Is this a good idea?

[420smoker]

I want to get a medium size fish tank (40 gallon), fill the bottom with about 5-6 inches of soil, then plant 3-4 seeds with a couple of inches spread apart. I want to put a Wire grate on the top of the tank for air flow with lights above the grate pointing down on the soil. With this design the tank should condensate with moisture, is this a good idea? Also after the plants are a good 5-6 inches tall, i thought of maybe putting a thin layer of gravel or small rocks on top of the soil. Would that help at all too?

[TokinBlue]

it sounds like a good idea to me. im not sure if it would be big enough for a full grow tho. i dunno im blazed as hell and a lot of stuff sounds like a good idea right now

[DierWolf]

Not a good idea.

for many reasons but i will list the most important one first.

1st. No drainage, so you will end up with all root rott.

2nd. 3-4 plants will not survive for very long or grow very big in that small
of a space, root system will get entangled in eachother and run out of room pretty
quickly

3rd. There is no way it will condensate if its not totally enclosed, your talking about a
wire grate on the top this does not seal the air in for it to condensate.


Your idea is a good one but has alot of flaws.

If i was to do this i would do 1 plant smack dab in the middle of it with the screen on top and train that sucker to stay under the wire and Yield just as much as your idea of putting 4 plants. I would also figure a way for drainage, because without drainage you might as well forget the entire project.

[420smoker]

drainage was the main problem i thought of, and i exagerated a bit in the plant amount, but ive decided in drainage pots is a better idea. thanks for the help.

[TokinBlue]

heh sorry i was a moron, i really shouldnt come here blazed, never know what i might post. ah well live and learn

[tinkerbell]

you could just go with no lid and hang the lights from the ceiling or sturdy wall hooks... then you don't have to worry about the height of the tank.

if height is important, you can always try a 35 gallon HEXAGON tank. they are tall but still have more soil surface area than say... a 29 gallon tank.

for drainage... you can drill holes in the glass but I don't know what kind of tools are needed, I just know it's possible.

or, here's another idea (if you really want to use a fishtank)...

that white plastic grating that's about a centimeter? spaced... cut some to the size of the inside of the tank with a hole cut out big enough for a syphon (go to a petstore and ask for a syphon or a "gravel vacuum", they should know what i'm talking about), keep it raised some odd inches above the bottom of the tank with... anything. pvc pipe, some rocks, whatever. cover the grating with finely-spaced screen to hold in soil (the plastic grating is for stability). keep a pvc pipe in that hole cut out (also big enough for the syphon to fit in), and make sure the pvc pipe is taller than how deep you want ur soil to be. fill in the soil ontop of the screen & grating, going around that pvc pipe. plant ur seeds and let them grow. since the tank is glass, you'll be able to see when the water level is filling up (underneath the grating and soil). when you need to, you can syphon out the water from underneath it thru that pvc pipe hole. the syphon is easy to use. keep a 5 gallon (or whatever you want) bucket around and just make sure ur tank is not on the floor. to start the syphon, keep the "mouth" of the larger part (you'll know when you see it) in the water thru the pvc pipe, and just suck on the little part for a few seconds (before it gets to your mouth obviously) then put the small tube of the syphon in the bucket. as long as the bucket is lower than the tank, you don't need to do anything else. it will syphon on it's own till there is no more water down there.

enjoy.

[bob_barker]

Get yourself a 2x4......put the 2x4 over the top of the fish tank....where the lid would go....in the middle.....then cut 4 evenly spaces holes about 3 in in diameter in the wood all the way through.....then fill your fish tank with 5 gallons of water......now get a WATER pump......wether its a fish tank filter pump, or a water pump you go to the Pond and Garden store to buy it diesnt matter....with this WATER pump in hand you make it so the pump is pumping water from the bottom of your fish tank to all of the holes in the wood...this is where your plants will be.....the water will go back down into the fish tank from the water pumping through the holes in the wood where you will put your clones or plants in......try to think real hard about how this would look...as it is much easier to think of than i thought it took..... After all this is done...you have your pump in pumping water through the holes in the wood your cut and wehre your plants are you gotta buy nutes.....either find a hydro store or go online and buy Fox Farm GROW BIG HYDRO...Big Bloom....and Tiger Bloom....they are all liquid nutrients and will tell you what they come in and how much they cost...note they are 3 seperate bottles.....online they also give you a feeding schedule....for your first time just feed as the schedule tells you....mix nutes in water in fish tank for needed amounts and let pump run... shut it off during the night for like 6-7 hours if it gets to hot in the tank but that is not necessary....feed as needed...and run plants light schedule as needed and you will grow happy plants with little to no effort....I know its a lot to take in but....its cheap....easy...as its hydro...if you can build it from what i said and follow the directions on the nutrients you will be smoking like a king!....