Hydroponics Online Hydroponic Blog

Take a look at this complete mobile hydroponics grow room installed inside custom trailers from Tow & Grow. The fully carbon ventilated trailer includes a 500 gallon temperature controlled nutrient tank and can be outfitted with 2,000 watts to 14,000 watts of digital HPS grow lights.

Take a look at this very well done homemade indoor NFT hydroponics system that our hydroponics forum member Txice built. NFT Hydroponics stands for Nutrient Film Technique Hydroponics, where the nutrients are delivered via a recirculating stream of solution that is driven by a water pump.

The nutrients in Txice’s setup are fed through drip lines that are hanging over each pot. The PVC pipes used are 6″ pipes and are angled slightly down so that the nutrient solution can flow back down to the containment reservoir. The setup allows for the nutrient solution to be easily changed without disturbing the roots of the plants.

The nutrient pump is on a timer that runs for 15 minutes every hour. Hanging above the plants is an adjustable set of grow lights that can be raised up as the plants grow higher. The grow lights are on a time as well running for 16 hours per day.

Right now this hydroponics system is growing brocoli, iceberg lettuce, black seeded simpson lettuce from seeds that were set in rockwool cubes and are now set into the pots with hydroton growing medium. Txice is also trying out some strawberry sprouts that were bought from Walmart. Special thanks to Txcie for sharing his new setup with us! You can ask questions of discuss this setup by viewing his NFT Hydroponics forum thread.

This hydroponics video tutorial from SureToGrowers goes over the different types of hydroponics systems available that you can build yourself at home.   Matt goes over drip hydroponic systems, flood and drain hydroponic systems, deep water culture systems as well as aeroponic systems.

The 2009 Hooked on Hydroponics grant from the National Gardening Association was awarded to the The Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, a single gender, small learning community for girls in grades 6-12.

The girls academy was selected from over 200 youth gardening programs throughout the United States to receive the 2009 Hooked on Hydroponics grant from the National Gardening Association in cooperation with The Grow Store and the Progressive Gardening Trade Association. This Chattanooga Girl’s gardening program will receive hydroponics kits consisting of grow lights, hydroponic nutrients, growing medium and hydroponic nutrient pumps. Hydroponic books and related educational materials from the National Gardening Association will also be provided to get the girls started with their new hydroponics projects.

The hydroponics grant will provide hands-on opportunites for the children to learn alternative hydroponic gardening techniques. CGLA was selected because they demonstrated commitment to actively and creatively engaging youth in hydroponics and sharing their experiences with the community.

One of our forum members recently posted some pictures of his automated computer controlled hydroponics growing system.  Using a combination of computer and some software and hardware pieces from Growtronix, he is able to automate many functions of his growing systems, as well as monitor and data log many essential environmental conditions.

The Growtronix Hydroponics System consists of networkable environmental sensors along with computer controlled power modules that can turn on and off grow lights, pumps, fans and any other related systems.  The software application runs on a computer and allows the user to customize and automate their growing system.    The system also contains a grow journal that logs the recorded data to produce graphs to analyze the data.   Here are a few pictures of the system, special thanks to our  hydroponics forum member Amigatec for sharing!

Pictured below is a self-sufficient mini-farm concept of a futuristic kitchen designed by Philips. Creating synergies between the fish, vegetables, plants and algae, this self sustaining biosphere can operate without electricity.  The Biotoweruses only water, organic waste and the sun’s energy to power several small ecosystems connected to each other. From top to bottom, the levels contain:

Levels 1-2: hydroponic plants
Level 3: container algae
Level 4: Fish and Shrimp
Level 5: Organic waste

Optical fibers capture and redirect light to the plants during the day, while methane captured from organic waste can power lights at night.

Coconut coir fibers are found between the husk and the outer shell of a coconut. The single fibers are narrow and hollow with thick walls. They are pale when immature but later become hardened and yellowed as a layer of lignin is deposited on their walls.

A couple of our forum members are using the Coconut coir as growing medium for their hydroponic setups.  The coirs are shredded, washed and dried and then packed lightly together to form the growing medium.  Since pH can be affected, one member is supplementing with rice hulls and course sand to balance things out.  Read more about this on our forums: Coconut Coir as growing medium

Incandescent bulbs might be staging a comeback thanks to a new technology that seals the filament in a special, heat-reflecting inner-capsule. The inner capsule of these new bulbs are coated with a material that is able to reflect the heat back onto the filament, part of which is converted back into light. This technology, currently featured in Philips Halogena Energy Savers line, has resulted in the bulb using 30% less power and lasting 3x longer than normal incandescents.

Although CFL bulbs are still about more efficient than these new incandescent Hydroponic Grow Lights & Bulbs,  these new bulbs will become more efficient over time and don’t take a long to warm up to full brightness.

Less heat is certainly welcome in the world of hydroponic grow lights, especially in tight or enclosed growing areas. We look forward to seeing how these bulbs perform in a real world hydroponic growing environment.

Aeroponic foggers also know as hydroponic foggers are used for numerous horticultural applications including root fogging, foliar feeding, growroom & grow box humidity generation. Ultrasonic foggers, also know as nebulizers are excellent aids to propagation and production as they can be used to create an excellent environment for all types of plants to grow.

An aeroponic fogger works by oscillating at a frequency of about 2 MHZ which is two millions vibrations per second. At this frequency, water is nebulized into a fog which can support the needs of plants using a low volume of water and hydroponic nutrients.

Another type of hydroponic fogger is a jet fogger, which is also called  an atomizer. Jet foggers are connected by tubing to a compressed air source that causes air or oxygen to blast at high velocity through a liquid to turn it into an aerosol, which can them be absorbed by the plants.

The hydroponic mister can generate extremely small droplets that average only 2.5 microns, which is small enough to be absorbed by roots and leaves on contact, thereby being very effective using only an ultra low volume of liquid.

An increasing number of people are seeking a way to get organic quality foods and herbs by growing them using hydroponics. Hydroponics systems can help you grow plants at home using hydroponics trays and products that make is easier for certain plants that normally grow outdoors to grow indoors. Hydroponics is a growing media for those who want to make sure that they get nutrients in their foods.

Grow lights are one way that you can help your plants grow. Grow lights can be used on your hydroponics containers and aquariums and mimic actual sunlight. By combining grow lights with hydroponics systems, you can have an indoor garden and grow your own vegetables and herbs all year long. Best of all, you will not be missing out on any nutrients these foods provide for you. Instead of spending more money for organic foods, you can save money by growing them yourself.

Hydroponics combines nutrients in the soil along with aerated containers that will give the plants a chance to grow indoors. This is an even healthier way to grow plants as you do not have to worry about getting rid of bugs or chasing away animals that may come after the food. You can grow plants to fruition using this growing media.

You can even make your own hydroponics containers out of ordinary household containers once you get used to growing indoors. You do need a grow light that will give the plants not only the light, but the climate that they need in order to thrive.

An increasing number of people are turning to hydroponics as an answer to both saving money on vegetables and herbs as well as getting organic quality foods. Most of the commercial vegetables and herbs found in grocery stores are grown using pesticides and other harmful chemicals. In an effort to grow bigger vegetables, the plants are treated with chemicals that are not healthy. As a result, a great deal of people are seeking out organic foods that do not use this type of growing media. However, organic foods are often much more expensive for consumers.

Growing the vegetables and herbs yourself is an ideal solution, except that it can be difficult to do this unless you live in a climate that is warm all year long. Growing indoors using hydroponics and a grow lights is a viable solution for those who want to eat healthier foods and save money at the same time.