Nutrient Film Technique: You’re Doing it Wrong!

Nutrient film technique hydroponics NFT, you're doing it wrong!
This video is a direct response to the amount of misinformation circulating on the internet about how to design a nutrient film technique hydroponic system.
NFT hydroponics is one of the most productive methods of growing, and relies on the principle that the roots exist within a film of water. It has become popular to raise the water in these systems and in this video I explain why that is bad.
Hoochos explores the worlds of Hydroponics, Aquaponics, Permaculture, Homesteading, Fermentation, Technology Vanlife and DIY Builds to look at the world through a larger lens that can incorporate the best of everything into a rich and rewarding lifestyle.
Through self sufficiency we can reduce consumption and increase our hyperlocal household production.
Merch:
A way to support the channel and get some cool stuff too.
There are two stores because dependant on where you live in the world one will be cheaper than the other (shipping) and it gives a range of design flexibility.
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If you have personal queries about hydroponics or other matters please join me on Patreon for limited individual support or post in the Hoocho Reddit community and there are a lot of friendly helpful likeminded people that may have answers for you.
Happy Hydroponicing!

[@codywaynelive9310]

I've applied your concept at 10,500 in Colorado. Thanks Man! you have lead the way for my success!

[@danm3755]

I like the change to the 13mm with a simple tap to control the water flow. Brilliant! and no chance for blockages. Really loving the information you are sharing Hoocho!

[@bojomojo4109]

I've just seen two of his videos so far and i would say i'm already learning a lot from him.

[@janinepeck119]

Thank you for your videos. I received a hydroponic system as a gift and have been struggling so much to the point I was about to give up. I feel encouraged and empowered from the knowledge gained from you.

[@ronprince1478]

Many years ago I invested in a book “The ABC of NFT” and I remember this very explanation (I loaned the book out, I hope whoever has it is still enjoying it). I was starting to wonder if I was remembering it correctly, with all the info online. Thanks for clear and concise information.

[@ogdenphoto]

Great information! I’ve been doing hydroponics for a few years now. And you are correct. I have been doing it wrong!

[@mrdumb-fq2ul]

So glad I found your channel hoocho. Many of your design concepts will be implemented into my small but ambitious indoor farm. Inspired by your content to help with the food crisis by helping spread this empowering information.

[@bigcheese82]

Cheers hooch. I'll now totally rebuild my nft system!

[@firstlast8190]

I appreciate how well you structured you lessons here

[@harryme472]

Just researching Hydroponics , as I am interested in getting something started. I just found you , and all I can say is , you explain and teach . Subscribed to learn.

[@edodurik]

Hi hooch, I've been building my 1st NFT and I am full of expectations what the result will be. I have to say that your videos are helping me to a great deal. Thanks a lot for your precious advice. I am sure many of us would have suffered a lot of damages without you (I expect that I will learn my lessons anyway 😁😁) But I will not give up. Take care and wish you all the best from Slovakia.

[@GMT439]

This is a real NFT system : kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIfcYXerhLx-n8k

[@rscholly]

Totally agree with your "True" NFT perspective. I was sold a system here in the Middle East as an NFT system but it is definitely not NFT and have seen for a long time now that what I have is more a "DFT" (Deep Flow Technique) which allows the routes to stand in about a 2cm flowing river!!! As yes "Root Rot" is all that I experienced in this system when the weather heats up.... (our summers reach 50deg/cel). Moving the DFT inside has helped during the summer and have very strong air pumps oxygenating the water. I am looking at a complete replacement and even at Aeroponics which I can keep the water cooler in a controlled tank (with chiller if needed). Enjoy you videos. Use your pucks...Have the same propagator... keep the ideas coming. Thanks

[@damienbutler8512]

Thank you for this video. I came here because I am about to build an nft system and was confused by what I was seeing elsewhere. Having a higher water level didn't make sense when thinking of thin film lol. You cleared up a lot for me so thank you!

