Hydro in a Nutshell
Hydro in a Nutshell

 Hydroponics is quite easy and can produce many hours of enjoyment, when I first started my wife was not very happy about some of the contraptions I made and when I started running a water line and drain into a room she was not a happy camper at all, but now she loves it, in fact she is the one that does most of the planting and picking. I dedicate one hour per week at most to the hydroponic room cleaning, adding water and nutrients if needed.

Here are basic rules for good hydroponics,

Maintain temperature: Maintain an average temperature as close to 78 degrees as possible. 
Maintain Humidity: Some plants like tomato and cucumbers require a little more humidity or vapor pressure this can easily be accomplish by spraying water on the leaves before the light turns on. 

Good Lighting

There is no replacement for the sun, however if you are using artificial lighting there are a few things you need to know. When purchasing lighting I recommend using LED especially in small confined areas. Please read lighting and extended lighting sections for detail information. I recommend using minimum 2000 watt LED's lights or higher for all you plants.

Proper nutrient balance

Nutrient balance is very important and is one reason why it is recommended that you replace your nutrients every two to three weeks. Because Ph. can affect what nutrients the plants absorb it sometimes create an imbalance of nutrients and nutrient deficiency can affect plant growth as well as fruit production. In many instances nutrient deficiencies can easily be seen on plant leaves. 

Maintain a good Ph.

PH range should be between 5.3 and 6.3 depending on your water the higher the PPM of your water the lower your ph should be.

Monitor nutrient concentration

Maintain your nutrient concentrations between 600 and 1000 PPM, with 800 being ideal for most plants. Although from experience nutrient concentrations don’t seem to affect the plants as much unless the concentration is extremely high or there is a high imbalance in the nutrients. 

Getting to know your water

If you are a newbie there is no need for you to know precisely what nutrients are in your water just knowing the TDS value is sufficient to adjust your nutrients TDS to maintain 800 PPM. 

Knowing what is in you water will allow you to adjust your nutrients for maximum growth and fruit production. Nutrients in your water will vary from time to time, measuring your TDS prior to adding your nutrients will allow you to better adjust your nutrients TDS without having to know precisely what is in the water. Ex. If your water has an initial TDS of say 300 then adding 800 ppm the ideal TDS for most plants of the added nutrients should give you 1100 PPM.
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