Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Got my hands on some 90mm and 80m PVC iv got some full sun areas that I don't have room for gbs but could run some nft below a few sheets of mesh grow some vine cherry toms and beans etc snow peas.

Do I fill with media??? Idea is to run another pump from another sump that is fed from my SLO then have an overflow to main sumps. I need to pipe it to the other side of the house 1in pipe to feed and return back to main sumps. Will bury pipes so they aren't subject to elements and could insulate them.

Do I have the right Idea some input would be awesome

I think you may find that tomato roots can become very prolific causing blocking of NFT channels. Maybe more suitable for fast turnover plants with shallow root systems like lettuces and herbs.

First, don't fill NFT pipes with gravel or other media, tends to cause clogging and overflows.

Second, you want to send clean filtered water to the NFT pipes so if you can arrange to use water that has already gone through your other grow beds to send to the NFT pipes, that would be a good idea. Otherwise you will need to set up some other sort of filtration for the water you send to the NFT pipes and you will need to clean those filters often.

1" pipe to pump the water over to the NFT pipes might be OK but you will need a larger drain line to bring the water back. If you are pumping through a particular size pipe to feed something then you better make sure the gravity drain line is larger than the feed line. I would make the return drain line at least twice the size of the feed line if not more.

Some people manage to grow large plants in NFT but they regularly have to deal with root pruning to keep the pipes from blocking up so smaller/faster herbs and veggies are usually a better choice for NFT, especially in the smaller pipes like that.

Everyone that has tried gravel filled pipes has had no end of trouble.... and tomatos will either tip your pipes over, unless on the ground.... and/or clog with roots...

TCL is correct... 1" supply to the pipes will work... but you'll need 90mm as a return...

Hmmmm maybe I'll look at using a barrell or some other container (like a 65l tub) as a conventional growbed then train my climbers over the mesh possibly use a few containers linked with some 50mm pvc and run a siphon in the end one.

TC - if I was to run Nft tubes would it be best to take a line off my return from the sump and run it through the nft then into my ft's. Basicly as another route from sump to ft.

If u use no media in nft pipes would I just put like a 1" hole in then drop my seedling into that ie. An lettuce or oregano or basil seedling? Then what kind of flow do I run? Keep the flow running say 20mm of running water or a slower exit flow which would allow the pipe to say fill upto 40mm?

If the water is clean and filtered, then yes it could split off the pump and run through the NFT and into the fish tanks, this is probably a very good choice of how to do it. You could also split off the flow and run some through the NFT and back to the sump if there is enough flow for that.

How to plant in NFT pipes, people usually use net pots set in holes in the pipe to hold the seedlings. You might use some media in the net pots but the pipes stay fairly empty other than a small flow of water through the bottom and the plant roots hanging down into the water.

Rupert's thread and My thread both have NFT elements in them. (Sorry I don't know which page to send you to right off the top of my head though.)

Containers with gravel will provide filtration for you, NFT pipes really just use nutrients so choose what elements to add first based on your system's needs.