NFT gutter medium options

M

Mista556

Member
Hello all!
I've been using this forum for many lessons for a while but haven't ever made an account, but I'm in a dilemma currently and could use some opinions.
I'm building a gutter system, 5 3.5' gutters with a 600hps. Now I can either:

A) put a solid gutter guard over the gutter and cut holes for net pots with neoprene covers.
B) use rockwool cubes and fill the gutter with hydroton.
C) fill gutter with hydroton and bury the empty netpots with neoprene covers within the hydroton.

I'm kinda favoring option A due to lower maintenance and reusability but can't make up my mind completely.

So what do you guys think?
 
M

Mista556

Member
Hm I guess I was expecting more.. I googled excessively for a few days on the matter to no avail, whereas it seems like it was a simple choice.

I'll take some pictars while I'm building it and post them in
A couple weeks.

Thanks!
 
Shivaskunk

Shivaskunk

Well-Known Member
use pvc pipes instead of gutter and just drill or cut holes to fit your netpots..fill em with hydroton. Ive done gutters and pvc and trust me pvc piping is sooooo much better. my avatar pic over

<----- is all pvc pipe nft.
 
superstoner1

superstoner1

Well-Known Member
or use the pvc square fence post, i love em. forget the rw and hydroton(after you step on one or two pieces in bare feet you will really hate it) they are just more areas for problems and a waste of money.
 
M

Mista556

Member
Shiva, what happened in your experience that caused you to dislike the gutters?

Super, I like the fence post idea and it seems popular due to simplicity and easy installation, I may end up going with them. I was also thinking.. I believe in your thread you don't do a constant flow NFT. What if you did constant flow and installed a computer fan in the post this allowing more airflow in the root area. This may be a dumb idea, but it was just floating around in my head.

My past experience is all outdoors but some animal dug under my fence this year and destroyed a lot of my shot so indoors it is for now on. I'm really just trying to weigh the pros/cons of the gutter vs PVC fence but at the end of the day I think either will work. I like the layout possibilities with gutters due to using downspouts for vertical grows and 90* elbows.
 
superstoner1

superstoner1

Well-Known Member
its been tried and failed many times. too many issues like res temp, roots getting too dry or getting smothered. honestly, it is amazing to see to root and plant growth in this system.
 
waterdawg

waterdawg

Well-Known Member
I used fence posts but the only issue was the holes for the net pots were exactly the same size as the outside dimension of the post so drilling holes can be a bit tricky. Other than that no issues. In saying that I finally went with a tray on top of a rez for space concerns and it was a bit simpler for 6-9 pots IMO.
 
Shivaskunk

Shivaskunk

Well-Known Member
Problem with gutters is light getting in...other than that I just got WAY better root growth in piping and double the yield. Also less evaporation than in gutters....gutters do work awesome for getting roots growing on cuttings...easier to keep roots apart and see them. I would early veg in gutters then late veg flower.in pipes. Once they get going the roots grow into one large mat theneventually right into the res. So there is no moving em
 
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