advise on 4x8 ebb and flow tray

[indianchopper]

greeting, this will be my 1st grow. just bought a new 4x8 ebb and flow system with stand and 115 gallon reservoir. and thinking of using advanced nutrients, with 2- 1000 watt sun system switchable units. my space is approx 13x10 I put the table in the middle of the space, my concerns are my basement ceiling height is 7' 6'' and my tray height is approx. 20''tall this will not leave much room to grow. how many plants would someone plant in that area? and how long to veg? and how much yield, is advanced nutrients worth the extra cash? please advise thanks

 

[Old_SSSC_Guy]

Everybody has their own opinion on size and what you can do with it (smile). A 13x10 ought to hold a about 20-30 plants from seed, more as cuttings. They look all small and like you are wasting space at first but they will grow to fill the space. With about 20 you'd have room left for storage, ballasts, etc.

But thats a LOT of reservoir for a recirculating system! You might want to price out what it will cost to change and refill 110 gallons. Maybe somebody else will have a better opinon but I'd try more like 30-50 gallons and make sure I'd need that much more. Depending on where you live you might also be looking at aquarium heaters to keep 110 gallons of water at about 70 degrees. During the winter its not as much as a light system - but its still going to add to the monthly expense and amp use.

Just an opinion...

 

[indianchopper]

thanks old guy for your input. my tray along is 80 gallons to the top. so if I fill it 1/2 way should only need 50 gallons in reservoir. and when the plants get bigger add more water. I was wondering when I fill my reservoir could I add some hot water because well water is 50 f and it take for ever to warm up with a aquarium heater?

 

[LEFTHAND]

thanks old guy for your input. my tray along is 80 gallons to the top. so if I fill it 1/2 way should only need 50 gallons in reservoir. and when the plants get bigger add more water. I was wondering when I fill my reservoir could I add some hot water because well water is 50 f and it take for ever to warm up with a aquarium heater?

plug your holes in your table.... have your over flow set to where you want it.... fill table with hydroton... measure how much water ti takes to fill the table just to the over flowing part.. thats how much it willl take to fill your table... take that number times it by 3 and bing bang boom you have your perfect res to fit your table.. and that will allow you to leave for a few days with out having to add water into your res..... and you want your res water to stay nice and cool.. warm water and roots dont mix to well..
any water from your tap should stay out for 24-48 hrs.. to let the chlorine evaporate...
LH

 

[Old_SSSC_Guy]

Lefthand is spot on. I'd only add to never let the 50-f water on your plants and do not use any hot water (the scale will shift your pH).

If you have room for it, consider getting a 30-50 gal barrel and put a couple of aquarium heaters and a bubble stone in it. Then refill the reservoir from that source and not from the tap. We got a cool 30 gallon one from a big plastics company on the net, cost about $45 I think, then added a 200 watt fishy heater and a 12" bubble ring & air pump. Worth every penny. After about 24 hrs the water feels all soft and warm and makes you want to splash in it... heh...

 

[indianchopper]

thanks for all the help. question I have my well is 250 ft deep and has no chlorine, do i still have to let it sit?

 

[LEFTHAND]

i would let it sit to bring it up to room temp.. then your not changing the temp up and down so bad...
.. i bet the well water is damn cold..
ours on the farm was.
LH

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

howdy chopper , first off, ya done right buying that 115 gal res. i am currently running the same size setup as you are and can give you some dimensions and plant occupation limits..my flower room is 6x10x 6.8 and the 4x8 sits right in the middle. i can fit 10 really big plants in there or 18 regular big plants. i would suggest setting your fill level to fill at least half of the tray during pump runs.i think you'll find that if you use the 10" mesh bottom pots, you can fit 3 rows of 6 in there very comfortably.you may want to consider dividing that 10x13' room down to 6-7x10 to confine the light spread.check out my "new" journal or PM me if you have any questions..

 

[indianchopper]

thanks guys for the in put. I bought sure to grow blocks, called the rep from the company. he told me to start with the 1''1/2'' blocks until rooted, then put them in the 4''x4'' blocks and roll the 1/2'' x4'x8' mat on the table. the blocks will sit on that and the roots will grow into the fiber mat. he also told me to fill and and drain 5 times when lights are on , and 1 time lights off. has any one used sure to grow blocks?

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

i fill for 1 hour and 2 off around the clock...i take it you're growing full term in this tray ? no separate veg room ?

 

[indianchopper]

puff monkey have a question for ya, how many gallons do you use in your reservoir? on 4x8 tray

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

right now, 70

 

[indianchopper]

how far along?

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

i thibk the blocks you have will work great but you might wanna try hydroton especialy if you don't have to transplant them.

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

i use as much water as i can whenever i can...i'm limited to 70 gal right now but if i had a 115 i'd use it because with that much water PH'ed and nute balanced, you don'thave to change out res water or even top off nearly as much..i like to keep a good bit of water in the res even while the pump is on and the water in the tray is up to the fill line.

 

[indianchopper]

puff the guy from sure to grow said, just use our system. have you seen that system yet?

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

are you talking about using block media with your system ?

 

[indianchopper]

puff what kind of nutes are y using?

 

[indianchopper]

puff yes

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

GH 3 part with diamond nectar ,floralicious grow/bloom and koolbloom wet/dry