You’re correct in that those types of valves are similar. But you can design around that turning into a leaking condition.
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3-5ml/gal light use
5-10ml/ gal heavy use
I try not to use peroxide either If possible, I try to rely merely on keeping water temps constantly @ 66-69 degrees without fluctuation and elevated DO levels throughout the grow.
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I was putting 2 gallon jugs and 2 2liter bottles a day. Wasn’t near enough. I still got root rot. I bought a 1/4 hp chiller. $400. Well worth it
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I got all mine separately. It depends on how you want to run it. I am using a homemade lid on my right now with net pots hanging off of it. I made the lid out of plywood and covered it with liquid rubber:
I got the tray I am using on Amazon (I have the Botanicare 3x3 deeper tray) and the fitting kit:
The hoses I got at my local Ace hardware to connect the fittings to pump/tote that goes below the tray.
For a table to hold the tray, I just built one out of 2x4s:
For a tote, I am using a Sterilite 40 gallon “tough” toe. The kind with the yellow lid:
Like those more or less (I got it at Wally World).
The submersible water pump I am using is this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018X2XT4/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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I do not use it either. I use microbes in my mix and the peroxide would kill them off. But I clean my buckets weekly/biweekly to get the biofilm off of the walls.
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I’ve seen chillers on amazon but it’s only $100 and have wondered if that would be adequate enough? It says 9 L which I know is only about 2.38 gal but it would be circulating the water… Any thoughts?
I know what it’s like to be on a budget. The money you spend now will pay dividends. In my opinion, for what it’s worth, I wouldn’t skimp on lighting or a chiller. I wasted nearly 3yrs not having a chiller, and having problems on every grow. My beautiful wife bought me one for Christmas, and I haven’t had any problems since.
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Active Aqua AACH10HP Water Chiller Cooling System, 1/10 HP, Rated per hour: 1,020 BTU, User-Friendly Amazon.com
I got the 1/4hp because of the volume of water I have.
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Where in the country do you live? I avoid growing in the summer when it’s hot, but my room is unheated and stays pretty cool for 9months and don’t need a chiller. I’m cheap. My bubble buckets cost $8 for a complete set up. $400 for a chiller is out of the question.
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@Bogleg @dbrn32 OK, right now I’m thinking about a commercial on TV that went something like “sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don’t”…lol 
db, you ought to know I am always subject to being wrong and will admit in a heart beat. Like I said earlier
Bogleg I was wrong! I had not seen that system. I was thinking of the autopot system not ebb& flow. The gravity feed autopot has a floating valve that shuts the water off when the trey fills up. Sorry for the confusion. I know now what your referring to but I don’t think I have enough room in my tent.
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I’m in the southern middle part where it gets hot and humid. Our house is AC’ed so I really don’t think the heat will be an issue. If nothing else, like I said, I could pump ac inside the tent.
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And keep the DWC’s on the floor (cement if possible) to act as a heat sink for the DWC.
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That would be my main concern as well - especially height. I will see if I can find some 2x2 examples online for fun.
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If you want to DIY, you can build a flood and drain tray style system for pretty cheap. You could use something like this for the tray:
Build a short table and put it over a tote like this:
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No worries dude, not a matter of being right or wrong with something like this. Just mixing up information. My position isn’t one of even really caring what you do or how you do it. Just making sure you have the information to make a good decision for yourself. I think there are some awesome benefits to running ebb & flow system, especially in a small space. But if you feel there’s a different option to fit your needs better, go for that.
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Now I’m thinking about setting up a small ebb and flow system in my 2x2 tent… heh.
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That’s close to the set up I’m gonna try to emulate. I want a bigger tray tho. Thanks for sharing 
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Is the water exposed to the light? I would think there would be a lot of algae build up.
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I got algae pretty bad in my last run because I did have water exposed to the light… if you put enough pots in it, it should mitigate that, but my solution was to make a cover for the tray.
FWIW the algae on my last run didn’t seem to affect anything, but it was a PITA to clean up.
Supposedly the right flooding cycle combined with filling the tray should prevent it (maybe not entirely), as you should be drying the tray and medium out pretty thoroughly before flooding again.
I also lined my tray with river rock and I’m pretty confident the river rock had all kinds of dormant algae on it already.
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