Foggers (Aeroponic)

I have been researching different types of foggers for use in aeroponic systems. A lot of the info out there (On the forum, From the manufacturers, etc) seems to contradict each other. I know you can never really trust someone whos trying to sell something, so I disregard a lot of the info from manufacturers.

Here are a couple of points, opinions, supposedly first hand experiences I have heard. I encourage anyone with something to contribute to this post to do so (Please only post if you are confident you know what your talking about, and if you must post without legitimate first hand knowlege please state that in your reply).

*Ultrasonic foggers get clogged from nutes and you must clean them daily. Directly opposing this statement I have heard that some foggers:
a)Do not clog from nutes if it is certain kind of fogger (more exspensive generally)
b)The discs that clog are cheap and can be cleaned or replaced
c)Are fine for cloning/rooting because you dont need nutes, therefore they do not clog
d)Cause mold/root rot if not watched carefully

*Also I have heard of dry fog and how it is different/better

Theres a couple of the debating issues that I have seen, maybe someone can shed a little light on this subject for us.

Later guys

If you use a #200 mesh filter the foggers shouldn't clog.

Isnt that more for use with aeroponic sprayers rather than ultrasonic foggers?

in your first post you mentioned "aeroponic foggers" which is what I used a while back.



The foggers flow about 1.1 gallons per hour and the mist size is 5 microns or so.. I had no clogs through a 3 month run using the #200 screen filter. sorry if I misunderstood your question.

there is some cool info on TAG aeroponics in this thread:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=15115&highlight=tag+landing

what are the fogger you used??

I've already bought ultrasonic fogger from nutramist but didn't have the chance to put it in a system yet

The TAG thread is mainly about nozzle/microsprayer aero... do a search for Foggerponics.

You'll want to research this more (or perhaps someone who actually knows from experience), but it's been said that ultrasonic foggers directly in the reservoir cause pH swings. You'll want to fog another chamber or res and then blow the fog onto the roots.

It's also probably not a bad idea to back it up with some sort of redundancy since unchecked system failure can kill an aeroponic crop... Maybe a modified Ein Gedi system with a bubble or waterfall driven SWC.

Your fogger (Nutramist) is supposed to be coated wth teflon to make them less upkeep intensive but it's probably not a bad idea to take a brush or something to it anytime you see anything - and you should definitely be checking daily.

C below is true too, but you can also do full aero all the way through to harvest. It's been done. Nute amounts are definitely reduced... check w/ some experienced aerogrowers for yours. Tap, distilled, and RO all have varying degrees of hardness (dissolved salts to build up over time): know yours. I also think 5.8 is the optimum pH but ask around.

You can use an h2o2/water solution to avoid root ick.

*Ultrasonic foggers get clogged from nutes and you must clean them daily. Directly opposing this statement I have heard that some foggers:
a)Do not clog from nutes if it is certain kind of fogger (more exspensive generally)
b)The discs that clog are cheap and can be cleaned or replaced
c)Are fine for cloning/rooting because you dont need nutes, therefore they do not clog
d)Cause mold/root rot if not watched carefully

Click to expand...

Ultrasonic Fogger

Ultrasonic Fogger

Hey, if you are talking about what I am thinking you are talking about, I have purchased one of these gadgets simply to experiment with. Right now, I am using it to grow a tangerine tree seedling. It's expendable to say the least. At any rate, I'll post a link down below so you can check to see if we are talking about the same devices. I am using a weak GH 3 part nute solution right now and the disk does get dirty, but I only clean once every couple of weeks and I've had no trouble. The disks themselves are cheap to replace, mine even came with a spare. The directions for these things say not to use them for more than 8 hours in a stretch, but mine has been on continuously for weeks. The real downside with them has been that they put out a MASSIVE amount of heat. I had to order a small radiator that is typically used for cooling computers and couple it with a submersible water pump to keep the res. temps down. We're talking like 118 degrees Farenheit if left unchecked. Anyhow, I'm working hard to make these things work in a micro sort of way, but good lord it ain't easy!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ultrasonic-aqua...ryZ20569QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

First photo upload so bear with me

First photo upload so bear with me

Testing 123

I played with an ultrasonic fogger a few years ago.

Shira Frappa made it and I burned up about ten EBU (Electonic something units?)... they then came out with a low water sensor.

Thing worked though the plants needed to be weaned off the humidity.

Tried various configurations, once trying to promote fiberous roots, the next time as a cloner.

