How to Make a Fogger

Wondering about how to make a basic fogger for hydroponics?

Fogging is a new fad in hydroponics -- it's been around for a while, but a lot of growers are just now finding out about it - fogging is a kind of supplemental feeding that helps in situations where plants have trouble feeding through their roots. Growers might use it for clones or other sensitive plants.

Here are some steps to creating a fogger to use in a hydroponic environment.

Get Materials

You're going to need some type of container for the fog to sit in. Some people use vinyl posts or PVC pipes with end caps. You may also need drills to make holes, and glue for fastening. Some also use items called bulkheads to put into the openings that they create in the container for a nebulizer or diffuser.

You also have to obtain the actual part for creating the fog out of water. These are relatively inexpensive when you go with the basic single nodes. More sophisticated multinode systems are also available. Some people make double use of the diffusers they might use for aromatherapy at home.

Create a Water Line In

You’ll have to pipe water into the system in order for the nebulizer to turn it into fog. Drill a small hole in the container and route the water line, making sure to seal it when you are done.

Nutrify the Water

If you're using prepackaged nutrients, all you have to do is add these to the water the same way you would if you were feeding from the reservoir. Some people add things like proteins or other beneficial items to the mix.

Place Plant Pots

If you're going to use the same container for fogging and plant placement, you'll need openings on top to sit plant pots in. Figure out some way of delivering the contained fog directly to the sterile media that the roots sit in. In a lot of cases, the fog just fills in the bottom tray or container and filters through the sterile media to get to the air outside. When the grower takes out an individual plant pot, you'll see the fog twisting its way out- again, this requires seating plant pots correctly.

With these steps, you've created a basic fogging system you can use to keep plans fed with fog. If you don't want them to feed through their roots, but you want them to feed through their stems, the fog will be contained in an area above the plant pots. The design is up to you -- but fog feeding can be a very effective way to make sure plants have what they need.

For more, check out the Dealzer web site.