Simple DIY'S: Ebb & Flow System

AfricanGrower

AfricanGrower

Well-Known Member
:welcome::420: Hello all its AG here with a step by step breakdown of how I went about creating my version of a “CapnStyle” ebb & flow system! I however tweaked a couple of elements for instance one reservoir, feeding one pump into two different 5gal lines. I started off with the following supplies all bought online or your nearest hardware store:

X2 black vinyl tubing ½ id (inner diameter)

X2 vinyl tubing ¾ id

X1 T-connector ½ outer diameter

X1 210GPH submersible water pump

X2 5gal buckets

X2 sunleaves fill & drain kit

X1 45gal reservoir tank (overkill I know ;) )

I first took the black vinyl tubing and cut a good 3in off the end.
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Then attached that to the bottom part of the T-connecter and the remaining two black vinyl tubing on each cross section.
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Once the pump comes into play it should look something like this:welldone:.
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Instead of drilling holes in the bottom side of the 5gal as Capn did, I opted to put the ½ in fill hole on the bottom of each bucket :bong:
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Connecting the ¾ in tubing to the top drain pipe and the ½ in tubing to the bottom-side fill pipe.
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I filled the 45gal reservoir halfway, anticipating about 20-25 gal to work with.
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After placing the pump in and turning the system on, the 5gal buckets took 4min to fill and once the system turned off, around 5min to drain.
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I then refilled the reservoir and turned the pump to the lowest setting. I also decided to take out the blue top fill and bottom-sided drain ‘caps’ giving a more ‘complete’ fill & drain effect.
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This system took around 8min to fill and 9min to drain, giving a total of 17min each bucket. Anticipating the water displacement created by the rock wool cube, this time might shorten to around 13-15min each bucket, which I think is near perfect, no?
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There was some slight leaking in the 1 ¼ in hole the fill & drain kit was attached to. And I took care of this problem later with some epoxy.
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re: Simple DIY'S: Ebb & Flow System

I had also ran into another slight problem with my order. I had gotten the 3.5gal nursery pots as Capn suggested in his posts, but instead of a #5 3.5gal pot, the store sent me a #3 3gal nursery pot! So with a very good suggestion from a friend, I took a 5gal lid and used that as a smaller circumfernced base for the 3gal nursery pot. Here are the simple steps unto how I achieved this ;)

1. I cut the rim of one of the five 3gal nursery pots I had.
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2. I used the cutting as a marker tool for the approximate cutting diameter of the lid.
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3. I then drilled 'pre-holes' using a 7-amp wired on a 1 ¼ in drill bit into the lid creating a sort of sketch of circle.
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4. I further drilled and popped the piece out.
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5. I then used a knife to shape the remaining on what attempted to look like a circle :bong:
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6. And voila!! It fit, and now I trust I can find another lid since I will have to do it again for my other bucket.
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>>>This looks great. Plusreps. Have you tried it out yet?

Thanks Rico! If you mean for a grow, no.this will be my first time attempting a hydro setup, but I'm very confident that I will produce a reputable yield based on others experience with almost exact setups. ;)
But I have tested the system in multiple dry runs and it's perfect.

Here I have my last dry run with the 3gal nursing pots fitted and the pump running continuously for 20+min without fail:
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Hey AG! Looking good man. This is some stoner engineering for sure. REALLY nice write up and great explanation with pictures. While your seedlings are growing, here are a few things I would do...

Get a roll of black duct tape and tape up the white bucket and the clear hose, or they will grow algae inside.

For the output, I don't cut a hole in the nursery pot. I use the blue screen, but I cut about 1/2" off the end of it, so the nursery pot fits over it, and the water can still drain out. As you have it, the rockwool grow cubes/root will eventually clog it. What you could do, is go to the hydro store and get a couple 3" NET pots, and position them over the output. This would keep the screen clear and should work well.

For the drain and fill fittings, if you put the rubber washer on the INSIDE of the bucket, it shouldn't leak.

Are you using those nursery pots with the rim cut off, or are you leaving them on? If you are cutting them off, just make sure it can't FALL into the 5 gallon bucket. Once you have rockwool and a big chonger plant it there, it will be heavy on the nursery pot.

Be sure to upgrade your plant's pot size in small increments, rather than going straight to the 3 gallon pots. This will build a big root mass!

I can't remember how much room and how much light you said you have to work with. Are you are going to veg them long and go for one pounders? Or are you looking to grow 4 ouncers?