[@timcooper829]

I love watching your videos you explain everything so clearly thanks much appreciated

[@giantsattack]

Thank you so much! It was always so confusing as to why some NFT systems had a higher water level. Learning so much from your videos.

[@stevef.m.2188]

Thanks Hoocho,Drooling that's how good your video is ,NFT you gotta love it ,wait till you use the flat based ones and bigger is better man

[@Hoocho]

Steve F.M. Yeah I’m real keen to try them definitely in my near future!

[@bibletalesforlittlehearts]

Your videos really help us alot. Thank you so much for making videos about this.

[@MosaicHomestead]

This video answered my most concerning questions, Thanks

[@hannahis3254]

Excellent explanation! Very informative and educational. Thanks. Need more videos and teachers like you. Appreciate you sharing your experience and wisdom. God bless

[@rachelontv9696]

I am a NFT system lover and actually I begun on it, I watch all your video for me to learn and to guide as well

[@AlbeeSoaring]

Thank you for this video. I am literally getting ready to build my system and this video is a huge help so I dont have to re do my system once Ive built it

[@nickwalchli]

learning heaps, you do the reading for us and put it in to digestible media, cheers legend!

[@desirdesigns]

Thanks a million! I am currently transplanting into my 1st diy nft system and thought the shallow stream was a problem. You saved me from ""fixing"" my hydroponic system😅

[@Greenapple.]

I am currently designing my own system and this video helped alot with important information

[@martysgarden]

Your right, there is so much miss information on the net!

[@shaungiesbrecht4697]

I'm new at hydroponics and could never understand how nutrient film could mean 2 inches of solution but I trusted the popular videos and am in the process of building it like that. I'll just modify the design to an ebb and flow and try a new experiment I guess. Thanks for clearing that up.

[@jerunmaag380]

This is excellent, also clarified my question in regards to the neseccity of a media or substrate

[@suecoles2522]

Thanks for sharing, we built our system a few months ago and refining it as we go along. A lot of what you have posted has help us on the way. When we first built the system we didn't have enough slope on the rails, we have now rectified that and also in creased our flow rate. I notice in one of the comments below you can't balance the flow to each tube with the one valve. We have put a 13 mm valve on each of the pipes and balanced ours that way, looks to be working quite well. Keep up the good work with the videos, also like the new merch.

[@Hoocho]

Yeah that’s my plan going forward, an individual tap on each channel, there will be a video update shortly. I also need to increase the slope on my pipes. 😊 So much to do, so little time.

[@suecoles2522]

@@Hoocho Yes we increased or slope just over 3%, before we had a lot of still water in the system when the roots developed, causing algae and root rot. The system looks to be a lot cleaner now.

[@philipbrady7635]

great, clear and informative video, love it. I do have a question, in the past I have run a type of drain and flood system, where I had a reservoir above the plants. It was filled by a pump running 15 minutes every hour. The channels were fed by smaller tubes by siphoning the water from the reservoir. I would love to hear your or other views thoughts but would this not be better ? 1, the water is getting better oxygenation because its being moved between 2 tanks, the small overhead tank and the main reservoir. 2, the roots are getting lots of exposure to oxygen as it really is a small film of water. 3, the small tank can heat quicker due to its smaller volume to get to that sweet spot of 25 - 30 degrees 4, lower running costs as the pump is only running for 25% of the time

[@jackwilson5479]

Very good video. thanks for the educational concepts for me to do this in this coming spring. Easy to follow instructions .

[@TheElitesRdividingUs]

Great video! Only thing i have to say is that if you have a couple airstones in the res, keep your water temp low and you will keep o2 in thevwater at a mich higher rate. Theres no need to put many airstones. Water temperature is EVERYTHING!

[@kameezakhan6835]

Great information! So much to learn!! Love your explanations. I would love to know what variety of lettuce you have growing in your system? Thanks!

