today, and the leaves are a tiny bit yellow in the center not the outside tips of leaf,

any helpfull tips ?,

i'm thinking of flushing with water tonight and changing the res for tomarow ?

is that a good solution to this problem ?
 
grandpabear3

grandpabear3

New Member
newportbeach949 said:
Plants are showing a little bit of overwatering , the leaves are drooping a little bit and cubes are still heavyish / wet on the bottoms, so i have not watered today, and the leaves are a tiny bit yellow in the center not the outside tips of leaf,

any helpfull tips ?,

i'm thinking of flushing with water tonight and changing the res for tomarow ?

is that a good solution to this problem ?
Click to expand...
no not reallyif the cubes cant dry out properly then you need to raise the level of hydroton to where the roots have to come down to feedout of the cube...they're drowning. get the cube out of the water level or just barely touch it at it's fullest...i'm telling you that shit sucks too much water....i use it but it's a pain sometimes.
 
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