HydroRed's DIY Budget Flood and Drain (approx $40 total)

Texagonian

Texagonian

Outlaw
HydroRed said:
Someone forgot to rinse their expanded clay pebbles first :p
Hope you got them electrical cords and plugs up off the wet ground too.


In a 5' tent, any kind of hydroponics will likely require relatively small plants. The tote setup is a lower profile than a 5 gal bucket with a netpot so you can figure having that, plus the space the light/filter etc take up. Subtract all that from 5' and thats how tall of plants you can grow. But to answer yor question, yes this will work great in there if height restrictions are taken into consideration. The dimensions of the "tray in tote" are approx:
20" W x 30" L x 20" H all set up with pots ready to grow.
Click to expand...
I almost mentioned not rinsing the hydroton. I double rinsed mine and still had a little dust in there. It’s cleared up now, but if I wouldn’t have I would have had to change the res sooner. Still haven’t changed mine actually. This Friday is the day and a quick cleaning of the tote and it’s back to the races!
 
TerpyTyrone

TerpyTyrone

LED Recruiter
HydroRed said:
Someone forgot to rinse their expanded clay pebbles first :p
Hope you got them electrical cords and plugs up off the wet ground too.


In a 5' tent, any kind of hydroponics will likely require relatively small plants. The tote setup is a lower profile than a 5 gal bucket with a netpot so you can figure having that, plus the space the light/filter etc take up. Subtract all that from 5' and thats how tall of plants you can grow. But to answer yor question, yes this will work great in there if height restrictions are taken into consideration. The dimensions of the "tray in tote" are approx:
20" W x 30" L x 20" H all set up with pots ready to grow.
Click to expand...
Ive been touched by the power of electricity before. It makes my heart go boom boom. Hahaha. No biggie 15 amp 120v.
But I did rinse though, why did u think that red? I rinsed, soaked, rinsed , tested the ph.
All good I will check the ph now.
My wedding dub seed is gonna be a big bitch. Oh the expectations for such a small little seed.
I got a zip and a half left. Man I gotta get some shit in the tent and flowered. Asap. I gotta go shit I smoke atleast a couple grams a day.
 
Cob_nUt

Cob_nUt

"Justa Ganja Lover"
Texagonian said:
I almost mentioned not rinsing the hydroton. I double rinsed mine and still had a little dust in there. It’s cleared up now, but if I wouldn’t have I would have had to change the res sooner. Still haven’t changed mine actually. This Friday is the day and a quick cleaning of the tote and it’s back to the races!
Click to expand...
That hydroton sludge will make your ph go bonkers.It fucks with it somehow,constant drifts.
 
Hydro

Hydro

PICK YOUR OWN
TerpyTyrone said:
Ive been touched by the power of electricity before. It makes my heart go boom boom. Hahaha. No biggie 15 amp 120v.
But I did rinse though, why did u think that red? I rinsed, soaked, rinsed , tested the ph.
All good I will check the ph now.
My wedding dub seed is gonna be a big bitch. Oh the expectations for such a small little seed.
I got a zip and a half left. Man I gotta get some shit in the tent and flowered. Asap. I gotta go shit I smoke atleast a couple grams a day.
Click to expand...
Oh, it looked like you forgot to rinse from the orange residue in the tote. That stuff can be like sandpaper to the inner workings of your submersible pump. I've had a few instances of "reminders" at the hands of electricity too haha
 
Evergreengardener

Evergreengardener

Agronomist,
@HydroRed man you know I’ve considered the switch before even though I love me some soil. But this makes it look like I might and from all the empty fish tanks I have floating around I have every part needed. Think I’ll look for a tray that’ll sit into a tank and just spray paint the outside glass to keep light out.

Edit: I have played with both dwc and flood and drain over the years might give it another shot.

And my neighbors are used to seeing me out in the driveway washing five gallon buckets full of stones all the time
 
B

Boybelue

Super Active Member
spyralout said:
Do you think the veg and stretch stage is the only advantage in hydro? Do you see a big difference in bud formation (speed and size)?
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I've done both and I still ask myself that same question. No dought plants veg faster and get big and strong in a hurry, I think flower still takes the same amount of time, but are the flowers actually bigger than a soil grown plant vegged to the same size prior to flower? I honestly cant say, I used to think so but now I kinda feel that when flower hits it's all the same.
 
gwheels

gwheels

Hobby Farmer
Flower time is the same length of time. I think the advantage is a 2 week veg or straight from seed is going to get bigger in water. So bigger plants total up to more buds (not more bigger buds but i wanted too!).

The reason I think they veg so fast is they do not have to get the roots to the bottom of the pot to start shooting up. As soon as those roots hit solution they start really growing fast. And when you introduce them to 12 12 (I usually veg 1 to 2 weeks to stabalize roots) hydro plants grow faster than coco plants. Here is where they probably gain the most difference. The initial stretch is stretchier and bigger.

The coco and water systems flowered at the same pace. The water systems produced a lot more in the same veg time.

they are a different pain in the ass from coco. I will still use them all. :D If a water system fails i have 4 in coco pots to the rescue. Harvest is saved!
 
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B

Boybelue

Super Active Member
gwheels said:
Flower time is the same length of time. I think the advantage is a 2 week veg or straight from seed is going to get bigger in water. So bigger plants total up to more buds (not more bigger buds but i wanted too!).

The reason I think they veg so fast is they do not have to get the roots to the bottom of the pot to start shooting up. As soon as those roots hit solution they start really growing fast. And when you introduce them to 12 12 (I usually veg 1 to 2 weeks to stabalize roots) hydro plants grow faster than coco plants. Here is where they probably gain the most difference.

The coco and water systems flowered at the same pace. The water systems produced a lot more in the same veg time.

they are a different pain in the ass from coco. I will still use them all. :D If a water system fails i have 4 in coco pots to the rescue. Harvest is saved!
Click to expand...
That's good practice to, I always keep me a backup in soil or coco, because in hydro you never know, things can go bad in a hurry.
 
Hydro

Hydro

PICK YOUR OWN
Boybelue said:
I've done both and I still ask myself that same question. No dought plants veg faster and get big and strong in a hurry, I think flower still takes the same amount of time, but are the flowers actually bigger than a soil grown plant vegged to the same size prior to flower? I honestly cant say, I used to think so but now I kinda feel that when flower hits it's all the same.
Click to expand...
Though I havent grown in soil for probably 20+ years and Ive learned quite a bit since growing in soil.....Ive never had flowers like this at 6wks in soil lol
WW 6 wks - Copy.jpg
True things can go south quick with hydroponics, but they recover and adjust just as quickly too.
 
Hydro

Hydro

PICK YOUR OWN
BigBallzWillie said:
Fwiw.... this tray on amazon fits nicely in the hdx tote and a little smaller than the lowes tote in length. I have three as a catchall at the bottom of my flower tent. Needed cleaning so I checked the fits when I took it out.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AQ0CDI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Click to expand...
The dimensions say 36"x20"x6" in the link. Its too long by about 10" or so (thats what she said).
I wonder if they offer 2 sizes like the ones at the home improvement stores?
 
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