ELEVATED TROUGH SYSTEM |
Hi again, well now I'm in one of those retirement trailer parks in Florida. Here at least until some hurricane blows me away. This project is a trough system made using inexpensive materials. The system can be scaled up or down to match you own needs. In my case, the addition to my trailer is 12 foot wide, so I am making this unit to fit across the back side out of view and hopefully not offensive to my neighbors. The design is taken from a previous project, but with some changes. The trough material in the original was blue tarp material. For this project , A PVC corrigated roof panel will be tried. BASIC MATERIALS LIST 2 pcs pine 2X4X12 ft 1 pc pine 2X4X10 ft 1 pc pvc corrigated shade panel 1 ea pond pump 400 gph to 600 gph Cost estimate is around $60 to $80 dollars The lumber and pvc panel cost around $24 dollars today at a Lowel's home improvement venter. The pump was from another project, but will run around $30 to $40 dollars new. Then, there will be some 1/2 inch pvc pipe which runs about $1.50. Finally, there will be several feet of 3/4 inch rubber hose and several bags of washed gravel at about $4 bucks per bag. This system will be good for leafy vegitables, smaller tomato plants beans, strawberries, herbs, and hot or mild peppers. |
The lower horizontal brace can be moved up or down as required to regulate how fast the nutrients flow through the system. With gravel as the medium, I will want the nutrient flow to be around 100 gph. That will keep the nutrients well aireated. |
The trough inside measurments are 8 inches wide, 7 inches deep, and 11 feet long. |
The square frame that the pvc panel is attached to is basicaly just sitting on top of the horlzontal support used to set the height. I added a toe nailed screw to hold it in place on both ends. |
I decided not to use a liner. I used 3 bags of pea gravel. The gravel needs to be washed out to remove all the fine particals before I hook up the pump |
While rinsing out the gravel, I can get an idea of the flow rate. |
Next step is to get the nutrient tank installed. I am going to run the pump output into a 1/2 inch pvc water pipe that will lay on top of the gravel in the trough. Holes will be drilled into it along its length to distribute the nutrients. The flow rate through the gravel was not as fast as I had hoped. I will have to decide if I will increase the slope, or just drill fewer holes in the pvc nutrient feed line in the trough. |
A previous trough system using tarp over 2x4s. This system was destroyed by hurricane charlie. |
The trough drains out on the low end through a 1/4 inch screen. The tank holds 22 gallons of nutrient. |
Nothing fancy here at the high end of the trough. The PVC panel is just pulled up to block gravel and nutrients. |
One foot of 3/4 inch ID reinforced tubing was all that was needed. 6 inches of it served as a flexible joint going to the 1/2 inch PVC pipe that lays inside the trough. The other 6 inches is used to join the pump to 1/2 inch pvc pipe. It turns out that the 1/2 inch pvc pipe is just slightly larger than 3/4 inches ODtubeing, so the 3/4 inch ID tubing slips over the pipe snugly not requiring a clamp. |
My other hydro system |
2003 |
July 2008 |
