Simple Homemade Hydroponic Systems

There are many different types of hydroponic systems that can be either made from scratch or bought on the market today, such as the wick, water culture or drip hydroponic system. When the system is bought in the store or online, the individual needs to look at the product and make sure that it is made of sturdy materials that will last and that the warrantee is also a long lasting warrantee. There are some products and companies that make different types of hydroponic systems but do not use quality materials and do not give a very good guarantee of their product because of the inferior materials.

Types to Make

One type of homemade hydroponic system is the wick system. In this type of system, there is a tray in which the plants sit which is hooked to the reservoir of the water and nutrient solution by a wick. The wick allows the water and nutrients to be siphoned up into the tray for the plants to utilize. There is also an air stone in the water reservoir that serves to add oxygen to the water which is good for the plants. The problem with this system is that, although easy to built and maintain, the plants cannot be very large nor can there be a large number of plants in the tray. The wick cannot pull enough nutrients and water into the tray for those larger numbers.

Another type of homemade hydroponic system is the water culture system, which is similar to the wick system in that there is a water and nutrient reservoir that is oxygenated by an air stone. The difference is that the plants do not sit in a tray above the reservoir, but instead sit in Styrofoam floating planks which sit in the water reservoir. This allows the plants to directly pull the water and nutrients from the reservoir when they need it rather than relying on these elements to be pulled through the wick. The downside to this homemade hydroponic system is that it does not work well for those plants that do not like a lot of water.

In addition, a drip homemade hydroponic system is commonly used, however it is used more in a greenhouse situation than in the home. In this system, a reservoir is also used which holds the water, nutrients and air stone, but instead of a wick system or sitting directly in the water, the tray is above the reservoir tank and the water solution is pumped into the tray a drip at a time at the rate that the person sets.

Concepts behind a Hydroponic Growth System

There are about six types of hydroponic growth systems on the market today and each has its advantages and disadvantages. There are some systems that can be bought already made and others that can be constructed by the individual. There are also advantages and disadvantages to each of these. If a person chooses to buy the hydroponic growth system, he should check to see what the materials are in the product to make sure they are quality materials. It used to be that the best hydroponic growth systems would have titanium piping in it so that they would last for a long time without having to be replaced. With PVC piping today, however, PVC is a great replacement for the titanium piping and is much less expensive. Additionally, if a person is going to buy a system rather than make a homemade hydroponic system, then he should check out the warrantee on the system. The longer the warrantee, the more the manufacturer is certain that their product will not break down, leading to a problem free environment for the person who bought it.

Types of Systems

The first type of hydroponic growth system is the wick system. This type has a tray that is held on top of a reservoir which has the water and nutrient solution as well as an air stone to oxygenize the water. The tray and the reservoir are connected to each other by a wick which allows the water solution to come into the tray and give the plants what they need to grow. They hydroponic growth systems are popular because they are easy to construct and maintain and are also very inexpensive. The problem with the system is that it cannot support a large amount of plants since there is only a limited amount of nutrients that can flow through the wick at a time.

Another type of hydroponic growth system is the water culture growth system. This one is also a fairly simple one to construct, which makes it a popular choice as well. In this system, instead of a tray being set on top of the reservoir, the plants are placed into a Styrofoam strip that floats on top of the reservoir where the nutrients and oxygenizing system is in place. This is beneficial to use since the nutrients can be drawn straight into the plant rather than having to flow through the wick. The downside to the system is that plants that do not need a lot of water do not enjoy this system where they are sitting in the water solution at all times.