How to Build Your Own Hydroponic System at PNW Garden Supply

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If you’re looking for hydroponic equipment, you’ve come to the right place. Packed full of hydroponic hardware and gardening goods, PNW Garden Supply is British Columbia’s one-stop hydroponic shop. From DWC buckets to flood and drain tables, there is no hydroponic system too complicated for the staff at PNW. If you have a specific system in mind, visit our team at your local PNW for tips on system construction, management, and maintenance. Or, read the following article to learn more about how to build your own hydroponic system at PNW Garden Supply.

What is Hydroponics?

Hydroponics is the science of growing plants outside substrates like soil, and typically involves the “working” of water to strategically satisfy the needs of growing plants. However, this definition can be used quite loosely, as a “hydroponic” garden can be described as any system that utilizes technology to irrigate plants that are not in soil. In this sense, even a relatively primitive drip irrigation system can be thought of as hydroponic. The main goal of hydroponic gardening is to manage the growth of plants by maintaining precise measurements of water and nutrients. With these goals in mind, gardeners can typically expect to save water, liquid nutrients, and labor while growing in a hydroponic system.

Now that you know the definition of hydroponics, let’s find out how to build some of the industry’s most popular systems.

Types of Hydroponic Systems

Flood and Drain System

In a standard ebb & flow system, plants are stabilized on a table in various media, including peat, coco, rockwool, and/or hydro stone. Water is then pumped up to the table from a reservoir which saturates the medium and then is left to drain naturally through bulkhead fittings back into the reservoir. If you’re new to hydroponics, this system can be mastered after only a single crop. Interested in building a flood and drain system? Let’s get started!

Deep Water Culture System

Deep water culture systems house plants in large buckets or totes and immerses them completely in aerated water. These systems can be fabricated as standalone systems, or purchased as pre-made and assembled undercurrent systems from manufacturers like Current Culture H20. Want to build your own deep water culture system? Let’s get started!

Drip Irrigation System

Perhaps the easiest system to manage, a drip irrigation system can be installed from lengths of premium flexible hose, poly mainline, and/or PVC pipe. From the mainline, smaller, flexible tubing, commonly referred to as “spaghetti” hoses, are extended to the sites of plants for irrigation. Great for indoor and outdoor gardens, drip irrigation systems are affordable, efficient, and easy to install. Also, if your crop is suspended above the reservoir on a flood table, all the wastewater has an opportunity to be recirculated into the holding tank. Want to build your own drip irrigation system? Let’s get started!

Below we’ll show you how to build each of the hydroponic systems mentioned above.

Learn How to Build a Flood and Drain System

Equipment Needed:

Tray Stand
Flood Table
Bulk Head Fitting (with overflow screens) ½”, ¾” or 1” x2
Flexible Tubing or Polymainline. ½”, ¾” or 1”
Reservoir
Air Line
Cycle Timer
Submersible Pump
Air Stone
Air Pump

Click here to learn how you can build a Flood and Drain System

Step #1:

Drill holes into your flood table with a hole saw that matches the diameter of your bulkhead (thru-hull) fittings. Then, screw your bulkhead fittings into your table. Drill locations will be indicated by dimple marks of the furthest ends of your flood table.

Step #2:

Assemble your flood table above your reservoir. Any size of flood table will work, as long as the reservoir below is proportional to the size of your table. For example, Active Aqua’s 2′ x 4′ Low Rise Flood Table has a maximum water volume of 13.5 gallons. To make sure your plants have adequate access to water, ensure your reservoir is at least 3 times larger than your flood table. A 40-gallon reservoir would be ideal for the example above.

Step #3:

Connect your mainline pipe to your submersible pump. Then, lead and connect the opposite end of your pipe to your input bulkhead fitting. This will be where your nutrient solution floods the table. On the opposite side of the table, lead a pipe from your output bulkhead fitting down back into the reservoir. This will be where the nutrient solution drains back into the reservoir.

Step #4:

Connect your airline to both your air pump and stone. Submerge the stone into the reservoir and turn on the pump. Running your air pump 24/7 is a good way to keep your nutrient solution fresh and full of oxygen. In most cases, aerated nutrient solution will stay viable for around 7-14 days after mixing.

Step #5:

Plug your submersible pump’s power outlet into your cycle timer. Program your timer’s on/off cycles to regulate the flood/drain patterns of your system. Vigorously growing plants will likely require several flooding cycles per day. With younger plants, however, start slowly and monitor the drinking habits of your crop.