This is coming from a completely genuine place of curiosity.  Sorry if it’s been covered elsewhere, I couldn’t locate any threads on it since the search function on here is kind of clunky.

Does anyone know why the window farms system (diy version) uses an air lift system as opposed to a water pump system?

Is it energy consumption?

Availability?

Weight?

Price?

It seems like the air lift system over complicates the system – adding additional parts and experimenting.  Wouldn’t it be more simple to get a larger water source (E.G. 5 gallon bucket) and drop the water pump in and use the rest of the setup the same?   This would obviously require you to use non-recycled materials – but I think most people are just buying water bottles anyway for the system, and a 5 gallon bucket would last forever with adequate care.

Is the reason aesthetics?

I guess a bucket on the floor doesn’t look nearly as visually pleasing as the hanging bottle version, but there has to be some kind of work around for this.

Really interested to hear other builder’s thoughts on this.

I have mine currently set up with the air lift system and it seems to work out alright – but in the spirit of the project I am on the lookout for alternatives to make everyone’s lives easier.

Starting from Scratch-ish

A few days ago I started building my first window farm.  Bottle plant holders are the only recycled part of this system – everything else I was able to gather from a local commercial center.

I generally followed the instructions to create a Version 2.0 Windowfarm.  It is a fairly simple process that filled me with new ideas for my next column.

Below is the windowfarm after the first afternoon.

Bottle tower and Reservoir-base

Airlift Issues

I ran into a problem with the airlift, which I understand is common so I’m posting my solution. The airpump was blowing bubbles back into the reservoir.  I had seen different recommendations on the airlift (t-joint, needle, each with variations) so I tested different models with no success, proving the airlift design wasn’t to blame.  Additionally, I found that I got the best results using the t-joint setup.

I began thinking of other potential causes… I had bought the recommended Petco air pump but without the adjustable dial, so maybe I was feeding too much air pressure into the system… I tested different air pressures by squeezing the hose and running the pump, all eventually bubbled back into the reservoir.

Solution

I was able to resolve the issue by attaching 1-way valves to both the air and water lines feeding into the airlift.  The non-adjustable pump works fine.

Additionally, the t-valve is positioned ~1.5 feet below the bottom of the reservoir to create pressure and feed water down the tubing.  Below is a picture of the exchange.

Water & Air exchange at the t-valve

It works quite well now.  After the initial gush of water, it pumps out ~2ml every 2-3 seconds, which seems enough by sight.

A Work in Progress

Finding solutions and innovations while building my window farm was one of the most rewarding and exciting parts of this project – always spurring on new ideas for my next column.

Currently, I am using the petco pump w/o knob to feed 4 planters.  I would suggest changing the recommendation for the pump type to be less specific..

I created a tube-in-cap drain for each planter by drilling a hole in the center of each cap using scissors.  Wrap the end of a 2-3 inch section of tubing in plumbers tape and twist it snug into the cap hole (the cap drains best when the tubing is nearly flush with the inside of the cap).  I then secured the outside cap/tube joint with duck tape and screwed it onto the bottom of the planter.

Cap-tube drain

I created a simple silencer by connecting a section of 1/4″ ID tubing to the end of the feed tube.

 Simple Silencer

Below are pictures of my first column now.

 Crash course column

After I completed the column, I grabbed some small plants I found at the park and unrooted a small vine that has been growing as a potted plant through fall and winter in the same window as the windowfarm now sits.  I know the vine grows in the micro-local limate of the windowsill already and anything in the dog park has to be pretty hardy.  I’m treating this column as a crash course of windowfarming to learn the basics and work out the kinks before I move on to something more serious.

Note on Syphons

I did not cut a hole in the bottom of my reservoir, instead opting to maintain the bottle structure and use a syphon to feed the water to the air-water exchange and up to the plants.  As I am sure ya’ll have experienced how unwieldy the tubing can be, which creates complications for maintaining water suction necessary for a syphon.  To solve this, I used a small binder clip and two screws to create an anchor for the tubing.  First I clipped the clip on to the end of the tubing going into the reservoir, then I placed a screw into each wire “butterfly wing” of the clip, and dropped them into the water.

Below is a picture of my raised anchor in the reservoir.

Syphon Anchor

Thanks for checking out my grow-op.

Please feel free to comment, I welcome your feedback, questions, and support.

It’s easy to get a little greedy. Continuing to build and build. Now I have turned my two columns into four with the help of these instructions from @gaiatechnician (Brian White), I managed to use a pump with two outlets to provide four columns with water. I have used 6 T-connections and 4 air controls.



The pump is on a timer that is on every half hour between 09:00 and 22:00. The fluorescent lamp is running from 08:00 to 21:00. It was a bit difficult to balance the air flows, but now it seems to be fairly stable.





My system is generally quite unstable, probably because my water tank is so small (less than 1,5l) and the tubes have a tendency to float or move in the water tank.


Lettuce, paprika, pepers, tomato and basil. The paprika I got from a friend. All plants are grown from seeds.

