I too love creating new system designs. The thing is; if you don't grow a system through the whole cycle, you don't know whether you've come up with a good design.
Also, after a couple of 'seasons', you'll find certain types of systems grow certain plants better than others. Then what you want to grow dictates what kind of system you create.
I agree with the GH flora series. if you get to growing a lot, you'll want to explore less expensive bulk purchases.
Can't wait to see your system!

i also have been lurking in the background, gathering knowledge. i also like to build and see. if i can figure it out i'll post pics.

Thanks for the recommendation, Im gonna give the flora series a shot. I've been trying to post some pics of my system but having some difficulty, do you guys have any suggestions?

just upload them to http://imageshack.us/ and post the url's here

Here is a link that might be useful: http://imageshack.us/

nah. don't use imageshack. create a flickr account and upload them there. then use this code to post the picture here:

Thanks for your help guys. Im uploaded them to flickr and tried to insert them using the img src method. If I did it correctly would the picture show in the preview message window? Im just getting a small box with an x in it. :(

x means either the code (missing a " ) is wrong or the url is wrong, oh you also need to remove the [ ] brackets.

Also, you need to make sure the source destination is referencing an image and not a webpage. images will end with the .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .tif, .gif file extensions normally (though I am sure there are others) html will generally in with .htm, .html, .xml, .php, .pl or possibly not show the extension. Just something to be aware of. in flickr, right click the image then select "show image" when that image appears (by itself on another page) the address bar should show a file ending in .jpg.

{{gwi:997766}}

I triple checked my code I think the address my be wrong that. here it is here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/37748544@N08/4292345451/

if you go to the page you just listed(note its a page not an image file. ends with a / not an image file extensions)then right click on the image, the address in the title bar becomes:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4292345451_5674c91b23.jpg
therefore the correct code to display this image is:

And just to stay on topic. . .
my current indoor DWC system (though the plants are way bigger now, well one of them anyway)

Aha, very cool Grizzman. Thank you. So now that thats figured out here are some of the pics of my system

I put this together with supplies found at walmart, lowes, and home depot. All said and done it cost around $100.00 with the medium and NS. My next one I will probably use netpots with hydroton balls.

Grizz, You got some nice systems my friend. That dwc + aero is really cool, how does it work. Aeropnoics is an avenue im gonna go down soon(small back yard ;) What mediums are you using?

last system I build I had 4 plastic totes like yours all connected with with bulk heads and hoses at the bottom and a pipe with misters about 3/4 of the way up (water level) going through all 4 totes (grommets to keep water tight) and a pump in the first tote that drove the misters. Worked well but I was a bit sloppy with filtering and got feed up with unblocking the misters all the time.

theflgardener
Last year I used lava rock, which I bought at Lowes, in 2" net pots. The problem I had was you had to smash the lava rock so it would fit well in the net pots. with the pots you have, lava rock would probably work very well.
This year I am going to use hydroton in all my net pot systems. Thats what I am currently using in 3" net pots in my office system. They're reasonably priced, light weight, and round, thus no sharp edges. For my other systems I will probably still use lava rock, just not broken smaller than it comes in the bags. the stuff is dirt cheap. In those system I don't plan on using any kind of pots. just a sheet of insulation board as a top with holes cut in it to set the plants in.

Here is a page i put together showing how to make a small DWC/aero system in a 5 gallon 'paint' bucket. The system I showed above works under the exact same principle only its bigger.
Last year it supported, I believe, two plants, but the year before that I grew 6 tomatoes in it without a hitch.
For smaller plants (like peppers) I really liked NFT. you can get a lot of plants in a tight space. This year I plan on growing some things using both NFT and EnF to see which they prefer.

-GMCD did the roots just hangdown in your system and get mist sprayed on them?

-Grizzman thanks for the link, those submersibles are super cheap. Have you ever used coco peat in a system?

The submersible in that system what super cheap. $15 I believe. a pump that will run a sprayer head at 40" will run in the $30-$40.

I have started plants in vermiculite/perlite blends, but other than that I only use river rocks, lava rocks, and hydroton. Well I did use marbles one time. I prefer those medium because there is nothing to break down and clog pump and sprayers, they don't affect the nutrient ph (at least in my experience), and you can recycle them easily. simply soak in bleach water for 24 hours and/or boil them for about 20 minutes.

