SureGro NFT System

Joe's Salad Machine in Parma Ohio

I hope you can make out the areas I am circling.
These are the areas you need to put silicone before attaching the channel to the end cap.
This is a splice section but the connection concept is the same.

Once you place the silicone here you can attach the channel to the base.

Next you want to place silicone as seen above. Along the entire bottom of the chamber where the two sections meet.
You also want to place silicone on both sides. I don't have a picture of this. But where the end cap meets the channel. Just make sure there is silicone.

Here is how I drilled the holes with a 7/32" drill bit.
What you need to do is drill the hole and then wiggle the drill bit back and forth, this will create an oval.
What your goal is here is to make a tight hole that the 1/4" line will not come loose. This is a trial and error step, just keep testing the hole until it just fits in. You should be wiggling the line into the hole. The feed line should not easily pull out.

Here is a picture of two different ways you can place the lines in. If you are only running one feed line, I would recommend placing it in the center as seen on the left. If you are running two lines, You can try either way. Depending on your water pressure, you may need to drill the three holes that way you can adjust your lines if they get clogged or too much water hits the first plant. How level the ground is will make a difference on whether or not you need the line in the middle. I had two channels that the first plant was drying out when very small.

I do NOT recommend the tee's as seen above, they clog. Just run two straight connections if you can.

Here is a picture of the screen above the plants to block some of the sun. It was strange, some of my plants bolted 3 days after putting this up. I have not had good luck with spinach this year, I am not sure if it was the screen or the temperatures causing the bolting.

Here is another picture from the front of the screen to block some of the light.

Tips:

Lids

A tip on using the lids. As seen above, the part of the lid with hole farthest from the end should go toward the drain part of the channel, if not the drain clogs up and you get more leaks.

Placing plants into the channels

If you press down on the channel close to the hole while placing the rockwool into the hole, the plant should not fall through. If the cube is two small for the hole, place two toothpicks on a 45 degree angle in two opposite corners to hold the cube in place. The toothpicks will pick up a lot of salts and turn white after a while.