Today we review the Fizzy Farm, Zero Mile Farms’ take on a DWC system. Without giving Zero Mile Farms too much of an ego boost, I have to say that I am very pleased to have had the ability to review this product, as their unique design and usage of an oxygen injecting pump in lieu of traditional airstones has led to me labeling this the best DWC system I own or have seen.
So what is the Fizzy Farm and what makes it better than any other brand of DWC, or for that matter one you could build myself? Let’s go through it step by step:
SAFETY:
- Made from 100% food safe materials
- The reservoir is constructed from Polypropylene (PP)
- The grow top is 100% food safe High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
So unlike using a plastic tub from Walmart, this unit is constructed from 100% FDA recognized food safe plastics, something you always want to keep in mind when growing in plastic. BPA’s and other nasty things can leak into your food supply if you are using lower quality (non-food grade) material.
Dissolved Oxygen: OFF THE CHARTS
This is the magic of this system, and the one item that really sets it apart from the competition. In a traditional DWC setup, you would incorporate one or two airstones into the reservoir in order to properly aerate the water so that your roots get plenty of oxygen. At least that’s what you thought, because after you see what the unique design of the Fizzy Farm’s oxygen injection pump has to offer, you will never go back to airstones.
As we all know, more oxygen = better, and as much as you would like to fit 5 airstones each with their own separate air pumps into your system, even that would not accomplish the same level of dissolved oxygen content as can be achieved with the Fizzy Farm’s unique oxygen injection system.
But is it that big of a deal, are airstones not enough? The answer here is simply, no, airstones are not enough if you want to get the maximum amount of dissolved oxygen into your water. The kinds of benefits gained from maxing out your dissolved oxygen levels are many, and only the special pump provided with the Fizzy Farm is able to accomplish obtaining a maximum dissolved oxygen level of 8.5 – 9.25 PPM at 68 degrees like can be seen with this unit. Don’t believe me? Pics or it didn’t happen:
Why does dissolved oxygen matter so much you ask? Well the answer to that is simple, and it will blow you away when you realize what you’ve been missing out on.
As an outdoor grower, one of my big problems is that it gets very hot during some parts of the year, and very cold during others.
This poses a problem, as I want to grow outside but I don’t want to spend $300 for a chiller just to grow some lettuce and herbs in my DWC, so what am I to do? Well one answer is to capitalize on the Fizzy Farm’s unique technology and pump your water full of oxygen, because the reason why your plants don’t do well in really hot or really cold environments is that when the water is hot and the atoms become excited as they heat up, they retain less oxygen, meaning less of it is available to your roots. Same goes for extreme colds as well, these extremes choke out your plants and without the right amount of oxygen they don’t perform well.
With The Fizzy Farm, which can max out your dissolved oxygen content, these quickly become problems of the past. Since the water is still rich in oxygen at 80+ or 50 and below, I can now operate at temperatures that were previously too far off the spectrum to be tolerable. The plants do just as good in 90 degree weather as they do in an airstone fed DWC operating at perfect 68 degree weather. And this applies to indoor growers as well (my garage is often 80 degrees for example). Being able to grow regardless of temp swings or extreme temperatures is something any grower of any plant will grow to love.
STABLE PH:
So when the Fizzy Farm’s pump goes into action, what it does is it shoots a high powered jet of water into the reservoir, this water is laced with oxygen which is sucked in from a tube that sits external to the reservoir. So it circulates a high speed jet of water into your reservoir and each time the water passes the oxygen hose it traps that oxygen in the water, which it then spits out into the reservoir at a high rate of speed and then eventually sucks it back in to re-oxygenate it. A process which happens constantly 24/7, leaving your reservoir full of oxygen rich water that is constantly being circulated. (For anyone who has experience with DWC’s, we know that circulated, oxygenated water is one of the best things we can do for our plants health).
WATERPROOF:
To add to the many other benefits outdoor growers will come to realize in this system, perhaps one of the most important thing is the fact that the unit is waterproof. See, there are no airstones, meaning no external airpumps which need to be contained so as not to get wet from the rain. In fact, the whole system is self contained and the pump is already submerged in water, so you could let this thing get rained on all day and nothing is going to short circuit and everything will perform as per the usual. For me, waterproofing my other outdoor systems has become a chore and I am thankful that I finally have a system which handles that step for me by just coming waterproof OUT OF THE BOX.
VERSATILITY:
What shall we grow this year, herbs, lettuce, spinach? Maybe we want to do some larger bell peppers and tomatoes? Maybe some combination of the two? Well The Fizzy Farm has you covered, as during checkout you can choose the size of the netcups and the top to accompany them. For example you can get:
Small – 20 cups @ 2 inches
VALUE:
The Fizzy Farm Includes:
- 14 Gallon Resivor Made From 100% Food Safe Polypropylene (PP)
- High Output Venturi Pump (350gph)
- 100% HDPE Grow Top
- Ponics Pump – used to fill/drain system
- Hydroton
Think about that value. For anyone who is looking to get a plug-and-play system or someone who wants to buy all their stiff in one place, this is THE system or you. For only $150 you get not only the awesome system, but also all the extra goodies like all the appropriately sized netcups, the hydroton, and even a Ponics Pump which we previously reviewed and found to be extremely useful for all DWC applications. So for $150 you are getting the whole setup, nothing else needed other than water and some nutrients. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend $150 if I wanted a quality product that is easy to maintain and that has enough room to grow a decent amount of crops.
IN CONCLUSION:
This unique DWC system has everything an outdoor (or indoor) grower could ever want in a DWC. Stable pH, waterproof against the rain, no extra items to buy in order to make it work, and most importantly it works damn good and grows some beautiful crops regardless of your local temperatures. This is, in my opinion, a hole in one. They pulled the hat trick out on me with this system and I will now recommend this system to ANYONE of any level of experience whenever they ask what type of pre-made DWC they should buy. If anyone knows of a superior system in this same price range, please send it to me as I would love to see something that can outperform what I view as the perfect system for outdoor growers.