Hydroponics system planner: parts, quotes and running costs

01 / Start with the job the system must do

A parts list becomes useful after you know the crop, available space, growing method and daily work you can support. A shelf of lettuce, a greenhouse tomato row and a classroom demonstration need different root support, light, access and failure responses. Write those constraints before collecting supplier links. The worksheet above starts with the components of a teaching model; it is a prompt for your specification, not a complete construction kit.

Choose the method from the selector. Aerated deep water culture, NFT, ebb and flow, drip buckets, non-circulating culture, wick culture and low-pressure aeroponics expose different component lists. Changing the method preserves your entries for other methods while this page remains open. It does not mean equipment selected for one method is interchangeable with another. Use the linked method chapters to understand the operating differences.

Reading: Hydro hints: Deep water culture ↗ · Hydro hints: Nutrient film technique ↗ · Hydro hints: Ebb and flow ↗

02 / Specify before entering a price

Include each component you intend to buy. Enter a quantity using the same unit the quote uses: one complete pump, ten individual baskets, or two lengths of a specified pipe. If a supplier sells a pack, either price the complete pack or convert it to a unit price consistently. Do not multiply a pack price by the number of individual items inside it.

Use specification notes for the requirements that make a quote comparable. Record reservoir working volume rather than only external dimensions. For a water pump, record the required measured delivery at the installed lift and the relevant curve. For an air pump, record operating depth, tubing and diffuser arrangement. For fittings, record actual connection type and size. A cheap incompatible part is still an extra purchase.

1. Sketch the water path and show the normal and pump-off water levels.
2. List containment, root support, delivery, drainage, instruments and access needs.
3. Write the performance or material requirement next to each included component.
4. Check that fittings, supports, electrical protection, spare parts and cleaning access are accounted for separately.
5. Compare like-for-like quotes including pack size, shipping, tax, returns and consumables.

03 / Keep unknown costs visible

The known subtotal is the sum of quantity multiplied by unit estimate. A blank unit estimate means unknown, not free. The worksheet counts unpriced components and excludes them from the subtotal. Use the same currency throughout a quote comparison. Changing the currency selector changes the label; no exchange-rate conversion occurs.

For an invented arithmetic example, two containers at $24 each contribute $48, one air pump at $35 contributes $35, and twelve baskets at $1.50 contribute $18. The known subtotal is $101. If tubing has no quote, the result remains $101 plus an unknown tubing cost; it is not a $101 complete system. These inputs demonstrate the calculation and are not supplier prices or a recommendation for a particular build.

04 / Calculate each electrical schedule

Operating cost can change a purchasing decision. Use the electricity section for one measured load or a group of devices that all run on the same schedule. The calculation is watts divided by 1,000, multiplied by operating hours per day, 30 days, and your electricity price per kilowatt-hour. The result excludes fixed utility charges.

An illustrative 18 W air pump running 24 hours per day uses 0.018 × 24 × 30 = 12.96 kWh in 30 days. At an assumed $0.15/kWh, that is $1.944, displayed as $1.94. A 100 W light running 16 hours uses 48 kWh, costing $7.20 at the same assumed rate. Compute the two schedules separately; do not treat their combined 118 W as a continuous load. Add actual cooling, heating, dehumidification and replacement costs when applicable.

05 / Take a useful worksheet to the supplier

Download the selected parts as CSV before leaving the page. The file includes quantities, entered estimates, notes and buying criteria, but excludes shopping links. It does not store prices retrieved from a retailer. The share link includes the method, selected quantities, estimates and currency; specification notes and power inputs are deliberately left out. Anyone with the link can read the included values.

Ask the supplier to confirm the exact item, compatible connections and performance at your conditions. Keep a dated copy of the quote and record substitutions. Before planting, commission the assembled system with water, check leaks and drainage, measure delivered flow where relevant, and test the response to loss of power. Change the worksheet when the installed system differs from the planned one.