DIY aerogarden.

I've got a fish tank, big enough for three plants. If I get an mdf board, place it over the top, drill three holes large enough to house rockwool cubes, then other holes for air and to add feed. Does anyone think this would work?

I'm going to experiment with it anyway... I'd just like to get some tips, because as soon as a clone becomes available I'm going to kick it off. Any advice will be gratefully received... even if it's to tell me I'm a complete cunt for even thinking of such a stupid idea.

You could model it after a bubbler setup but you will NEED to be aerating the water. Get a bubble stone and air pump and put that in fish tank water. Then it will bubble up and hit roots. I might do the same thing with a 10 gallon fish tank for clones.

sounds like a great plan!!! I may consider doing this also. How far away from the bottom of the net pots should the water be? What size do you plan on using? I have a few 10 gallon tanks and 1 20 gallon long sitting around

Not sure of the size, although three plants should fit quite comfortably. Bubbles? I assumed the tips of the roots travelled till they touched the water at the bottom... I thought you just kept spraying the rockwool until the tap root found the water at the bottom.

See how clueless I am?

if im not mistaken mdf is pine. and any kind of pine products are a nono. the sap (pine reisen) from pine products will kill your babies.
and for the fish tanks, you can use'um. but be sure to paint the outside of it first. you dont want light on your roots or the water.
im useing a bubbler setup now, and found that the plants seemed happiest when the water was about even with the rockwool until the plants had roots comeing out of the net pots. once they had a decent amount of root hanging out of the pots i droped the water level to about 1" under the pots.
good luck n keep us posted

What did you end up using instead of MDF? I was going to point out that pressed wood products are bad around water anyway but was thinking it could be sealed with several coats of varnish. I know that Lowe's and Dept sell those clear plastic sheets (not sure of technical term) but they could be cut to fit plants and tank. Other solution is to get the reptile lids for tanks that are screen then just cut the screen to allow pots in and then cover with plastic or something reflective.

Thanks a lot mightyb' and th3... loads of good advice. Unfortunately I've already bought the mdf. We've got a pump, just waiting to pick it up. So I'll paint the outside of the fishtank. I'll cover the mdf with plastic, although we do have a cover for the fish tank, a metal one. I suppose we could drill through it. Thanks a lot lads.

Also, what are net pots? Could I get away with just cutting the holes large enough to hold the rockwool cubes? Would the weight of the roots pull the rockwool through the hole? Wouldn't a net restrict root growth?

I'm hoping to be starting this by the end of the week, just 2 plants. A couple of the sensi stars I've cloned look like they'll make great plants.

well if youve bought the mdf and are set on useing it more power to ya. let me know how things work out with it. but if it doesnt work out or you just wanna try something else you might want to get some rubber made tubs. thats what ive been useing and seem perfect so far. ill toss a few pics in of what it looks like setup and what net pots are.
for the setup like ive got youll need

5.00 rubber made tub(bigger the better ive got 25 gallon)
6.00 air pump
5.00 2x12" air stones
2.00 air lines
1.00 air line T's
10.00 hydroton (clay balls)
2.00 for 10 net pots
10.00 rockwool (100 2'x2' squares)

40.00ish give or take and ive got 6 plants in each tub, and that will take them though a full grow. anywhoo just food for thought.
good luck and keep us posted

Thanks again, I'll have to get some of those net pots.

Net pots are one convenient way, but they don't work very well. What you need is a good way to anchor the plants. Once they get bigger they can easily topple. Since you are making it, maybe plan on using bigger rockwool cubes, say 4 inch, and cut a hole just smaller so you can jam the cube into it tightly.

Thanks Pot' that's what I'm going to do... my original plan was to just wedge them in. I'll have to take some more clones if I want to use bigger rockwool cubes, which will put this off for another week. I'll try the 2" ones first, if it doesn't work, I'll clone up some bigger ones. I've got a metal lid, so I don't need to use the mdf.

