This method should work well for almost any type of plant. Nutrients are provided to the top of the grow media by gravity or a pump which draws much needed oxygen into the media as the nutrients drain out. The drip system works in much the same way that plants normally get watered. The raft system is really good for growing lettuce but most plants thrive better without their roots submerged right in the nutrients. An air pump and air stone are used to aerate the nutrients. The raft system works by floating the plants right on top of the nutrient solution. Other hydroponic systems include: Ebb and Flow, Nutrient Film, Aeroponic and Fog.

Hydroponic Systems What is best for you? I have been using two basic hydroponic systems: Raft and Drip. I currently have a timer that waters the plants for 15 minutes every hour that the light is on, and then twice more during the night. Holes in the lid allow the nutrients to drain back into the black plastic box. The nutrients will drain out the bottom of the plastic pots which is then collected by the recessed yellow lid that the pots sit on. A water pump inside the box pumps the nutrients up to the drip lines at the top, thus providing nutrient solution to the grow media (clay balls in my case) and plants inside the white plastic pots. How the System Works The hydroponic nutrients are stored in the black plastic box. This instructable chronicles the construction of the second system, as well as growing progress updates in Step 15. The prototype has been working so well I build a second system for plant staging. All the plants currently residing in the prototype are between 1 and 2 1/2 weeks old. The prototype system was built about 3 weeks prior to the taking of the picture. The picture below shows the two hydroponic drip systems I built that are covered by this instructable.

Bulk bato buckets