Hello Tray,

Thank you for adding us.  We don't have a system started yet.  We still are working to get an area ready.  We haven't even seen a system yet.  We have a friend who has a hydroponics system, and we will be going to see it once he starts it back up for fall/winter.

Thanks for the comment. Sorry it took so long to get back. I live in South Alabama, almost on the Florida border near Dothan. My system is still small and completely out in the weather. Last winter I had a rough time keeping the water warm-until I finally broke down and bought some heaters. This Summer I experimented with different plants and tried to grow ones that were tolerant of the oppressive heat. I'm now starting to plant more winter crops with mixed results. I put in some basil about two weeks ago and it is already starting to bolt. Tomatoes, Peppers, and especially Eggplant did very well this summer. I'll be posting some pictures soon. I will say that, getting the system built and started can be difficult (especially if you are cheap, like me) but the results are everything people say-and more. It is so easy. I just go out and feed my fish twice a day and pull any refuse from the growbeds. I put redworms in my beds in spring and thought they all died until just recently when I pulled a long-growing basil bush and found big huge worms throughout the roots. Anyway, best of luck to you and feel free to ask me anything. I'll give you all the info I know but must warn you that it is not much. I'm stubborn, cheap, and hard-headed but this first year experience has me thinking about building a greenhouse and expanding for next year.

Happy Birthday!  Sorry for the late reply.  Just getting started in this community website.  The choice of fill and drain vs continuous I think would depend on what you want to grow.  I think if you use a float system then you are limited to certain plants.  I chose to use grow media (pea gravel) and fill and drain as recommended in my aquaponics book for the advantages of drawing oxygen into the root bed and to prevent root rot.  It takes more effort and materials I think to build, plus the bell siphon can be tricky to get started, but once everything is setup and dialed in, it works flawlessly. 

Your Gulf Coast Network idea is a good one.  Do you have any people in mind besides me?