kuri, thanks for your message

Hi I just posted an answer to your thread about the nft system we have. I have slanted the trays, but I didn't know about the suspended or hanging baskets. That's a good idea. I also got clear tubing so that i can see any problems but I do clean out the system and change the neuts every three days. My root rot problem started in my cloner and it kept spreading. It was awful and yucky. I thought that I had it all cleared up and my last two plants kept getting yucky and the tubes were getting clogged every day. I also found that the drain system needs improving too. I now have it so that I can take it apart to clean it. I am really new to this too. There are alot of great people here who have helped me alot. Hope you get good results, keep me posted. Willow

hey willow. that is a great idea about the clear tubing!!! i'm going to home depot tomorrow and seeing if i can do the same. thanks for the idea. yeah, about the hanging baskets, it just felt wrong when we first got the system and had our seed sprout in perlite/vermiculite and when it had roots, put it in rockwool, put rockwool in the basket, put grow rocks all around it, but with the baskets sitting in the gully, it saturated the hell out of the rock wool which then led to the same problem you had....

and then there was one more thing that i learned the very HARD way. i'm trying to make this not an expensive project and i knew that vinegar and baking soda makes CO2, then i read so does water/sugar/yeast mixture and it can produce CO2 for about 2 weeks, i did that and regretted it as the whole system got a freakin' YEAST INFECTION!!! so warning: stay away from yeast/sugar/water thing. not worth it. i use the baking soda/vinegar thing now and don't mind that AND when i'm home and around, i put a candle INSIDE a big coffee can and put it in there as the burning candle is another good source of CO2.

have you had any problems with stunted growths with your plants? one plant is five days ahead of the other and the difference in height is 19 inches compared to 6 inches!! keep me posted on any cool ideas you come up with or anything that can help benefit us NFT growers. take care

just had a thought. we have covered our gully's with alluminum foil and cut it enought to fit around the plants as to not let any light into the gully, the white plastic lets in a little light and that can cause algae buildup which there is a bit of it. thought about your idea about the clear tubing so you can see where the clogs may start to build up.... then i wondered if the clear tubing allows too much light to the water going up and MAY help algae. i'm totaly NOT sure about this, just something to think about. ..... like there is not enough to think about already...LOL take care

Clear tubing...bad idea.

Thanks for the tip on clear tubing. I thought I had a brainstorm but looks like a brain fart. Never thought of algae problem with so little tubing. I did use the yeast and sugar solution and never had a problem. I'll try the vinegar thing now too and see what happens. I didn't have stunted growth problems with my first two crops and the rest was just a mess. The plants I did have when the rot problem started stopped growing after they were about 18". That was just a mess. I also discovered that I couldn't grow six plants in the system because it became too crowded. I'll get back with more info after I see how my next four plants do. So far, they are looking good, but are still very small to predict anything. I don't even know if they are male or female yet. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your help and ideas. Willow