Hello from FL

[bdotmill]

I thought about doing the frame on the ground because of the weight. The FT I'm going to use is one of those huge tack feed tubs for horses from tractor supply company and those things stand up to horses jumping in them and kicking them over so I figured it might be ok. I guess I'll have to experiment. I was also thinking i was going to extend the boards The GB's are on to help support the nft tubes amd build legs going to the ground to help with that. Those Home Depot tubs were exactly what I was looking at for this design. As far as the 1:1 ratio, maybe I didn't understand it completely, but I figured my nft tubes were going to sort of add to that bringing it close to that. I could be wrong. I was definitely planning on getting a sponge filter of some sort for the pump. I'm almost wondering if I should do a smaller design just to get the hang of this or if I should just continue with this and experiment with it. Thank you guys for the input.

[davidstcldfl]

Your off to a great start. You've been thinking about it, your even comming up with a design. And, your being wise, by asking some questions...
I know I've changed alot of my earlier designs. I won't even mention some of my 'later' design changes...

Basically, the media beds act as 'filters' to remove the solids from the system.
The plants (in any of the different growing systems) help to remove/use up the nitrates.
The ratio is just a guide to help to have 'enough' filtration. (The media is also more area for bacteria to grow)

Like any rules, they can be bent a little. A few ways to have less media is....
The easiest, is to have your fish stocking on the lite side. Another is to have a solids seperator, such as a swirl filter or setlement tank.

NFT tubes and raft set ups should have' pretty clean' water going through . They work best when the roots are clean. So the water needs filtered 1st.

Towers also need clean water. I think the water in these need to be the 'cleanest' of all growing systems. The main reason I belive that is, it helps the valves operate better.
One of the guys here at DIY was using quilt batting to filter his water for the towers. Don't remeber how he did it (wraped the pump maybe), but he said his water was 'very' clean.

Towers work pretty well, but I'm not that fond of them. I get tired of cleaning the valves all the time....
Hope this helps some.


bdotmill, If you would please, start a new thread in 'backyard systems' and we can talk more there about your new system and it's design...
I'm setting a bad example in making your 'hello' soooo long...

[NeverResting]

That's a great visual of your design. I wish I had some skills like that.

I like how you incorporated two systems at once.