There are variety of hydroponics systems and choosing which is best comes down to personal choice, well at least to a certain regard. The four main systems are the drip/sprinkler system, the flood and drain or ebb and flow system, the nutrient film technique, and aeroponics. But there is yet another that is little discussed or promoted, but from our experience has the best results while saving money and being more conscious of the environment—Top Feed Systems.

First let me explain each of the other techniques and then I’ll tell you about Top Feed Systems—how they differ and why they are the best bang for your buck.

1. The Drip or Sprinkler System: This system “involves dripping or spraying nutrient water around plant roots that are held in place by clay pellets, gravel, rockwool, sawdust, or peat mixes. One of the advantages is that the dripping or spraying nutrient carries a constant supply of air between droplets. In addition, the drips or sprays are timed to allow air-breathing cycles” (How to Supercharge Your Garden, 114)

The overall key to this system is that the roots must remain moist and if any of the drip systems get blocked or malfunction the roots can dry out very fast and the plant can die out very quickly.

2. The Ebb and Flow System: This system involves flooding the roots at regular intervals. There is a floodable area, a tray, that raises and lowers the nutrient rich water around the plant roots. The plants are usually held with some sort of soilless medium. The question that arises with Ebb and Flow is how often to submerse the plant’s roots within the nutrient rich water. “The reason for the flooding is only to keep the nutrient and air constantly moving over the roots.”(How to Supercharge Your Garden, 115) A good rule of thumb is to not submerse the plant’s roots for more than 30 minutes at a time and depending on the medium the plant is held in, this should be done hourly or daily. Problems with this system include, water pooling, standing water, pest problems, algae and mold. You must keep a close eye on this system.

3. Nutrient Film Technique (NFT): “is basically running a constant thin film of nutrient water across the roots on a sloped gutter or pipe. The film of water must be thin enough to be able to carry a film of air along with it. The roots are not held but each plant is supported in a collar with roots hanging into the gutter or pipe.” (How to Supercharge Your Garden, 116)

NFT systems are inconsistent in providing the right amount of water and nutrients vs. oxygen and can vary from plant to plant within the system. You must keep a close eye on the roots to make sure they are receiving enough oxygen. “The browner the roots are, the more they need oxygen.” (How to Supercharge Your Garden, 116)

4. Aeroponic systems use no growing medium. Roots are suspended in a dark growth chamber where they are misted with oxygen-rich nutrient solution at regular intervals. Only air and nutrient solution fill the growth chamber. Aeroponic systems require greater attention to detail but offer extremely high performance.

So we’ve gone through the most common systems used when growing hydroponically, but as I mentioned before there is one more that we at Hydroponics Unlimited have found to out do the others—the Top Feed System. Very similar to a drip system, but with Top Feed Systems, water and nutrients are fed from the top producing 10% more yield using 30-40% less water and nutrients — the greenest way to grow and the way Hydroponics Unlimited recommends. There are no major distributors of top feed systems , but at Hydroponics Unlimited we have begun building customized systems using state of the art materials that can turn any set up into a Top Feed System.