I don't personally have this system, but when I've looked at pictures and diagrams, it seems the fogger head in in a seperate reservoir connected to the plant trough/table with flex-hose. a small 80mm or so fan is used to push/pull the fog out of the reservoir and into the root zone. there is a drain that runs the excess condensate back to the reservoir.
So I have to ask: are you using misterheads aeroponically or are you using a untrasonic fogger head to produce a fog?(similar to a humidifier)
you mentioned a 190gph pump. from where to where does it pump the nutrients?
you also mentioned EnF. I'm not sure how that would work in conjunction with a fog system.
could you please provide a better explantion of how your system currently works?
thanks.

Are you using misterheads aeroponically or are you using a untrasonic fogger head to produce a fog?

-I am using an ultrasonic fogger.

From where to where does it pump the nutrients?

-I have an 18 gallon tank under my table with an air pump and air stone. The pump pumps up into the fogger chamber.

Hi eviloatmeal,

Your explanations are plausible so far - but only until the misting (or fogging) chamber. I can't figure out (and I may not be the only-one) how the mist is supposed to get into the tubes, eventually.

I guess that the tubes are the actual growing area, and the mist has to get transfered to them somehow, right? But how is that supposed to happen?

Is your setup inspired by a working model of the same principle? With the same principle I mean a separate misting chamber and a transfer to tubes as actual growing area?

In case it is, please explain how it is supposed to work and how the mist (produced in the separate misting chamber) gets split up in two parts and transfered to the tubes. If it is a prototype of your own idea and design, NO OFFENSE; but -is it possible that you actually haven't thought-out that part good enough?

Wouldn't it be easier and far more functional to design a fogging system where the fogging happens directly inside a single growing area? With such "simple" system, you can still use a small 12V fan to better disperse the fog inside this area, in case the fog isn't filling up the air (and reaches all the roots) properly.

Perhaps the idea of producing the fog in a separate chamber isn't such a good solution after all. You may be able to better control water flow/exchange from your tank, (looks like that was the basic idea behind it) but on the other hand it seems to complicate more vital parts of the deal. There is no real advantage to it either (as far as I can imagine), except that you can use tubes as growing areas.

Lucas,

No offense taken. I am open to any and all ideas. Whatever makes this easier and DRIER :P (my basement is wet from my lack of experience doing this).

It may be overly complicated, and we all know in fabrication simpler is better. Let me see if I can get a better photo of this thing.

Hi again,
Let me just add that I didn't mean to say that there is no room for creativity or novelty. I guess there still is much...

But then again I came to (after building way too complex and complicate variations) giving preference to functionality. Using existing or easily available parts and components is basically a good thing too. But only as long as they really fit and do their job.

Anyway, would you explain how the fog is supposed to get transfered into the tubes (with- or without a picture from the "insides" of that fogging chamber), and how it is connected to the tubes.

Btw. have you thought of a misting head for each tube (one at the left, one at the right)?

Sorry I missed this one:

>>How do I keep the fogger in the correct amount of liquid without flooding my pipes or running the fogger without enough liquid?You could realize that quite easily.
Look at the 3D illustration I've made for the purpose: the chamber is flooded by a SMALL inlet, either from the side OR from the bottom (as in inlet A - OR inlet B). The (lateral) outlet needs to be bigger and is located (almost) exactly at the hight that is needed to keep the level of nutrients high enough for the fogger to work. As the outlet is bigger in diameter, it automatically keeps the right level in the chamber by evacuating the nutrient as soon as it gets in from the other side. All tough, the volume of pumped-in nutrient (inlet) mustn't exceed the actual capacity of the outlet (which is limited, although it's bigger!)

To regulate the precise hight for the fogger, you may use some ceramic tiles or anything of the sort, and put it underneath the fogger. As you may not get the hight of the outlet right by 100%. Make the opening for the outlet slightly higher as required - and adjust the hight of the fogger (as suggested).

Please note that with this solution, the fogging chamber must be located at a lower level as the tubes. Assuming that both need to be connected in order to permit the fog to get into the tubes! Otherwise, the tubes obviously get flooded anyway!

