my thoughts are double the amount of air in the system. use 2 12" stones per bin. Other than obvious tube splices, T's and what not, the only other thing that comes to my mind is how're you going to get the lines into the bins? if you're going to go through the plastic bin wall, you'll need a grommet to make it water tight. the kind you'll need are founding in the specialty bolts/connections area at lowe's. they're located near the screws and nails and are in deep wide, but narrow trays. probably run you $.30 a piece, so pick up some spares. Oh! and take a short piece of the hose with you so you know it'll fit.

I have been using a commercial formula from the Co-Op. it is for Hydro ( water soluble, w/micro elements). You have to add to it (Cal Nit, Epson salt and FE) at different weighs for different plants. Disadvantage (for smaller growers) is that it only comes in 25lb bags, I have a small greenhouse and a regular garden that I use it on, so 25 lbs is not a problem with me. Some commercial hydro dealers sell smaller quantities that you can buy. Don't forget you need an Ph, ppm and Ec meter. Got to have one of those. If you are using well water have it tested. I have made most of all my hydro plant equipment (in the process of making a 2.5x4' floating raft system out of 2x6's and plywood and an old kiddie pool)

Walter; I am growing bell peppers in a small ebb n flo in my office window. during vegative growth, I generally keep the EC at around 2.0-2.4 which (according to the stick) is approximately 1500-1700, so your 1100 sounds a bit low to me. I started my plants approx august 20. I have one that is very leggy, the other is short and stout. the latter is about 8" tall and has 6 fruits. the largest fruit being about 1.5" between flower and stem. I am currently clipping flowers to limit quantity and focus on size. the leggy one only just recently started to flower, and I haven't seen any fruit set yet. I generally keep my EC as stated above w/ pH of 5.8-6.0. I use general hydronics per their label, except in flowering I'll increase the micro a bit and / or lessen the grow. My experience with these plants and the ones I've grown in the yard is they are not very large plants, so I would expect 8" to 1 foot to be about max height, especially since you're using artificial light. Greystoke; I'm working on just such a system now. I'm thinking two tanks. the one at the bottom catches system runoff, the system at the top is a gravity feed reservoir. you just have to dump the bottom tank into the top tank each day.(muscle versus electricity, has to be some kind of power input) this system will also require some kind of check valve to keep the ebb n flo starting and stopping throughout the day. I haven't got the valve part fully worked out yet, but when I do I'll let you know. I believe it will somehow incorporate the smartvalve walter mentioned in his post though. Here is a link that might be useful:

qs777 What's there to like? That's Trane's bottom end furnace. You fail to mention the mdl/mdl number of the AC condenser. It appears dealer is quoting a third party evap coil which is not advisable. There is no mention of a new thermostat or at least a basic 4-5" pleated filter cabinet to protect coil and blower motor. No, I don't care for that mdl furnace. But I could go along with it if it was sized correctly. Here are my suggestions. 1. Get the furnace and AC sized correctly. More is never better especially considering your climate and your HVAC lifestyle. 2. You want a matching Trane brand evap coil-no third party coil is acceptable. 3.a good basic furnace/AC thermostat. I would recommend a Honeywell digital-programmable is your choice. 4. a good basic 4-5" pleated filter media cabinet like AprilAire or Honeywell Now it's up to you whether you can follow through on this advice. IMO Good Luck-you will need it!