[@JonathanMiguelMabini]

Great video...learned something again from you. Good to know about NFT....will keep this video as mu reference.

[@davidthomas1375]

Great to know I’m doing it right!👍

[@johntheawsomeful]

1:30 exactly what I was sitting here thinking as you're showing the pipe system. I've always wondered why people seemed to just skip the air part of the whole thing.

[@StarLand-gl9qj]

Awesome. Watched lots of hydroponic videos and this is the best nft video as water flow is so important... was wondering about this. Thanks for sharing!

[@popcornshiner3937]

First time NFT was about 18 years ago, I tried it indoors and used 90 mm tube and staggerd it over three levels run by a small pond pump, results were nuts with all kinds of fast growning herbs. I plan to do a solar-powered nft system soon.

[@eggspanda2475]

hows that solar salad factory going ?

[@manolosuarez9352]

Congratulation on your video, extremely informative subscribed already. Thanks

[@triplex7144]

Quality vid mate. I'll use same principle connected to my RAS system.

[@brucetolentino6338]

Man - you are intense! But am learning ...

[@jilljorrges5081]

Hey Hoocho, now that I understand that the amount of water sitting within the system is minimal and flowing under the roots it’ll help me to redesign my nft structure. Thanks for the heads up!

[@gsusmakama]

hi guys, the greatest success that i've had was by following the Keiths Ponics Site (just google it) without a doubt the no.1 course that I've followed.

[@kaylablock1425]

@@gsusmakama but that's not NFT?

[@Obi_too_kenobi]

Really informative immediately subscribed 👍what are your thoughts on vertical hydroponic towers???

[@robottrainer]

totally agree with you, you need to maintain a shallow flow, with a depth that nearly reaches the bottom of the water bottom. the point is to allow as much oxygen with a low amount of water solution, you don't want to drown the roots.

[@pranavsreedhar1402]

This is awesome! Thank you!

[@wanesweb]

I got so much praise for you brother I'm going to have to cut it short so I don't write book here LOL you have taken me exactly to where I have been going in my head with this the puck awesome the design of your system explaining the low water level answers so many questions for me the answer your pipes aren't glued that amazed me but you've actually brought it all together to where I've been going in my head and you filled in all the missing pieces and explained why it was the right way to go I'm so appreciative I've watched every video on KZbin you're awesome brother thank you so much

[@Hoocho]

Happy to help!

[@martinrendon6270]

Your videos are so good. thanks for everything

[@ferdiecortez4939]

I almost built one of those stuff he was talking about. Good thing I came across this channel. The explanation made a lot of sense. I can't wait to start building my solar powered NFT system. Still need to learn a lot of stuff like what to put in the water and etc.

[@michaelj8793]

First of all Thanks for your expertise I definitely found the info on the web very contradicting I was about to try a small NFT system after having success with a vertical system which never had standing nutes with the exception of the res So I was really glad to see this video that confirmed my suspicions with all the other bad ideas I am going to continue binge watching your content So glad I stumbled onto your channel Thanks again my friend 👍

[@josegcenteno21]

Just starting my NFT system, cant thank you enough for the info, heading now to my yard and redo my system😅

[@kevinkidderphotographer]

This was very helpful, thank you! On the subject of flow in an nft, can you have too much (obviously if you are blowing the plants out, but otherwise...)?

[@Oppenheimer1968]

Excellent teaching skills...coming from a Physicist whom appreciates a teacher with an understanding of the subject matter. Due to the "poison" the USDA and FDA has allowed in our food chain, I am foregoing all the crap found in our supermarkets and begin a home hydroponics garden. I reside in North Carolina which use to be well known for fresh and healthy country vegetables and farmed raised meats ...no longer. Mostly major meat processors contaminating the lands with overflowing lagoons filled with toxic feces. The well water is no longer viable so the county provides the chlorine and fluorine filled liquid called water- the chlorine can be detected on some occasions. I have utilized RDWC and familiar with the principles. I have yet to dive into NFT. But since finding your videos, I am confident I will be successful in building my systems for the vegetables/ fruits I fondly recall as a child...the taste of a fresh tomato, crisp cucumber, and SWEET watermelon (the Charleston or Crimson sweet) from the family patch. These are the things I will grow but WITHOUT the toxic chemicals. Some of the health issues faced today are due to the toxic food chain called "fresh" and "healthy". Grow your own and raise your own and you will live longer and happier.

