Hey all! A few weeks ago and I was in the local hydro shop picking up some nutrients and something really caught my eye. They had a few AeroFlo II systems on the floor and I couldn't help but look at them. The cheapest unit was $400+ and that really turned me away from them. The engineer in me decided I could build one just like it for half of the cost...and so the fun began.
I ended up building two systems, however only survived and I'll explain why in a minute. Here's the finished product. It's a 2 rail / 10 site system that uses high volume / low pressure sprayers to deliver the nutrient solution to the plants. It's a recirculating system and takes less than 10 gallons of solution to work.
Those are 3 inch netcups built into 5 inch rails. The rails have 3/4 inch ebb and flow drain valves on the end which keeps used water flowing back to the pump. I used a 27 gallon reservoir just so I would have plenty of room for expansion. It works great and I've yet to have any problems with root rot or clogged sprayers...which brings me to system #2 and its demise.
System 1 is not a "true" aeroponic system, just like the AeroFlo II is not. I was greatly intrigued by true aeroponics so I built another system just the one above only I used a high pressure / low volume misting pump and aeroponic misters. The pump was self-priming but gravity fed, which led to design changes but nothing major. After only 4 days of use I started having misters clog and fail. I could easily clean them if I was at home, but I work a 9 to 5 during the day and my wife is always errands. It stinks that I had to scrap it, but system #1 works so well that it made things easier.
Let me know if you have any questions. I tried to take pictures of the sprayers but they just wouldn't come out right. We're currently using the system to grow some pepper plants until they go into the bato buckets outside.
I ended up building two systems, however only survived and I'll explain why in a minute. Here's the finished product. It's a 2 rail / 10 site system that uses high volume / low pressure sprayers to deliver the nutrient solution to the plants. It's a recirculating system and takes less than 10 gallons of solution to work.
Those are 3 inch netcups built into 5 inch rails. The rails have 3/4 inch ebb and flow drain valves on the end which keeps used water flowing back to the pump. I used a 27 gallon reservoir just so I would have plenty of room for expansion. It works great and I've yet to have any problems with root rot or clogged sprayers...which brings me to system #2 and its demise.
System 1 is not a "true" aeroponic system, just like the AeroFlo II is not. I was greatly intrigued by true aeroponics so I built another system just the one above only I used a high pressure / low volume misting pump and aeroponic misters. The pump was self-priming but gravity fed, which led to design changes but nothing major. After only 4 days of use I started having misters clog and fail. I could easily clean them if I was at home, but I work a 9 to 5 during the day and my wife is always errands. It stinks that I had to scrap it, but system #1 works so well that it made things easier.
Let me know if you have any questions. I tried to take pictures of the sprayers but they just wouldn't come out right. We're currently using the system to grow some pepper plants until they go into the bato buckets outside.
