ok so i have been prowling around this board reading a lot of great information and im ready to make the move from soil to hydroponic!
i chose to go with a deep water system as it seems to be the simpliest and best method for me.
so basically i built a box. it measures 4x8 i plan to have 32 plants at 12" space intervals. the box is 18" deep and lined with pool liner. i have 2 55 gallon drums that will act as an auto top off system(in conjunction with a float switch)
under every plant will be a 6" round airstone to provide maximum oxygen.
i have a few questions past this part...
with this design the water level will always be 18" deep. some people have told me NOT to keep the plants roots submerged 24/7 and others have told me as long as the air stone is pumpin air at the roots its prefectly fine.
ill be using a TDS meter to measure my nutes.
im having some trouble in finding out how often should i replace the water in the system? what water should i be replacing it with? the total water volume is about 350 gallons so using a garden hose will likely be my water source. (r/o unit would KILL my water bill) should i use any water treatments like what you use if you were to use tap water in a fish tank?
thanks for much for your reply's! ill post some pics if anyone is confused as what im trying to explain here
i realise most people prefer to keep several plants in many smaller containers but in the long run this seems much easier to just "pull the plug" on 32 plants have the tray drain into the drain then refill it back up with water stored in pre-ready ph balanced drums.
i chose to go with a deep water system as it seems to be the simpliest and best method for me.
so basically i built a box. it measures 4x8 i plan to have 32 plants at 12" space intervals. the box is 18" deep and lined with pool liner. i have 2 55 gallon drums that will act as an auto top off system(in conjunction with a float switch)
under every plant will be a 6" round airstone to provide maximum oxygen.
i have a few questions past this part...
with this design the water level will always be 18" deep. some people have told me NOT to keep the plants roots submerged 24/7 and others have told me as long as the air stone is pumpin air at the roots its prefectly fine.
ill be using a TDS meter to measure my nutes.
im having some trouble in finding out how often should i replace the water in the system? what water should i be replacing it with? the total water volume is about 350 gallons so using a garden hose will likely be my water source. (r/o unit would KILL my water bill) should i use any water treatments like what you use if you were to use tap water in a fish tank?
thanks for much for your reply's! ill post some pics if anyone is confused as what im trying to explain here
i realise most people prefer to keep several plants in many smaller containers but in the long run this seems much easier to just "pull the plug" on 32 plants have the tray drain into the drain then refill it back up with water stored in pre-ready ph balanced drums.