NFT channel build. SOG setup.

I'm looking to start a perpetual grow. I have a system in mind for a comercial setup and wanted to try it out small scale first. So being thrifty and having access to an eavestrough guy's brake I decided to make my own channels to closely match the dimensions of the comercial system. They are a work in progress but I wanted to share and get opinions.



The trays have removable tops to make it easy for cleaning.


The trays are 4"Wx2"Dx36"L holes are spaced 8" apart and staggered from tray to tray.

Very nice mate, NFT is a cool way to go...

So I made some progress with the build. Made some bulkheads out of 1/2" PVC conduit connectors and O-rings. Also built a stand/return line out of 1 1/4 ABS pipe and fittings.


Happy accident, it all can be stored inside the trays.

My only suggestion is the hole for the drain from the Channel to the abs drain is to small. It won't take long for roots to jam up that. Just my 2 cents. Interested to see this going in a sog grow tho

ToFarGone said:

My only suggestion is the hole for the drain from the Channel to the abs drain is to small. It won't take long for roots to jam up that. Just my 2 cents. Interested to see this going in a sog grow tho

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Thanks for the input man. I hadn't thought of that. I may still run it to see where all the kinks are.

djsnowman06 said:

Thanks for the input man. I hadn't thought of that. I may still run it to see where all the kinks are.

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Oh run it for sure. Making those smaller holes bigger is going to be a bitch now anyways. I would just keep an eye on the drain. I’ve never ran channels so don’t know how far they will go down the channel in a low flow (nft) but in rdwc root clogging can be hell with to small a drain

Well good luck,I see problems in your future,but this how we learn.

myke said:

Well good luck,I see problems in your future,but this how we learn.

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Don’t just say you see problems. What problems to do you see and any suggestions as to a solution? That’s why people come to forums like this for advice

ToFarGone said:

Don’t just say you see problems. What problems to do you see and any suggestions as to a solution? That’s why people come to forums like this for advice

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Its built already,now if he would have asked for help before he built it.Then we could help.
As he said its a test,let the tests begin.

Personally I would have went with abs or pvc to minimalise the chance of any chemicals reacting with the metal. Now my question is how big do you plan on growing the plants in this system? root will follow the stream and clog up if grown too big.

RocketBoy said:

Personally I would have went with abs or pvc to minimalise the chance of any chemicals reacting with the metal. Now my question is how big do you plan on growing the plants in this system? root will follow the stream and clog up if grown too big.

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Yea I'm not too concerned with the metal but I can understand your POV as well. As for how big to let them go, that's one of my questions also. My first run will probably just be rooted clones with a week or 2 of veg. If I see room to grow I will add a week. My idea is to tease out where the best return on time investment is, work out where improvements can be made and build a more solid plan from there.

djsnowman06 said:

Yea I'm not too concerned with the metal but I can understand your POV as well. As for how big to let them go, that's one of my questions also. My first run will probably just be rooted clones with a week or 2 of veg. If I see room to grow I will add a week. My idea is to tease out where the best return on time investment is, work out where improvements can be made and build a more solid plan from there.

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My suggestion is to root em and flip them right away

ToFarGone said:

My suggestion is to root em and flip them right away

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It really depends on what strain he/she is going to run. A good Indica could need 3-4 week of veg, something like an NL#5haze can be flipped from rooted clone.