[@chucktrivette5723]

Great information. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@MsSAinyourFace]

Well alright then. I need no more convincing than this to change up the planned design of my future NFT rail! Will just have to get a battery operated solution for when the power runs out. Your videos are always so tremendously structured, balanced in data, and hugely informative. Thank you Hoocho!!!!!

[@Hoocho]

Lallie here! If you design a system to raise the system level in the case of a blackout and be able to block the ends so you can manually flood the pipes that might be a cheaper alternative. Just spitballing.

[@MsSAinyourFace]

@@Hoocho oh heck yeah that's smart. I was wondering though, would a 2.5 hour black out (inside a building, so no sun to mess with temp and water evaporation) necessarily cause massive issues? Will the roots themselves not sort of hold little pockets of moisture that could see them through a (relatively short) dry spell?

[@Hoocho]

Lallie here! If there is no sun I reckon you’d have a while. Maybe 2-6 hours, depending on the stage of development and the type of plants (how many etc...) Hard to say. Definitely longer than an outdoor nft.

[@MsSAinyourFace]

@@Hoocho right on, well then in that case and in the wise words of my dad : "less is more". If 2.5 hours out of the sun still has a reasonable expectation of survival, then I'd rather experiment with that for now and can add more solutions later if needed be. Failures will only result in more learning after all. Hoping that September will be the month in which I can (ahem) spring into action on getting this setup (Southern Hemisphere dwellers will understand and excuse me for my lazy joke). Massive appreciation for you and your consistent posting of super solid content. Have referred your videos to so many already! Have a good sleep!

[@drewpace7]

Could you set your pump on a timer to shut off every 10 minutes for a couple minutes and do a quasi nft, dwc, and flood drain system?

[@maelstrombeats6374]

Nice vid man and great explanations, something I intend on playing with is oxygenation through flow rate using tubes that sit under the surface of the fluid secured to the top of the rail to directly suck oxygen into the flow to try and maintain a higher flow rate and increase the oxygenation of the system all the way back into the reservoir, i'm also hoping this will introduce a higher level of even temp by drawing hotter air in through the whole rail.

[@Hoocho]

Maelstrom Beats interesting concept, if you do be sure to post it to the Hoocho sub, very interested. I’ve often thought about making a deep water system (90mm) with conduit (25mm)along the bottom pumping air through holes in it to see what kind of yield can be achieved.

[@7356205]

I got root rot with just a half inch of water. I think it was for other reasons tho. I did tune my system down to 2 liters per minute. Thanks for the video.

[@yearofthegarden]

Great video, I've been farming for over a decade, and if there's one thing I've learned, wet/dry cycles are essential. I live in a very wet climate, and get fungus at the slightest scenario of over saturated substrate.

[@pete1853]

Great comment, IMHO. With that concept in mind, do you think the average NFT system, in the average climate, would benefit from shutting off the pump periodically, dependent of the current conditions of temperature and humidity?

[@Metqa]

Why are wet/dry cycles essential? How does the NFT system either simulate or defy this necessity?

[@TroyRS200]

Im a commercial grower and know many commercial growers and we all use round channel, its just commercially cheaper. 2 L a min would be the upper limit, I use closer to 1 L a minute BUT looking at your setup you need to increase the slope of your channel it looks too flat but then it could be just the camera angle.BTW another great video keep it up,I look forward to the next one

[@Hoocho]

Troy Rosenberg 2L a minute is the textbook general advice across all NFT systems. I feel that in a pipe system it would be more like 1L per minute due to its small flow area. I’m experimenting at the moment. I agree I need to increase the slope, I’ve been considering it for a while as the roots are causing more pooling than I’m happy with. This comment will probably be the push I needed haha. As a professional grower I’d love any advice you’d have (things you wish you knew when you started etc)if you’d like to post it on the Hoocho reddit. Appreciate the advice.

