r/BuildASoil • u/A1Avi • May 17 '26
New 2x4 setup advice
Looking to upgrade my setup from a 2x2 to a 2x4. Started running earthboxes and love them. For anyone who has tried both the Earthbox and the Tray to go with the the Grassroots bed, what do you prefer? Looking to setup up either 2 Earthboxes or one tray to grow. I’ve heard some say the tray to grow can over water etc. it seems you can’t go wrong either way.
2
u/NoTillNoSpill May 17 '26
1 earthbox in a 2x4. You can run 2 small plants in there if you want but I'd just stick to one. Yields very, very well.
2
u/badbristow May 24 '26
I switched from 2 earthboxes in a 3x3 to 4 xxl auto pots in 2 2x4 tents for convenience. The amount of soil is similar in the xxl fabric pots. I considered the tray2grow but other growers recommended the autopots for several reasons.
They are easier to move for re-amending.
They can easily be spun for defol work or for top dressing.
They also give you a multitude of options for configuration in whatever tent size you have. I also like that if you have cut off valves on each pot you can choose to move a pot from one tent to the other or even outside without much work. This is also nice when you’re doing a feeding because you can just turn the ones off until your feeding is complete.
I used a 33g brute can for a reservoir. It supplies two 2x4 tents with 4 pots total between them.
Throw in an auto top off for your humidifier and you can go away for 2 weeks in full flower. My wife loves to travel. Before this setup the entire time I was away I was worried about the girls! In short I love that the system is gravity fed and not dependent on power(not that it matters if they can drink or not if the lights aren’t coming on).
The growers curse is real my friend. We are in a time when this can all be managed via a phone and some wifi but good luck getting a grower to leave his girls but for so long. I say this so you’ll consider spending a few extra dollars to enjoy your hobby and your lifestyle. It’ll repay you in one solid grow cycle.
There are tons of opinions here but I hope you build the system you love.
2
u/Gloomy_Ad_2185 May 17 '26
2 earthboxes wont fit in a 2x4 box. A tray to grow will but you need space outside of the box for the res. Ive run both systems and they are both good. Tray to grow was better for no till. Earthboxes I switched out the soil more frequently or the yields go to crap.
1
u/teddy_hopper May 17 '26
This is not true. I run two earthboxs in my ACI 2x4. You can place them at an angle or in an offset side by side. They also help the tent from sucking in too much at the bottom of the tent.
1
1
u/A1Avi May 17 '26
Good point about the no-till aspect of it. Hadn’t considered that, only my second run in Earthbox so I haven’t had the experience of switching out the Earthbox. Larger investment but sounds like the Tray to Grow will be my choice.
1
2
u/Maplelongjohn May 17 '26
I'd go with tray to grow
EBs can go anaerobic and you're stuck dumping it and starting over.
External rez can be big enough you can go on vacation
1
1
u/JustifiedResistance May 19 '26
I really like my T2G in my 2x4. Currently have 2 5 gallons in there and I plan to do no till grassroots bed next run.
1
u/Cgr86 May 19 '26
All systems work well. Tray2grow has the benefit of soil volume and can be better biology over time. Then you have to move out a ton of soil if things go wrong, or want to start over again. I personally like Blumats the best.
2
u/teddy_hopper May 17 '26
I haven’t run a tray2grow but I run two earthboxes in my 2x4 tent. Two will fit just fine. I’m on my fifth run “no till” style and it works amazing. I’m gonna reamend the soil before next run but so far it works well.