making home made ebb and flow with rubbermaid/tote bins?

[McBudz]

Every knows those tupperware like storage containers right?

My question is is the material sturdy anough to be able to tap and put flood/drain fittings through the bottom and not worry about leaks?

I need to come up with some type of veg hydro setup and cant really find and pre-fab ones that fit my area ideally. So I found 2 Tupperware bins that side by side should fit nicely where I need them to fit.

I ordered em up online so I haven't felt how thick the plastic is on the bottom. Has anyone put flood and drain fittings on these types of containers with success? I was going to put on the ply wood bench in the closet and drill holes through the bench to accommodate the fill and drain tubes that connect into the fittings. Then put the res underneath where it stays cooler and out of the light. Thinking of using 1 big res to feed both containers. 2 separate pumps run off the same timer.

SO I would need 2 seperate fill fittings and 2 separate drain fittings set to the appropriate height and 2 medium sized water pumps 305 gph or so grommets and tubing. Aside from the medium am I missing anything? Probably a 3rd pump just to assist in draining the res.

Do you suggest using small 3 inch net pots or similar so I can just swap over to the ebb/grow for flower after 2-4 weeks? Or could I just plant into the bed of hyrdoton? Roots would probably tangled up pretty good huh? Maybe just small buckets with holes to allow flood and drain and hopefully not the roots out to get tangled?

The "tables" will be about 19" x 15" x 7" or so, so I'm thinking 6 x 5" or 6" pots in each container.
This is my first diy hydro venture so please let me know if i'm grossly off on any of this or missing anything important. Or if you know of a hydro flood tray that is about 22 x 30 or so. My closet is 22x46 or so. Unfortunately just under the popular 2x4 prefab sized tables. But i would like to leave room for a mom off to the side. so 22x30 or so is ideal.

 

[McBudz]

lol i hear you on that. Any type of wardrobe cabinet or buckets anything i see that could be added to my setup I stop, stare and try to figure out how and where that could fit into my setup. thanks!

I am the lord of plastic buckets...I get aroused in the bucket section.
those tubs can be troublesome unless you use a pilot hole...cracking while drilling. get a nice tight fit and seal with aquarium sealant...no leaks. definitely use a 3rd pump for draining. I used 5" net pots prior and they fit great into the Ebb pots when transplanting. wait till you see the root mass B...

 

[McBudz]

Well my burnt ass just realized I already have a Deep water innovations DWC / Cyclone setup. I can use that as my table.. Its internal bottom measuremenst are 20" x 16"

It has 2 dimples in the center I can drill out for the flood and drain fittings. I can 5 inch pots but not 12 if I use the predifined placements for the fittings.. Or I can use 4 inch pots and leave the center area open for the fittings.

Think 4 inch pots will be too small for up to 3-4 weeks of veg from clone?

The ones at my local shop are short, I can see if they have tall ones like 4 x 4 x 6 or 7...


Is a tapered conical drill bit the only best way to make the perfect hole for the fittings? Do the fittings require grommets or do they use their own system of seals/o-rings?

 

[McBudz]

Update.. Went to the hydro store and picked up a sunleaves flood and drain kit and hydroton. Got a 1 1/4 inch tungsten carbide hole cutter at home depot. And found these containers I plan to modify to use as my pots/containers They are 4.2 inches around and 6.8 inches tall. So hopefully this will work out. Hope to get at least 3 weeks veg out of it. We'll see. If I can at least get a 2 weeks I'll be happy then go to the e/g for another couple if need be. thanks

Got the f/d kit installed and order up a couple of pumps and and extra extension piece for the flood tube.