Sorry, foax â thanks for trying, but IÂm not prepared to exchange my solid brass, Tim Taylor-approved, 3/4" quick-disconnects for anything less, especially as it took almost three months to locate a sufficient quantity. And there are other reasons: first, our home requires the maximum flow of water over a significant distance, and second, here in coastal Georgia, sand, heat indices exceeding 112º, and high levels of UV radiation make short work of anything that is or resembles plastic, meaning metal is the material of necessity for quick-disconnects. The Nelson company makes both plastic and metal QDs, but these are rarely if ever available in anything other than 1/2"- to 5/8". Moreover, a close examination of NelsonÂs male QD discloses that the water flow is squeezed to a fraction of the hose diameter, significantly reducing the flow rate (just the sort of thing I meant when I referred to "masterpieces of American engineering design"  IÂm perfectly capable of kinking my own hoses, thank you very much.) Judging from the appearance of the companyÂs new, all-metal hose repair fixtures, Nelson seems to be improving, but as itÂs almost the only game in town, clearly the companyÂs in no hurry. What IÂm actually looking for is guidance regarding suitably flexible, or suitably sized, washer or o-ring replacements for standard hose-end fittings, whether male or female, so that they will more easily accommodate the male quick disconnect. The usual black o-rings available in most garden sections are too thick, and the usual rust-red washers appear too "wide" (i.e., they have a too-small interior diameter), both circumstances which make pressing the male QD into its final position painfully difficult and frequently impossible. Maybe IÂve simply been too quick to dismiss the "If it doesnÂt fit, force it" concept. If anyoneÂs devised a black-powder stuffed squeeze machine; a rotating male QD with a ceramic-toothed muzzle; an in-line, water-operated, interior diameter extruder; or even a high pressure KY injector-expander, IÂm up for a demo. On the hose, of course. Regards, Walt

Thanks for the replies This is what I have started so far in Oasis root cubes. Item: Details: Quantity: Each: Item Total: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #9212 #9212 - Chichen Itza 1 $ 3.65 $ 3.65 Hybrid - 30 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #9336 #9336 - Mulato Isleno - 1 $ 2.55 $ 2.55 30 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #9638 #9638 - Guajillo - 30 1 $ 2.55 $ 2.55 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #9450 #9450 - Hot Paper Lantern 1 $ 2.95 $ 2.95 - 30 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #9250 #9250 - Chile de Arbol - 1 $ 2.55 $ 2.55 30 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #9030 #9030 - Ancho San Martin 1 $ 3.95 $ 3.95 Hybrid - 30 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #9272 #9272 - Ancho San Luis - 1 $ 2.45 $ 2.45 30 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #9037 #9037 - Giant Marconi 1 $ 4.00 $ 4.00 Hybrid - 30 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #9201 #9201 - Satsuma Hybrid - 1 $ 4.00 $ 4.00 20 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #9152 #9152 - Pritavit Hybrid - 1 $ 4.15 $ 4.15 30 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #5761 #5761 - Dad's Mug - 30 1 $ 2.55 $ 2.55 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #3270 #3270 - Better Bush VFN 1 $ 2.75 $ 2.75 Hybrid - 30 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - #5268 #5268 - Viva Italia VFFNA 1 $ 3.25 $ 3.25 Hybrid - 30 seeds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sub Total: $ 41.35 Shipping Total: (US & Possessions - First Class) $ 5.25 Grand Total: $ 46.60 PAID From tomato growers supply. Obviously quite a lot of plants but I give some to friends. I have purchased 2 part product called Aqua Flake. Need to find something cheaper. Supposedly, from what the salesman told me???, a quality product that will clog the least. Also bought something called Drip Clean "House & Garden Drip Clean is an extremely useful agent for anyone working with a drip or aeroponic system. Drip Clean works like a magnet, removing dirt particles at every nutrient feeding so that the piping remains clean. Drip Clean furthermore gives plants a boost, improving their greenness and vitality. Drip Clean is a 100% safe agent for your plants provided it is used in the correct proportion. Drip Clean contains potassium and phosphorus compounds, two very powerful and useful elements in the nutritional plan of the plant. These concern engineered compounds; one particle has been removed from their structure. The incomplete element thus works as a magnet. As molecules always seek a complete structure, Drip Clean attracts dirt particles with every nutrient feeding keeping the drip emitters or aeroponic misters squeaky clean. Drip Clean very fails and is a very effective agent against a clogged hydroponic system. Application Drip Clean can be added to the nutrient container during the entire life of the garden. Prepare your nutrient container as follows: First add the base nutrient to your water filled container. Adjust the EC- and pH-values of the nutrient container. Finally add Drip Clean at 0.4 ml per gallon to your. Your nutrient mixture is ready to use." Does that sound like marketing BS to anyone? I have concerns about clogging. I would think it would not take long for the plants to die if the water was not running. Also a concern because to some extent my plants are out of sight i.e. on top of my flat roof. This is the reason why I am interested with the aeroponics. My property is covered by enormous trees and the roof is the only place that gets full sun. So I didn't want to drag tons of dirt up on the roof. Also could dismantle the system in the winter. I also have to admit that I am thrifty and these systems do seem to use resources efficiently. Although putting plants in the dirt would be cheaper and you could always just buy tomatoes and peppers at the store but this is more fun among other benefits. Lucas it is hard to be offended by someone that is helping me. Thanks Hex I like the idea of short duration sprays as well and is the direction I plan to go with but I wonder why,from the high pressure system I have seen so far, that most go with longer spray times Ex (10 secs. every 10 min.) Same amount of water more or less. Maybe it is easier to pull off, less wear and tear on parts, or maybe it is the controllers they use.???? Side note the link you sent me to has a very similar (looks identical) controller that I use on my fish tank. It is made Digital Aquatics and I am very happy with so far. Also notice they mention insulating root area. Does anyone know what is the approx. ideal temp. for the root area? (for aeroponics) Thanks for any help. Here is a link that might be useful: controller