I take cuttings in 1 inch cubes, and when roots show, put those cubes into the round hole in the 4 inch cube. (it's a large hole) Roots continue growing into the larger cube with no disturbance.

Ah... I see. Thanks Pot'. I'll invest in some even bigger cubes... Still going to have to use the mdf, the metal lid is raised. We'll just plasticate the mdf. Thanks Pot'... oh, any ideas on how we block the light from getting to the roots after we have drilled air holes? The way I see it is... we can't drill any air holes. I can see me having to pay another trip to the timber yard... my reasoning being that wood is breathable ergo no air holes. If this is a good idea could you tell me the best type of wood to get. I'm also thinking of covering rather than painting the sides of the fish tank... I want to be able to take a look at the roots.

How about using something plastic? Like a lid to a large tub. Then you can cut or drill holes and the stuff will hold up much better. Dremel rotary tools are great for that. Even a lid to a stryrofoam cooler might work.

You will want to be able to see inside any container you have, and reach in when you have to, so plan on covering holes with plastic or tiles or whatever.

We had the idea of plastic containers too... thanks Pot', plenty of food for thought.

MDF, absorbs moisture like crazy I run a aeroponic system and cut holes in the top of a plastic tub, inserted the seed pods from the aerogarden, and used a water fountain pump for my water. The water just runs against the sponge in the seed pod and drips back to the bottom of my tank. I'm in the middle of my third week and I have 4 plants about 7 inchs tall. I went to my local Menards store and built a three 50watt hps bulb system. The lights are spaced over my box at 10 oclock 12 and 2oclock keeping the distance as close as possible. So far so good, The best part yet is that the entire grow system is built into my entertainment center beneith my tv. I have 3 feet of height and about 3 feet of width and 2 feet deep. The enclosed room is provided with fresh air from a 3" PVC pipe with a 50cfm fan and a hepa filter for fresh air, and a 3" PVC pipe with a Carbon filter for exhaust. The filters are on the back and seem to provide enough air right now. I might have to up the cfm a little. Its my first grow, my first box, and so far its been fun to watch!

i went and bought a ag. and wan'ted to know if foxfarm nut's grow big are GOOD to use. thats all i bought and how much should i mix in with water and how many times WEEK ABOUT? and should i use the 2 aerogarden tablets to start off or just fox farm? this is my first grow sorry to bother you. and should start 12/12 lighting after 4 weeks or sooner and should i clip anything off the plants and where?

skunkushybrid said:

I've got a fish tank, big enough for three plants. If I get an mdf board, place it over the top, drill three holes large enough to house rockwool cubes, then other holes for air and to add feed. Does anyone think this would work?

I'm going to experiment with it anyway... I'd just like to get some tips, because as soon as a clone becomes available I'm going to kick it off. Any advice will be gratefully received... even if it's to tell me I'm a complete cunt for even thinking of such a stupid idea.

Click to expand...

You might want to paint it black and seal out the light or you're apt to have a lot of algae. Also just the tips of the roots in water may be a problem. Aeroponics keeps them sprayed damp with nutrients where hydropnics submerges them. There are advantages to each. A bubbler immersed in the nutrient solution sounds like your best chance at success.

mdf is a nono
ive had just a little pice of it over my aquarium, in a matter of weeks, it got covered in black mold
mdf is a composite, with so much adhesive crap in it, that you can smell it.
Ive heard that it even has a beef blood as a ingredient, which could be prolly the only good thing out of it.

trust me mdf will purely suck.
Aerogarden runs on pump 110 small pump with i believe 1/8 line.
get aquarium bubbler splitter, and just run independent lines directly into the basket.
im not sure where get that pump.

aerogram is a small and fairly complex engineered unit, hard to duplicate. I just opened mine to Frankenstein it (turbo charge it and install intercooler. ..or just buy it on sale these days, i got mine for 40 bucks.

edit. just checked it runs on 12v pump (not 110)
pump line in .325 or so use 5/16 line if avalible