Plants don't give a shit how they get their nutrients. spray at them, bubble it at them, fog it at them, dunk them in it. Shallow water culture has been done for decades. Honestly I Don't know why one would want to do it, may as well just do NFT at that point. But regardless it works.
Shallow dwc system?
- Thread starter Mattsmith1871
- Start date
Mattsmith1871
Active Member
Yeah it's got a constant flow of water so it's more if a DFT system. Thanks for all the replies!
Mattsmith1871
Active Member
Hi yes I agree the grows Ive seen have all been amazing. Fast growth, minimal water and nutrient usage too. I will post a video of the system I have made this week.
PLEDGEY
Member
Did you post a video?. Would be interested to see it.
Mattsmith1871
Active Member
Hi all I've attatched some screenshots, it's currently not up so it's the best i could do! I tried uploading a vid but the file is too large apparently....
I made a cover for the top and a housing to hold the plants (plastic with holes cut for net pots), the roots grow inside the chamber with a constant flow of water. This particular one can run NFT as seen here, or DFT where the top chamber has an inch of running water in it with an added air stone.
I was using this as DFT, because if your pump dies or blocks up or whatever it will buy you some time before the plant dries up/drinks the water in chamber.
very easy and inexpensive to make! You just need a rez (flatter the better I like to use plaster mixing baths as they go from 40-60L, durable black plastic and under $15).
Another 'plaster bath' for the top chamber (the 40L ones are perfect not too deep, they are also a good shape for any space)!
You will also need a platform of some kind to sperate the top chamber from the reservoir below, I don't recommend stacking right on top of each other as I had problems with the pump overheating as it couldn't 'breathe' causing the water too get to dangerous temps.
Water and air pump. (you can have the pump on a timer when in DFT as long as you put an air stone in the top chamber, as the water held in the chamber doesn't need to be cycled constantly, 1hr on 15mins off)
Lastly you'll need a few fittings:
tank connectors and pvc piping, some tubing from pump to top chamber hose pipe will do fine.
Sorry about the late reply! This system is tried and tested now and it has surpassed all other types of hydro in my opinion, due to simplicity, cost effectiveness and performance!
This will hold up to 4 fully grown plants without the pH of ppm levels suffering. I was changing my rea every 9 days and adjusting every 3, never had any dangerous fluctuations at all. Very proud if it lol.
I made a cover for the top and a housing to hold the plants (plastic with holes cut for net pots), the roots grow inside the chamber with a constant flow of water. This particular one can run NFT as seen here, or DFT where the top chamber has an inch of running water in it with an added air stone.
I was using this as DFT, because if your pump dies or blocks up or whatever it will buy you some time before the plant dries up/drinks the water in chamber.
very easy and inexpensive to make! You just need a rez (flatter the better I like to use plaster mixing baths as they go from 40-60L, durable black plastic and under $15).
Another 'plaster bath' for the top chamber (the 40L ones are perfect not too deep, they are also a good shape for any space)!
You will also need a platform of some kind to sperate the top chamber from the reservoir below, I don't recommend stacking right on top of each other as I had problems with the pump overheating as it couldn't 'breathe' causing the water too get to dangerous temps.
Water and air pump. (you can have the pump on a timer when in DFT as long as you put an air stone in the top chamber, as the water held in the chamber doesn't need to be cycled constantly, 1hr on 15mins off)
Lastly you'll need a few fittings:
tank connectors and pvc piping, some tubing from pump to top chamber hose pipe will do fine.
Sorry about the late reply! This system is tried and tested now and it has surpassed all other types of hydro in my opinion, due to simplicity, cost effectiveness and performance!
This will hold up to 4 fully grown plants without the pH of ppm levels suffering. I was changing my rea every 9 days and adjusting every 3, never had any dangerous fluctuations at all. Very proud if it lol.
Attachments
Mattsmith1871
Active Member
Yes, but I've found the name DFT (deep flow technique) to be accurate.
The photos aren't great as this can be used as an NFT system aswell, so I can see any confusion. I'm going to put up a new thread showing how it's put together in more detail and how it works etc. I'm just finishing off something first so will be a couple of weeks.