Either way I think you will be pleased with the results. By doing the ebb and flow, you will fully saturate the rock wool, and the root mass will use every bit of the medium. The top feed systems I do work well too, but I think the ebb and flow works better ;-)
 
Give us the rest of the details on your grow! What strain are you growing? What light are you using? Nutrients, etc! I'm subscribed and looking forward to a holiday season harvest. I have a feeling your friends will be getting some HERB as a Christmas gift.
 
>>>Get a roll of black duct tape and tape up the white bucket and the clear hose, or they will grow algae inside.

Thanks for the tip, I got some aluminum duct tape that I can use.

>>>For the output, I don't cut a hole in the nursery pot. I use the blue screen, but I cut about 1/2" off the end of it, so the nursery pot fits over it, and the water can still drain out. As you have it, the rockwool grow cubes/root will eventually clog it.

Ah, I see now, that had not even crossed my mind yet :stoned: I am 75% sure I have some metal screen laying around, so I'll put that to good use. And once again there is not a hydro shop in sight in my new area, so I would have to order anything like that.

>>>For the drain and fill fittings, if you put the rubber washer on the INSIDE of the bucket, it shouldn't leak.

I had been given two rubber washers per fitting putting one on each side. I'm no plumbing expert, but shouldn't that hold the water better? Anyway I've stopped all leaking with the epoxy (or rubber cement) ;)


>>>Are you using those nursery pots with the rim cut off, or are you leaving them on?

Ahem, no I sure am not using the nursery pot with the rims cut off, in fact I had purchased five, and had used the one you saw cut off as an outline for where to drill the holes in the lid. I still have two untouched 3.5 gallon nursery pots that I can still substitute for the ones I cut a square into (after applying the metal netting of course).

>>>Be sure to upgrade your plant's pot size in small increments, rather than going straight to the 3 gallon pots. This will build a big root mass!

I've got the seedlings in 1 pint clay pots for now until I can get a solid root mass, I'm still trying to find something a size in between 3.5gal and 1 pt.

>>>I can't remember how much room and how much light you said you have to work with. Are you are going to veg them long and go for one pounders? Or are you looking to grow 4 ouncers?

I have a 6ft+ x 4ft x 3ft (h x l x w) space and while I wait I'm still trying to find a tent that will fit my needs and grow space. I sent you a reply PM with more info, go check it out! :blunt: With 48inches of length to work with I want to grow two plants at 7inch more than you recommended to get to a 1lb monstah! Hopefully with topping and some kind of scrog/lst I will be able to veg for at least 60 days to at most (I planned to veg for exactly 9 weeks starting a flowering period from November 2nd, and estimated harvest hopefully early January!) and flower for 60 days.

>>>Either way I think you will be pleased with the results. But I think the ebb and flow works better ;-). This is some stoner engineering for sure. REALLY nice write up and great explanation with pictures.

Thanks man, I appreciate it given your experience. I also had a great feeling as soon as I saw your design of how an ebb&flow actually works!

>>>Give us the rest of the details on your grow! What strain are you growing? What light are you using? Nutrients, etc! I'm subscribed and looking forward to a holiday season harvest. I have a feeling your friends will be getting some HERB as a Christmas gift.

First off how'd you know I was planning a mass secret Santa of bud to my closest, haha you got me there!
To answer all of your questions go to my grow journal in my sig or CLICK HERE
 
AG, in redesigning my little hydro buckets, I ran into a little bump. I want to build it with the ebb and flow capability which includes a spill way pvc pipe. However, I really need the ability to easily raise and lower the spill pipe, possibly frequently as ebb and flow is but one of my setup's functions. Here is a general overview. I want top access for water in and out. Ability to control water level in the root chamber by raising and lowering the pipe with the gray barb. A hole is drilled into the side to allow water to spill in and down to the res. With this design, I can remain in my very confined space and do nute changes, check ppm and ph frequently, and get water temps if need be. I have a couple of the hydrofarm rubber grommets that fit tightly over the 1/2" PVC, but raising and lowering is very tough and can easily blow the seal, especially with the soft plastic of these little totes. Do you have any ideas how to accommodate this ability? Sorry if this is placed in an improper thread.
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Hey SB,

Cool design you drew out there, but with E&B, you really don't need any sprayer bars like you're showing in your diagram. The input simply fills in from the bottom. Then when the power goes out to the water pump, all the water drains back to the res, through the pump. If I'm missing the point of something different you are trying to accomplish, let me know.




