Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Step 18Add the float valve
Fix the float valve to the water bucket so the float sits in the water, and the water flows into the bucket.
My greenhouse came with two metal meshes to act as a floor, or something, so I tied one to the bucket, and tied the float to it.
Attach the hose to the float, and you are done with construction!
Safety
One last thing you want to be sure of, is where your power cord is.
Keep it up high, and off the ground.
One overflow and you could be electrocuted, don't mess around with electricity!
My greenhouse came with two metal meshes to act as a floor, or something, so I tied one to the bucket, and tied the float to it.
Attach the hose to the float, and you are done with construction!
Safety
One last thing you want to be sure of, is where your power cord is.
Keep it up high, and off the ground.
One overflow and you could be electrocuted, don't mess around with electricity!
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
1. The 3 mediums I use (including Vermiculite) are just to hold the plants in place, and nothing more.
The reason we get away from dirt is that dirt has a lot of problems with it.
Dirt can hold seeds from different weeds, and makes for a great home for pests and plant disease.
It also has a tendency to become bogged down in water & compacting.
Without worms to turn the dirt, the plant roots will start to suffocate.
The mediums I use hold water without compacting, the air can still flow freely.
2. Natural & Organic are misleading terms.
Plants only take in basic nutrients, such as nitrogen, Potassium, Calcium etc.
Have a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_nutrition
If you have ever done a science class, you will notice they are all basic elements from the periodic table.
There is no such thing as inorganic nitrogen, it either is nitrogen, or it isn't!
When you feed dirt plants things such as manure, they can't eat it. They rely on tiny micro-organisms to break it down to the base forms they need.
All we are doing here is skipping the manure & micro-organisms and giving them what they need directly.
The reasons the plants grow so well, is not because we are drugging them, but because we are giving them a massive buffet of all the foods they want!
3. Tomatoes do very well in hydroponics. I would recommend a different system for them though, as they need height to grow, and bigger plants will have a bigger root ball, which will clog the pipes.
I was originally planning on doing some cherry tomatoes in this system, but they were out of season here. Maybe that would be a good starting point if you want to build a system like mine.
Good luck building something of your own, if you want more help with different types of systems, let me know, I have done a lot of research into the many different ways to do hydroponics :)