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A Simple Grow Your Own Medical Marijuana System For Newspirates
Posted on 31 January 2010 by Jim Walrod

Building an ebb and flow hydroponic system is easy, as is the operation of the system. Also called a reservoir system its simplicity and low cost setup make it an ideal garden choice for the home hobby gardeners who want to make their first attempt at hydroponics. The materials can be found at big box home improvement stores and the cost is minimal.

Drill 2 1″ holes in the bottom of the large plastic basin that will be your growing tray. These holes are for entrance and exit lines. Apply a small layer of Teflon tape and then silicon around the edges of a 1″ male to half inch garden hose adapter and hand tighten with the adapter end facing out. Use pliers to screw it lock tight. Allow several hours for silicon to dry.
On one of the 2 protruding male connectors attach a 1″ female adapter with Teflon and silicon and screw it hand tight. Then attach a piece of the vinyl tubing to that so that the hose is 1 inch from the top of the basin.

Drill 2 holes on the side of your 20 gallon tote about 2 inches from the bottom. Apply a layer of Teflon tape and then silicon to a 1 ” male to half inch garden hose coupling and screw it in hand tight with the half inch end facing outward. Repeat on the other hole. Apply Teflon tape and silicon to a 1 ” female coupling garden hose adapter and screw it onto the protruding male end coming through on the inside of the tote. Repeat on the other hole and let it all dry.

Attach a small piece of tubing from the female coupling to the pump that is inside the reservoir. Carefully place the basin down on the table. Mark where the drain plugs touch the table and drill two 1” holes. Replace the tray with the drain plugs going through the holes you made in your table. Attach a piece of 1/2″ inner diameter hose from the male coupling protruding out of the outside of the reservoir that leads to the pump and connect it to the line in the basin that doe not have the extra overflow tube. This is the entrance/exit line for the hydroponic solution. Use a zip tie to clamp the connections. Place a small piece of screen over the drain hole. Attach a piece of 1/2 ” inner diameter hose from the other protruding male coupling out of the reservoir, to the overflow coupling on the basin, secure connections with a zip tie. and attach a piece of screen over the overflow line so growing medium and leaves do not fall into the holes and clog them.

Place the air stone in the 20 gallon tote and fill with water and nutrients. Connect the aquarium pump to the air stone tubing. This pump will keep the nutrient solution circulating and maintain an even distribution of nutrients in the solution. Plug the timer into surge suppressor and the submersible pump into the timer. Set the timer to operate every 12 hours. Plug the aquarium air pump into an outlet, it must run constantly. . Check for leaks. If none have developed proceed with your planting.

Stuff To Get From The Hold
20 Gallon tote
Large shallow container similar to an under bed storage container
Support table
4 1″ male to half inch garden hose coupling
3 1″ female garden hose coupling
10 Feet of 1/2″ inner diameter black vinyl tubing
Under a bed storage container (or any wide open plastic container)
Aquarium Silicon
Teflon tape
Low profile framed work table (to raise up basin)
Air pump and airs tone kit.
100 gph water pump with a half inch adapter
Pack of mini zip ties to use as clamps
24 hour timer
Surge protector/power bar
Scissors
Channel lock Pliers
Electric drill
1″ drill bit
Tips
The ebb and flow system is suitable for plants that grow no taller than 36 inches. Can you say trim and trim again.

Warnings
Blockages on overflow pipes can quickly lead to flooding outside of the growing container. Check drains regularly for any blockage, especially leaves and don’t try to dry ‘em.