What's the best pump cycle for aeroponics?

[Taipan]

Interested in your thoughts on the best pump cycles for an aeroponic system.

[Chato]

depends on your system, how many misters ya got how big is the root space, how fine is the mist, finer the mist the better is generally accepted as best method for aero.

 

you want your roots moist at all times preferably with that fine sheen on em like mornin dew, not soaked nor completely dry. experimenting with your system is only way to work this out but starting point could be 2 mins on 3mins off but this changes, as roots get larger etc etc. if you want to get really technical then should have different cycle for night etc. check out Lothar from the old o/g he did a lot of research and testing on aero timing.

.

havin said all this if you haven;t got a short range timer that enables you to program these times and you only got a 15 min on/off job then leave it 24/7 and occassionally turn it off for a few minutes when workin in your g/r.

 

peace

c

[Taipan]

depends on your system, how many misters ya got how big is the root space, how fine is the mist, finer the mist the better is generally accepted as best method for aero.

 

you want your roots moist at all times preferably with that fine sheen on em like mornin dew, not soaked nor completely dry. experimenting with your system is only way to work this out but starting point could be 2 mins on 3mins off but this changes, as roots get larger etc etc. if you want to get really technical then should have different cycle for night etc. check out Lothar from the old o/g he did a lot of research and testing on aero timing.

.

havin said all this if you haven;t got a short range timer that enables you to program these times and you only got a 15 min on/off job then leave it 24/7 and occassionally turn it off for a few minutes when workin in your g/r.

 

peace

c

 

I am building myself a new system with an individual 20L chamber for each plant, 1 mister per plant. The chamber will drain fully so the roots won't grow under water. I haven't played with the misters yet, but I will probably go as fine as I can without causing maintenance problems. I have made myself a cycle timer which can turn on and off anywhere from 1 second to many hours, and it will be able to run different cycles when the lights are off to when they are on. Hence my question, working out the ideal time settings.

 

Thanks for your input.

[pipeman]

plants thrive in bubblers being constantly submerged in water, so with an aero system I can't see what benefit an on/off cycle would be as the rootzone would have a higher degree of airation than a bubbler system.

 

perhaps there could be some benefit, I don't really know, but I'd guess it would be very minimal.

 

what say you chato?

[Taipan]

plants thrive in bubblers being constantly submerged in water, so with an aero system I can't see what benefit an on/off cycle would be as the rootzone would have a higher degree of airation than a bubbler system.

 

perhaps there could be some benefit, I don't really know, but I'd guess it would be very minimal.

 

what say you chato?

I have read a lot of people raving about the bubbler system, and I am not disputing that people get good results in the system, but I personally do not like my plants roots growing under water. I have met root diseases in many shapes and forms over the years and prefer not to push it by allowing them to drown.

 

The reason I would have on/off cycles on my aeroponic system is that unless you have a very very fine mist, when you have a continual spray, the solution running off the root system can be enough to coat the roots with water cutting them off from the air. The whole idea and success of aeroponics is that the roots are in a 100% humidity of nutrients. Meaning they are supplied with moisture and nutrients but also totally aerated.

[pipeman]

yup, in theory. in practice I don't think it would make a big difference. and you gotta weigh it up against the possibility of pump failure. the big disadvantage of an aero system is that it offers very poor rootzone security, so with a pump failure your plants will suffer real quick if you're not there to catch it. and as with anything running on an electric motor, turning it on and off constantly increases wear and tear and therefore the possibility of failure.

[Chato]

no real probs with roots sittin in water if water temp is kept stable and within reason it's more the fact that it becomes a hybrid nft/aero system as opposed to pure aero.

 

i'm yet to see a pure aero system for mj and it's one of the main reasons i dont grow aero. mininum grow cycle for mj with only 1 week veg is still 8 or 9 weeks and in this time roots become large enuff in all systems i seen so far that roots are no longer fully suspended in air and some are lying on bottom of tub, pipe, bucket or whatever... not really a prob and still get great results but it aint pure aero and it dont suit growin trees.

 

however as pipe was sayin bout pump failure a hybrid system like this will give you a little more time before crop failure as roots will still have that pool of water on bottom of tub to prolong life a little longer, it will also encourage rot and probs if the water aint movin much.

 

pic of an old aero system i built which became a little nft hybrid as a result of it getting a carpet of roots on the bottom of a 60L tub.

 

 

peace

c

Edited November 23, 2006 by Chato

[Taipan]

That's a pretty nice root system! I realise it is not "true aeroponics" as that is not feasible in a hobby system, but it is certainly closer than having the roots grow under water. My system is intended for reasonably small plants in a fast cycle.

 

The main reason for this topic was to get input on the pump cycles, I am more into the electronics side of it and am working on the timer. Obviously to test out the system I will use it a few times, but it is not necessarily my system of choice.

[pipeman]

so you're an electronics wiz huh? I'll tell you what I'm interested in maybe you can help.

 

I want a control unit that can be hooked up to any electric device (eg fan or pump) and also be hooked into a thermostat or smoke detector so if a pump fails or your smoke alarm goes off, or your temp goes above a certain limit, it rings your mobile phone and then you instantly know there is a problem with your grow room.

 

I have found a plug in system that will ring your mobile phone if a smoke alarm goes off but they are quite expensive (over a grand) and if I spent that kinda money I'd want it to do a little more than that. So I'm thinking someone in the know might be able to point me towards the right components to buy and how to wire em up.

[Shithappens]

Pipeman there was a java project that was started a while back that allowd a network addressable card to control multi sensors (chainable and unlimited) or voltages and react to 2 or 3 variables per sensor.

 

This was an overgrow initiative and I havent seen it since but yeh the board was 200 US and took any sensors as you could callibrate it to each sensor

 

The bonus was that the board could be contacted via internet if you so wish then controlled and altered remotely even having the capabilities to run some web cams and the like