You can take a look at our first prototype here to get a feeling for the general components that are needed.

The sections listed below explain the various parts of hydroponics systems. Most of the hydroponics systems that are out there are designed for people with more space and money. We want to create DIY systems that are cheaper and use materials that are recycled whenever possible.

Components

Light	Growing medium	Nutrients	Water/ Plumbing	Containers/ Industrial Design	Plants	Air (Movement, Temp, Humidity)

research topics

This is a compiled list of various areas that need some more research to come up with good DIY solutions.

• Pump- cheaper? Non-electronic?
• Air pump- quieter? Non-electronic?
• Tubing adapters- easier, cheaper?
• Getting rid of Reservoir 2 and/or finding better plumbing fixtures to attach it to the tubing
• Root covers- elegant?
• Containers- alternatives to water bottles, less labor
• Wiring- Less messy
• Clamps- cheaper or make them unneccessary with smaller tubing?
• Suspension- Less invasive, more stable
• Aeroponics? Fogger systems?
• Microgreens setup?
• Lights- positioning? use less light by sensor switches? filtering less harsh on eyes inside? less light pollution outside?

related information:

We recommend buying a book on hydroponics. The one we mentioned as a good text book for this process is Gardening Indoors with Soil and Hydroponics.

How To Hydroponics, is also a good option. It's a bit cheaper and easier to understand than the first one, and includes some fairly simple instructions on setting up the basic plumbing.

Take a look at the Resources page for websites where you can learn more about hydroponics.