Windowfarms recommend a 4 outlet pump but many people already have a 1 outlet pump and probably would like to use the one they have.  So here I have a video about a method to split the air stream to work 2 or more columns. If you just split the air with a Y or T splitter (even if both airlift tubes are exactly the same), the air will “choose” one tube (or the other one) and then all or most of the air will go up that one with zero or almost zero airlift happening in the other one.  This is because the “starting pressure”  is higher than the “running pressure” for any airlift pump.  So whichever one starts first will probably stay running really well at the expense of the second one (which will be either really slow or not running at all!)

The method I show to prevent this is to throttle both of them.  In the video, I use little “taps” to tighten and restrict the airflow to both sides until both sides run. AND stay running!   For this to work, both airlifts should have similar submergence (but they do not need to go to the same height).  You might also be able to see from the video that you can have one going a bit faster than the other.  So possibly, you can supply more water to some plants when they are big while in the other airlift supplying just a little to them because they are tinier.

There are other methods too but this one should be easy to do and to adjust.

2  airlift columns from a single outlet air pump!

I only did 2 columns because I didn’t have enough tubing to show 3 working.

3 columns  might work in my case (my pump is an old aquarium pump that I found dumped on the side of the road so it is probably not such a good model)

Update 2nd Jan 2012.  3 columns works too but in the case of my pump it is the limit.  Video Jan 3 2012. 3 airlift tubes working from a one outlet aquarium bubble pump

Youtube now allows you to edit videos so if I am not too busy, I will “upgrade” the video (and this post)  over the next week or 2 and show methods to measure the flow or at least compare flows under different conditions too. Brian

Hello everyone, I have just joined the community this week after seeing this on a TED video. I teach high school engineering and technology education. I emphasis sustainability in my classes and love to experiment with sustainable ideas, so this is right up my alley. I will be building a set-up in my home as well as my classroom. I have been thinking about some possible modifications.

The air pump ideas looks great, but what about a zero electricity design? I was thinking about how old hospital IVs work (before they had automatic pumps). A nurse would hang an IV bag, set a drip rate and the iv would run using only gravity. Maybe we could do the same thing here? It would mean moving the “feed bag” daily I would think, but if there is an easy quick release system on the bag it would be doable. As a gardner I like to check my plants everyday anyway. If there are any medical people out there maybe you can weigh in here.

I have a student in my after school TSA (Technology Student Association) club, who wants to build one of this as an aquaponics farm (small scale with goldfish). I will post picture as I (and she) starts to build. I love this forum and idea of encouraging local agriculture! I have spent the past three days reading through this site.

Hi all,

I just completed my first window farm and wanted to share my experience.  Just as I decided to get one of these together, I had an assignment to create a video about the environmental subject of my choice, and this seemed to fit perfectly. Here’s what I came up with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fif-hNj47M.  I used several images from this site, so if I used one of yours and you want it removed, then please let me know.

I was particularly impressed with Dave’s Manhattan Window Farm design (http://our.windowfarms.org/2011/01/07/my-manhattan-windowfarm/), and used it as a starting point.  In the interest of simplicity and energy conservation I decided not to use lights or a pump, at least to start.  I don’t live anywhere near a hydroponics supply store, and was unable to find nutrient solution, net cups, clay pellets, or rock wool.  Instead I used Vigoro all purpose soluble plant food diluted for indoor plants, cheap plastic plant containers that I already had and a mixture of vermiculite and pebbles.  I figured that the vermiculite would retain moisture better between manual waterings anyway.  I wanted as large a space for roots as possible, so I used 2L soda bottles, which I regularly use.  I could only find 2″ split ring hangers but they turned out to be just large enough to hold the neck of the bottles and keep them close (but not too close) to the shower curtain rod.

I bought some romaine, arugula, and red leaf lettuce from Lowe’s so I could include actual plants in the video, and for the instant gratification, but in the future I will be using seed, of which I have plenty, to start one with herbs and another one or two with things like beans and peppers.  I waited too long for the first watering and I lost a few leaves because of that and damage sustained during transfer, but otherwise they’re looking good ten days in.  Since, I have been watering with 2-4 cups of solution every 2-3 days.  The red leaf is growing really well, while the romaine seems to be struggling a bit.  The arugula is a little bigger, but has not changed much, although they have all grown.

Here are some pictures:

Day One:

Day Ten:

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this project.

04.21.2011 Edit to add:

I lost one (the smallest) of three of the romaine plants to what looks like root rot but the others seem to be doing well-

and unfortunately the arugula looks like it’s going to seed already

I’m planning on using 1/2 inch ID tubing for an airlift and an aquarium pump providing 2.3 PSI through a T joint. Is this going to be enough to lift water to about ceiling height? Are there any equations or rules of thumb for this? I couldn’t find a required PSI anywhere.

pump

http://www.hydroponics.net/i/133875

1/2 inch ID tubing

http://www.hydroponics.net/i/241120

Hey everyone, I just built my first V2 airlift system and I thought I’d share some pictures and tips for those of you who are thinking about building one yourself.  I made a pdf and hosted it on mediafire via the link below:

http://www.mediafire.com/?z0f3vlr93db7iku

We were having trouble finding the right pump, so we decided to water manually.If the pump makes it cost prohibitive, this could work for you, it costs less than $50.

We give each column about a litre of water every 4 days. It’s only been a few weeks, but the peppers are flowering and everything is growing.

Check out the full blog: http://ebw.evergreen.ca/blog/entry/window-farms/

I’ll post the plans soon.

-Stuart