Beginner Advice

Hi Jason, Lee here from Durban South Africa. Firstly, your site has been invaluable. Thank you. There are a few questions that I need to ask before I get the thing up and running... Will be starting on a very small system till I find my feet. Have opted for the NFT system.

Equipment: 68 litre (16 gallon) reservoir feeding 5 meters (16 feet) of 110 millimetre (4 inch) CYLINDRICAL piping.

Q1: All your diagrams show a square setup. However, I was unable to find square piping big enough, and so opted for cylindrical pipes. Is this still ok? I have bought capillary mats, which I will wrap inside the piping to try disperse the water more evenly around the inside of the pipe.

Q2: I purchased a pump which would (by the time it reaches the start of the system) deliver 12 liters (3 gallons) of water per hour. Is this too much? I read that it should be apx 1 liter per hour...

Q3: Will be using Vermiculite in the pots, will I still need to water this medium once the plants are established, or will they get ALL the water they need from the system?

Q4: I have a very small air pump inside the reservoir. How much air do you think would be suitable. Would it be better if I discarded the air pump and install an inline venturi system instead to deliver the air and keep the reservoir water mixed?

Thanks again for your help with this site, here's looking forward to a successful first attempt :-p
Lee

Answer: Lee- round pipe should work just as well as square pipe for this type of hydroponic system. Many drip systems use 1-2 gallons per hour per plant, so a 3 gallon per hour pump for the whole system would seem a bit too small in my opinion. However, test it out with a few plants first before you decide to change anything....it may turn out to work very well.

The individual plants, if potted in vermiculite, should draw up plenty of water from the capillary mat. Just to be sure, make sure to keep an eye on them the first time you try the system out. Seeing that you are NOT growing your plants in standing water, the plants should do well whether or not you have an air pump in the nutrient reservoir. The venturi system would probably do a better job at keeping the contents of the reservoir evenly mixed.

One final piece of advice....if using this system outdoors in a hot environment, you may want to consider wrapping the pipes in aluminum foil or tin foil. This reflects most of the sun, and keeps the insides of the pipes from warming up as fast. I hope this helps you out Lee, and Happy Growing!