# Hydroponics



## nduli (9 Mar 2016)

evening guys

Can anyone recommend a decent uk hydroponics forum? 
Going to try chillies in 2litre bottles with the kids but thinking of trying a guttering system in the garden to try tomatoes and lettuce just after a support network as good as ukaps. 
 If anyone has done hydroponics before can I used akadama or the tesco cat litter? I have some of both in the garage......

Rich


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## Greenfinger2 (10 Mar 2016)

Hi Rich, Hope this helps  Great project for the kids 

https://uk.search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&fr=crmas&p=hydroponics+forum


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## dw1305 (10 Mar 2016)

Hi all,





nduli said:


> If anyone has done hydroponics before can I used akadama or the tesco cat litter?


You can use cat litter. 

"Hydroleca" is the best substrate for guttering. 

cheers Darrel


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## zozo (10 Mar 2016)

Pumice or any other smaller graind lava rock is also often used.. Me to i want to make a hydroponic filter system for my 200 liter small terrace pond this summer. Still got a bag with akadama x pumice mix 50/50 which i want to use as cap layer, with some lava rock as base substrate. Already looking up information for this idea for 2 years now, but yet didn't make any setups.. Doesn't realy mather what substrate you use as long it has a good drainage.

Actualy it's all relatively simple there you have 2 choices a constant flowing system or a wet and dry system. The constant flow system speaks for itself it's filled as fast as it drains again and goes constantly round.

The most effective is the wet and dry setup where the system gets flooded till a given level and drained again. This gives plants more time to take up nutrients and in filterring perspective the most effective because the flood and drain concept also gives the bacteria more time to convert wast products..

For the wet and dry system you would need to make a bell syphon which also is relatively simple to make concept and because it works with the forces of nature a very nice learning project for the kids and maybe yourself, to build and see it function.

Very simple and explained in 46 seconds


Ofcourse you would need a pump on a timer which for example does cycle it 4 times per hour.. i didn't ask but i assume you want a tank or little pond what ever with fish etc. to provide the ferts for the whole setup. Than you need to take in consideration the size of the filter and the size of the tank were the water comes from. When filter floods the tank drains obviously. So the hydrophonic can't be to big, you need to do some math with how much water is acceptable to take out the tank and go with that volume for the filter setup.

For the rest there's nothing much to it and very simple.. 

I'll stay tuned and like to see what you and the kids come up with.. I would say for you stay tuned as well if you llike.. I'm definitely going to build mine this summer and certainly will make a little journal about it. And i realy want to try the bell syphon, because it so much more fun.

Good luck..


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## zozo (10 Mar 2016)

Oh and sorry of course a pump on a timer is not absolutely a necessity, all depends on the capacity of the pump flooding the filter. This can be regulated, su the pump is small enough to take 15 minutes to flood the system and the syphon can be made large enough to drain it in 3 minutes. Thats where alll the math comes in and a bit of testing to find out what works best and most effective with the volumes you like to use..


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## nduli (10 Mar 2016)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,You can use cat litter.
> 
> "Hydroleca" is the best substrate for guttering.
> 
> cheers Darrel



Cheers Darrel, the cat litter is for the baskets . The guttering will be square down pipe so the baskets will suspend in holes the the pipe. Loads of us videos and guides using 4inch pipe but that's expensive here.


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## nduli (10 Mar 2016)

Greenfinger2 said:


> Hi Rich, Hope this helps  Great project for the kids
> 
> https://uk.search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&fr=crmas&p=hydroponics+forum



Cheers, have you used any of the ones mentioned? I'll join a couple of the U.K. Focussed ones and see how we go.


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## nduli (10 Mar 2016)

zozo said:


> Pumice or any other smaller graind lava rock is also often used.. Me to i want to make a hydroponic filter system for my 200 liter small terrace pond this summer. Still got a bag with akadama x pumice mix 50/50 which i want to use as cap layer, with some lava rock as base substrate. Already looking up information for this idea for 2 years now, but yet didn't make any setups.. Doesn't realy mather what substrate you use as long it has a good drainage.
> 
> Actualy it's all relatively simple there you have 2 choices a constant flowing system or a wet and dry system. The constant flow system speaks for itself it's filled as fast as it drains again and goes constantly round.
> 
> ...




Marcel, thanks this is great, I hadn't yet seen a bell syphon will look into it a bit more. I will be starting out with some 2litre bottles as I can host in doors and are kid friendly to get them started I want to get a greenhouse in the back garden this spring so this is another reason to look at this. I want to try both deep water (bucket) and the trickle mechanism but both need electrical supplies which is bugging me as I want to keep outside and the outdoor socket is 10ft away across my path (digging up slabs and laying cable wasn't in the plan). I don't think I'll do aquaponics but will use the water change water from my 3 tanks just have to lug about in buckets, same outcome but just more back breaking.


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## Greenfinger2 (11 Mar 2016)

nduli said:


> Cheers, have you used any of the ones mentioned? I'll join a couple of the U.K. Focussed ones and see how we go.



Hi Rich, No I have not been on the forums We do not have a garden And the Wife would go mad if I did hydroponics in the flat


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## Macami (4 May 2016)

You can find information about hydroponic tomatoes: http://easyponic.com/growing-indoor-tomatoes/
http://easyponic.com/growing-indoor-tomatoes-setting-hydroponic-system/


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