I bought my foggers from house of hydro and I've been really happy with my purchase. I use them for humidifiers and just set up a cloner. I use my float as I thought that was supposed to help with the output?? http://forum.grasscity.com/do-yourself/1369455-diy-humidifier-small-large-grow-rooms.html
Awesome! I made a couple too. A three head in a bucket for my house, and a single in a pitcher for grow room. I use 12v fans powered with 5v power supplies to slow them down quite a bit. I'm lovin fog... The floats put mine at a good height for decent output. If output is low for you, maybe try a new disk. I've had em get slight cracks and diminished output.
I apologise if this isnt the appropriate thread. I am new to grass city and I am starting my first MMJ grow. I am not new to indoor gardening and I've always wanted to grow MMJ, but I can only now do it legally. I've experimented with fogponics recently. I grew some basil and cilantro in a small setup just to get familiar with it. They grew very large (the largest of both that I've seen) and smelled/tasted great. I havent tried with MMJ yet. Hopefully some of my notes can help someone trying DIY fogponics. Setup: -Single disc plastic-housed fogger (under $10) -Float for fogger (critical!) -19 gallon opaque bin -9 x 2 inch net pots resting in bin lid holes -45 watt cheap LED grow light (actually drew 36 watts) -Expanded clay and coco coir substrate -White plastic panels and homemade light mount over the top Notes: -The fogger was sufficient when the internal air was stable. There was dense fog throughout the bin -Fogger ran 24/7 for 3-4 months before I ended the experiment -Without the float, the fogger is nearly useless -Filled the container with about 4 inches of water -Used a dipstick dowel to make sure water didn't get too low. Topped to 4 inches when below 3 inches -Quality information is hard to find on fogponics, especially nutrient differences -Did not flush the whole time -Did not clean fogger intentionally for months. It was caked with minerals, but still functioned -Fogger drew 24 watts -Temperature was not a problem, only a couple degrees above ambient -Roots stop the fogger if they grow into it, so I had to keep the fogger in one corner -Fogger in a connected container did not work because fog wouldn't migrate -Very little water usage, maybe a pint to a quart per week -Sealed lid with weather stripping and plugged unused holes on top -Plants clearly took off when roots reached water in bin, making me question the utility of the fog -Plants grew different kinds of roots in the fog (fuzzy) and in the water (slimy) -Used GH nutrients at about 1/4 recommended concentration -Sometimes went a week without checking on it and 2 weeks without actually doing anything -PH didnt change much over time -Power went out for 4 hours and plants survived but got droopy for a while. -The fog is very light and creeps slowly. After seeing how it behaves, it seems silly to apply an internal fan or have a multi-disc fogger in a bin -The loudest sound it made was the drips from the bin lid -Left some roots hanging from a plant I harvested and the dead roots attracted fruit flies Next time: -2 auto flowering MMJ plants -Flush every 3 weeks, since I dont know what the remaining nutrient concentration is when I don't or if bacteria/algae builds up -Transfer lid and plants to identical bin to "flush" -More aggressive with the nutrients, backing off only when I see signs of burning -Higher wattage (homemade) LEDs -Keep a meticulous journal, so I can contribute something useful to the community -Trim roots on one plant above the water line to see the difference in growth/health -Take pictures -Daily purge of fog to ensure oxygen can get to roots. May use a bellows or something for this. I dont want open it up too much and compromise fog density -No reflective panels or tent
Marijuana (like most plants) is not a balloon. The roots absorb oxygen through the soup, they don't suck up air, if they did, you wouldn't experience the growth spurt when they hit the soup. The fog is to keep the roots moist and provide some nourishment. Fogponics works, but there are caveats.
I agree with your statement, but i still suspect purging the fog would be beneficial. Yes, if plants' roots needed (and could) absorb oxygen from the air, they would likely evolve to grow some roots up out of the ground. I am assuming, however, that the fog brings a thin layer of the "soup" to the roots. The moisture enveloping the roots will itself absorb oxygen, thus making it available to the plant. In my observations, the roots are always saturated. I think that understanding how this moisture wall interacts with the nutients and air will be key to optimizing this setup. I've read some quotes from people citing water droplet size as if the droplets pass from the fog directly into the root. This doesn't make sense to me if the roots have no dry area for the droplets to pass through. I'll try to find some more info on this.
The foggers provide a droplet that contains whatever dissolved nutrient got attached. If you take apart a loose soil grow you will find the hairy looking stuff like a fogger, but it will be on a root. IMO and observation a fog environment provides the best exposure for new growth to start absorbing moisture and nutrition. Ergo, you get all that neat hairy growth. However, if the plant can connect with the reservoir, even better. Why? because then you can control the temperature and get the roots into cold water that is aerated so maximum nutrient and oxygen can be absorbed. You cannot get fogged mists that cold.
Have you compared a fog setup where the roots could reach the reservoir vs. a setup where they couldn't? I was thinking about doing this experiment. Let the fogger float in a milk jug with the top cut off. The nutes would be the full GH recommended concentration. Roots would be guided around the jug to avoid dipping in. The bin would have small drain holes and drain into 2 gallon buckets that it would be resting on. I could compare this with a bin with a reservoir and the same nutrient concentration. Even if they performed the same, the one gallon method would cut down nutrient and water usage significantly. Sent from my iPad using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I run a little over 25 gallons in my RDWC. I leave about 3 inches of space between the bottom of the nesting pot and the soup. The fog fills this space, although I may try a three head fogger next just to see if a "denser" fog more growth conducive. A link to my rig is my sig.
I missed the sig. The GrassCity Android app doesnt show the sig. With 2 bins it looks like you are set up well to do A-B testing. Then write a book. Then I'll buy it. Then you'll be $5 richer. Please share your fog density test results when you do the experiment. It would be good to even know if more is better. Have you tried 100% soup? Its also possible the 3" of fog is just a waste of time.
I use RDWC for my clone setup (no fog). The nest pots are 1/4 inch in the soup. The 3 inches of fog is not a "waste of time" in the grow chamber, it works very well.
Roots absorb atmospheric O2, if you have a growth spurt when they hit the water it was water they were lacking not O2. Ultrasonic fog provides high humidity in the root zone, the plants cant use it because water vapour is a gas not a liquid. When it condenses on the roots its back to a liquid. Making fog that isnt useful until its converted back into liquid is pointless unless its just an increase in RH you want. Using larger droplets 5-80um provides sufficient moisture for growth, high RH and high O2. Ultrasonic fog is so dense it behaves like a fluid, theres precious little moisture and almost no space between the droplets for gas exchange.
Thanks, geoaero. Are you suggesting that misting would be superior to fogging because of this? Also, I'm having trouble finding info (i.e. research papers, reputable jornals, textbooks) on how cannabis-like plants absorb oxygen. Where did you read that these plants' roots use O2 directly from the air? I did find some info supporting the idea of direct absorption (http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=760), but I would like to understand it better. I can find studies supporting a direct relationship between hydroponic DO and plant growth, but this may be for reasons other than O2 respiration.
The ideal droplet range of 5-80 microns covers both mist and fog ranges, ultrasonics generate droplets well below 5 microns. Plants in soil get their 02 from spaces between the particles not from oxygenated water covering the particles If you like experimenting, fill a fibre pot with coco or compost and make some artificial worm burrows by pushing a pencil horizontally through the pot, Plant a test victim and see what happens when the roots find the burrows filled with atmospheric O2.