Choosing ebb and flow system

slashroot · Nov 28, 2011

Hi!

I've been looking through different hydroponic systems to grow chili plants in. Think my final decision will be an ebb and flow system.

Standing between two system now from different manufacturers, one Nutriculture and Yaroots. Which one should I go with, anyone got experience with either one?

Yaroots Ebb and Flood 120x55cm

Nutriculture EBB & FLOOD 33

nutriculture-ebb-and-flood-33~5110_1.jpg

queequeg152 · Nov 29, 2011

i vote build your own

can you get a hold of a cement mixing tray like this?
http://www.lowes.com/pd_19252-1569-ST3608_?productId=1226689&site=shopLocal

slashroot · Nov 29, 2011

queequeg152 said:
i vote build your own
can you get a hold of a cement mixing tray like this?
http://www.lowes.com/pd_19252-1569-ST3608_?productId=1226689&site=shopLocal

Pretty sure I would be able to acquire that. The problem is to find anywhere to buy the ebb fittings, been looking on every hydro store in Norway without luck.
So little hydroponic equipment available in this small country. In China right now though but wont be shipping such big parts to Norway.

queequeg152 · Nov 29, 2011

how about aquarium stores? i know they sell them. you could also build one yourself.
http://www.randystacye.com/diybulkhead.htm
might be a chore to get it flush to the bottom tho.

lazienfat · Nov 29, 2011

EBB flood and flow is a great way to grow peppers, I use it and love it. You can buy most of the stuff you need at a local DIY hardware store. Heres the best step by step instruction manual I have ever seen on building the EBB system:
http://www.fatalii.net/growing/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=118&Itemid=69

slashroot · Nov 29, 2011

queequeg152 said:
how about aquarium stores? i know they sell them. you could also build one yourself.
http://www.randystacye.com/diybulkhead.htm
might be a chore to get it flush to the bottom tho.

Thanks for pointing me in a good direction. Found some that look alike in aquarium stores. They want 48 USD just for one inlet fitting, which for me is a hideous price. I looked elsewhere and found these:
PP Plastic
Brass metal

Not exactly sure if it's the same thing as in your links. If I translate the product title it something like table connect-through.

Would have to buy O'ring separately for sealing the connection properly I guess.

slashroot · Nov 29, 2011

lazienfat said:
EBB flood and flow is a great way to grow peppers, I use it and love it. You can buy most of the stuff you need at a local DIY hardware store. Heres the best step by step instruction manual I have ever seen on building the EBB system:
http://www.fatalii.net/growing/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=118&Itemid=69

Best guide page by far, awesome!! Feel like there is a chance I can manage to do this myself now. Outlet will be easy but inlet with filter and such might be a bit more challenging. Trying to look into that now

slashroot · Feb 21, 2012

Thanks to the help from the users here, this is what I have come up with.

Haven't really put them to use yet because my pepper plants are a bit young still.

Have tested the system and it works good.

6 x 55L containers
3 x Container top covers.
2 x Airpumps, One with two outlets and one with four.
6 x Airstones, Two stones per reservoir.
6 x Water stoppers because my airpump is lower than my reservoir water level.
3 x Aquarium pumps.
2 x Timers, One for lights and one digital for the airpump and aquarium pumps.

Everything is hooked up. Pump inlet and adjustable overflow tube with filter on both ends.

Might be a bit hard to see in the pictures but the bottom 3 containers was originally transparent, I colored them black and made a line on the front so I can see the water level.

souf · Feb 21, 2012

slashroot said:
Pretty sure I would be able to acquire that. The problem is to find anywhere to buy the ebb fittings, been looking on every hydro store in Norway without luck.
So little hydroponic equipment available in this small country. In China right now though but wont be shipping such big parts to Norway.

botanicare sells the kits. dont know if you can get them in your area, though

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_nf=1&cp=22&gs_id=3o&xhr=t&q=botanicare+flood+and+drain+kit&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&pbx=1&oq=botanicare+flood+and+d&aq=0v&aqi=g-v1&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=d272a33775ff33c4&biw=1024&bih=629

slashroot · Feb 21, 2012

souf said:
botanicare sells the kits. dont know if you can get them in your area, though

http://www.google.co...iw=1024&bih=629

Sorry maybe I made it a bit confusing. I already have system built, newest post in this topic. Quite a while ago since I tried to decide what to buy/make.

souf · Feb 21, 2012

haha my bad! best of luck to you. cant wait to see what comes out of it

Guillo1 · Feb 21, 2012

looks more like a DWC setup. Why do you have the tote bins stacked over one another? The best way would be to only use one tote as a reservoir where all 3 of the top totes would dump to. What type of LED lights are you using?

slashroot · Feb 21, 2012

Guillo1 said:
looks more like a DWC setup. Why do you have the tote bins stacked over one another? The best way would be to only use one tote as a reservoir where all 3 of the top totes would dump to. What type of LED lights are you using?

My system is not perfect by any means, wish there was more available things for hydroponics here in Norway. My system is Ebb and Flow, made from this guide http://fatalii.net/g...d=118&Itemid=69

Sure could have made only one reservoir, sounds logical but then I cant have different independent setups for each site I guess. Like different nuts for each tank, since plants will be in different growing stages.

One 600W light and a 50W UFO.

I'm open for any comments or feedback, I'm not professional by any means haha

frosty · Feb 21, 2012

How much money did you save?

Building stuff and trying new things is much of the allure of "gardening" for me. So having the most expensive peppers doesn't bother me if I got be creative. I would rather build than buy on that alone... Yet I have found out that building is typically MUCH CHEAPER.

One thing I would warn you about. Be prepared for success. Make sure you have room for the peppers and start trimming and shaping to use the most of your room.

BTW I love hot pot and when I went China I ate it a couple of times a week. They make hot pot lays potato chips. I wish I had bought more.

slashroot · Feb 22, 2012

frosty said:
How much money did you save?

Building stuff and trying new things is much of the allure of "gardening" for me. So having the most expensive peppers doesn't bother me if I got be creative. I would rather build than buy on that alone... Yet I have found out that building is typically MUCH CHEAPER.

One thing I would warn you about. Be prepared for success. Make sure you have room for the peppers and start trimming and shaping to use the most of your room.

BTW I love hot pot and when I went China I ate it a couple of times a week. They make hot pot lays potato chips. I wish I had bought more.

Used about half of what I would have used if I bought a finished system. I took a lot of parts with me from China when I was there some weeks ago, a whole lot cheaper!

Really fun to make your own, feels good to know that you made it. My system is not beautiful or perfect though and I'm totally new to hydro so it's a learning curve for me.

I might cut down the height of the top 3 containers though, they are much higher then what I need, not going to fill clay pellets all the way to the top.

Sure love sichuan province food, every restaurant has their own taste when it comes to hotpot some less or more spicy. I would normally eat to much, barely able to walk afterwards haha I've tasted hotpot lays too, their good but I'm not so much into chips really.