Simple DIY 2x3 Flood Table W/ Tray Stand For $100 Or Less

waterdawg

Well-Known Member
Yes I saw that and i had that as well but I put another out the side 1/2" that would drain if the two drains in the tray plugged. It only happened a couple of times and just a trickle but gave me a heads up to issues. Keep in mind I ran pump 24/7 so shit happened fast lol also my pump fitting was not a drain at end of cycle so only one drain.
 

waterdawg

Well-Known Member
Oh and the major factor of flood times is how much medium your using. I changed my ebb n flow buckets to use 5" net pots so there is very little hydroton. So they can be flooded more. Last grow I used 2 gallon net pots and I could only flood every 6 hours or so. The more medium the less you'll flood and the less medium the more you'll flood.
I had issues when using rock wool cubes to start seedlings. Once in the hydroton they stayed too wet and I drastically reduced flood times till roots developed.
 

AlphaPhase

Well-Known Member
I had issues when using rock wool cubes to start seedlings. Once in the hydroton they stayed too wet and I drastically reduced flood times till roots developed.
Two drains sounds like a fine idea! I never thought of that, but having a back up drain would be great. I had issues with rockwool as well, I ditched them many years ago and recently gave the root plugs (root riot cubes I think they are called) and they don't hold very much water at all and no Ph'ing them or anything like that, they come ready to use out of the bag and pre moistened. Under my floro lights, i mist the plugs with a spray bottle a couple times a day, they actually work very well, I was hesitant to try them at first but it turned out to be pretty good for starting seeds! Give them a look and a try, you might like them
 

AlphaPhase

Well-Known Member
Oh, and one thing i do is i make sure the plug is high enough in the net pot so the water doesn't reach the plugs, i put a few layers of hydroton in the net pot, then the root plug, then back fill with hydroton so 1/3" of the plug is above the net pot, seems to be working great
 

waterdawg

Well-Known Member
Yes I looked at them and actually tried to locate at the one grow shop we have lol. I'll order a bag online. Last run I germed in paper towel and threw the hatchlings in crevices. I now run spray nozzles.
 

AlphaPhase

Well-Known Member
Spray nozzles like aeroponic? Or spray nozzles like top feed? I love aero but i just haven't had the space to set up rails, when i finally get my shit together and buy a house instead of renting i'll definitly be running aero :)
 

waterdawg

Well-Known Member
Spray nozzles like aeroponic? Or spray nozzles like top feed? I love aero but i just haven't had the space to set up rails, when i finally get my shit together and buy a house instead of renting i'll definitly be running aero :)
Not true aero, low pressure sprayers but everyone calls it that lol. I use trays with manifolds as opposed to rails but have the rails sitting in the garage already drilled, kinda think roots would be an issue with them. i have everything to do true aero but nervous re lots can go wrong lol. The trays work really well fyi. The thing is I have had to raise nute levels considerably so thinking not as efficient as flood and drain but real newb lol. Hoping to get two pounds with a 25 day veg out of this run which should be finished in two or three weeks and running two trays about your size.
 

AlphaPhase

Well-Known Member
Wow 2 lbs is really good, under a 1000w? I used to get 2 on my 36 plant flood table but it was a lot of work doing 36 clones for each table, no veg time though. I'm hoping to get 20-25 Oz in my 5x5 tent with 11 plants in it, 16+ is gonna come from the 6 purple paralysis, which will save my ass since the other strains look to be low yield phenos :( I have two I took a chance on running and they look like real low yielding strains. How many plants each tub for your low pressure system? Shit, man now you got me thinking again lol. I could easily put 2 2x3 trays under a 1000 in my 5x5 tent, I've been wanting to do no veg clones for flowering for while now, it can get pretty crowded in my flower room if I veg longer than 2 weeks, sucks I don't have any Indicas going
 

waterdawg

Well-Known Member
Well I'm hoping lol. We'll see but things are bulking up nicely. I was in Mexico for 9 days and ph got a bit high but not bad. I have 12 plants under 3-400's due to power limits I can only run 1500 watts and things got crazy running 12. Next time it will be 4 per tray lol. I'm doing a pure Afgani strain and doing jean guy next.
 

