and what is the purpose of the chiller??
Thanks for the pics. I went to Lowes today and found everything except the sprayers, the only ones there looked like mini sprinklers. I say some like yours but thew were 180 deg. Have yous started growing anything in your system? curious to see how it will work.
thanks
That system looks fuckin great. Im in my first grow but in soil. I am thinking about going to hydro because of the higher yields. Atleast thats what I heard. I was wondering how hard it is to keep the water the way it needs to be as far as Ph, nutes, and whatever else you add?
It is an aeroponics/NFT feeding system. the Pipes are on a decline angle back to the resivoir so gravity brings the water back to the res. they are sprayed from the top by the yellow mist heads that you can get thru your local hydro shop.
Great design! I have a similar design in the testing stages using buckets... they all have their own root area!
+Rep
dude you are smart. seriously. Props A+ all that.![]()
Could you put a few more pics on here. I dont know much about this type of growing. Im just trying to see all the piping and understand what they all do. Thanks
Dang that looks so very hightech. All its missing is some computers and stuff.
The 40 gallon reservoir which holds the water/nutes sits below the 6" PVC pipes. The 1" pipe along the floor comes from the rez, goes to a pump (lower right). The pump discharges in to an inline filter (black plastic) and then to a 3/4"PVC pipe header system where it is distributed to the small black plastic hoses which feed the sprayers inside the 6" PVC. That 6" PVC is angled downward and all the water flows back towards the 6"tee and spills back to the resevoir. The larger black hoses you see go to a small chiller and back. There is a seperate pump INSIDE the rez that just sends water to the chiller and back...thats all.
if you build it .. , they will come. slap a big a 'GO HYDRO' on the side of that bitch and get it patened... ill take three..nice work im stoked to see it in action
and the chiller, that going the exra mile.. good work hydro +rep
Your system is very nice, gohydro,(+rep) but I think you'd have to get your cost down to go commercial.After the test run I may consider going to my local hydro shop and striking up a deal.
Your system is very nice, gohydro,(+rep) but I think you'd have to get your cost down to go commercial.
The GH aeroflo2 sells on ebay for $340 for a 20 site to $890 for the 60 site.
What made you decide to DIY vs. a turnkey solution?
How often do the sprayers spray the plants? Is it hooked up to a timer?
Right now the sprayers are running 24/7. I will experiment with some on/off times.
Heat is the #1 reason people run the pump on a timer.
Theoretically aeroponics will provide enough o2 to the roots, that they should not need a "drying out" time, like as is required with soil or ebb and flow hydroponics.
However, it seems that the problem isn't the lack of o2, but the fact that when roots are soaked consistently, they tend to mat together. When the roots are fluffy and spread out, they grow many tiny little white hairs that are very effective at absorbing water, nutes and o2. When they become matted, you will see less of these fine root hairs and the plants will not grow as fast.
So, the #2 reason would be to allow the roots time to dry out, not to provide o2 in and of itself, but to allow the roots to "fluff up" again(which they will not do if being sprayed constantly).