hydroponics.howFIELD GUIDES 02
SUBJECT COLLECTION / hydroponics.how

Buying guides

How to specify pumps, meters, lights, media and containers from published criteria, before comparing suppliers.

7 detailed guides7 system modelsSources beside the claims
TRACE THE CONNECTIONSNutrient film technique: Start with the solution → Lift and distribute → Pass the root zone → Recover the outflow. Two shallow channels with branched supply and gravity recovery.1 / RESERVOIRStart with the solution2 / PUMPLift and distribute3 / CHANNELSPass the root zone4 / RETURNRecover the outflowConceptual sequence. Follow the guide for full operation and return.Start with the system →
Buying guides

Choosing an air pump for DWC and aquaponics: DO, depth, backup

An air pump is bought against a dissolved-oxygen reading at your diffuser depth, not against the litres per minute printed on its box.

8 min + guided practice →Buying guides

Choosing a submersible pump for NFT and ebb and flow: specify before you shop

Specify a submersible pump from delivered flow at your head, the duty your method demands and the drain-back your table needs.

Interactive tool · 7 min + guided practice →Buying guides

Choosing EC and pH meters: range, resolution, calibration, probes

An EC or pH meter is bought against the solution band you must hold and the calibration routine you will keep, not against the digits on its display.

Interactive tool · 8 min + guided practice →Buying guides

Choosing grow lights for leafy greens: buy the DLI, not the watts

A grow light is bought against the daily light integral your greens need at canopy height; photon flux and efficacy get you there, watts do not.

Interactive tool · 8 min + guided practice →Buying guides

Buying growing media: grade, pre-treatment and salt checks

A growing medium is ordered by grade, expanded volume and intake checks for dust, pH and salt, not by its material name.

8 min + guided practice →Buying guides

Choosing net pots, collars and plant spacing for NFT and rafts

A net pot is bought against the hole it sits in, the plug it holds and the head it carries, so spacing comes first.

8 min + guided practice →Buying guides

Choosing inline fans and controllers for an indoor grow space

Buy a fan for the air it delivers through your duct and filter, not the free-air figure on the box; a controller only switches what the fan can already do.

8 min + guided practice →

Original teaching models and worked examples, with extension and manufacturer sources where applicable. Independent specialist review is pending. Numerical tools verify accounting equations; they do not certify a crop recipe or fish system.