Hydroponic Supplies

Putting together a successful hydroponics system is as fun as assembling a model airplane, then watching the plane fly and enjoying the satisfaction of knowing you are the one who made it happen. To assure the successful "flight" of your hydroponics system, a number of different "parts" are required.

Hydroponic Containers: Pots, trays, buckets and baskets hold the medium that holds the plants in place. If you use a drip or ebb and flow hydroponics system, you'll want containers with holes or mesh in the bottom to allow the nutrient solution to seep through the medium and out of the container. If you build an aeroponics system that nurtures plants with a mist of nutrients, you need containers that hold plants in place without any medium. Hydroponic drip systems and ebb and flow systems require trays to catch run-off nutrients as gravity pulls the solution down through the medium. In hydroponics systems that recycle nutrients, you'll need a pump to get the solution back up to the plants.

Hydroponic Medium: Choose a medium that matches the type of plant you are growing and the type of hydroponics system you build. Some media are designed to hold water and nutrients, and others are designed to release it. Common media include rock, coconut husks, perlite, vermiculite and sand. Some hydroponic media are pre-formed into blocks that help contain the plant's roots.

Hydroponic Seeds: For the most part, you can grow anything in a hydroponic system. However, the type of system you choose is better for some types of seed than others. If you want to grow a specific type of plant, do a little research before building your hydroponic system to determine which system is best. To germinate the seeds, you might need a hydroponics heat mat or germination tray.

Hydroponic Nutrients: Once you've chosen the plants you want to grow and decided on a style of hydroponics system to build, you can research the hydroponics nutrients you need for optimum results. Different types of plants require different nutrients. You can purchase nutrient blends that are pre-mixed for a number of different plants, or you can mix the nutrients yourself. Many hydroponic gardeners begin with a special hydroponics nutrient blend, then add nitrates and other ingredients to boost growth. Specially formulated hydroponic nutrient solutions or gels are available for starting seeds.

Hydroponic Grow Lights: One of the most important ingredients of your system, hydroponics grow lights, is available in a number of different styles to meet different needs. You can purchase high-intensity (HID) lights that cover varying light spectrums for super-growth at different stages of the plant's life cycle. Some hydroponic lights cover all light spectrums, which saves money and time, but might not provide the best possible results. Pay close attention to your choice of ballast to assure the safety of HID lights. Hydroponic florescent lights are used in early stages of plant growth, and incandescent lights (such as normal household bulbs) often are used to supplement other hydroponic lights inexpensively. Lighting controllers and timers make running the lights easier. You'll turn the lights on and off to approximate day and night at different times of year and different geographic locations. The amount of time the lights are on is one of the many variables of hydroponics growing.

Hydroponic Fans and Filters: Because hydroponic systems are organic and lights generate heat and humidity, you will have to consider ways to control the temperature, humidity and odor of your hydroponic system. To accomplish this, you can purchase different hydroponic fans and hydroponic carbon filters. Both items come in many different forms and sizes to meet different needs.

Hydroponic CO2: Carbon dioxide increases growth in plants. Hydroponics gardeners can add CO2 to their growing systems from bottled CO2 or from hydroponic CO2 generators. The generators are less expensive and provide a larger amount of CO2 for larger hydroponic systems, but they also produce byproducts that aren't necessarily desired in the growing system.

Other supplies the hydroponics gardener might need to build and maintain the system are: pH measurement equipment, aeration systems to add oxygen to nutrient baths, plant markers, work lights, microscopes, hydroponic pest control products, mildew control substances and hydroponics heating elements for cold climates. Some gardeners purchase special greenhouses to contain the growing system.

Putting together a hydroponic growing system is a little more complicated than assembling a model plane, but you'll enjoy doing the research and putting together the pieces to create a hydroponic model you've designed yourself.