I am currently in the process of setting up my grow. It is a 36 plant site mixed aeroponics tower. There are 18 high pressure aeroponic spray nozzles and shower aero combo. When water falls and breaks on surfaces it picks up oxygen. There are 9 sections throughout which this happens. The reservoir is about 25 gallons and rests at the bottom. I have the timer for the shower to happen 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off. The reservoir being positioned at the bottom makes for a highly oxygenated environment that can support microbiology. Achieving a balance of rock based minerals and microbiology, this setup can be set to run from start to finish without any reservoir changes.
Microbiology
I believe it is possible to run without reservoir changes because of the function of microbiology to balance the nutrients based off of plant needs. Plant roots have the ability to secrete deposits to attract microbiota which will be eaten by others and essentially digested as the needed nutrient. There is a host of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes in a well balanced microbiology extract. This would clog the high pressure nozzles if attempted to run through those, but is completely fine in the shower portion.
HP
The high pressure aero reservoir is separate and is connected from a 32 plant site low pressure aero germination tank which holds 5 gallons. To keep the nozzles from being clogged they are run with a very low rock based nutrient content, and hp aero generally requires much less nutrients anyway because they absorb so much easier. Plant roots like rock based minerals over microbiology in general and the effects of the high pressure feeding is visually evident in the vitality of the plants. Even just running water through the high pressure nozzles without nutrients seems to be beneficial in this system as the plants are observably more happy when receiving it in combination with the showering mix. I believe this could be because it is diluting the nutrients in the showering solution and possibly enhancing the nutrient absorption of it.
Refilling
The system runs fine with only the showering aero active and plants reach a high vitality. I feel like they look like they are coming out of the amazon jungle when the high pressure is activated too. I like to set up the high pressure aero to kick on for 3 hours of the day and leave it to the showering for the rest. This saves me from having to refill the hp reservoir too often and gives me a few days in between adding water. In the future it may be practical to build on to that reservoir to hold more water and increase the high pressure feedings. I like to balance it so that I am mainly refilling the high pressure aero reservoir and just adding nutrients and microbiology to the showering reservoir as it gets filled by the run-off from the hp.
Nutrients
The nutrients used for microbiology and rock based minerals is where the magic happens. I have studied in depth nutrients and taken from the top growers I have come across. Unfortunately I recently transferred ownership of all my documents to a different google account and then deleted them from the previous. I am pretty sure I waited a day or so before deleting, but it resulted in several of my files disappearing out into the void. I will have to re-design my microbiology extract due to this.
Bioextract
I formulated my microbiology extract the first time by researching people making compost tea and viewing it under microscopes. They were very insightful into making an explosive community of microbiota. Oxygen is the most important factor when brewing. Variety is another factor that appeared beneficial. The more variety you add in the more diversified the ecosystem that forms. Trying to go one step further I started studying master soil growers and looked at the additives they place into their soil to get set and forget one cycle soil set-ups. If their plants looked like they came out of the amazon then they were a good fit for what I was trying to achieve. I found that there was so much crossover to the recipe’s designed by the people with microscopes. I overlapped the information, bought my supplies and developed my own recipe. When completed my bioextract finished with a perfect ph and I almost quit needing to balance the ph entirely even after adding mineral solution.
Minerals
Making a mineral nutrient solution I start by following the researchers from NASA. Several years ago NASA funded a project to develop a nutrient solution for outerspace. They selected a small team experts from around the world and made them start from scratch. After finishing their research together, these individuals went on to develop various nutrient solutions or additives when they were out. The aero tower is a design engineered by one of them. Trying to expand into other fields of research, I next looked to the medical cannabis industry. Living in a location where it is prevalent, I looked at the nutrients listed on the packages of really good product. I started going to the grow stores and finding the products and taking pictures of the nutrient concentration listed on the back. One day I even went through an entire store and looked at the back of every single bottle of product. I wrote down new nutrients that I came across and researched their benefits later. Due to cost I do not grow with every resource available. I lost this list to google drive also and will have to recreate it as well.
Future Plans
Fortunately I still have all the empty bottles from my last grow and all the microbiology ingredients that I used, so I will not be starting all over. This write up is to see if there is an interest here on Steemit in my growing technique and knowledge. I believe I can be helpful to other growers from soil, hydro, or aero backgrounds and am willing to continue sharing my venture into this realm. I do not have a lot of time to write or video as of yet so show me some upvote love and I will continue to share. If this can become a worthwhile endeavor I will definitely place more time here.
Crossposted to Trybe on October 14, 2018