[@hydroponicsbybrianbullock2488]

I’m doing it wrong, sorry, not sorry. I build my pipe systems with the nutrient solution level with the bottom of the net pots. A level of nutrient solution in the bottom of the pipe gives a margin of safety if the power is out or the pump fails which can be the difference in plant death or surviving such events, particularly in our hot Australian climate.

[@Harlie55]

Agree!

[@kevinkidderphotographer]

I have done similar. Using uniseals for the drains, I can vary the nutrient level

[@tulipsmoran5197]

A tip to control the heat of summer from raising the temp in the res. I take 20oz soft drink bottles and fill with water and freeze. Then on hot days a drop one or two into the Res. It's remarkable how this cools the nutrient flow.

[@madboxtv6853]

thx for this great explanation. And yeah there is a lot out there who tell us wrong

[@mushtaqdhariwala790]

Very informative sir, thanks a lot.

[@nicholasjohn8946]

Great video clip, presented by a very knowledgeable gardner. It's best not to rush when explaining new information, especially if English is not the viewers main language. However, i found it good if played at 1.25 x or even 1.5 x speed. ...which is possible, because it is well worded and very clearly spoken... Though, that is just my opinion but I find it easier to follow, thus absorb and retain, what is very helpful and accurate information, pertaining to proper NFT gardening. Plus, then you are able to get through more of these great clips in less time.

[@mytech6779]

NFT in research papers is divided into thin film and thick film/flow systems, and yes they have totally different theory of operation. Correct thick film/flow is not adding baffles to a thin film, it is achieved with much higher flow rates. The testing has shown that many thin film systems do not perform as predicted by the more simple hypothesis because heavy rooted plants limit the O2 exchange much more than previously hypothesized as the plants near maturity. The nutrient O2 level of thin film drops drastically after passing just a couple of large plants such as cucumbers or tomatoes while thick flow can brute force the O2 supply. It is also possible to begin a crop with thin film then switch to thick flow as the root mat becomes dense. I haven't seen it tested but I would suppose that active airflow through the channels could be a benefit. (Use a radial flow, squirrel-cage/hamster-wheel style blower like in better bathroom exhaust fans, they develop better flow with some back-pressure than the axial flow fans that you find in eg. computer cooling.) Though I can definitely see some economies of scale involved with forced airflow, and may also recommend a swamp cooler or mist just after the blower to keep humidity high and root temperature in range.

[@andremclean4433]

I'm very happy I watched this one. For sure.. I bought caps to elevate the water levels. Everything would have rot.

[@AYOGAgriVenture]

Nice sharing trying to learn from it

[@dodaexploda]

That's what I was missing the seedling tray!

[@Lipton1ce]

thank you, i learn a lot 👍🏻

[@johntheawsomeful]

6:35 thank you for that info I still thought it was a fungi!

[@jamess7398]

Another great video and I will need to update my system a bit. I did have a few questions from things you brought up in the video: 1. Is there a good rule of thumb for how big your reservoir should be compared to the number of rails you have? Id imagine having too big of a reservoir could mean water stagnation if it wasnt getting cycled enough. 2. Does your NFT system pump run 24/7 or do you have an on/off cycle with the water? Some systems Ive seen (not NFT) use a 15-minute-on/15-minute-off cycle. Based on your video here it seems like the plants should be fine with the aeration/water amounts but just wanted to check

[@Hoocho]

James S full time pump, the res size will depend on the quantity/type of plants you have. For the sheer quantity of foliage I couldn’t drop below a 400L res.