This was the very first system I built

I saw a video of a nice EandB system that used Hydroton and it did look like an easy medium to use. I got my submersible wrapped in a few layers of cheesecloth so hopefully that keeps it out but now im worried about it getting in the hoses because they will be contained within the medium itself. Maybe I can use cheesecloth or screen on the hoses themselves. Once its up and running I'll report back about the cocopeat. (if the medium gets inside the pump will it break?)

_Grizzman_
What kind of system is that?
What was your first crop?

theflgardener yeah the roots hung down and got sprayed, just below the tube with the sprayers was the water level (air stones) so it was a hybrid DWC and aeroponics.

My first crop was squash and eggplant. the eggplant did fine. The squash . . . not so well.
That first system was some kind of mutant NFT/DWC. the pump ran continually, so the water in the troughs was constantly recirculating. there was about an 18" drop back into the rez for aeration. The trough had an approx 1.1/2" lip on the end, so the roots always had some level of water to be bathing in. The top of the trough was insulation board with holes for two inch net pots. The medium was river rock.
Ultimately, the plants experienced substantial root rot from the constant submersion. apparently, the constantly recirculating nutrient basically moved across the top of the trough fluid in a thin layer and didn't really aerate it properly. As you might have guessed, that was the only time I've run that system. It was also before I had found the gardenweb.

@Grizzman- I've read that is a common problem for NFT Systems for the water to get trapped in pools around the roots and cause root rot.

Anyone know where to find a breakdown of what plants grow best in what systems.

My peppers from last year were started as EnF, then later converted to NFT. I never saw any indicators of root rot with them. I had to increase the slope from near flat to about 3.5" over 4 feet because the roots were backing up the NFT flow and it was leaking out where the nutrient came in. But after that adjustment, there was never a problem.
With my first system, I intentionally created that 1.1/2" lip to hold the extra nutrient around the roots. My thinking, at the time, was the liquid would sustain the plant in case the pump failed. In retrospect, I see the errors in my thinking and have learned much since then.
It seems if water is getting trapped behind the plants either your troughs are not sloped enough or your pots are sitting directly on the bottom with too much weight, thus causing an eddy, so to speak. In my system last year the bottom of the netpots was about 1/4" off the trough.

I personally think any plant can be grown great in an EnF system as this system most accurately recreates a soil environement. Their downside is a lot of medium and thus a lot of weight, the lack of being able to see the roots well, and they seem more difficult to clean / recycle between crops. Oh and the need to flush the salt buildup off the medium sucks too.
NFT, to me, is just a clean looking system. very mobile, less mess and fuss between crops, less electronics to deal with.(you need a good reliable pump, but really nothing else).
DWC/Aero hybrids have been good to me, though most of my experience there is with tomatoes. and my current DWC system has been bountiful as well, though again only with tomatoes.

NFT systems seem to be a good choice for growing out doors. I have been debating about whether my system should be indoor or outdoor, I live in South Florida and have a feeling the solution will get to hot in the coming summer. I,ve read that I can bury it half way and that may help but to lift it everytime I want to change the solution could be a pain. I think indoor is probably the best as long as I can keep my cat away :)

if you bury it, you could rig up a seperate pump to drain the rez or you could install a valve switch that would redirect the pump normally feeding the plants to pump the water out of the system. I'm sure the savings in electricity (from running the lights) would more than pay for a second pump.
Alternatively, you could wrap your rez in insulation and/or paint it white (to reflect light) or cover it with aluminum foil. another option Joe offered previously is to freeze some containers (like 2L coke bottles) filled about 1/2-2/3 full of water then drop them in the rez. It'll help control the temperature without diluting the solution.
In my tomato trash can above, I don't do any of that and I don't have problems with the nutrient getting too hot. but then, we don't normally get more than 3 or 4 95° days in a row in the heat of summer.
If you want to devise truly economical hydro systems, you need to limit electricity use as much as possible. One of the biggest requirements in that respect will be lights.

Thanks for the good tips, actually i was thinking of just sticking the system by the back sliders, the doors are facing south so they should get a good amount of sunlight. I realize im probably gonna have to kill a few tomatoes before I get it right, but those are the sacrifices we must make :)