Why you need an ebb and flow hydroponics system

I love my new flood and drain system (or ebb and flow). Here are 5 reasons why it is AWESOME, and a couple reasons why it may not work for you. My spinach turned out amazing btw...
Stuff to build it:
I use General Hydroponics 3 part fertilizer:
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Masonry Tub:
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Clay pebbles (you can use any medium..I used these):
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My water pump:
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I used clear tubing. Black may be better. If you use the pump above, you need 1/2" ID tubing
clear: amzn.to/2LekvWY
black: amzn.to/2ElBKnF
TDS meter (for measuring the nutrient content of your solution)
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Freaking awesome knife to use in the garden:
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[@wildandliving1925]

Use fabric pots with the media in it instead of the whole table. Then much easier to clean just move the fabric pots wipe it down run some water with cleaner through and your done

[@GEOsustainable]

Now THAT is a good idea.

[@chriscornman5098]

excellent video, thank you old plants

[@dancint]

Really cool and informative. Thanks! I've just started a kratky setup and your videos have helped me tremendously. Hoping for the best.

[@OldPlanty]

Thanks! Best of luck.

[@dancint]

Old Planty thanks! I'm starting with t8 lighting at 6500k for lettuce. Do u think this is sufficient?

[@OldPlanty]

Oh yeah. That is what I started witt

[@dancint]

Old Planty thank you!

[@emoneyblue]

I subscribed. I learned so much and looking forward to learning more. Thank you, Sir.

[@40nights40daystv]

dude great video!

[@JayLeeUFO]

Well done. Thank you.

[@OldPlanty]

Thank you

[@C3Voyage]

Flow-to-waste/drain-to-waste is the easiest hydro IMO. Super easy. I've learned to always factor in breaking components like pumps. Considering solar pumps next year. I've never tried flood and drain though I have to admit. Seems like a good system. Thanks for the info.

[@OldPlanty]

I read up on this..sounds cool. Sounds like it has a lot of benefits. Thanks Brent

[@markusdreyer6715]

But... there is more waste in drain to waste

[@OldPlanty]

That is the main reason I have not built a system like that. I live in the desert and if I can do anything to conserve water, I will.

[@LarsLarsen77]

Yeah I use a dositron to mix ultra-concetrated nutrients with tap water and deliver it directly to the plants through a solenoid valve with tap water pressure only, no pumps. The only pump is under my table to pump the runoff to a drain in another room.

[@LarsLarsen77]

Diseases spread through the root water, so having it drain away keeps diseases from spreading between plants.

[@casafoodgarden7030]

On some of my exterior setup i put in two pumps that work each half of the time when watering. Redundancy is key to not loosing all.

[@OldPlanty]

Genius. Simple. Don’t know why I didn’t try this.

[@casafoodgarden7030]

@@OldPlanty i used a cheap pump at beginning with no timer. I found out the hard way, like you.

[@mattpitts74]

Hi there, thanks for sharing your videos :-). I have recently setup a very similar system to what you show in this video. I question is how long to you run your pump each time you flood? I've found information online slightly unclear. Some say flood for 15 mins, so I'm assuming this means leaving the pump on for 15 mins?? Some say leave the pump on until water starts coming out of the outlet. which in my case takes around 3 min. Interested to know your approach? thanks

[@111100002369]

Love your videos. Very informative My biggest question though is about the draining. It looked like both your pump and drain fittings were above the surface of the pan. Wouldn't this leave standing water at the bottom?

[@OldPlanty]

Good observation. I drilled holes very close to the bottom of the drain plug. I intentionally left the holes about 1/4 of an inch off the bottom. That way, you do get just a little standing water. I did that so that I had a reserve should something fail. That way, hopefully I would notice and correct any problems before anything bad happened. For example, one day, the tube that carried the water out of the pump and into the tub had come off so no water was circulating. I caught the problem and fixed it before any damage was done.

