I'm needing a method of collecting the water from the end of my NFT channels so it can return to the system. Easier said then done. I found a window box planter but it is a little too short and is made of mystery plastic (no markings). My other option is to use vinyl gutters to collect the water. They are inexpensive as well. I know that most vinyl is not food safe. Can I paint it with something to seal it maybe?
PVC gutters will not be any different to PVC pipe.
I just remember reading somewhere that the pvc water pipes are made in a way that makes them more stable then other PVC. I can go with it and always coat it with shellac if I needed to.
Originally Posted by Earthan Group
One difference may be the gutters are UV stable and the pipes are not?
in europe there are 2 types of pvc available. pvc and upvc. upvc is unplasticized and drinking water safe, the other is not. dont know about elsewhere.
read this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_chloride
Hi,
Here in Queensland, we are able to purchase polypropylene NFT troughs. They are made by a company called Boxsell.....and I have a small NFT system made by them.
Gary
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Arthur Schopenhauer
www.microponics.net.au - for candid dialogue on integrated backyard food production.
www.urbanaquaponics.com.au - the home of the Online Urban Aquaponics Manual.
My troughs are HDPE. They have open ends. I just need something for them to pour into. I was thinking of the vinyl house gutter to do this job. If it is as stable as the PVC pipes used for water then they should work. I was thinking I could always coat them in Shellac if their was an issue. I would hate to junk the system up by having 8 NFT troughs all pouring into upside down milk jugs with the bottoms cut off.
Jeff
Glad to read you have sorted the problem out..GO GO GO !!!
"Progress doesn't come from early risers - progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." --Robert Heinlein
Jeff,
You can buy NFT troughs with detachable tops (to make it easy to clean them). They would be OK for the end gutter. Having said that, PVC guttering is used on rainwater systems....and people drink that. It's not as though the water spend much time in the guttering anyway.
Gary
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Arthur Schopenhauer
www.microponics.net.au - for candid dialogue on integrated backyard food production.
www.urbanaquaponics.com.au - the home of the Online Urban Aquaponics Manual.
While the issue already has been solved still though it would be good to give some reply.
No stormwater and DWV pipes and fittings in australia are AS4020 certified (potable water standard) and thus not guarantied safe for use for products for human consumption, full stop. PVC pressure pipe & polypipe are.
I know, more expensive and even difficult as some of the most sold aquaculture tanks have fittings for DWV pipe....
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