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The picture below shows the two hydroponic drip systems I built that are covered by this instructable. The prototype system was built about 3 weeks prior to the taking of the picture. All the plants currently residing in the prototype are between 1 and 2 1/2 weeks old. The prototype has been working so well I build a second system for plant staging. This instructable chronicles the construction of the second system, as well as growing progress updates in Step 15.
How the System Works
The hydroponic nutrients are stored in the black plastic box. A water pump inside the box pumps the nutrients up to the drip lines at the top, thus providing nutrient solution to the grow media (clay balls in my case) and plants inside the white plastic pots. The nutrients will drain out the bottom of the plastic pots which is then collected by the recessed yellow lid that the pots sit on. Holes in the lid allow the nutrients to drain back into the black plastic box. I currently have a timer that waters the plants for 15 minutes every hour that the light is on, and then twice more during the night.
Hydroponic Systems; What is best for you?
I have been using two basic hydroponic systems: Raft and Drip. Other hydroponic systems include: Ebb and Flow, Nutrient Film, Aeroponic and Fog.
The raft system works by floating the plants right on top of the nutrient solution. An air pump and air stone are used to aerate the nutrients. The raft system is really good for growing lettuce but most plants thrive better without their roots submerged right in the nutrients.
The drip system works in much the same way that plants normally get watered. Nutrients are provided to the top of the grow media by gravity or a pump which draws much needed oxygen into the media as the nutrients drain out. This method should work well for almost any type of plant. Pump failure and cloged drip lines are the down side of this method.
The Ebb and Flow system is a popular system for home hydroponics. Pots are placed in a tub that is flooded with a couple inches of nutrients using a water pump. This waters the pots from the bottom up. After the tub is flooded, the pump is turned off and the tub drains back into the nutrient reservoir. One downside of this type of system is you need a large reservoir to hold all the nutrients necessary for flooding the tub as well as enough left over so the pump does not run dry. Like the drip system you also have the possibility of pump failure.
The Nutrient Film system works by placing the plant roots on a thin layer of flowing nutrients. From what I have read, these systems are hard to set up and thus not a good place to start for the home hydroponic enthusiast.
The Aeroponic and Fog systems work by atomizing the nutrients which the roots are sprayed with, or suspended in. This can be a very powerful method for growing plants as the atomized solution contains much oxygen, which the roots thrive in. Most of the home bought systems labeled as "Aeroponic" are not really aeroponic system though. These home systems use small fountain pumps and spray nozzles to spray the bottom of net cups and roots. The tiny fountain pumps cannot produce the kind of pressure necessary to atomize the nutrient solution so the gain over a drip or ebb and flow system are questionable. I have avoided these systems as the tiny spray nozzles seem more likely to clog than the larger drip emitters. Fog systems are fairly new and I do not know about the reliability or availability of these systems for the home hydroponic enthusiast.
How the System Works
The hydroponic nutrients are stored in the black plastic box. A water pump inside the box pumps the nutrients up to the drip lines at the top, thus providing nutrient solution to the grow media (clay balls in my case) and plants inside the white plastic pots. The nutrients will drain out the bottom of the plastic pots which is then collected by the recessed yellow lid that the pots sit on. Holes in the lid allow the nutrients to drain back into the black plastic box. I currently have a timer that waters the plants for 15 minutes every hour that the light is on, and then twice more during the night.
Hydroponic Systems; What is best for you?
I have been using two basic hydroponic systems: Raft and Drip. Other hydroponic systems include: Ebb and Flow, Nutrient Film, Aeroponic and Fog.
The raft system works by floating the plants right on top of the nutrient solution. An air pump and air stone are used to aerate the nutrients. The raft system is really good for growing lettuce but most plants thrive better without their roots submerged right in the nutrients.
The drip system works in much the same way that plants normally get watered. Nutrients are provided to the top of the grow media by gravity or a pump which draws much needed oxygen into the media as the nutrients drain out. This method should work well for almost any type of plant. Pump failure and cloged drip lines are the down side of this method.