Nutrients - Supplements at about 1/8 strength. I recall being told to never use Bloom as foliar so never tried that.

I don't have lots of pics of it, but have been trying to figure out process this morning so bear with me.

Respect

I'm looking at a Rainforest sprinkler its not as high-tek as a ultrasonic fogger.
Here is the link. Check out the video. the sprinkler can be removed from the spike and threaded into your own pipe. It won't clog as easily as misting heads, but might kill beneficial bacteria, don't know if the little buggers can take a hit?


http://www.rainforestsprinklers.com/products.php?cat=3&PHPSESSID=e207d39fe0db7db6649efab2b0f82dd5

I have probably done the most documented testing using dry fog, you are lucky I saw your thread. Unfortunately, that testing wasn't complete when I got busted! Overgrow going down a month later taking all my threads with it didn't help the foggerponic crusade either!

The amount of residue that builds up on the piezoelectric disk depends on what nutrients you use, organics are very likely to stick to it. Keeping it clean hasn't been proven to be necessary, but the piezoelectric disk manufactures state that is will decrease its life span. Buying a pond fogger that can have its piezoelectric disk replaced is a good idea.

Different disks produce different sized dry fog droplets, but since the droplets decrease in size the longer they are in the air, it really doesn't matter if you use a cheap pond fogger, or the over priced Shira Fogger, you have limited control of the droplet size since no matter what, but it is still smaller than any aeroponic mister will achieve.

Foggerponics has not really been done properly yet, not even me, that is... to supply nutrients to the root zone with dry fog alone, with no standing water forming. If done properly, all roots will look INSANELY fuzzy, covered with tiny root hairs, using a fraction of the nutrients. No one has tested if dry fog could supply enough water to cannabis plants under HID lamps, so a dry fog only system may not even be possible, defeating a few of the great things about going with dry fog only.

Claims of pH change is really just based off one single guys post, which was never substantiated. It is not hard to check if this is occurring, simply re-condense the dry fog and check the pH. I used the Probio line of nutrients, and found that the Vitality didn't fog well, just built up on the disk and changed the pH in the resevior and the re-condensed dry fog. I tested twice for pH change, for the Probio Micro-Grow-Bloom mix, no pH change occurred. Should have tested pH Up/Down in RO water, but never got around to it.

One thing you probably are not aware of, is that we can also foilar feed using dry fog. I was using ultrasonic humidifiers which suck in air and blow it out the top along with the dry fog, I pumped this into a Coliseum, and so long as there are no large gaps, the fog was mostly contained within it. Room humidity sky-rocketed, and when a gap occurred, I foilar fed my plants by accident which ended up burning them.

I tried cloning with dry fog, and found that 'true' dry fogging sucks for cloning... so I bought more ultrasonic humidifiers and pumped in enough dry fog that it condensed on everything in the root zone, aka 'standing water'. This was then enough water to root the clones, and once rooted, they could use the dry fog and grew fuzzy roots. So altho you can root clones with dry fog, it is only because it is condensing on the stem.





Do not use ultrasonic humidifiers, pond foggers with replaceable disks are the way to go.

In order to do a true dry fog grow, you will need sensors to manage the dry fog levels. I also tried dry fog as an addition to my aeroponic mister coliseum, where water from the misters ran along the roots, the roots were normal. But where the roots were sheltered, the roots became super fuzzy.

If you don't see fuzzy roots, then it isn't working. High levels of dry fog that condenses on roots does work, but standing water + warm rootzone = CLUSTER****. A aeroponic mister setup would have its nutrient solution cooled and rootzone temps would be perfect, so unless your doing dry fog the right way with super fuzzy roots, then its probably not worth doing.



Here you can see I have a lot of standing water, but you can tell how fuzzy the root is, this is my only surviving picture of fuzzy roots, and it really does no justice to just how fuzzy dry fog makes em, especially on large root masses. There is a guy trying to do dry fog properly, standing water free, but I forgot which grow site it was on... losing Overgrow has pretty much killed advanced marijuana growing techniques. We are only once again starting to discuss UVB, that was old news back on Overgrow... sob.

Started a thread on it again anyhow though:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=1413034#post1413034

It's doable w/ cheap pond foggers, and not that hard. There's a long thread on Gardenscure in the aeroponics section. To view you'll have to look at threads 2 months old or more. Not much interest in aeroponics over there.

atomix aeroponics, google it and look for uk420 website thread.