There are a number of considerations to be given when determining where to place your hydroponics system.  Obviously, there needs to be enough floor space to accommodate your growing needs.  Close proximity to electrical outlets is also very important.  Depending on your situation, you may desire to place your hydroponics someplace that is not readily visible.  These are all pretty basic concerns and can usually be solved during the setup process.

However, there is one other important consideration that often goes overlooked for about two to three weeks into your first hydroponics venture.   Successful hydroponic growing requires a complete change of water and nutrients every two weeks or so.  If you haven’t considered drainage until now, you could be in for a big, and unpleasant surprise.

With the Bubbleponics Dual Spectrum Hydroponics Kit, a drain is an optional accessory.  Get it.  Also, make sure your resevoir (and the drain) are raised a good 4″ or more above the area you are going to drain into.  I have it easy, I just run a garden hose from the drain (it fits on quite nicely) out my front door and into the gutter, which is a downhill run.

Raised reservoir (it sits on block of styrofoam) so drain goes downhill

If you don’t have an easy way to drain your system outdoors, you’ll need to drain into buckets or plastic gallon milk containers, and this means you’ll need to raise your hydroponic reservoir high enough to allow the bucket or container to fit under the drain.

Otherwise, you will be faced with the painful chore of bailing out your reservoir cup by cup.  If this was just a one time thing, it would be ok.  Unfortunately, you’ll be draining your system every two weeks.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, February 27th, 2010 at 9:01 pm and is filed under Common Mistakes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.