Build your own Hydroponic System Part 1

Build your own Hydroponic System

In this post I am going to attempt to show you how I built my very inexpensive homemade hydroponic system.

First off, we need to collect the materials. You may already have some, if not all the parts and pieces needed for this hydroponic system. The hydroponic system I built is considered a deep water hydroponic system. In my opinion this is the easiest hydroponic system to build not to mention the least expensive.

Here is the list of materials needed:

1 18 gallon plastic Rubbermaid type container ( I used a Sterlite container because it had a smooth lid and seemed pretty sturdy) $5.00
1 package of sturdy 18oz Plastic cups (about 20 in a pack) $3.00
1 Aquarium Pump 2 hose type with check valves $10.00
8 foot clear plastic tubing for pump $2.50
2 12″ Air Stones for Aquarium $7.00 for both
6 Large Zip Ties (had them already)
1 small bag of Pea Gravel $2.80

Total $30.30

less if you already have some of the materials.

Next you’ll need some Tools:

1 Drill
3 1/2 inch hole saw
1 inch hole saw
Small drill bit ( hole size to fit your zip ties)

That’s it, now we can start putting your hydroponic system together.

: 18 Gal. Sterlite Tub

Take your tub and set the plastic cups on the lid of your hydroponic system with the open end down.

You can use any configuration you want when you set up your cups.

Tub and cups

Use a marking pen and draw circles around the cups

Lid with circles

Your lid should look something like this.

Next you need to find the center of your circles. A nifty way of doing this is to put a cup on a plain piece of paper and draw a circle around it, so you have a circle the same size on the paper as you do on the lid. Then you cut out the circle.

Cut circle from paper

Next you fold the paper circle in half .

Fold paper circle in half

And fold the paper in half again

Fold paper in half again

You should have something that looks like the picture above.

You then need to take a pair of scissors and cut of a small piece off the pointed end and unfold your paper circle.

: Paper circle with hole

Now you will have a paper circle with a hole in the center.

Marking center of circle

Next line up the paper circle with each circle on your lid and use a marker and mark the hole in the center of the paper circle and that will mark the center on the circles on your lid.

: Center Marked on circles

When you are done marking your circles the lid for your hydroponic system should look similar to this. Now the next step is to cut the holes.

3 1/2 " hole saw

To cut the holes I used a 31/2 inch hole saw, my cups are 3 3/4 inches wide at the top. This made for a perfect fit. If your cups are a different size then you have to use a slightly smaller hole saw than the width of your cup or container that you are using.

: Hole saw and drill

Put your hole saw on your drill and get ready to cut out your circles.

lid and board

I recommend putting a scrap piece of wood under the lid where you are going to cut your hole. Put the drill part of your hole saw on the center mark of your circle and start drilling. I found it best to use light pressure and rocking the drill in a circular motion helped make cutting the hole easier. You should put your foot against the side of the lid because once the hole saw contacts the lid it will try to spin.

1 " hole saw

I cut a 1 inch hole in one of the corners as an access hole. I used a 1 inch hole saw for this.

Finished lid

When you are finished cutting your holes you should have a lid that looks similar to the picture above. After cutting the hole I used a Razor blade and scraped the plastic flashing thats created when you drill your holes. This leaves nice clean looking openings in your lid.

Finished lid with cups

As you can see the cups fit in the lid perfectly. Again the spacing, size and arranging of the cups is up to you. Many people that build home made hydroponic systems prefer to use Net pots which look like little baskets but the goal here was to keep costs down and to use easy to obtain materials. All materials I used were available at my local walmart in one trip.

To be continued in my next post.