AlphaPhase

Well-Known Member
I'd love to swap my 1000w for 2 600s someday, the 3 400s must be awesome coverage, I like that idea, bet you can get them pretty close too. I'd love to do an Afghan sometime, or a Thai. There's a blue lemon thai that has my attention I might pull the trigger on soon.
 

waterdawg

Well-Known Member
Yup 400's work ok. I only have a 600 and a 1000, next run will be two 600's. The jean guy is also very good but have not ran it so we'll see. Its a long one so need to fill the cupboards lol. My goto strain is White Russian and will do that as well next but its a stretchy one lol.
 

AlphaPhase

Well-Known Member
I've thought about growing a white Russian too, the smoke is so good! The stretchy plants I am starting to like, I flowered my current plants at between 8-10" and they are over 30" tall now but there's sooooo many bud sites. Only 17 days of veg so it saved me so much time running these sativa doms, I'd like to do some indicas because the sativas keep me up at night, but I've been having much better yield with sativas lately. I have aurora and mk ultra I'll be running for indicas next grow, should be fun. Oh and I popped a freebie fruity chronic juice seed too, not sure what to think about something called fruity chronic juice but i figured i'd give it a chance lol
 

BlackHIppy

New Member
Hello, RIU...
I'm new here and new to flood tables.. I would like to start up a flood table and im wondering what keeps the table from over filling, and is this on a continuous cycle or will i need timers ?
 

AlphaPhase

Well-Known Member
Hello, RIU...
I'm new here and new to flood tables.. I would like to start up a flood table and im wondering what keeps the table from over filling, and is this on a continuous cycle or will i need timers ?
You need an ebb bulkhead kit. They are about $12 for the pieces. One is a for filling the table with the water from the reservoir, the other is the overflow. Once the water reaches the overflow bulkhead, the water drains back into the res until the timer turns off. It's supposed to be cycled with a timer.

bulkhead.jpg
 

BlackHIppy

New Member
Thank you very much AlphaPhase I highly appreciate your response:clap::cool:... also, how long do i need to run the timers and how often? I plan on setting it up with rockwool
 

AlphaPhase

Well-Known Member
No problem brotha. 15min cycles is the average. I don't have experience with Rockwool but from memory 2-3 floods per day is normal, but you might want to check this info as I'm not positive
 

BlackHIppy

New Member
No problem brotha. 15min cycles is the average. I don't have experience with Rockwool but from memory 2-3 floods per day is normal, but you might want to check this info as I'm not positive
Thank you once again bro... After I asked the question, I was searching for information and found that for :
Hydroton Clay Pebbles 4 - 10 times per day
Rockwool Cubes 1 - 2 times per day
50/50 Coco/Perliet 1 - 3 times per day
does that sound about right?
 
I use the same cement mixing tub. For a table I am using a small table I built out of a scrap piece of plywood (3/4" thick) and a space 4x4 I had laying around for the legs. I just drilled a 6" hole for the fill and drain holes and I put 3/4" holes in all 4 corners so I can mount a screen made out of PVC.

This is the table with the screen, but before I modified with the 6" hole for the drain tubes.



The screen can be moved up and down by sliding them in the holes. You will want to paint or at least seal the table top. But its super stable and you can adjust the height of the table based on how you cut your 4x4 legs. You can also give the table a slight slope if you want to help the table drain, or I just put a small strip of 3/4" plywood at the end to give it a slope.


Before I put the table in:
That netting is amazing? Did you make that yourself? I need that in my life right now.
 

AlphaPhase

Well-Known Member
Thank you once again bro... After I asked the question, I was searching for information and found that for :
Hydroton Clay Pebbles 4 - 10 times per day
Rockwool Cubes 1 - 2 times per day
50/50 Coco/Perliet 1 - 3 times per day
does that sound about right?
That does sound right on track. I think following those numbers you'd be all good. I use hydroton and flood so much, but rockwool holds quite a bit of water so they need to be flooded much less
 
Top