New External Airlift System (and first-timer questions)
1:28 pm in Completed Window Farms, Nutrients, posts with pitcures! by Lincoln Jones
Hello everyone,
I just finished my windowfarm system last night. I started with the 2.0 instructions, but made quite a few adjustments along the way. One thing I really want to showcase is the airlift system. Seeing how many people are frustrated trying to build submerged airlift systems, I really recommend using an external system instead. I skipped using inflation needles, and went straight for the t-joint. But I figured there had to be a better, more reliable way than submerging a t-joint.
I got a 3-gallon water dispenser from Walmart, the kind that has the pouring spout. I took regular 1/4″ tubing, and wrapped a ton of plumber’s tape around it, and stuck it in the spout. (the spout screws apart, so you can actually pull the tube through) The water drains through the tube very well, it gets full water pressure since the spout is at the bottom, and you can even use the lever to stop water flow. I put a check valve on the water tube, so no air could bubble up into the tank, and I connected the tube to the perpendicular part of the t-joint. Then air comes in from one side, and the air/water mixture goes out the other. It’s helpful to keep the water tube perpendicular to the ground, and the air and air/water tubes parallel to the ground.
The system is incredibly reliable, and adjusting things and taking things apart is really easy, because it’s all out in the air and easily accessible. No wet hands!
Here’s a video of my entire setup, you can see the airlift system:
Lincoln’s Windowfarm on YouTube
(I’ll add pictures later)
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A few quick questions, since I’m new at this:
- What kind of water should I use? Is tap water alright, or should I use distilled water?
- What kind of nutrient solution would be best for green veggies? (lettuce, swiss chard, peas)
- Would aeration of the nutrient water help? (via airstone)
- I’ve been reading a lot about the benefits of kelp, and I was wondering if that could be used as a nutrient solution alone, or if it was just supplementary.
Woah! using the dispenser looks super cool!
This is a great way to increase the water pressure without using a 4ft deep tank. Thanks for sharing! I had a similar idea, since I was using a 2′ deep fish tank raised 3 feet off the ground, and maintenance was a huge issue. In it (warning: untested) the waterline comes out of the tank, drops a foot or so below the bottom of the tank (for a water depth of 4ish feet), then hits the air injection site.
I suspect having the water come from the side of the T, and the air goes straight through the ‘top’ of the T would have the best effects.
At any rate, this is great! Well done! I’m going to steal your ideas for my next iteration!
What is the normal use for the rigid tubing? I am looking for it local and am getting strange looks from the store clerks.
A little update on this setup:
There’s a sponge inside the check valve, and the way I have things set up, the water runs through the sponge. The nutrients and clay from the water has clogged the sponge up, and water doesn’t flow into the t-joint now. Without the check valve in place, air bubbles just come up into the reservoir. So I have to figure out an alternative to the check valve. Or an alternative way to mix the air and water.
Bruce (@wifarmer) – you should be able to find it in the plumbing section of a hardware store. Polyvinyl Chloride and polyethylene is what the tubing is normally made of. Some of the more rigid stuff has polyester braiding in it.
Its also usually in a coil, 10-20 feet usually..
Well done. Great functionality. But the socks the rod and the reservoir …..
Hey how did you make sure that the water is not tripping out of your reservoir where you put your tubing in?
I just learned from my brother-in-law, who is both a master plumber and an avid hydroponics enthusiast, that our city now uses chloramine to chlorinate the water. They made the switch specifically because chloramine is more stable, and will not evaporate after a few days like the previous chlorine additives. See this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloramine under the heading (“Situations where NH2Cl is removed from water supplies”.) I plan to use RO water, as I have access to it for free. But I believe a carbon filter such as a Britta filter can do the trick too. Any input as to dealing with this situation? I would advise folks with issues who are using city water to look into their chlorine content.
How did you manage to connect the tubing to the spout? I really like your set up and would love to model my next one after it.
That spout/tubing setup is really elegant. I wish I had thought of that earlier. I found if you put the T-Joint farther along the waterline and allow a “U” shaped bend before it, then air will not back flow into your tank.
Happy Farming!