Nutrient film technique rail system

[Tomzhawaii]

Aloha,
So my space is very small. I tried using 4" downspouts , it cannot be cleaned good enough. So after checking some premade systems. I decided to make my own.
I chose 5" vinyl fence posts. The plus is the endcaps. Since they need to be able to be cleaned, I cut them lenthwise. Put some 2 5/8 holes on the topside and 1" drainholes.
Here is what it looks like
Tom

[Cole_Robbie]

Neat! I like those rails, too. I had an aquaponics planter on my deck made from them. The hard part for me was keeping the water cool enough for my fish in the reservoir

[Tomzhawaii]

Another shot.
I love how fast lettuce will grow.

[Worth1]

Nice

[shatbox]

I've been thinking of putting something like that together. Great job and please keep posting

[Tomzhawaii]

Thanks,
I started using a downspout and a small fountain pump, pool noodle and a micro towel.
Popped in some lettuce seeds and watched lettuce growing enough for a salad in 15 days.
I think any basic liquid nutrient at 1/2 strength will work.
Good luck and get ready for a new addiction.
Tom

[shatbox]

what's the pool noodle and micro towel for?

[Tomzhawaii]

Originally Posted by shatbox

what's the pool noodle and micro towel for?

I happened to see a video of someone chopping up a pool noodle to hold a plant upright. And a T'villan righand uses microfibre towels to wick water in buckets of giant tomato plants.
I cut the towels into 1x4 inch strips roll them up stick em inside a 2 inch piece of noodle. Put the whole thing into the rail, enough to touch the water inside. Put a seed in center and there you go. The awesome part is the towel holds water great , the roots can actually grow through the towel. This combination works really good for starting any seeds . And when transplanting it will not disturb the roots. Just dig a hole, put em in and again there you go. Viola

[Tomzhawaii]

Getting ready to pluck these so I can install my new system.

[Worth1]

Mine would be ate up with holes by now.

Looks nice.