| Hi, When I moved into this 55+ park, I had to come up with a system that would sit on a shelf. I found some intresting componets at a Lowe's Home Improvement Center. The main componet is a 48 inch channel that is 4 1/2 inchs wide. The ends are closed using 3/4 inch foam insulation sheeting. The top of the unit is also made from the foam sheet cut to fit the top of the channel. Nutrient input and over-flow tubes are pushed through the foam on one end and sealed with silicone rubber sealent. Because the channel has handy 1/4 inch lips, the top cover sits in place without glueing, and is easily lifted for cleaning and root triming. Cost is low, and construction time is several hours. I will be using two 48" dual lamp fixtures suspended above adjusting height as required. I have pictures of the unit on the link below. One nice thing about the design is that it can easily be moved from indoors to outdoors when weather is right. The link below has pictures of the completed unit and shots of the main components. Operation is perodic flooding with nutrient level controled by an overflow return line. The plants sit in 3" drain grate cups that extend down into the channelCost excluding pump, timer, and nutrient tank is about $45 dollars. I hope that this design will be helpful to others with restricted space growing under 48 inch fixtures. chuck |
Here is a link that might be useful: 48
