What is a "flood fitting.?"Here are my initial impressions on the Titan Flo N Gro (Ebb N Gro style) hydroponic system, and how I customized it to work in a smaller space.
First, I decided instead of buying their complete 12 bucket system, to build a smaller system using some of their primary components. I have a tent, so I wanted to go with a 6 bucket system.
Primary concerns for me when buying this system was maximizing vertical growing capability, as well as being able to let it run without me a couple of days as necessary, and this fit that bill. I've also seen some amazing grows with Ebb N Gro units, so I knew that decent results should be possible with this hydro method.
I purchased the Titan 6 site upgrade kit, which came witch fittings, buckets, and netpots, as well as some tubing to connect the buckets to one another.
Additionally, I bought their "brain bucket" - the Oceanus Flo N Gro controller, which I felt was essential to manage being away from the grow room for a few days as necessary.
That left me missing a few things to make it a working system. Specifically, I needed a reservoir, water pumps, fittings to connect the unit to the reservoir and additional 3/4" and 1/2" tubing. *These are all things that are included if you buy the entire system, but I was piecing mine together.
I purchased (2) 30 gallon Rubbermaid trash bins for reservoirs, and took one of the lids and installed fittings and tubing to connect the pumps to the reservoir, etc. If you buy the complete system, it comes with a sizable 55 gallon drum.
Since I'm only doing 6 grow sites, and space is a consideration, I went this route for a reservoir: I use 2 containers side by side, one in operation, and one that I pre-fill with RO water and use for reservoir changes. Both are outside of my tent, and pump nutrient solution to brain bucket and plant sites through tubing from reservoir into tent through an access port.
I just add new nutrients to the other rubbermaid, mix up, balance PH, then swap the lids from one rubbermaid bin to the other (along with the pump and tubing connected to the lid). This makes reservoir changes a snap. Afterwards, I clean out the bin that was being used good, connect it to my RO unit, and fill it up with RO water in advance of next reservoir change. Works great.
Price for complete 12 site system is about $600, and comes with 55 gal. drum for reservoir. I spent:
- ~$300 for Oceanus controller
- ~$100 for 6 site upgrade
- ~$60 for (2) Maxijet 1200 pumps
- ~$20 for fittings and hoses
- ~$40 for Rubbermaid bins
About $520 total for my custom set-up. I didn't save a ton of $, but I did get it set up the way I wanted it, and it fits my space better
Here's a couple of pics of the unit and some with my particular set-up:
Here is the complete 12 site system, which can be purchased like this in entirety, for about $600
Here are the Rubbermaid bins I use for reservoirs, just outside of the tent - notice that I have connectors on the front to refill with my RO system. For 6 sites, I keep reservoir at ~20 gallons:
Inside the tent - about day 3 bloom, plants vegged nicely!
3 days earlier, plant in bottom left is a DWC bucket, and not part of the Flo N Gro:
Couple of notes about customizing your own system like I did:
- Use their recommended pumps - Maxi Jet 1200's
- Make sure to drill a 1/8" hole in the "flood" fitting in the reservoir above where it connects to the hose. This is essential or you will flood your growspace. Without this a siphon is created and it will continue to flood after pump shuts off. *Please let me know if you have questions about this, it's really important to do this right, but not easy to explain in shorthand*.
Pros of the system:
- Nutrient solution temps stay cooler since the nutrient solution spends the majority of it's time in a dark cool room outside the tent. (DWC is always a battle to keep the nutrient solution cool without a chiller as it gets so heated up inside the tent).
- Having the nutrient reservoir outside the tent makes it so I can correct PH between flood cycles even during lights off
- Square, bucket design keeps plants relatively low so that I can maximize space vertically
- Don't have to deal with airstones
- Would work with Scrog
- 5 gallon buckets with 4 gallon netpots are a nice size and plenty big
Cons and potential pitfalls:
- Could flood if connections aren't tight
- some nutrient solution sits in bottom of bucket, but doesn't seem to be a problem
- Requires a lot of medium, in my case hydroton
Overall, I love this system so far, and so do my plants. There is really nothing I can point to I don't like. The roots on my plants are bone white.
Please feel free to post here any questions on the system, or PM me, if I can help at all I will!
It’s just the fitting attached to the reservoir, that leads to the “flood” side of the controller module. The pump pulls nutrient solution from the reservoir, and without the small hole a siphon situation can be created, leaving to a situation sherr the water keeps “flooding” or drawing out of the reservoir after the pump shuts off. The small hole makes it so only water pumped out enters the grow sites and the water no longer flows once the pumps shut off. Hope that helps!
