Drainage system/Drip tray recommendations

[Dan796]

I had the same or similar shelving units about 10 years ago. But, I used flat plastic sweater totes from A big box store (W). (The kind that are shallow enough to slide/roll under a bed (Also, I found the ones with wheels are a plus!)
1 tote per shelf would nearly fit my unit's shelving perfectly. I sat my plants inside each tote.
I found the wheels on the totes I bought fit between the shelf bars and kept the tote from sliding off the shelves once any weight is placed in them.
To speed up drainage, I drilled a hole and added a 1" PVC pipe in one end of each tote to drain directly into the tote on the shelf below it in which I put in a drain in at the same end, and in turn would drain into the tote on the shelf below that..
Optionally, depending on a plant's requirements for humidity, I could also use a bed of gravel placed in each tote to raise the humidity. (I stuffed plastic pot scrubbing pads into the drain pipes as a strainer to keep from plugging up the drain holes with gravel or potting mix or washing through them.
Or, I could also plug any of the drains with a plain cork to retain water in whichever Tote I chose.
Lastly, I slid a tote (with no hole drilled) under the bottom shelf (sitting on the floor) for all the water to eventually drain into.
They work great as a catch basin too.
It would take about an hour for all the water to completely drain from all the plants and totes.
The water that collects in the bottom most tote can either be dipped out, left to evaporate, or, (what worked best for me) Shop Vac the water out of the bottom tote, and dump it. Which only took about 60 seconds! There was usually only 1-2 gallons of water to deal with anyway if a wetting agent was added to the plant water before watering.
Be sure to only use the filter for vacuuming up water if you use your Shop Vac!
So, it took me about 30 minutes to water 100 orchid plants (with a wetting agent added to the water).
And 1 hour later I Vacuumed out the water in the catch tote! I finally had too many orchids to use shelves like these anymore.
Well, that was my self contained watering system.
It worked great!
I Hope that helps!

[bethmarie]

Originally Posted by Dan796

So, it took me about 30 minutes to water 100 orchid plants (with a wetting agent added to the water).

What did you use as a wetting agent?

[Dan796]

For a wetting agent?
I use nothing but a small squirt of liquid dish detergent every time I water. Any brand works! I've tried them all.
A small squirt per gallon of water works wonders.
I've been using dish detergent in my plant water for over 40 years, and haven't found a plant yet that it will harm.
(including Carnivorous plants! I water my Pings with it too!)

[bethmarie]

Originally Posted by Dan796

For a wetting agent?
I use nothing but a small squirt of liquid dish detergent every time I water. Any brand works! I've tried them all.
A small squirt per gallon of water works wonders.

My favorite kind of solution: cheap and easy! Thanks for the idea.

[kwubb]

I just checked the hydro farm website and they have trays that are 2' by 4'. There is a pull down window that allows you to change the sizes. My set up is different. I lined the back and sides of my wire cart with EcoWeb. The EcoWeb falls into gutters that run around the outside of the cart. Inside I have a plastic liner on the shelves purchased through Amazon. I only have 2 shelves and they each have gutters that run along the inside back and sides. These gutters are topped with eggcrate. My mounted plants are hung on the EcoWeb and drain into the gutters when watered. Potted plants in 6inch or smaller pots sit on top of the eggcrate. I water with a pump sprayer as needed. Some daily, some weekly. I have a clear plastic tent that covers the whole cart. T5 lights and fans are used. I eventually want to grow vines atop the EcoWeb. The gutters are drained weekly with a small shop vac. The gutters can hold 2-3 gallons of water. I would like to make a wall of water out of the back EcoWeb but haven't figured that out yet. My biggest problem is each shelve has a 4 bank t5 lighting and it gets way to warm and I've burned some leaves. I'm thinking of changing to t8's. I'd post pictures but haven't figured out how to do that yet.

[ddivey36]

Originally Posted by Dan796

For a wetting agent?
I use nothing but a small squirt of liquid dish detergent every time I water. Any brand works! I've tried them all.
A small squirt per gallon of water works wonders.
I've been using dish detergent in my plant water for over 40 years, and haven't found a plant yet that it will harm.
(including Carnivorous plants! I water my Pings with it too!)

May I ask what the wetting agent is for? and how it helps?
thanks..(sorry for the stupid question)