my first system

[CAPT38]

Well this is my first system, its not finished yet but here is what I have so far..

[cable24601]

nice system. does each one of the pots have a drain back in to the reserve or do they drain on to the top of the tote and then the lid of the tote has a drain?

[CAPT38]

Thanks cable,
I drilled holes in the top of the tote, and am using a y garden hose fitting one line feeds the micro drip heads and one recirculates back into the tank.
you can see it better if you follow this link My hydroponic garden

and thanks again

[halfway]

What are you using for lights CAPT?

Looks good.

[CAPT38]

Hey halfway,
For now, all I am using is standard. cfl. Bulb in a book reader light. When i get back from work I'll be looking for a better light any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. ( lowes sells a very large CFL that a screw in light I was thinking about getting it and a clamp on fixture.)

so far I have 200 invested in this system including. The nutes and other miscellaneous items. I also plan to build a grow tent fro this system, but that may have to wait due to other hydro projects (Also trying to culture portabella mushrooms ) ( make lettuce raft ) and ( a 12 bucket drip for outside for my indoor transfers)
So I've got a lot on my plate and hope to have a lot in my fridge!!
Thanks for commenting.

[GpsFrontier]

I may not be the best person to reply because I have never used lights to grow plants (yet), but I think the tube florescent lights would be the best way to go, compared to cfls (compact florescent lights). Assuming florescent lighting is what we are talking about, and not high energy discharge lighting ("HID"/MH and hps). I was looking at some the other day, and was leaning toward the T8 bulbs. I think that would be the best bang for buck. The T 12's are cheaper, but put out less unsaleable light (lumen's). The particular T 12's I saw were 24 inch tubes, and put out 750 lumen's, the T 8's were also 24 inch but put out 1250 lumen's, and were only 2 dollars more (at about $10).

The light fixtures were not that much either, running about $12 and held between 2 and 4 tubes. Just make sure you get a fixture that's for the right bulb (T12/T8), their not interchangeable. Otherwise you need to exchange them for the right ones, or swap out the ballasts. These prices were at ACE hardware, and in my experience Lowe's and Home Depot are generally cheaper on just about everything.