My New Nft Build

Smokey503ski · Apr 30, 2015

Thanks to @Canappa I decided to finally build me a NFT/Aero system.
This did cost more than I was planning.
30 plants total. 8' long pvc fence posts.
6 sites per row. 1 red 360° ez-clone sprayer per plant site.
Went overboard on the pump. I believe its 2800gph and way too powerful.
The water flows like crazy. Which I believe is very beneficial for a NFT system.
I will have the pump plugged into a timer. I can adjust the time to 10 seconds to whatever. Nice cycle timer. Haven't decided which on/off times I will use.
This run will be all Gorilla Glue#4. Which I had/have mite damage. New growth shows no signs of any mites so will be planting soon.
Only running 4k of lights.

motherlode · Apr 30, 2015

nice man - you gonna run 4 x 1000 over that bad boy?

Smokey503ski · Apr 30, 2015

Something small to play with during the summer heat.
It measures out 8'x8' with the canopy, I figure it will fill out around 9-10' square.

Canappa · Apr 30, 2015

Smokey503ski said:
View attachment 506490 Thanks to @Canappa I decided to finally build me a NFT/Aero system.
This did cost more than I was planning.
30 plants total. 8' long pvc fence posts.
6 sites per row. 1 red 360° ez-clone sprayer per plant site.
Went overboard on the pump. I believe its 2800gph and way too powerful.
The water flows like crazy. Which I believe is very beneficial for a NFT system.
I will have the pump plugged into a timer. I can adjust the time to 10 seconds to whatever. Nice cycle timer. Haven't decided which on/off times I will use.
This run will be all Gorilla Glue#4. Which I had/have mite damage. New growth shows no signs of any mites so will be planting soon.
Only running 4k of lights.
View attachment 506491

Wow! that looks great I like what you did, your gonna love it. Try running 15/15 on the timer and they water flow will be a great thing especially when she grow her roots. Get yourself some Conserve SC and your mite problem will be gone forever. I am glad to be of help any time you need something just hit me up, the pump will be fine for 2800 gph. I run 1600 and I think its to slow at times lol. Careful on your nutes I am running 800ppm and 5.8 in veg and 1200-1800 ppm in flower at 6.2. when she is feeding well you will notice your pH running consistent. last run I changed the water every week , but this run I am just adding water no rez changes. I like the results so far.

Smokey503ski · Apr 30, 2015

So far I got them Floramite and good old Avid. Going to blast then with Forbid before I put them anywhere near the room.

Canappa · Apr 30, 2015

Trust me on this, Conserve SC is the only way to grow without bugs...Very safe and can use through flower no problems. Make sure to put a float switch on that pump just from my bad experiences in the past.

motherlode · Apr 30, 2015

what kinda mites you got bro?

Smokey503ski · May 1, 2015

Thankfully, not russet mites.
Honestly I'm not seeing anything moving or any sign of them on new growth.
I'm going to get some of the Conserve SC just to keep in my rotation.

Smokey503ski · May 5, 2015

Finally got done planting in the new system.
Made a rook mistake and am 1 plant short of 30 so that leaves a open space.
Should be a fun yield. Have not done a mono crop in years.
All glue.

Canappa · May 5, 2015

Smokey503ski said:
Finally got done planting in the new system.
Made a rook mistake and am 1 plant short of 30 so that leaves a open space.
Should be a fun yield. Have not done a mono crop in years.
All glue. View attachment 507471

And here we go! looking go bro she will grow so fast wait and see.

Smokey503ski · May 5, 2015

NFT was how I learned 20 years ago.
Old school rain gutters. Rockwool cubes. Water running 24/7.
PPM's at 1300 ph at 5.5
That's what I was taught and it worked.
Just hope this works out like it did back then.
After 12 hours I am already seeing life in the gutters.

atwofour · May 6, 2015

Lookin nice!...will follow along for sure.
Just reading up now on a couple different ways to go myself. These NFT styles look alright...as does a RDWC...I'm all ears if anyone wants to throw down pro's/con's, suggestions or thread links
Currently 6-8K...25-35 a light in 1gals of SS#4...basic nute/basic additives...average 1.8-1.9# a light consistantly now...but I've realized that I really need to step up the pot size to 2gal or so to get further...and that's just too much medium to be packing in and out. Would like to keep veg under 14days...which rules out fewer/larger plants I think.
So looking into a system with far less medium...ceiling height is only 7 1/2' tho...these hydro setups look like they stretch a lot???

Were you looking at different systems too Smokey? How did you come about settling on this type?

Thx and Cheers

Saguaro · May 6, 2015

Along for the ride……. looks like fun!

atwofour · May 6, 2015

atwofour said:
...average 1.8-1.9# a light consistantly now...s

Sorry...correction...more like 1.65-1.7...with various Kushes
(12-14day veg from a 3" rooted cut just outta the dome)

Smokey503ski · May 6, 2015

atwofour said:
Lookin nice!...will follow along for sure.
Just reading up now on a couple different ways to go myself. These NFT styles look alright...as does a RDWC...I'm all ears if anyone wants to throw down pro's/con's, suggestions or thread links
Currently 6-8K...25-35 a light in 1gals of SS#4...basic nute/basic additives...average 1.8-1.9# a light consistantly now...but I've realized that I really need to step up the pot size to 2gal or so to get further...and that's just too much medium to be packing in and out. Would like to keep veg under 14days...which rules out fewer/larger plants I think.
So looking into a system with far less medium...ceiling height is only 7 1/2' tho...these hydro setups look like they stretch a lot???

Were you looking at different systems too Smokey? How did you come about settling on this type?