Any questions, do not hesitate to ask!
Cheers,
Lucas

I think you could set the ultrasonic dish on a float that would keep it at the required depth below the surface of the nutrient. you could then connect this to your grow troughs in an open circuit with a fan circulating the fog through the hole system.
Alternatively, you could create a grow "box", perhaps 2'x3'x2' deep. the box would hold the nutrient below(in the box) with holes drilled in the top to put your plants in. the fogger would float in the nutrient in the box. maybe include a fan to circulate the mist, though I'm not sure that'd be needed. the 'box' could be built with wood or simply a rubbermaid type container.
of course what you grow becomes a consideration since you don't want roots long enough to get into the nutrient.
From what I've read about fogger systems, the two biggest problems were:
the fog doesn't promote a very good root system. this is fine for short lived smaller crops like lettuces, but something like tomatoes have difficulty flourishing.
loss of nutrient due to leakage. Apparently you have to make the system relatively airtight as the fine size of the fog can easily find ways to escape from the root area and thus cause excessive loss of liquid from the system. Might also explain some of the excess moisture you're seeing in your grow area.

Lucas,

That's basically what I have. Fill on the top, and a drain in the middle. 2 tubes for fog higher than the drain (I noticed as it was draining, it was taking fog, too) on either side of the drain. The drain has a valve so I can regulate how much drains out.

I suppose I could put the resevoir ABOVE the fogger, with a 1/4" fill line, and use gravity to feed it... That is when the fogger reservoir is too low it lets the reservoir let more liquid in, like a bottle in the bathtub. As long as the supply is sealed, when the water level lowers the jug will blurp out water until the current water level stops the jug from emptying. Does that make any sense?

Lucas,

That's basically what I have. Fill on the top, and a drain in the middle. 2 tubes for fog higher than the drain (I noticed as it was draining, it was taking fog, too) on either side of the drain. The drain has a valve so I can regulate how much drains out.

I suppose I could put the resevoir ABOVE the fogger, with a 1/4" fill line, and use gravity to feed it... That is when the fogger reservoir is too low it lets the reservoir let more liquid in, like a bottle in the bathtub. As long as the supply is sealed, when the water level lowers the jug will blurp out water until the current water level stops the jug from emptying. Does that make any sense?

eviloatmeal,
Not sure if I got it.
Well what I (most probably got) is that the outlet always drains some fog out. With your solution anyway (as you said), and with what I have figured out in 3D probably too. But is that a problem? If the outlet tube (with either my- or your solution) goes back into the main nutrient reservoir and this outlet is BELOW the water level of that reservoir, no fog should actually get lost or create any humidity.

If you ever put the main reservoir (nutrients) ABOVE the fogging chamber, in order to feed it by gravity, - you have to consider that you also need to get the nutrients back in that reservoir somehow. So, you have to catch the nutrient from the outlet and get it pumped back to the reservoir again. Looks to me as if such solution is complicating things even more.

I still opt for a single unit "all in all" fogging/root chamber (square shaped and rather flat), where the fogger head is located centrally, some air circulation created by a 12V fan (safety first). This would be the elevated top unit which is fed by a reservoir from below. The right water level in the top unit is kept by a system (or similar) shown on that 3D illustration. Have a look at it again, - imagine the "chamber" much wider and about 25 cm in hight. Actually a plastic box with a top COVER that is (at least almost) airtight and where the actual plants will be put in. That's it basically, actually no need to do it in a very different way, using tubes or whatever that is only creating technical issues and no actual improvement...

Don't know how to put it, but all the technical problems that show up one after the other with your design, are actually of your own making... and hence kinda hard to fix by someone else who simply would do it quite differently in the first place. ;-)

Cheers and good luck!!!
Lucas

Lucas, thanks for your help. I'm going to abort the fogger for the time being, and go with a spray setup. Simpler, and easier to monitor. I'll try the fog thing when I get my system sorted out. :)

Nick

Most probably the right decision eviloatmeal. One sometimes has to abort rather than to insist on some project. Persistence and tenacity at the wrong time will not help.

And still, any effort to realizing own ideas and concept is always a good thing and has to be appreciated, as it sometimes works out fine. Keep on going the good work!

Cheers
Lucas

Eviloatmeal,
I'm not experienced in what you are attempting but I have some some suggestions you may want to toy with. I saw a DIY fog chamber somewhere that had an adjustable drain in the bottom situated like inlet B in Lucas's illustration. It was simply a threaded tube that could be raised or lowered. It seems to me that this may be easier than trying to set the water level with a valve. Maybe your air pump can be used to coax the fog out of the chamber and through your fence post rather than a fan, but I have no clue as to how far it will go before it condenses back into a liquid. I am building an 8 Gal. fog cloner exactly like the rubbermaid grow box Grizzman described above. It will have good sub-aeration so I don't think there will be any need for a fan. Keep working on your ideas, what doesn't work may lead to something that does.