Hydroponic Food Factory

Step 21 Update 2 - Nutrients

Some comments below made me realise I was a bit lacking on the nutrients section, so I thought I should clear some things up.

Hydroponics needs special nutrients, normal fertilisers won't work.

In dirt, there are a lot of microbes, that break down things such as manure to produce the elements plants need.
In hydroponics though, there are no microbes, so we need to give the plants the elements they need directly, no middlemen (or is that middle-microbes?).

Hydroponics nutrients can come in different mixes for different stages of plant growth.
If you really want to get into hydroponics seriously, you will eventually use different mixes for the veggative and flowering stages. These will be more fine tuned to what your plants need, but they need more attention to detail, so you switch them at the right times for best results.

Personally I just want this as a hobby, not a full time job, so I am going for a general all round mix, which will give good results, but probably not the absolute best results.

Make sure you flush your reservoir as per the previous step.

Now mix your nutrients as per the instructions.

My box gives instructions for 100 litres, but I only wanted to fill my 20 litre bucket (not the 60 litre tank).

So, I divided the instructions by 5, and then mixed it into a 2 litre bottle (it was easier to shake!)

After it is well mixed up, pour it into your reservoir and then top it up with fresh water.

Turn your pump back on and your plants will be happy :)

Comments

[kingyun]

Great instructable! I was inspired and I even went and gathered the parts today. After four hours of toiling around diligently, I've finished one 4 inch diameter tube capable of holding four 16oz plastic cups. I didnt use garden hose however, as I found something similiar and cheaper. Its transparent though, so I dont know if this will effect the plant growth.

Also while shopping for the parts at home depot, I found multiple water test kits. Heres the link to one of them. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&N=5yc1vZ1xh3&R=100176532

[NathanWilliams]

That's great! The clear hose will cause you some problems with Algae growth, so you might want to cover them, or paint them black or something. (Maybe wrapped with duct tape would be enough to block light getting in) Good luck with your build! (I have neglected mine lately, but it is still growing strongly, I really should give it a clean & some fresh nutrients though!)

[always2bfaithful]

This is the first article I've ever really read on Hydroponics, so this is probably a stupid question. Why can't you drink the water? Is it unsafe? I myself have no desire to do such, but I do have pets who aren't as discriminating. Also, I thought I saw a comment on here that said something about fish. I'm assuming they were talking about using water from a fish tank in a hydroponic system as opposed to using the commercial nutrients you've shown here. Or were they suggesting using the two hand in hand? Could fish actually live in the water you mixed? One last thing. I loved your tutorial. It was very informative and well put together. I was hooked to the end, and am very pleased to see that you even included updates in your plants progress. Thanks so much for sharing.

[NathanWilliams]

Honestly I am not sure of the safety of the water, I just assumed it wouldn't be the best thing to drink, but I really don't know sorry. As for the fish, the commenter was talking about Aquaponics, where the fish waste in the water is used for the plants. In the plant medium, you need to add microbes to break the fish waste down into the nutrients the plants need. The plants then also clean the water (via the microbes & the plants removing the waste), so it is often considered a symbiotic system (both help each other out). I have only read about it, I haven't tried it myself, but I don't think the fish could live in nutrient water. And finally, thank you for your kind words at the end there, I've actually been meaning to add more updates (such as my potato which has sprouted finally!), and you might have just given me the motivation to do it! Thanks :)