Flood & Drain Systems

IWS Flood & Drain Systems

IWS are renowned for producing very high quality hydroponics systems, the most famous of which is their IWS Flood and Drain systems.

The IWS Brain Pot

The heart of the system is something called a "Brain Pot", or just simply "the Brain". It connects to the reservoir tank and also has 6 outlets which run to the pots. it contains a pump and 2 electronic float switches. One at the top and one at the bottom.

Using a special timer, it controls the flow of nutrient solution from the reservoir out to the pots at the beginning of a feed cycle. As the pots fill with nutrient solution, it pushes old stale air out of the medium. Once the medium in the pots has been wetted, it then drains the nutrient solution out of the pots and pumps it back into the reservoir. As it drains it pulls fresh air into the medium. The brain is the same height as the pots and fills as it sends the nutrient solution to the pots. It knows that the pots have been wetted when the float switch at the top is activated. After a short wait, the brain switches on the pump inside of it and sends the nutrient solution back to reservoir. The brain knows when the pots are empty when the lower float switch in the brain pot is deactivated.

The IWS Pots

IWS flood and drain systems are best used with clay pebbles, coco, or a mixture of both. Soil simply doesn't work very well with a flood and drain system. Choose your inner pot depending on which medim you want to use. The Aqua inner is designed for clay pebbles while the culture inner is more for coco. The big punch inner pot can be used with either and is larger (10.5 litres) than the other inners which are 6.5 litres in size. The inners sit within the outer pot and prevent the medium from blocking the pipe inlets.

The IWS Minute Timer

The IWS timer is very versatile and controls when the feedings occur and for how long they last down to the minute. This level of control makes the most of what Flood and Drain systems have to offer, maximising plant growth speed and yield potential.

To see our full Grow Systems / Pots range, click here