Ebb and flow or nft for media filled channels?

[AJ Grottke]

In the AQ system i am designing along with my e+f trays i will also have a lot of pvc pipe plant beds.  The pvc is 5x5" square and will have the one side of the square cut open to make the plant bed.  My question is whether i should design these pvc grow tubes to we watered by flooding with ebb and flow, or should i just let the water flow through the bottom layer of the media (just like nft) in the pvc grow beds. Please keep in mind that i will have 88 linear feet of these pvc grow tubes. (I am setting these up vertically like a ladder up my 7.5' tall walls to make the most efficient use of space and indoor lighting)  Let me know what u all think. I am pretty sure either would work; im just being a Curios George :)

 

P.S.   A little thing that i have learned form growing hydroponically for 4 years is to grow not only horizontally but vertically.  In my AQ design with only horizontal grow beds had 32 ft2 of growing space. When i designed the same room with plant grow beds on the walls the growing space becomes 100 ft2. The same room will yield 3 times the amount of plant matter because of growing plants on the walls. The AQ room is only 10'x8'=80ft2  that means there is more plant growing space using horizontal and vertical growing than if the entire floor was devoted to growing space with no fish tanks, pathways, etc.  Just some food for thought.  Since i am getting tips and pointers from u all; id figure id share something.

[TCLynx]

I would recommend NOT filling such small channels with media but using them as regular NFT.  Such small channels with media and roots will have all sorts of problems with clogging.  I suggest filtering the water through the regular gravel grow beds before sending it to the channels.

[Sylvia Bernstein]

agree completely with TC.

 

Sounds like a cool setup you have!  Please share photos!

[Johnny Hall]

hi there , i so look forward to following this build you are into now. 5"x5" pvc pipe sounds great to me. i have never seen any and now very curious :) thats a lot larger than my 3" heavy wall , like TCL says i sure would not add any media in said tube even though its a lot larger than my little pipes.

maybe even consider small constant flow?  i also do wonder if specific plants might like the slow flow or even fast flow vs. ebb and flow?

 

i do think i know :) i need small quick growing plants just because of running smaller diameter piping. on your horizontal channel , what degree of slope to drain are you planning?

 

i used seat belt and army backpack webbing as pipe hangers. its very strong and super easy to cut and work with , nor does it slice us open like pipe strap aka plumbers strap always manages to do.

 

hope some of this helps and again i look forward to your progress. johnny

[AJ Grottke]

Thanks for all your replies I really appreciate any help :)  I will start purchasing the materials for my system this week, due to the holiday season it may take me a little while longer to get everything up and running.  I built the grow space in my basement this week (10x8'), and just have a few hydroponic basil plants in it now.  When i get my equipment and start construction i will make a separate post with pictures, details, etc. Starting from the way the room is now, just "bare bones" up to finished AQ system.  Im sure i will be able to share some learning experiences through my failures and success during the build/operation that will help other interested AQ lovers.

 

I am not going to fill the channels with media, but will use net pots filled with the media.  In the nft channels i will use constant flow 24/7.  I will run the h2o to the channels after going through my 4x8ft media filled bed and some sort of ghetto-rigged filter.  As for the slope of the channels i think %2-3 decrease in rise over the total run(length) is about right. I will most likely use standard chain to hang the channels to the ceiling (which will look like a 8' long ladder going up the wall).  Thanks again for your support, im sure ill be asking plenty other questions before my setup is done since i have experienced AQ growers to interact with (i love the internet).  ha!

 

[TCLynx]

if you ever need additional mylar, just get some emergency blankets from the camping section of Wall mart or K mart, lots cheaper than the mylar from the Hydroponic places.

[AJ Grottke]

interesting idea thanks for the tip! (ill keep my eyes peeled i know plenty of broke indoor growers who could use that)

TCLynx said:

if you ever need additional mylar, just get some emergency blankets from the camping section of Wall mart or K mart, lots cheaper than the mylar from the Hydroponic places.

[TCLynx]

I found that they make a fairly good curtain around the lit area when I had a small hydroponic set up in my living room.  With the light behind the curtain you could still see through to the plants but it was like tinted glass so it made it far more comfortable in the room.