Step 3: Choosing a system

There are many hydroponics systems that utilize several technics to deliver nutrients to the roots such as EBB and Flow, NFT (Nutrient Film Technic), Aeroponics and Deep Water Culture are just a few, however they all do the same thing just in different ways. Below you can see examples of four most commonly used systems:

Tomato plant in a Deep Water Culture

Deep water cultures are the simplest of systems; DWC as they are called are great for inside the home also good for outdoors and commercial applications. 

I recommend DWC and NFT for inside the home, Use large DWC for large single plants, and for smaller plants small DWC or NFT, they are the easiest to maintain and least issues.

Strawberries in Nutrient Film Technique

(Nutrient Film Technic) or NFT as they are called are also great for indoor and outdoor use for small short term plants like lettuce, pak choi, herbs and much more; they are however not good for large plants like tomatoes, peppers  and more. Large plant roots choke the flow of nutrients and clogs the drains. NFT systems are also great in commecial applications. NFT systems can be horizontal or vertical, in vertical systens larger and longer term plants like strawberies can be grown.

Bell Peppers in EBB and flow 

The picture to the left shows an Ebb and flow system that is easily converted to an NFT by simply removing a piece inside. The lower platform is a dual tank that holds 7 gallons of water. The top can hold 2 gallons continuously. When the pump stops the whole tank drains though the pump pipe leaving about an inch of water to sustain the plant. Ebb and flow systems require large reservoir's to fill the planting area. For this reason I do not recommend for inside the home. EBB and flow + NFT are great for outdoors