Hydroponics is the method of producing food without using soil. You should know what is required to start an hydroponic system. Below are the tips of choosing hydroponic supplies to use in the production of food.
You should start by getting a reservoir that will be holding water and nutrients. All the water and nutrients required by the plants will be in the reservoir. Depending on your budget, you can either go for a big commercial variant, or just a small bucket. It is advisable to find a reservoir that has a lid to close it. The lid will prohibit water evaporation which may cause chemical imbalances within the reservoir. Due to this imbalance, growth of the crops will definitely be affected. You should also avoid the reservoirs made from metals because they may react with water and the chemicals to form undesired solutions.
Another thing you need to have is the water pump. A reliable water pump is what you need to ensure that water and nutrients that are necessary for the plants. The water pumps are classified into non-submersible and submersible and you can choose ones that suite your purpose. If you buy non-submersible water pumps, you should install them outside the nutrient solutions, but if the pumps are submersible, then consider installing them inside the nutrient solution. The output of these pumps in terms of gallons is yet another classification that you should consider as well. If the setup is small, you don’t need an expensive water pump because a small and cheaper one will still serve the purpose. There should be a timer as well which will be required to regulate a number of functions. Watering, lighting, and ventilation are some of the crucial functions which will require a timer to be regulated. You can choose an advanced timer or analogous and simple timer depending on your budget.
You also need to get the right grow lights which will be replacing natural light in the growth of plants. You may decide to use fluorescent lights in place of natural light, but the spectrums of light they produce cannot be sufficient for the growth of your plants. The closest replacement you can get for natural light, is the metal halide lights. These lights produce blue light in high proportions, which is crucial in supporting vegetative growth of plants. High pressure sodium lights can as well be used as an alternative to metal halide lights because of their energy efficiency and durability. The high pressure sodium lights are known to produce spectrums of light which are narrower compared to the other lights. Since there is no soil required in hydroponics, you need to get a growth medium for your plants. Apart from the medium providing anchorage to the crops, it should also be able to allow for perfect drainage and aeration.