george j warner
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Sep-02-2006
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Message #43694 posted by george j warner (Info) June 01, 2007 15:16:42 ET
In Reply to: I need help posted by duckmerunning (Info) May 31, 2007 12:24:26 ET
ok this is laymans terms of describing any given hydro system
1) DWC system (deep water culture)
imagine a glass of water with a straw in . you slowly blow down the straw and the water bubbles . finished lol
we call them bubble buckets because they bubble and fizzy
its a bucket or tank that has a air stone in the bottom(like in a fish tank ) ,which is connected to a air pump (like a water pump just for air ) . this pump is on all the time ..so all the time the bucket is bubbling and fizzing
then you have a lid on the bucket with a hole in the middle that holds a pot that put is normally small (the size of your hand ) and filled with clay balls
when the plant has roots the roots are in the fizzy water which makes them grow VERY FAST ... end
2) drip sytem
a drip system is the easiest of the hydro systems
what it is is a automatic situation where in stead of watering the plant by hand the system does it for you but after it waters it the water returns back to where it came from (the tank) ... normally drip systems are used with clayballs ..not soil or the tank "where the water returns" will be dirty .
its a pot or pots on a tray that is slightly tilted so when you water it runs down to 1 end !
that "end" has a hole in with a pipe back to the tank (the tank will be like a really big bucket!bigger the better .)
in the tank is a water pump which is plugged in to the socket on the wall on a timer set for watering once(15mins) every 3 hours ....that pump has a hose in it which goes up to the plants, then into a manifold (like your hand the wrist goes into 5 fingers each smaller than the wrist) to find the plants or just goes to one
so when the pump turns on ,the water gos up a pipe seperates and waters a plant or lots of plants the ends of the feeding hoes are stakes into the top of the clay balls.then the water drains out the bottom onto the tray and down the pipe to the tank.
end
3) NFT system (nutrient film techneque)
this is a thick NORMALLY SQUARE PIPE which has holes in the top that the plants sit in can be pots (like the dwc system)
and when the roots are growns out the pots IN THE PIPE a constant flow of water is pasted down the pipe .
the bottom end of the pipe has the tank and a pump in the tank which has 1 pipe that goes to the top end of the pipe .
simple end
4) flood and drain
this is also a simple system , its a bit like a drip system
from below .
there is a tank at the bottom. the pump in the tank has a hose that goes to a tray, another end a drain pipe goes back to the tank but the pipe is slightly raised off the bottom so the water has to flood the tray before it drains back!
the tray is filled with clay balls. plants are put in the clay balls and grown without pots, you cant see the roots because there below the clay balls .
the pump is on a timer with it on for the esact time for the tray to fill (this you need to do find out for yourself ) when the pump is turns on the tray floods and then when it reaches the end of the time it drains back through the pump ..... if it ever over flows the drain pipe (like on a bath just below the taps )drains the water back ....
hence the name flood and drain ..... its sometime called "ebb and flow " ,"flood and drain" .....end
5) aeroponice systems
aeroponic sytem is the same as a dwc system except there isnt any water in the bucket ...there is a water sprinkler (like you see on someones lawn) but much smaller this is connected to a hose that is connected to a pump ... the pump sits in a tank under the bucket and there is a drainage pipe from the bottom of the bucket to the tank
then there is a water heater in the tank to make the sprinkled water slighly warm and then it mistes/ creates like a condensation effect in the inside of the bucket (like a rain forest)very humid ....
the pump can be turned on for as long as you want it can even be on constantly. but timed is better .
so the plants sits in the top of the bucket (like a dwc system)and the roots grow into the inside of the bucket where they are misted /sprinkled with slightly warm water 65/75 degrees F is fine (it says on the pump)
the plants grow fast like a dwc but its hard to make unlike the other systems
thats the main 5 hydro systems i will draw up some explanation pics if you need them but i cant atm ...
hope this helps
peace
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