I am really intrigued by that design. I haven't read the entire thing on wikipedia, but I was thinking of a similar setup a while ago using inverted sections of pvc. I wouldn't be able to go 3' tall with the root zone though, my ceilings aren't tall enough. I ended up going dwc though instead. If you build this design you're proposing, I'm sure there are plenty of people on here, myself included of course, who'd be curious to see it in action.

And not just to see it of course, but also to know the difference in how it really runs, vs a much cheaper low pressure hybrid sort of setup like the one I built out of 6" pvc. I actually grew plants to harvest with only 360ppm, (at the .7EC conversion). Obviously that strain really liked a low tds, but still, that is a ridiculously low number. The system was also very sensitive to temperature.

I bought 12, .012" misting noz, a 100psi pump ($147), ordered a gage, and am assembling odds and ends for a little 36"x48" table. I have found a timer on ebay that I think will deliver the 2sec. on, 2min off regime I need, aproxamatly.
Intend to set up a low catch basin on the floor w/ poly film and 2x4's to catch any stray nute mix. The emmision from the noz is like fog, so I am led to believe. It should almost all land on the roots to be absorbed. Each ring of misters will be turned on only when the root mass reaches their level.
Haven't begun to think about nutes, and Wiki doesn't tell us squat. Got a suggestion or two?
Oh, Harvey, regarding "rights." My opperating assumption is that I have none; chance of outgunning the gubmint, zilch. What to do? I say, be a sneak, and be sure that everyone loves you. It is not difficult. We are all suckers for a cheezy compliment.

Well, that's not being very strong! And I'm not advocating trying to outgun the government. Although I'd say if the people at waco had opened fire on those tarp covered trucks when they first pulled up, and then everyone scattered, all those women and kids wouldn't have been burned alive by the ATF. But they weren't the bad people the media made them out to be, that's why they didn't open fire. I believe all that would happen if more people started getting into gunfights with "authorities", is it would create a further justification for a police state in the eyes of the uneducated masses, and the police state agenda would be furthered. At least until it surpassed a certain percentage of the populace, then it would become a revolution.

Nutrients, a lot of people would probably suggest the AN 3 part, I'm currently using botanicare's pure blend pro "hydro organic" nutrients. I did run this in my low pressure aero/nft system too, but I'd rather use "clear" nutrients for what you're doing, I'm pretty sure the AN stuff is clear.

What you're doing is beyond what a lot of the rest of us on here have done complexity wise, so be sure to keep us updated..and post PICS!

I'm curious what your tds will be, what you'll do with your pH, what the roots will look like, what temperature you'll actually have in the root zone, etc, etc. And then once you get it dialed in..I want to see if it beats my DWC..hahaha. Although the way my current grow's going, that may not be much of a challenge. Damn spider mites, weird random problems, uugghh.

Regarding nutes: this is a one-pass system, so the pH will not change, over time, I expect. The concentration will be critical. It'll be a a matter of starting conservative and gradually jacking the concentration. I will chat with the the most authoratative ppl I can find.
A couple of concerns: the feeding cycle may need to change when the lights go off, since the biological lift system for the nutes will be pretty much shut down. Oh, I found a recycle timer with the proper cycle times on Ebay. Maybe I won't need the Arduino rig.

CO2 enrichment presents problems. It's well neigh impossibe cool the room with air changes and still maintain meaningful CO2 enrichment. I wonder if the plants demand more CO2 when the lights are on or off. If you could do CO2 with lights out only, it gets easier.
As anyone can see, this is a Science Project I don't know how it's going to turn out, but I am pleased to share my thoughts and struggles with yous guys. I'll put up pix when there's something to look at other than just money flying out the window. I am reluctant to give details of my purchases because a slightly motivated narc could easily track them to my front door. Later

Plants use co2 as they photosynthesize. The amount of co2 they actually use can be surpising. Plants under a couple thousand watts use more co2 than produced by a normal person's baseline metabolism. Lights off, being in the room steadily raises the co2.


In nature, co2 is usually the limiting factor in growth, there is usually a huge excess of light, nutrients, water, etc, but only 390ppm or so of atmospheric co2. That is one way to tell "global climate change" as a result of a rise in co2 levels is pure bullshit. The plants would just eat it up and keep everything in balance. The other way to tell it's pure bullshit is by looking at the motivations behind it..in addition to making Al Gore unbelievably rich, it would be used to finance world government by taxing whole nations on their co2 emissions. In effect taxing every breath we take.

Harvey, I won't hijack this thread, but I have to comment on your opinion on global warning...are you kidding ?! How much proof do you need before it sinks in that we are killing the planet ?

You do know the earth is round, right ?

If you wish to pursue this argument, please start another thread and let me know where. Thanks

I think the preferred term is elliptical and not round

I have no interest in debating the global warming/global climate change thing publicly.

PMs sent.

All I'm going to say here is we might be "killing the planet", (a subjective enough statement there), but we're sure as fuck not doing that with co2!

Hi, I've got my test on the high-pressure misting system rigged and running. Shot a pic, but see no way to post it.
So, here's what I'm doing. 110vac into a n Aquatec model TACS114-48 transformer w/ 24v output. Goes to Aquetec CDP 8800 pressure boost pump. ("Pressure boost," means don't expect this pump to lift on the inlet side. The reservoir gots to be higher than the pump.) The pump has John Guest fittings, pretty nice system, but new to me. Search the net for info.
From the pump to a 1/2" pvc pipe assy. with a pressure gage. Start it up, the gage flutters between 75 and 100psi with each cycle of the pump. It's a blurr. OK, so I installed a .012" mister. No surprises, squirts a beautiful, fine mist about 18" high, 8 or 9 " dia. The pattern silhouette is shaped like a football, high in the middle, w/ max spread at 1/2 ht. The mist carries on an imperceptable air current, like smoke.

I built a spray-type cloner, looks OK. Bumming around Utube, I watched a clip by the designer of the EZ cloner, a guy from Organ, I think.
He stressed that the nute solution should be kept to 'bout 70 deg. F. He has a chiller on his system. Hey, wade a minute! He has a submersible pump,(mine is 25w) warming the solution, then buys a chiller? Don't use a submersible pump, Goofball.
I knocked apart my pump to see if the water-in-circuit was cooling the pump motor. Sure enough, it does that. Probably true of most submersible pumps. So, gotta find an air-cooled pump for my cloner. A reasonably priced 110v pump is a monster 1/2 HP= 350+ watts. I'm shopping now for a little DC powered pump. Of course I'll need a transformer. Stay toooned.

P.S., I think the high pressure Aquatec pump is a diaphram type, as opposed to, say, an impeller type, hence the flutter of the gage.
The more you know about the stuff you buy and use, the better, methinks.