Now, I'm getting the picture, although there are still a few blurry parts: When you say, "I'm more concerned about the chemicals in the untreated water." What do you mean by "untreated"? Untreated by NYC? You shouldn't be getting any of that. Untreated by you: we are not there yet, as your system is not designed. I suspect the "backwashable" system you found was a multi-stage system. The first stage is almost always a roughing filter, that takes out the big chunks, like rust particles and your up-state critters. Usually this is a 20-30 micron polypropylene filter, but to be backwashable it cannot be a "depth" filter, but rather a surface filter--the particulate must be trapped on the surface of the filter media, otherwise how would it be backwashed off? This type (surface screen at about 30 micron) may be all you need to segregate the carcasses from what you want to drink. The next stage usually removes dissolved iron--I doubt you need this, but you could install a 20 micron depth filter to get out all the rust particles and dirt and stuff that gets loose in old municiple water systems, and the final stage is the carbon filter that removes chlorine and other similar chemicals, which is usually unnessary--more on this later. You could taylor the stages to suit your needs. To one of your original questions, how much water flow can you get through a 1 1/4" service line? Probably 40 gpm. Using Hazen-Williams (google that!), the pressure drop would be about 50 feet of loss (that's about 22 psig, which is a good bit) per 100 feet of line and the velocity in the pipe would be about 10 ft/second--don't want to go much above that. But a better way to size the filter is to find out what simultaneous demand could you reasonable expect? Just add up all the users that could be using water at the same time, and size the filter for that. For the critters you describe, a 20-25 micron whole house filter should be all you need. I don't recommend the big blue filter housings, because I have seen them develop leaks and actually split apart at the joint where the two halves are fused together. The clear polycarbonate single molded housings or the full stainless steel housing with brass head are better choices. You can get either at w.w.grainger. The advantage of the clear plastic is you can watch the carcasses collect on the spiral-wound polypropylene filter media. ;-) What the Lurker was warning you about is that if you remove chlorine with a carbon filter, than anyone with "soiled" hands who touches the nozzle end of a faucet could transmit bad critters to that faucet, and you will never know and the critters will multiply and that spigot will be come the fountain of yuck. I have a friend who contaminated his whole well through such a transfer of bacteria. Bad day. Hope this helps. P.

If you use dissimilar metals they may not only, fuse but actually disappear. We have a iron fountain. I recently had to change the fittings because of the action between the fountain and the fittings. When I change the fitting the corrosion had eaten half of it away. (And I was wondering why the fountain was not working right!) Any time you have dissimilar metals you will have corrosion. You can get corrosion even if the fittings are in a damp environment and are not submerged or have a water running through them.