[@brandon-leebellefleur8349]

I want to know what books you use to gain all that knowledge. There is a sneak peek at 8:41 and now my curiosity has taken over!!

[@emilioaristeofernandez6455]

what book was the one you used to set up your garden

[@russellphipps911]

Thanks Hoocho

[@MehranRanjbar]

amazing video. really informative

[@2-trueman918]

Hey Hoocho, How meany Watts is your pump?? Keep up the educational videos.

[@Hoocho]

2-Trueman 36w will do!

[@ramoneoliveira5851]

Muito instrutivo, obrigado.

[@kebunbalkon21m22]

Very detail in explanation,,,must study from him more ,,,subscribe done

[@johnwoodhouse2554]

Deep dive thank!

[@amanmajhi2193]

very helpful

[@No-jb6fy]

Hi! If you do NFT on a vertical 5 feet tower with a 4'' pvc kind of setup, any advice on flow control or how does what you discuss translate into a vertical setup? For sure with a vertical tower at least you will never have that "deepwater NFT" thing! Thanks!

[@JEfay311]

Could you mitigate root rot by having a pump that cycles on and off throughout the day?

[@bhargavp6774]

I truly appreciate your logical analysis, NFT has oxygen problem and DWC is good at it. But NFT can be implemented in vertical triangular frames which will increase production by at least 3 times if we overcome this problem, how can we overcome this problem in simple on larger units. Please advice

[@pedrosecchi2772]

Boa noite, meu nome é Pedro sou do Brasil, e gostaria de saber se vc tem algum vídeo que mostra como vc montou seu sistema.

[@gardnep]

My short flurry into nft came to a rapid end when the pump failed , so Dutch bucket get the gernsey.

[@justingriffin2546]

2 pumps🌈

[@RJHarris808]

So what do you do when the power goes out to the pump?

[@ClearWater7.62]

How often do you change the water and do you top off and ph when low? Also does the water in nft system circulate 24/7?

[@markdjasiman3654]

Is there a proper length for this kind of system ? Because i want to build a long one.

[@brommobielvakantie]

First i say thank you for the understanding videos, and slow speaking (im Dutch) I have a question, i like to make a nft in my small garden, but what could be wrong if i go from pipe to smaller adapter pipe and than go to the bigger pipe. There will be stay water in it even with flow. My smaller pipe will go thru wood of my pergola

[@njfishing1917]

Great explanation 👍🏽.. now I know why my mustard greens, it's cause of lack of oxygen.. thx

[@fabidop]

Where can i find this book?

[@acknowledgegamer4133]

Which size inch pipe is that you the plant in?

[@johnnyfromindonesia1282]

is that safe using rubber as substitute for netpot and rockwool ?

[@Milkex]

instead of airstones, could I pump the water in with a Venturi tube for aeration?

[@ab_ab_c]

Does your system pump continuously or is it on a timer that switches the pump off & on at some interval? If it is switched off/on, then what is the pump duration on & off?

[@bogg306]

can't trust a guy that doesn't know the difference between ERC721 and BSC721. But the "moist" hydrophonic system for potatoes and tomatoes is ballin'. Love em.

[@phillpc127]

great vid, cheers

[@antoniovidal8655]

Hey, love your videos. Do you have a Hoocho bible?

[@aquaponicscanada-noadditiv8471]

Good Information 👍

[@michael2305]

May I ask if you pump air into your reservoir, wouldn't that prevent any lack of oxygen in the tubes where the roots are?

[@GrypMySlang]

Thank you!! This gave me so many answers!! But now for a question. I have a similar system but I use standpipes in the outlets to control the level wich I now understand is wrong, But! I have previously drilled 3mm holes at the bottom of the standpipes to slowly drain the water out of the pipes. Would it help to reduce the running time of the pump to get more air to the roots?

[@Hoocho]

Francois Bothma the pump should be continuously running, the roots being half submerged half in the air will give enough oxygen.