flushing trays at res. changes

[medicalGreenGrower]

i flush my trays with neutral water each res. change and currently i'm setting up a 5 gallon bucket of neutral water under the tray and pumping it through the tray. i'm doing this twice and i use 3 gallons each time - total of 6 - to do the entire flush. i need to cut back water usage so i was thinking about flushing from the top of the tray, hoping this would flush faster and therefore use less water.

before i embark on a quest to build somthing i wanted to know how others flush their trays and if anyone has a system for doing so. my current idea is to set up some system of pvc or tubing with sprayers that could lay on top of the hydrotron and spray water down through the medium. ideally, i could use one 5 gallon bucket (full) and a pump hooked up to a grid of sprayers in my three trays and flush them all at once with less water. a cheaper way requiring less work to build would be preferred though. thanks.

mG2

 

[TURKEYNECK]

What type of system are you running? I just use my pump and flood to waste.

 

[medicalGreenGrower]

i have a flood and drain set up and i'm currently flushing the same way i deliver nutes. that seems to take a lot of water (3 gallons X two flushes) so i was thinking if i could flush from above, that would just flush out the extra nutes from the top down and they wouldn't be able to resettle as the water drains out. hopefully, this would save a lot of water.

mG2

 

[fishcabo]

I know a lot of folks flush, flush and flush. I flush once at 18/12 hour change so the nutes can be switched. That's it. I do use RO water exclusively with a 23 ppm out the gate. 400w mh then 400w hps in flower for 9-13 oz in a hydro hut. Try backing down on your flushes unless you have a real valid reason to continue repetitive flushing. jmo

 

[D3]

I flush mine every 2 weeks. To remove salts & stale water.

 

[hydrochloride]

I flush mine every 2 weeks. It is more advantagious to flush with a weak nute solution. Having 10% of your old res water in the flush allows for the molicules to bond easier. Most final flush additives are just weak nut solutions. I think flush times also depend on how big your res is and how many plants you have. If your res is small, you will want to flush more often.

 

[medicalGreenGrower]

oh, was i supposed to be using the flush chemicals instead of just plain water? i have flora kleen but i thought that was just for the final flush. my raison d'etre was to flush any salt build-up and excess nutes so that my new solution wouldn't be thrown off by old nutes and salts stuck to the hydrotron. i don't mind doing it but i need to do it with as little water as possible so i thought if i some how was able to spray water from the top down, it would be more efficient.

mG2

 

[hydrochloride]

No, you don't need any other chems. Just keep a small amount of your old nutes in your res and then add water to flush. This helps the build up bond with the water and actually will remove more than just strait water