Alien Flood & Drain Pro Silver Series Systems

Flood & Drain, the tried and tested formula for big yields in hydroponics now gets the Alien treatment! The long-awaited hydroponics setup has had no expense spared to give you a system with superior build quality, up-rated components and extra innovative features. The Alien Silver Series F&D is available from a 4 all the way up to a massive 100 pots as well as having 2 different pot sizes to choose from (15L or 30L). The modular design allows the pots to be situated to suit your exact room requirements. This really is a sure-fire way to get huge yields from an easy-to-use system that will perform for a long time!

How Does It Work

Flood & Drain (also known as Ebb & Flood) has long been recognised as one of the most productive methods of growing hydroponically. It works by flooding your growing container with your nutrient solution for a set period of time, then draining it back to the tank. This is then repeated throughout the day as required. Your plants are able to absorb the necessary nutrition during the flood period, then as the water drains back this creates a vacuum effect and pulls fresh oxygen down and into the root zone causing increased growth rates. Ordinarily clay pebbles are the preferred choice of medium in an F&D as they are free draining and hold next to no water, this means you can flood them a vast number of times during the day. In the more recent years growers have also began using a coco/pebble mix as a medium too. This of course requires less flooding but stills maintains high levels of aeration plus the coco can act a good bridge between a fully active hydro setup vs passive watering. Traditionally Ebb & Flood systems were in tray form but have now moved over to modular 'pot' style setup. This has a heap of advantages such as ease of setup/maximising space as well as each plant having it's own pot so it is fair easier for monitoring.

The Alien team have really gone above and beyond when designing this system and we feel it really is one of the out there. Here's some of it's key features that set it aside from the competition.

Pipe

The huge 50mm pipe that connects each of the pots works alongside the Jet Stream sump pump to allow the system to flood and drain very quickly, giving you more scope to have more irrigation times per day.

Fully Drains

Each pot sits on stands to raise them off the ground and allow the pipework to connect to the pot from the bottom instead of the side like most other systems. This means that ALL of the water will always fully drain out of each pot.

Pots

Root zone temperature is always very important in hydroponics and too high can increase the risk of root diseases. The pots are made from a special silver polymer that is very heat resistant to help keep the root zone cool. There are also two options to choose from, the more conventional 15L size and a large 30L option for those looking to grow big plants!

Stainless Steel Float Switches

The float switches located in the brain pot are the key to ensure the system runs as it should do. Most systems use plastic float valves that can become damaged or wear out over time. The Alien uses SUS304 stainless steel switches, paired with Hirchmann connectors to give you consistent results for a long period of time.

AquaGuard

The AquaGuard is a sheet that sits over the top of the pot. It's protective layer help to keep the moisture levels consistent in the growing media. This encourages the roots to spread and grow to the top of the pot, maximising it's volume and their size. By allowing the roots to grow at the surface let's them use up more nutrients and gives them constant access to plentiful oxygen without being exposed to light. For those looking to conserve water, the AquaGuard can also help to reduce watering when using absorbent media.

High Performance Control Module

The control panel features the world class Grasslin timer for precise control over your flood times.

How To Use

The system is very easy to setup. First connect the dual-flow fittings to each pot, lay them out in your grow room to decide on how you wish to space. Then measure the distance between each fitting on the pots so you can cut the tubing precisely and plumb in the system. Refer to the included instructions or get in touch if you need more details. Once everything is fully connected, fill your pots with your chosen growing media. Next, turn on the system and time how long it takes for all of the pots to fill to your desired flood level, this is the time you need to set on the timer for each flood period, then just decide how many of these flood periods you need per day and set this. We recommend flooding to the maximum level then letting the system drain immediately. This stops overwatering in absorbent media and gives you more time for more floods when using pebbles. For pebbles 2-3 feeds per day is usually a good start for young plants, whereas coco/pebble would only require 1.

Please note these system do not come with a water butt, this needs to be purchased separately. We have given our recommendations for which size to choose below. We do not recommend going below this size as it will mean you will be topping your tank up regularly!

4-6 Pot - 100-120L
8-16 Pot - 225-280L
18-32 Pot - 400-550L
36-48 Pot - 750-780L
60 Pot - 2x 400-550L
80-100 Pot - 2x 750-780L

The Alien Flood & Drain system is available in sets from 4 pot up to 100 pot. We are also able to quote for bespoke systems if you need to. Just get in touch and we will be more than happy to help.