NFT UP and RUNNING

Today I finally switched on the NFT system.

I have a four day holiday for Easter and thought now or never.

This is a dedicated 1400l Litre/hour pump in the sump. This pump will run 24/7 or CF ( constant flow) I have a tap with a return line to the sump so I can control the flow. An added benefit of this return flow is water splashing into the sump. This will create additional oxygenation in the water.

So I stand back to admire it and it overflows!

I am using old plastic bottle tops in the “Trickle Tower”. I guess I put too many in. They flowed back and blocked the tubes. Fished them out.

So far so good.

I have fifty holes in the NFT tubes. This is the main area for watercress.

But.

I got a little impatient. I bought some cheap plant plugs in the supermarket.

These are; Apache chili, peppers and lettuce.

Tomorrow I will rinse the dirt from their roots and put them in net pots with a little clay ball media to hold them in place and then put them in the NFT.

NFT or ‘nutrient film technique’ is simply plants in a tube with a constant flow of very little water or near film water. The trick is the water must be super clean.

From the sump my water flows into each of the four pipes. The pipes discharge onto a simple dish scourer pad. It then flows down into the “Trickle Tower” filled with bottle tops. On into another scourer pad filter and then into about six liters of K1 media before rejoining  the sump.

The NFT gurgles.

When the main pipe runs I hear splashing.

The pump in the EP tank trickles.

I love the sound of water.

Happy Easter.