Panda Film is a waterproof, light reflective, hard-wearing film. It is white on one side, black on the other.
It is ideal for lining the walls and floors of greenhouses and grow rooms and for creating a waterproof barrier underneath media beds and propagating tables.
The white surface reflects light from the floor and walls back into and underneath the foliage of crops. The black underside layer stops light reaching the soil beneath which prevents weed and algal growth. It also prevents ground moisture and soil borne diseases rising from beneath.
When used in an indoor growroom situation, sheets of Panda Film can be taped together with heavy duty tape to fully line the walls, roof and floor of a grow room. This provides a waterproof lining and has a cooling effect.
When artificial HID lighting is used (e.g for commercial seedling production) the Panda Film reflects all available light back into the crop for maximum energy efficiency. The film is also very effective for blacking out windows to prevent light from escaping.
Should there be any water leaks, spills or run off from plants inside a grow room, the Panda Film will ensure the problem is properly contained or directed to nearby drains.
A 600mm wide roll of Panda Film can also be used as a low-cost NFT gully for growing vine crops. Simply grade the greenhouse floor so it is on an even 1:40 slope and lay the 600mm wide panda film in double or single rows on top of the floor (Black side facing upwards). A strip of capillary matting is laid along the centre of each row and the edges of the Panda Film are then folded up and clipped to a single, central horizontal support wire. This creates a triangular configuration with the film. 2 x microtubes feed a nutrient solution into the end of the film at the high point of the slope. The nutrient solution then spreads on the capillary matting to wet the base of the triangle and creates a thin, flowing film of nutrient solution (NFT). The nutrient solution then gravity feeds along each row to the low point of the slope. At the end of the slope the tail end of the Panda film is tucked into a PVC stormwater tee (e.g 90mm) and a stormwater pipe then transports the nutrient solution back to the hydroponic pump room for recirculation.
The white sides of the Panda film reflect infra-red heat and keep the solution inside the gully cool. Sunlight is unable to penetrate the gully to cause algae growth. A thick, healthy root system is therefore able to be produced that supports a healthy vine crop above. At the end of the crop cycle the plants can be cut off at the base of the stem and removed and the film can be unclipped from the support wire and unfolded. This allows the root system to be dried out and removed like a carpet. The rows of Panda Film can then be rolled up and disposed of. The greenhouse is then sanitised, and a new set of Panda Film then be laid for the next crop.
Provided that the greenhouse floor is properly prepared with an even slope, the Panda Film makes for a highly effective wide bottom NFT gully that is a fraction of the cost of a rigid PVC gully.
Panda Film is offered in a range of thicknesses in the following widths and roll sizes:
- 600mm wide x 400m roll (125 micron thickness) (Ideal for using as NFT gullies)
- 2m wide per metre (105 micron thickness)
- 4m wide per metre (105 micron thickness)
- 2m wide per metre (150 micron thickness)
- 4m wide per metre (150 micron thickness)
- 2m wide x 50m roll (150 micron thickness)
- 4m wide x 50m roll (150 micron thickness)