The Ebb and Flow system is a popular system for home hydroponics. Pots are placed in a tub that is flooded with a couple inches of nutrients using a water pump. This waters the pots from the bottom up. After the tub is flooded, the pump is turned off and the tub drains back into the nutrient reservoir. One downside of this type of system is you need a large reservoir to hold all the nutrients necessary for flooding the tub as well as enough left over so the pump does not run dry. Like the drip system you also have the possibility of pump failure.
The Nutrient Film system works by placing the plant roots on a thin layer of flowing nutrients. From what I have read, these systems are hard to set up and thus not a good place to start for the home hydroponic enthusiast.
The Aeroponic and Fog systems work by atomizing the nutrients which the roots are sprayed with, or suspended in. This can be a very powerful method for growing plants as the atomized solution contains much oxygen, which the roots thrive in. Most of the home bought systems labeled as "Aeroponic" are not really aeroponic system though. These home systems use small fountain pumps and spray nozzles to spray the bottom of net cups and roots. The tiny fountain pumps cannot produce the kind of pressure necessary to atomize the nutrient solution so the gain over a drip or ebb and flow system are questionable. I have avoided these systems as the tiny spray nozzles seem more likely to clog than the larger drip emitters. Fog systems are fairly new and I do not know about the reliability or availability of these systems for the home hydroponic enthusiast.
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Signing UpStep 1Materials Needed
Here are the items you will need:
1 - 27 gallon heavy duty plastic storage box with recessed plastic lid
10' of 1/2" PVC pipe
5 - 90 deg PVC elbows
3 - PVC T connectors
1 - 3/4" to 1/2" PVC reducer
1 - 3/4" PCV pipe to 3/4" Male Thread connector
4 - 1/2" PVC J-Hook Hangers
1 - Male Quick Disconnect to male 3/4" hose thread
1 - Female Quick Disconnect to female 3/4" hose thread
1 - 1/2" hose barb to female 3/4" hose thread
1 - rubber washer with filter screen
3' of 1/2" flexible rubber hose
1 - Active Aqua PU160 water pump
12' 1/4' O.D. drip line hose
12 - Drip stakes or drip nozzles with tie down stakes
12 - Square Plastic pots sized to fit 3 across top of tote lid
1 - 24 Hr timer with 15 minute on/off timing intervals
The first 11 items on the list were all purchased from Home Depot and can be picked up at most hardware stores. The remaining item were purchased from a local hydroponics store in Billerica MA [www.greenlifegardensupply.com]. I highly recommend them if you are local; If not most items can be picked up via the WEB or at a local garden supply shop. I purchased everything new for a total cost of about $70.
Tools Needed
Miter box and miter saw or hack saw for cutting PVC
Sand paper, small round file, or deburring tool to debur cut PVC
PVC purple primer and cement adhesive
Electric Drill with assorted bits
1" speedbor bit or 1" hole saw
Awl or Nail to place drill starting mark in PVC
Utility knife
Hydroponic Supplies Needed
Your choice of hydroponic nutrients (I'm using Botanicare Pure Blend Pro)
Your choice of grow media (I used about 15 liters of clay balls)
1 - 27 gallon heavy duty plastic storage box with recessed plastic lid
10' of 1/2" PVC pipe
5 - 90 deg PVC elbows
3 - PVC T connectors
1 - 3/4" to 1/2" PVC reducer
1 - 3/4" PCV pipe to 3/4" Male Thread connector
4 - 1/2" PVC J-Hook Hangers
1 - Male Quick Disconnect to male 3/4" hose thread
1 - Female Quick Disconnect to female 3/4" hose thread
1 - 1/2" hose barb to female 3/4" hose thread
1 - rubber washer with filter screen
3' of 1/2" flexible rubber hose
1 - Active Aqua PU160 water pump
12' 1/4' O.D. drip line hose
12 - Drip stakes or drip nozzles with tie down stakes
12 - Square Plastic pots sized to fit 3 across top of tote lid
1 - 24 Hr timer with 15 minute on/off timing intervals
The first 11 items on the list were all purchased from Home Depot and can be picked up at most hardware stores. The remaining item were purchased from a local hydroponics store in Billerica MA [www.greenlifegardensupply.com]. I highly recommend them if you are local; If not most items can be picked up via the WEB or at a local garden supply shop. I purchased everything new for a total cost of about $70.
