After two months of design, pricing, building, problem solving, taking apart, building again … IT’S DONE! And so far, it’s working!
The Plant Light Fountain Project was born in a hydroponics course I took for fun at the Santa Fe Community College (thanks Adam!). The college has a great program – visit their Facebook page here Controlled Environmental Agriculture at SFCC. We had to design a hydroponic or aquaponic system. Since I intended to build and use the system I designed in the class, I had to design around several factors:
- the system needed to be realistic for me to build with the few tools I own
- the component parts needed to be relatively inexpensive and locally sourced
- the system needed to be compact and vertical to fit into the room where I want it
- the system needed to be appropriate for a variety of small plants
- I wanted the design to be multifunctional and act as an area light and fountain too
- I wanted the design to be aesthetically pleasing
Since most hydroponic systems are built from white PVC and plastic equipment, I knew I would have to come up with something different to meet my needs.
During this time, our city stopped curbside pickup for glass recycling. I realized I could help others recycle their glass bottles by taking them and incorporating them into my hydroponic system.
This process resulted in a tiered, continuously recirculating hydroponic system made out of upside-down cut wine bottles!
Katherine Maria Concepts 