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.