Thx and Cheers

Honestly the reason I chose this style is from ease of use.
Hardly any medium to throw away at harvest.
Really easy to maintain. On my system res changes are easy. Hook up the garden hose, shut one valve, turn on another and turn on the pump. Emptied 70 gallons really fast.
Growth is fast. You will need to figure out the stretch of the strain you're using.
Canappa said his Hazes get to around 4' and he said he flowers at 12"-18"
With the Gorilla Glue and is stretch, I plan on topping again before I flower.
It probably cost me around $350-$400 to build. Including pump, tools to build.
One of the problems in having is leaks. The only leaks are at the bulkhead fittings between reservoirs.
I used 3 totes plumbed with a 1" fitting to circulate the water between reservoirs.
The res further away has a higher water line by 2" then the middle has a 2" then leads to the pump reservoir another 2" drop in water line.
This is caused by the 1" bulkhead fitting not being big enough to allow proper water flow.
I will be buying a rain gutter and going with a 25 gallon res with a float valve hooked to a 50 gallon barrel. I should of done this in the first place.
Once I get the little nuances taken care of. This should be a nice system to run.
Just waiting on my water cooler to arrive.
Water temps have been at 75° with pump running 24 hours a day.
I put the recycle timer on for 2 minutes on 8 minutes off. Hopefully it will drop a few degrees by not having the pump run constantly.

420circuit · May 6, 2015

Been running a StinkBud style system for a while and have recently used Jacks hydro nutes and have the timer set to 1 minute on, 4 minutes off. The only problem has been the res changes. Been planning to upgrade to a system similar to yours, a 50 gal res and sump pump.

FlyinJStable · May 7, 2015

I am so jealous of you NFTers
I started talking with Canappa some time ago and he was so cool helped me with my plans and I built a 9 station unit with all the bells and whistles. I even had it insulated for the high temp outside and the chilled nutes running in the gutters, he discovered it causes condensation and dripping
I even had it set up but I didn't have the ceiling height to do the grows justice.
so it is up waiting for her new home in the future I believe it is a great way to grow and EZ CHEEZY Lemon Squeeze
Well when set up right it will be...... ROFL
You have some great help with Canappa on your thread and I am a Jacks Fan but I know Canappa uses a different nute.....
he knows how to make the Babies Dank
@Smokey503ski Your system is Rockin and sending ya Positive Super NFT grow Vibes
FlyJ

Smokey503ski · May 7, 2015

420circuit said:
Been running a StinkBud style system for a while and have recently used Jacks hydro nutes and have the timer set to 1 minute on, 4 minutes off. The only problem has been the res changes. Been planning to upgrade to a system similar to yours, a 50 gal res and sump pump.

Here are a few pics that may help.

atwofour · May 7, 2015

Thx Smokey......and ya, the small amount of medium is definitely one of the key reasons I'm looking into NFT/Low Pressure Aero
Have you seen a thread called 'Snype's RDWC construction tutorial'? It's either here or on IC...google should bring it up...but he shows a cheap way to connect buckets/rez's and other posters suggest even cheaper/easier ways if you read into it a bit. There is definitely something about the standard/basic thruhulls that let them have small leaks...annoying.

Looking at your pump and valves there...looks like you have the supply to your water lines choked down a bit to adjust pressure??? What I do with my pump(it's too strong for my Drip lines)...is use a second Tee and valve pointing right back into the rez(good for oxygenation too if you have it above the surface)...leave the main supply wide open and adjust the other one...that way you eliminate the back pressure on the pump, but still have the adjustable pressure feature :). You're already set up to do that actually with that drain valve/hose

Smokey503ski · May 7, 2015

atwofour said:
Thx Smokey......and ya, the small amount of medium is definitely one of the key reasons I'm looking into NFT/Low Pressure Aero
Have you seen a thread called 'Snype's RDWC construction tutorial'? It's either here or on IC...google should bring it up...but he shows a cheap way to connect buckets/rez's and other posters suggest even cheaper/easier ways if you read into it a bit. There is definitely something about the standard/basic thruhulls that let them have small leaks...annoying.

Looking at your pump and valves there...looks like you have the supply to your water lines choked down a bit to adjust pressure??? What I do with my pump(it's too strong for my Drip lines)...is use a second Tee and valve pointing right back into the rez(good for oxygenation too if you have it above the surface)...leave the main supply wide open and adjust the other one...that way you eliminate the back pressure on the pump, but still have the adjustable pressure feature :). You're already set up to do that actually with that drain valve/hose

Thanks for the heads up on that.
I really don't need to choke it down. Only did that because I filled the res to full and was slowing the flow to empty a little bit by hand.
What I plan on doing is getting another female garden hose fitting. Screw that on to the male fitting that has the hose on currently.
Make a 90° bend pointing it straight back to the res.
This way I can remove it and put the hose on to empty the reservoir.
I also picked up a 10' PVC rain gutter.
These are shaped different than what they were a few years back. Flimsy.
I picked up a few of the support bracket hanger thingies. With those in place it seems more rigid.
I just need to figure out how I'm going to attach it.

My New Nft Build

My New Nft Build

Smokey503ski

motherlode

@Rolln_J

Smokey503ski

Canappa

Smokey503ski

Canappa

motherlode

@Rolln_J

Smokey503ski

Smokey503ski

Canappa

Smokey503ski

atwofour

Saguaro

atwofour

Smokey503ski

420circuit

FlyinJStable

Smokey503ski

atwofour

Smokey503ski

My New Nft Build

My New Nft Build

Smokey503ski

motherlode

@Rolln_J

Smokey503ski

Canappa

Smokey503ski

Canappa

motherlode

@Rolln_J

Smokey503ski

Smokey503ski

Canappa

Smokey503ski

atwofour

Saguaro

atwofour

Smokey503ski

420circuit

FlyinJStable

Smokey503ski

atwofour

Smokey503ski

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