Comment

Comment by Nate Storey on March 1, 2010 at 9:40am

Rupert,
I can regulate it, but I usually don't because the media i use is great at allowing percolation and preventing root clogs- at least until plants are really over-mature. The media i use is a polyester matrix material made from recycled water bottles- two halves with plants between them. The media has huge biological surface area compared to any other media i've looked at. (between 600 and 800 sq. ft./cubic ft.) and the volume of each tower is approx 0.5 cubic feet- so each tower gives me between 300 and 400 cubic ft. bio. surf. area- it adds up.

I run water at a really high flow rate (1 gal./7 min.) to keep my nitrification rate really high- doesn't hurt the plants at all- a lot of turbulance and boundary effects inside of the towers. my water runs through a settlement/duckweed tank then a UV clarifier before it irrigates my towers- kills the snails upstream of my towers and prevents any disease problems from getting out of hand (no prob.s yet- unlike my previous system). The water dumps directly into my aquaculture tanks- the tubes seem to really do a great job at removing any leftover susp. solids, although if i'm using peat to start seedlings the water comes out a tad tannic. (i kind of like it). if i'm using alternatives the water stays crystal clear.

Comment by RupertofOZ on March 1, 2010 at 9:24am

Forgot to add...

Do you collect and reuse the water from the towers, and if so, do you need to filter it before re-use?

Comment by RupertofOZ on March 1, 2010 at 9:22am

Thanks Nate, doesn;t make sense to use continuously rated pumps on a timer, as you say, it just burns them out..

So any idea what sort of flow you put through each tower/hr?...

Whats the media and approx volume in each tower?

And do you have to regulate the flow once the plants are maturing.. to prevent overflow due to root mass?

Comment by Nate Storey on March 1, 2010 at 9:18am

Thanks Steven,
I think they're pretty too.

Rupert,
I'm running continuous flow, but I have run on timers in the past. The primary reason I run continuously is to keep my pumps working- my pumps are way oversized (but they were free!) and the hard-starts several times a day were killing them. I'd rather pay a little extra for electricity than a lot extra for new pumps or replacement parts.

Comment by Steven Sashen on February 28, 2010 at 11:39pm

"super compact, super productive" and, might I add, super beautiful!

Comment by RupertofOZ on February 28, 2010 at 10:33pm

Scratch thefirst question, just read the notes on the second last photo showing your watering method...

So, do you run continous flow, or a timer cycle?

Comment by RupertofOZ on February 28, 2010 at 10:31pm

Very nice Nate....

How are you supplying the plants.... drip feed, that just runs down through the column???

Do you collect and/or reuse the water???

And do you use a standard hydroponic nutrient mix??