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1st Attempt at Hydroponics.. Need Help


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  #1  
Old 12-20-2010, 04:28 PM
kargren kargren is offline
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Default 1st Attempt at Hydroponics.. Need Help

So I am trying to grow ephedra in my home and have 7 seedlings already started as potted plants but they are not growing well at all and I am getting fruit flies so I am trying to build a hydro system that will hopefully make them grow a bit better with no fruit flies.

The system I am looking at is a single storage tote as the main holder with a 4 inch pvc pipe in the center with small holes drilled in the last inch of the pipe to let water back into the pipe. In the pipe will be a small submersible water pump to push the water back up into drip rings around the plants.

I am going to rig up some plastic tubing with small holes into a mesh to cover the bottom of the tote then use a air pump to constantly pump in air to help aerate the water. Maybe get a 2nd one and connect it to the drip water to aerate that as well.

What I am wondering is if I put 4-5 inches of gravel or lava rock in the bottom of the tote then vermiculite for 5-6 inches above that to hold the plants. I am thinking of only getting the water to the same level as the gravel this will let the vermiculite drain out into the gravel in the bottom.

So do you think this system will work as described or will I just be drowning my plants?

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Old 12-20-2010, 10:10 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Hello kargren,
I'm not sure if I understand your planed setup correctly. I attached some pictures of how it seems to be described to me. Let me know if it wrong. If I understand correctly you plan to put rock at the bottom to cover the 4 inch PVC tube, then have another tube that comes up through the end cap of the 4 inch PVC tube. That tube is attached to the pump in the lower reservoir, and comes all the way up to the dippers on top of the growing medium (vermiculite) to water the plants.

And you plan to have some holes drilled into the side of the 4 inch PVC tube that will allow the water to drain back down into the lower reservoir. These holes will be drilled at a specific height in order to maintain some water at the bottom of the tote with the plants at all times (about 1 inch of water) Witch you plan to aerate. You plan the growing medium to be 9 to 11 inches deep (4-5 inches of gravel/rock, and 5-6 inches of vermiculite).

Basically you are wondering by having the one inch of continues water in the bottom of the tote with the plant (even if it's aerated) will keep the roots to wet/saturated for a ephedra plant. I am not familiar with ephedra plants I will need to look them up, and unfortunately I'm out of time right now but will look them up later tonight. But I would think likely not. I am also not sure how extensive there root systems get witch would be a concern in the total amount of growing medium used providing enough root space. Though I don't see anything really wrong with how I assume you have it planed, I would do it a little different that would be easier to build and maintain and still accomplish the same thing. But I don't know what materials you have available to you, and/or even if I'm picturing your planed setup correctly.
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Old 12-21-2010, 11:23 PM
kargren kargren is offline
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Ok you got it half right. there is no seperate resiviour. it is totally housed by the 1 tote no holes at all int he tote itself. The pvc goes to the lid level of the tote and the pump tube and wires come out of the pvc pipe. Really just usin the pvc to help filter the vermiculite and be able to check the water levels. I will post some pictures when I get a chance I just got it running tonight gonna try it for a bit find the flaws and redesign as i need to. So far only flaw is thatI forgot filter cloth around the base of the pvc to keep the water clear of particles, so i have some small clogs right now in my drip tubeing.
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Old 12-22-2010, 02:52 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Hello kargren,
I just did a quick search for the Ephedra plant. If it's this this plant"

Ephedra (genus) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It looks like it is a shrub that grows in dry climates, I don't think it will do well with wet feet. The water level in the setup you described will be always be the same. By not having a separate reservoir you will be limited in the amount of water you can put in the tote. By having the water level as low as possible you will be running the risk of running the pump dry daily. And the growing medium being less than a foot deep, the roots system will grow down into the water (getting their feet wet).

I'm not sure how big this bush gets, or how wide your tote is, but I would use a separate container for the reservoir for sure, and try to keep most of the standing water out of the bottom because I don't think that plant would like wet feet. But you probably would know more about that than me. Basically you are describing a water culture/drip system combination. Typically water culture systems are better for plants that don't mind getting their feet wet.
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Old 12-22-2010, 08:34 AM
kargren kargren is offline
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Yes thats the exact plant. Yah thats what I was worried about. Hopefully they will grow for a bit in this system then I can transplant them to a larger setup before they reach the water level. I went a little overboard on the vermiculate so it actualy about 4 inches of lava rock and 12 of vermiculate.

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