Nft

[hedgerow pete]

does anyone here have any past or present expieriences with NFT , i have a few general questions

 

[Hombre]

If people knew what NFT referred to then you might have more luck.

Round our way anyone showing any interest in hydroponics is probably on someone's watch list . . .often with good reason

 

[region2]

National Finance Team?

Neurofibrillary tangles?

Nutrient Film Technique?

R2

 

[The Cumbrian]

Nearly Fantastic Turnips?

 

[chris_richmond]

does anyone here have any past or present expieriences with NFT , i have a few general questions

What do you want to know? I use nft and other hydro gear for growing chillies.

Cheers Chris

 

[hedgerow pete]

well i have had a few questions already answered, but heres some more.

the general idea is this.

poo laiden green dirty water from allotment duck pond, is to pumped to a large header tank at about 6 foot off the ground, from there it drains down two lengths of guttering 5metres long each before finaly draining into a small sand filter before returning to the duck pond hopefully less phooie and not so green,

the general idea was to try an raise a cashe crop from it of small salad leaf plants like lettuce.

my problem is that i have now been told that the water is full of nitrites and not as i belived nitrate and as such the plants cant grow in it,

so do you know your nitrites and the nitrates and does smelly duck water have a use to me,

i was thinking of filling the guttering with vermiculite as a root cover and carpet as a root bed, but itmight not work with the nitrites so i was then thinking of using a cling film wraped straw bale as the header tank ??

some where for the the change to nitrates to happen,

either way i am bloomingly confused

 

[chris_richmond]

If all you wan is a cache crop of salad then plant some in te greenhouse round the base of the tomato plants quick growth because of the heat and doesnt adversly effect the tomato plants either.

Only thing is tey do tend to bolt quicker due to the extra heat.

Also I wouldnt have thought that poo laden stagnant water would be good for edible crops.

 

[wightbees]

Have you done a Ph and Ec test of the water?

 

[hedgerow pete]

cant test the water as i dont own the ducks yet, duck ownership dependant on being able to keep the duck pond clean, well cleaner than last time

 

[tonybloke]

cant test the water as i dont own the ducks yet, duck ownership dependant on being able to keep the duck pond clean, well cleaner than last time

without a huge pump and a filter bed the size of half your allotment, you'll never keep a duck-pond 'clean'
It'll soon be a foul smelling brew, surrounded by compacted mud mixed with duck sh*t.

(commercially, ducks are kept on straw)

 

[newportbuzz]

You should have a full bio system in place in the pond already.
So the outcome will be amonia to nitrite nitrite to nitrate.

Your system will give more area for this to happen and will work like a huge bio filter on the pond.

adding a green crop might cause problems as to saleability but they will surly grow and thrive. this is the very same idea behind reed beds on syptic tank runoffs. and of course the filter on your fish tank.

 

[tonybloke]

You should have a full bio system in place in the pond already.
So the outcome will be amonia to nitrite nitrite to nitrate.

Your system will give more area for this to happen and will work like a huge bio filter on the pond.

adding a green crop might cause problems as to saleability but they will surly grow and thrive. this is the very same idea behind reed beds on syptic tank runoffs. and of course the filter on your fish tank.

ever seen a reed bed sewerage treatment system? they cover several acres!!
reeds are tolerant of a lot of pollution, being a brackish water species. not sure salads would cope.

Pete, how big (area / depth) is the proposed pond, how many ducks, (what breed?)
is the pond planted? if you ain't already got, get a load of 'Yellow Flag' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_pseudacorus
decorative, very hardy, and very pollution tolerant. ( easy to find growing wild)

 

[newportbuzz]

ever seen a reed bed sewerage treatment system? they cover several acres!!
reeds are tolerant of a lot of pollution, being a brackish water species. not sure salads would cope.

Pete, how big (area / depth) is the proposed pond, how many ducks, (what breed?)
is the pond planted? if you ain't already got, get a load of 'Yellow Flag' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_pseudacorus
decorative, very hardy, and very pollution tolerant. ( easy to find growing wild)

yup a mate has one its 4meters square and copes with a family of 4 and guests

there are big ones for big systems but a dozen ducks doesnt produce that much actual nitrate as most of the excrement is just normal solids not biodegradable amonia and the like.


anyway just my two pence worth

 

[hedgerow pete]

duck pond has an area of six foot by three foot by 18"

duck quantity was three preffered, one drake and two ducks

the last time i had ducks we ended up once amonth pumping out the duck soup and refilling it, what a wiff that was in the winter

i just want to keep ducks, but in a better situation, thats all

the idea of some form of filtering was the general idea and the idea of a salad crop as well was an extra

 

[oliver90owner]

I would have thought that salmonella may be a high risk with leaf crops harvested close to (or at) ground level. Cropping distantly (in relevant terms) - such as peppers or runner beans (not the ones resting/dragging on the substrate) - would be acceptable.

 

[tonybloke]

duck pond has an area of six foot by three foot by 18"

duck quantity was three preffered, one drake and two ducks

the last time i had ducks we ended up once amonth pumping out the duck soup and refilling it, what a wiff that was in the winter

i just want to keep ducks, but in a better situation, thats all

the idea of some form of filtering was the general idea and the idea of a salad crop as well was an extra

you'd be better off filling in the pond and keeping the ducks on a dry bed of straw or wood shavings, this could then be regularly cleaned out and put onto the compost heap. grow pumpkins or other squashes on the compost heap.

 

[newportbuzz]

duck pond has an area of six foot by three foot by 18"

duck quantity was three preffered, one drake and two ducks

the last time i had ducks we ended up once amonth pumping out the duck soup and refilling it, what a wiff that was in the winter

i just want to keep ducks, but in a better situation, thats all

the idea of some form of filtering was the general idea and the idea of a salad crop as well was an extra

that is quite small for 3 ducks we have 5 geese on ours and also loads of carp and various goldfish about 300 fish in total in a pond which is 30ft by 45ft by adverage 1.5 ft that is without any fitering or refilling other than seepage and rainfall and one land drain which emptys into it.

if you plan on keeping the ducks on such a small pond you will have to start worring about the solids aswell as the disolvables so might have to have quite a fast water movement to ensure you catch the solids. there was a very good article in the times a few months ago of a fella doing a very similar thing with his waste (fish if i rember). ill see if i can find it for you.

r samolnella and other various nastys couldnt answer you but i spread our hen crap on our plants and eat them. we do however leave a gap between spreading and eating for our wonderfull wet weather to clean stuff up for us.