Tools Needed
Miter box and miter saw or hack saw for cutting PVC
Sand paper, small round file, or deburring tool to debur cut PVC
PVC purple primer and cement adhesive
Electric Drill with assorted bits
1" speedbor bit or 1" hole saw
Awl or Nail to place drill starting mark in PVC
Utility knife
Hydroponic Supplies Needed
Your choice of hydroponic nutrients (I'm using Botanicare Pure Blend Pro)
Your choice of grow media (I used about 15 liters of clay balls)
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Case in point... Farmtek sells some really nice NFT channels that I was going to buy for a small lettuce system (Can't find these locally). Pricewise they really aren't all that bad, so for ~$50 I could have had a decent sized system in the basement (Probably 30 heads of lettuce). However, they basically told me UPS won't ship anything over 7 ft. So of course if UPS ain't shipping it, it has to go freight. They have a flat charge of $120 for a freight shipment. So my $50 order basically jumped three fold in price just due to the shipping. You'd have to be starting a greenhouse to make it worth your while.
Couple of quick questions for you... are you aerating the solution at all with an air pump? What temp is your solution or I should say what is the general year round air temp?
I'm going to try aeration next, see if that helps and if that does nothing I might get a fish tank heater to raise the reservoir temp by 10 degrees. This is what's frustrating about hydro, when it's right it's really right and when it's wrong it could be one of a thousand things causing it.
Gotta say I also love your system for the portability potential. Just wash out the reservoir and you could use it as storage if you ever had to move!
Also installed a bubbler which is only set to go on when the pump goes on, which is about ~3-4 minutes every 30 minutes (I have dripper tubes without the drip restrictor). So far it seems to be helping, but you are probably better setup to get reliable data on such an addition. At the very least, I no longer have to worry about giving them too much water.
One of the drawbacks of your system is multiple reservoirs. With a 400 watt light you can definitely squeeze two of your systems comfortably in, maybe 3-4 if it's a tight squeeze (Lower light and high ceilings). Anyway to prevent having to manage multiple reservoirs you could just create some sort of fixed siphon tube between the two reservoirs. Have the pump in one reservoir sending nutrients to both tanks' plants. Both tanks will always balance out if you have the siphon tube connecting them, presumably evacuated of all air and the outlets on both almost at the bottom of both tanks.
The only negative in this setup is that ph changes will take a long time to take effect across both tanks and may only occur once the system starts pumping again. Also if the siphon gets evacuated, i.e., air gets into it, then you are in trouble. If the tube is clear though you could do a visual check everytime you come check on your plants with hardly any effort.
There is an undercurrent system that actually attaches reservoirs near the base of the tanks using pvc tube which could also work, but I wouldn't really trust that not to leak. The siphon at least prevents a leaky junction, but with potential leaks coming from a failed siphon vacuum when the pump overflows one side of the system.
Now I primarily use a commerical solution and add small amounts of organic solution to supplement it. As long as you don't overdo it with the organic solution, I think this is a happy medium. If you want 100% organic, stick with soil.
I was only using a single 400W HPS for all those plants, but I found that the plants at the croners were getting a little light deprived. I added a light mover and it helped out a lot.
I have not had the best luck moving plants from soil to hydroponic medium. Removing the dirt is very traumatic to the plant but is necessary to keep the nutrient solution clean. For best chance of success I recommend starting plants in a hydroponic starter medium like rock wool or use Jiffy peat pellets. I have been using the peat pellets very successfully. They are cheep and you can find them at just about any gardening store. Good luck!
I have found that some plant types/varieties do better than others in a hydroponic setting. I have yet to find a green bean variety that did well for me. The green beans seemed to show a similar problem to what you described above, did not yield well, and I never got to the bottom of it. If you don't have good luck with one variety, try a different one the next time.
Such an easy system to run, and very productive. The individual pots are great for rotating plants in and out of the system.