System Maintenance

Hey guys! I hope everybody has had a fantastic week!
We have a few new starts in the grow room this week! We have started some more basil and kale. We have also added a couple of new plants to the system: radicchio and mustard.
In a hydroponic system, care and maintenance are key in being successful. Lately in the grow room Sam and I have started to run into an issue with clogged emitters. This is a result of algae buildup. Algae formation can take place when your solution has high concentrations of nitrates as well as having exposed stagnant or slow moving water.

The picture above is an example in our system  of an area that has some algae buildup. There are a couple of ways to help prevent buildup. If at all possible you should find a way to not have large areas of exposed water. Having large areas of exposed water increases your potential for buildup and the chance for algae to get in your system. The picture below is an example of having as little exposed area as possible. 

If you are unable to have this in your system, you will just have to make sure to clean your system out regularly and to watch your emitters for clogging. If you do get clogged emitters you can either blow on one end to get the algae out or you can soak them in a 2 parts water to 1 part bleach solution like pictured below.

Sam and Ally