Aeroponics using Ultrasonic Fog

by Mack
(Ocala)

I was looking at your aeroponics system and was wondering if you have thought about fitting a fogger/mister on the system? Would this eliminate clogging? and can foggers handle organic fertilizers? Thanks, Mack.

Answer: Mack- the foggers that I have seen all produce their micro-fine water droplets by sending ultrasonic sound waves through a ceramic disc, which is placed down into the nutrient solution. The way the water droplets are created allows this type of setup to handle organic nutrients, and also circumvents the whole problem of clogging (since the nutrient solution is not being forced through the tiny holes in spray heads).

There are other "fog" generators, such as the humidifiers one would place in a child's bedroom or in a very dry house, but these devices tend to produce much larger water droplets than the ultrasonic kinds. Larger water droplets settle much more quickly instead of staying suspended in the air. Just how effective a humidifier can be used to produce a hydroponic fog depends on the size of the system (mainly, the proximity of the plant's roots to the humidifier itself).

Also, not all humidifiers work in the same fashion. The "wick" style humidifiers, in particular, would humidify the air but would probably leave most of the nutrients behind in the humidifier or on the wick (and would probably ruin the wick fairly quickly). This is true for any humidifier using evaporative action instead of physical mist production.

Finally, you will want to consider the design of your hydroponic system. Foggers work best when used in a confined space with short distances from the source of the fog to the roots of the plants. For example, inside a 32 gallon plastic storage tote with plant holes cut in the top. Foggers will not work so well if you are trying to pump or push the fog down an eight foot length of PVC pipe- especially not for the plants at the far end. Hope this helps you out Mack. If you do decide to give this a try, I would love to hear how it turns out!