Various Types of Hydroponic Systems

Growing plants using hydroponic systems can increase plant growth dramatically. With these systems, you do not use soil as a growing medium. A nutrient solution is used for feeding the plants' roots what they need to thrive.

There is more than one kind of these hydroponic gardening systems. They vary mainly in how they provide the plants their nutrients. Trays are setup on benches to place the plants in through various methods. Containers are sometimes used for this or the plants could also be placed directly into the trays.

These systems are set up either in greenhouses or indoors in your house. In the house, grow lights would have to be utilized to make the system work correctly. The lights may also be used in a greenhouse setting when necessary.

Just because soil is not used does not mean another type a medium cannot be.
Perlite, certain types of sand, vermiculite, various types of rocks can be used as medium depending of which type of system you are setting up. Wick systems are great with the sand, perlite, and vermiculite. The ebb and flow systems do well with various rocks for mediums. These mediums act as a support to the root while still letting air flow in. These are designed to allow the nutrient solution maximum absorption by the roots.

The wick type of hydroponic system is passive and non- recovery.
This means that it does not recycle the unused nutrient solution. The solution is in a reservoir and delivered to the roots of the plant using wicking material. There also is no moving parts or pumps used. This is a very affordable way to set up a hydroponic system but there are drawbacks. The roots of the plants do not get as much oxygen and stay wetter. Therefore, this way is not as efficient as the ebb and flow one.

A hydroponic system that is the ebb and flow kind is and active one and does recover the leftover solution.
A pump does run this system. All the trays are flooded with the nutrient solution for somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes at a time. This is the flood part of the name. When the solution and reached the desired fill then the pump goes off and the unabsorbed solution drains back into the reservoir. The various rock type mediums work well with this system.

The great benefit of this system is that when the solution goes and drains out of the trays oxygen is immediately pulled into the medium that is being used. This aerates the roots much better than the wick method does as we stated above. This is quite efficient method of hydroponic gardening.

There is also the NFT (nutrient film technique) this is also an active system that works are recovering the solution. Pumps also have to be used with this method. But the plants are placed in grow tubes or baskets with no growing medium whatsoever. To support the oxygen supply to the roots, air stones are often used. The roots are suspended in such a way that when the flooding occurs they can absorb the nutrients. The flooding in this system could be done a day at a time in some instances. This system is not recommended for beginners at hydroponics, though.

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