This is the second of the four new systems that I have planed. I built this one for tomatoes. I thought that the bottle design that I had for my peppers would do nicely except that the bottles would be too small for the root system for large tomato plants. So I made some larger (4 liter) containers. I hope these will be large enough, but will see.
I had to modify the containers because I didn't think that the plastic they were made of would support the plants weight at the bottoms. I cut some plastic disks from an storage tote that I already had and glued it to the bottoms of the new bottles using Liquid Nails. It took much longer than I anticipated to harden (I probably used the wrong kind).
I then cut a hole in the center and inserted top and bottom P.V.C. connectors in the hole and tightened them down. make note of the bottom piece of the connector that threads into the top piece. In the picture you see threads to thread into another piece but should simply slip onto the P.V.C. tubing (I took the wrong picture). Then glued the connectors in place with polyurethane glue that is designed to bond with plastic to make it strong and waterproof.
I just made the base of the system using P.V.C., cutting it to the size I wanted dry fitting it all together and marking the connections with a marker. Then just gluing it all together with P.V.C. primer and glue, making sure to line up the marks so it would be straight. I didn't glue the containers to the P.V.C. tubing because I wanted to be able to disconnect them from the bottom part of the system for cleaning, trimming roots back or if any other problems would arise.
To keep the
growing medium inside the containers and not going down the P.V.C., tubing I found an $2 heater filter (pictured) that I just cut the screening out of and lined the bottom of the containers with. Placed a few cleaned and sterilized rocks in top of it to keep it in place. Then just filled with growing medium and plants.
Oh also the
nutrient reservoir I found at Walmart for $3.50, it is a simple 18 gallon storage container. I painted it black to block light to keep algae growth down and white to reflect light and Keep nutrient temp down, I also painted the containers the same way. I will be warping the P.V.C. with pipe insulation so that will light proof that part also as well as keep it from getting to hot or cold.
The return line back to the reservoir is not glued because I want to be able to adjust the water level by changing the height of the tube. It is also important to remember to drill a small hole in the top of the return tube to prevent air bubbles from letting it function properly. The plants are spaces 3 feet apart because tomato plants can get quite large.
Parts list:
containers (I found at the dollar store) $2.09 x4 $8.18
P.V.C. tubing $1.57 x2 $3.14
ten pack of P.V.C. "T" connectors $3
ten pack of P.V.C. "elbow" connectors $3
Liquid nails $1.74
polyurethane glue $4
P.V.C. primer and glue $5
storage container for reservoir $3.50
paint, 2 black and 2 white $. 99 x4 $4
Total about $36
I already had the connector to connect the PVC to the vinyl tubing but that is only about $.50, I also already had the
pump but would be about $30.