I create an adjustable output by using the extender pieces that come with the fill and drain kit. You can buy extra pieces of it from the hydro store. It is hard to see in this picture, but on the drain fitting, there are actually two, two inch pieces. You can add more.



If you're going to use rockwool, it's not necessary to flood them all the way to the top. I usually just go about 3/4th up. The more nutrient solution I have in the reservoir, the more I have to waste during res changes.
 
Capn, this is a system that I already have running that can function as an aeroponic, E&F and DWC. I'm guessing that in order for it to truly function as a DWC, the pump would need to stay on indefinitely, which may not be ideal. Right now I am using the aeroponic function for 2 clones and 4 seedlings, however I might look to change the delivery type when the roots get a bit longer and at that point I'd really like there be a way to not have to open the lid as these totes are very flimsy and they are nearly press fitted into my grow space so res changes and other reasons to get in there must be able to be performed w/o moving the system or opening the lid. I'm going to the hydro store today for a pH pen and will talk to the guy about this. But for this to work at all, the spill tube needs to be adjustable from the top.
 
ok I had a feeling that was the case.

This is when I walk around the hardware store, aimlessly, looking for anything that might fit my application :hmmmm:

You might be on to something here. Once you perfect that thing, you should package it up and call it the "SkyGrower".
 
DAMMN, I just finished typing up a stellar response to your design Sky, and it all got deleted! I'm a little more irritated this wonderful morning ;)

I had previously written asking if the left PVC pipe would also be used as the float indicator you have been perfecting? Also that the grommet idea for the right PVC pipe was a brilliant idea and the first application it reminded me of is the up and down motion of a hydraulic slider! Though I have no way of implementing it to your design, I thought of a design that has many flaws in it. By using your rubber grommet and fitting a similarly sized metal grommet on the inner side to create a less frictionless surface for the PVC pipe. But a 'tight' fit still won't give us the water-tight seal you are aiming for!

Maybe instead of an 'up & down' adjustable pipe, have one that stays put and has different screw caps located on the PVC pipe at different heights. This will leave you just to unscrew and re-screw the exact level of where you want your nutrients to reach before draining back. Though it will only limit you to a few amount of adjustable heights!
 
The guy at the hydro store suggested the same thing, but b/c my grow room is so timy and I have a good amount of stuff crammed in, accessing under the lid is virtually a pain in the ass. I picked up a 3/4" uniseal from the hydro store, my ph pen and some other goodies. Doing a dry fit, the uniseal appears to not be a great seal on the 1/2" sch 40 PVC, but this may change when the uniseal is mounted in something, we'll see. Also, the store owner suggested that I lightly coat the spill pipe with Vaseline to aid in the sliding. I am concerned about it chemically altering the nutes, but he said I'd be fine. I'll look into that anyway. Also got the rest of the parts I need from Lowe's to make the system disassemble easily. Basically replacing the 1/2" Tee with a 1/2" compression Tee, so no more flared ends to worry about fitting through a fixed diameter hole. I should have a DIY thread up in about 4 hours. And yes AG, the spill pipe also serves as a guide for the float, but the float needs to be redesigned b/c apparently the vinyl eraser with PVC cement did not create an air tight seal with the straw. I don't know if the straw degraded or the eraser, but water penetrates causing the float to sink, so back to the drawing board on that.
 
Spit on it and slide it in , you don't need no petro jelly... LOL , seriously just spit on it.

PEACE


Skybound said:
The guy at the hydro store suggested the same thing, but b/c my grow room is so timy and I have a good amount of stuff crammed in, accessing under the lid is virtually a pain in the ass. I picked up a 3/4" uniseal from the hydro store, my ph pen and some other goodies. Doing a dry fit, the uniseal appears to not be a great seal on the 1/2" sch 40 PVC, but this may change when the uniseal is mounted in something, we'll see. Also, the store owner suggested that I lightly coat the spill pipe with Vaseline to aid in the sliding. I am concerned about it chemically altering the nutes, but he said I'd be fine. I'll look into that anyway. Also got the rest of the parts I need from Lowe's to make the system disassemble easily. Basically replacing the 1/2" Tee with a 1/2" compression Tee, so no more flared ends to worry about fitting through a fixed diameter hole. I should have a DIY thread up in about 4 hours. And yes AG, the spill pipe also serves as a guide for the float, but the float needs to be redesigned b/c apparently the vinyl eraser with PVC cement did not create an air tight seal with the straw. I don't know if the straw degraded or the eraser, but water penetrates causing the float to sink, so back to the drawing board on that.
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