It's an ebb & flow system. I'll drill 2 holes in the bottom of those trays. 3 times a day the tubs will be filled with about 2½ inches of water, then completely drained back to the main reservoir. Not really that big of a plumbing problem. Must use aquarium silicone!

Look sport, I built all of the flood and drain tables I use, and posted the build. When you flood a tray, you must completly drain the water away from the plants. These tray without something added to the bottom of the tray will not do that. You would have to countersink your fittings so they would not sit higher than the bottom of the tray. Or add something for the plants to sit on in the tray, I have about 15' by 42" of a material that does a dandy job. Stop by and pick some up if you like, I buy the trays now, they are made to drain.

What you are saying now defeats your whole purpose, the idea was you could use a smaller res for all of the trays, if you flood them all at once ...??

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What kind of material are you suggesting for lifting the plants? I'm in the southwest usa so stopping by would be difficult.

I do plan to use fittings that sit below the bottom of the pan for complete drainage. Plus, the pans will be slightly tilted (one degree or so). I definitely don't want any standing water in there.

I'm not going to flood them all at once. I'll flood them one at a time.

You made trays? What did you make them out of? You buy trays now? Do the old ones wear out fast?

hey download sea of green 3. its a complete guide to SOG with hydroponics. It should answer most of your questions.

Is that a book, movie, program, term paper . . . ?

I am using the same trays. The only problem is they are flimsy on the bottom and dont drain well in some spots! Other than that they work great!! I feel the same as you...Why pay 100 dollars when you can pay 10. Good luck to you!!

Excellent. Thank you Dirtfree. How many grows have you completed in them? Are they getting UV-bleached and degrading?

HAHAHAHAHAHA. You could have answered your question by reading any of my threads, I have been a member for a little over 2 years and have only started 10 threads, 7 of them are DIY threads.
Yep, I buy the trays now, and build the table to put them on, install the casters and reses.
NO, they have been replaced because there are problems with drainage. I am trying to save your ass, because I have done it, and you are trying to be a smart ass. It would probably be better to be smart. And it would cost you a lot less too. That doesn't mean I don't like ya............yet. VV

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[quote=Dirtfree;1707211]I am using the same trays. The only problem is they are flimsy on the bottom and dont drain well in some spots! Other than that they work great!!
See whatimeanvern. VV

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Where was I being a smart-ass? I'm looking for help and I appreciate advise. I didn't do a background check on you prior to asking you about your experiences. Sorry, if your reputation didn't precede you.

I checked your journal (prior to your response) and didn't see a description of your tub. I didn't read all 52 pages though.

I'M NOT ARGUING WITH YOU. I'm honestly looking for advise. I MAY not take it . . . but I'll listen. Mr Green used the same tub in his grow-video and I was planning on doing the exact same thing. You used orchid pellets in individual square pots (if I remember correctly)? Is having the ability to move them important? I had planned on simply filling the tub with pellets and using the large RW cubes.

I can see where the plumbing would be a bit exotic. Let me explain how I was thinking it should work. Each mix-tub (3 probably) would be plumbed to their own pump. I could zip tie the pump line and the return line together and drop them in the res. Each pump will be on a separate plug timer ($10ea). That way I'll only be using about 5 gallons of fluid from the reservoir at a time. When it's time to flush or go half-nute, I can simply drop that pump line into a different reservoir. This way each mix-tub is doing it's own thing, but still sharing the primary nutrient supply.

I see that there is only so much I can do about standing water in the bottom of the tub if my fittings are 1/8" high. I will do whatever I can to eliminate this issue. (FYI, I work in the plastics industry. I design and mfg things like cell phones, buttons & connectors. So when I say I'll do "whatever" I can do . . . I have the resources available to do far more than most!) So, what if there is a tiny puddle on one end of the tub? TINY! I know it's bad, but every tub will have some issues?

Thanks for the help everyone.