Ebb and Flow Grow Systems or bottom-feed bucket hydroponic systems are the most popular for growing indoor marijuana plants. The tray table on the flood and drain system holds the plants that are growing in soilless growing mediums, usually rockwool and hydroton grow rocks inside of square growing buckets. There is a reservoir under the ebb & flow table that holds a water pump that is on a digital timer, set to come on at intervals throughout the day to feed the plants water and nutrients. The water floods the tray tables, then drains back to the reservoir. Hence the term Flood and Drain.
Ebb and Flow Bucket Grow Systems
Ebb & Gro hydroponic systems hold up to 48 buckets for growing marijuana plants. This is the most versatile ebb & flow system on the market. State laws only allow patients to grow a small number of plants, so many growers going from large numbers of small plants to fewer, larger ones, the Ebb & Gro is perfect. It is a simple system that uses 2 pumps and gravity to flood and drain the plant buckets about 3 or 4 times per day. The fill drain cycles are controlled by the controller unit, which is usually a small square or round bucket with a timer and float valves inside of it to control the feeding schedule that you set on it’s built-in timer. This system can be set up in many different sizes and shapes to fit your exact growing needs. You can add more grow pots as necessary.
How Ebb and Gro Systems Work
The Ebb & Gro hydroponic bucket system works by connecting all of the 2 gallon grow pots that are filled with hydroton grow rocks to the controller unit. Then you set the controller pump timer to fill and drain the buckets 4 times a day. When the fill and drain cycle that you set comes on, it turns on the pump in the large nutrient reservoir (55 gallon drum), and starts filling the controller unit. Since the grow pots are all connected to the controller unit using tubing hose, the water in the entire system starts to level off with the controller unit. When the pots are full, and your drain cycle starts, the pump in the controller unit pumps all of the water back into the reservoir. When the level of the water in the controller unit goes down, all of the grow pots levels go down also. Then the controller unit waits for the next fill and drain cycle a 6 hours later. Each grow pot consists of 2 pots nested inside each other, the inner pot has a holes in the bottom to allow the water nutrients to enter the grow medium and the plants roots. This will allow you to be able to pick up the inner pot and move the plants from one site to another on the system. This will allow for even plant growth even at the edges of your garden, where the plants don’t get as much light.
Best Ebb and Flow Systems for Marijuana
Growing marijuana plants in ebb & flow systems can be tricky, yet rewarding if done properly. When growing in the vegetative stage, I find it best to use the tray table flood and drain systems as they make moving the plants and buckets around much easier. When flowering plants for marijuana buds, its best to use the ebb & grow bottom-feed bucket system as it allows for larger plants to be grown and holds much more water and nutrients in the large 55 gallon reservoir, which saves you time from constantly having to refill it. If you are flowering your plants as single stalk, single cola bud plants, I would recommend using the tray table flood system as the bucket system takes up too much space for such small plants. All big plants should be grown in the ebb and flow bucket system.
