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**PRIMO** · 10-06-2019, 11:17 AM

I use large tote lids with wire shelving across em to allow drainage and air flow beneath, and a shop vac to suck em out with.

**az2000** · 10-06-2019, 11:25 AM

Botanicare makes a plastic tray which fits inside a 4x4 tent. I have one. (It's not a 4x4 tray because it's made to fit inside a 4x4 space.). Some people put that on cinder blocks, and put a catch tray beneath the drain hole. But, what I did was use some hydro fittings to plug the drain hole (what I actually did was use a fitting to convert the hole to a 1/2" plastic tube. But, I have the tube pointing straight up. The runoff is never deep enough to reach the top of the tube).

I like this because I don't have to collect runoff from each plant's saucer. They all sit in one "saucer." Then I use a wet-dry shop vac (the one that fits on a Home Depot 5gal bucket) to suck the runoff out of the tray. This way, the tray doesn't sit on cinder blocks, cutting into my available height to grow into. I cut some pieces of cardboard. 3 layers stacked beneath the tray in the back. Two layers stacked under the center of the tray. And, one layer near the front of the tray. This way the water collects at the plugged drain hole.

The only downside to doing this is that I like to monitor the runoff ppms, especially when I'm dialing in nutrient strength, working with a new soil, etc. Sometimes maintaining the individual plant's runoff measurements separately reveals more useful info to me.

Because of that, what I often do is cut down 5-gal Home Depot buckets to 4" tall, and use those as saucers. They hold more than the shallow saucers typically sold for growing. Those work well for 3gal soil containers. (I shop-vac them dry too.). For smaller containers, I cut down smaller buckets. You might need large laundry tubs for 17-gal pots.

Harbor Freight sells some hand-operated and powered transfer/siphon pumps. This one is handy:

[Forum wont let me put the photo here. See attachment.]

However, I had one a few years ago and it didn't last long. I got the impression the caustic/salty runoff negatively affected the inner workings. (I bought one of these from a hydro store. But, it looked identical to this one HF sells.). I would pump some clean water through it after use. Maybe that would cause it to last longer. Or, buy the extended service plan.

I like the shop vac better. You can buy a narrow attachment which lets it fit in what can be a narrow space between the cut-down buckets I use (and the soil container). The above pump's end is about 1" diameter and can be a tight fit.

**az2000** · 10-06-2019, 12:28 PM

The Botanicare tray is called an "Outside Dimension" tray. It's 48" outside dimension. If you compare it to the 4x4 "inside dimension" tray, you'll see that the latter is 52" (OD). The "OD trays" are made to fit within a dimension. The ID trays are made to accommodate a specific inside capacity (with no concern for the OD of the tray).

This is the fitting I mentioned:

That would drain into a pan or something you'd slip under the "OD tray" (which you'd have sitting on blocks). But, what I did was install that fitting pointing up, and slipped a 6" length of tubing (pointing up, as tall as the edge of the tray. Essentially, the water level will never be that high that it would run out that fitting. And then I can sit the tray on the floor. But, as I said, sitting on some cardboard to create a slight angle so the water collects.

If I recall, the tray comes without the hole. I had my hydro shop drill it for me. (They used a "step drill" sold at Harbor Frieght. It's good for cutting holes like this, and getting clean cuts.). I wasn't sure if I'd let it drain or not. But, I never used it that way. It would have been easier if I just hadn't had the hole drilled.).

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Ideas for drainage - collecting and disposing runoff water

Ideas for drainage - collecting and disposing runoff water

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