The hydro I built was something I seen years ago and stored the plans in my head untill a few weeks ago when it became a nessesity to build and had a few dallors to spend.

Frost season is at hand up in maine. We pulled out all the plants that she uses for drying and brought them in. I washed off the soil from the roots and sat them in water till the hydro was working.
After I built this crazy looking gizzmo I realized that I was only half way there so I started looking on the web for hydroponic supplies and ended up ordering flora nova, clay pellets,rockwool and some baskets. Then I had to make the hole thing come together. Thats how I ended up here. Searching the web for hydro sites. I've found a lot of info here including what the system I built was called...Deap flow technique..I wish I could post some pics here. I know how to post pics, but I don't see any posted, so I guess I can't.

In the mean time the hydro is running with these seedlings and some older plants. I've been waiting for the nutes to come in so I can give them something. They ran in water for two days and for the last two I made a solution of miracle-gro, then I got worried about using that product and changed out the tank to water this morning.

The most pressing questions I have is can I use miracle-gro in a pinch or are they better off in water till the nutes come in?

And a timer question. I learned here that my DFT system is best 15 min. on 15 min. off. Is there a cheap timer solution that I can use since money has run out on this project for now.

And... Lights..I read the thread on florecent lights. I sent the wife the town for some lights and she came back with some two and three ft lights. Its a start but not enought. Has anyone tried the halogen 500w work lights that are $16.00 a piece? I have three I use working masonry. They generate a lot of light and heat.

This is my first post and aside from calling up UPS for me and finding out were the hech my order is, LOL.. maybe you people have some suggestions for me.
Thanks; Joe

I have heard Miracle Gro is best for soil over a period of time. Hydroponic nutrients are premium chelated (broken down to the smallest absorbsion size for roots) salts. Usual tap water runs about 150 to 200 parts per million (PPM). Depending on what you are growing you may need to up that PPM number. Lettuce and greens don't require much, but flowers and fruits need a lot of P K

I took care of the timer problem. I bought another pump with a built in float switch. Then I took a 5 gallon bucket and ran a hose from it to my tote water tank. Now it comes on every 20 minutes.
I also bought some 4 foot shop lights for now. I think they'll work good enough for what I'm doing.
thanks again; Joe