[@michaelwould]

Thanks, been wanting to setup this exact same thing, I want to have about 50+ of them around my yard, You think I could get 1 solar panel with enough output to run a single tub or maybe a "Dual Tub" setup.

[@OldPlanty]

I think that would work. I can't see why not. I have seen solar pumps. They are usually lower power pumps, but then you could just run them for longer. I got curious and found something like this: www.amazon.com/Generic-Solar-Power-Garden-Fountain/dp/B007SKGSU6 The only drawback is the height to which the water will pump. But if that is not an issue, that could be cool. Also, if you are worried about them not having enough water when it is dark, and the pump is not running, you could always create your drain such that a small amount of water remains in the tub as a reserve. My drain leaves about 1/4" in the bottom just in case the power goes out, or the pump fails. Should keep the plants alive for a bit...

[@GEOsustainable]

Good points, I think a combination of flood and drain in an NFT system is ideal. I wonder if blowing air across the roots would improve oxygen availability? How hard would that be in a Kratky method?

[@SympathaX]

Could you let me know the specific materials you used to build the ebb and flow? I wasn't able to find another resource that was a similarly easy build as yours. Specifically, what is that piece you put on the bottom of the tub to prevent leaking? Did you have any leaks without any adhesives or anything?

[@OldPlanty]

The thing on the bottom is a barb connector. It has threads on the one side, and a barb on the other side that fits the tubing I used. I used a rubber washer to attempt to prevent leaks, but added just a bit of silicone to the bottom of the tub (on the outside..I did not want the silicone exposed to the plants..who knows what chemicals, if any would leach)

[@Matias-rn9ff]

Can I make this system without the pebbles? For example, using a raft with netpots lying on top of the tub. Can you think of any problems that might come with this?

[@OldPlanty]

You can absolutely grow like you describe. It would technically be a floating raft but it should work. Not really any problems other than keeping the water aerated and full. Kind of like a big DWC.

[@seamusbyrne8259]

Yo, maybe try an areoponics setup.

[@dnllingo7989]

How often do you need to clean a DWC system?If less than every 3 months I’m good.

[@OldPlanty]

An easy way to swap out the water..get two of the same buckets and just alternate between them.

[@robinworkman3621]

Does the pumping and draining of the water aerate the water sufficiently, or do you still need some sort of system to aerate the water before it's pumped into the grow bed?

[@bryanst.martin7134]

The water draining pulls fresh air into the grow bed, then pushed back out. This provides Oxygen to the roots.

[@porkchopspapi5757]

Flood & drain is a truly great way to grow plants. But it can be done easly without spending money on electronic pumps etc. And you don't need to reintroduce the salts buildup into the plants.

[@NickFichter]

Re the clean out issue you mention at the end, how often do you have to clean? I realize the answer may depend on a number of variables, but maybe you could give us some sense from your experience. Thank you.

[@OldPlanty]

They say ideally, between harvests. But that would depend on what you are growing. I plan on cleaning mine every 3-4 months. I am on month 3 and it is still doing great. Got some new lettuce going now. My last system I used outside during the summer. When summer was over, I took it down and cleaned it. It was just fine all summer. I do take a little bit of precaution. I run some hydrogen peroxide through it every 4 weeks or so. Hard to say if it is necessary, but I haven’t had any problems.

[@chrisv.6951]

Wouldn't u prefer aeroponics bro?

[@matthewrobin6000]

Hay mate nicely done great little show but you show check out the auto pot range

[@OldPlanty]

I have heard great things about the autopot. Kinda like a dutch bucket right?

[@matthewrobin6000]

@@OldPlanty pretty much yes

[@OldPlanty]

May have to give it a try...

[@KS-wr8ub]

Did you say: "Lycka till" at the end? 🇸🇪

[@OldPlanty]

Ja :)

[@KS-wr8ub]

@@OldPlanty swedish heritage?

[@dk.dxrk.]

*cough splatoon cough*