DIY Hydroponics

1. Deep Water Culture
Also known as the reservoir method is the easiest of all the at home DIY hydroponics. Plant containers simply sit down in a reservoir of nutrient solution. There is also an aquarium air pump that allows the roots to get oxygen. This is the best choice for organic hydroponics growing system. The one thing to be careful about with this system is to be sure that light does not hit the nutrient solution. If it does you could end up with an algae problem that will take all the nutrients that your plants need to grow.

2. FLOOD AND DRAIN
Also called the ebb and flow system. Plants sit in their own container separate from the nutrient reservoir. A pump allows the solution to soak the plant roots occasionally and then the solutions drains back into a reservoir. What type of media you choose will depend upon how often you flood the plant roots. The parts and functions of this system also make it a good choice for organic, indoor hydroponic growing system.
You will need some sort of media for the nutrient solution, such as lava chips rock wool or clay pellets.

3. Aeroponic Systems
In these hydroponics growing systems, a container holds several gallons of nutrient solution. Spray heads are used to soak the container with a fine mist as the plant roots hang down in the container. There is no growing medium used in this method. The individual parts can be expensive and the spray nozzles will often clog if you use anything besides hydroponics fertilizer. This method is not for you, if you are looking to grow organically.

4. Drip System
The plants are again in their own tray, separate from the nutrient reservoir. A pump pushes the nutrient solution through tubes. Each plant is fed by the dripping tube from the top. You will need a fast draining medium like clay pellets for this method, unless you are using slow emitters. Once again there can be issues with clogging and it can be difficult to control the flow. A homemade system like this will more than likely work poorly and it can get expensive. Also, organic nutrients will clog up the emitter, so this will not work well if you are trying to go organic.

If you want to build a fully functional DIY Hydroponics system at minimal cost this Hydroponic DIY Guide will go more in detail and also give you little known tips and tricks to keep plants healthy and avoid problems.