Single plant Hydroponics (easy)

 by stramposch
100_0298.JPG
Hydroponics is simply growing plants in water. Most are large bulky machines that can have 10 or 15 plants on it and it will take up a large amount of room. For some of us we need a single plant hydroponic system. This is that and can be made with simple household items. I will show how to do this
 
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Step 1: Materials

materials
-small aquarium pump
-thin aquarium tubing 2-3 feet
-tennis ball can
-plant
-broken screen door or anything of the like
-gravel
-a plant

Tools
-scissors
-hot glue gun
-shovel
-Optional soldering iron
hotchilidog7 says: Mar 17, 2010. 10:54 PM
 Do you fill the container all the way to the top with water?
knexfreak32 in reply to hotchilidog7Nov 23, 2011. 7:57 AM
No you would probably want the water level 1 in. below the top.
ahmad2117 says: Nov 15, 2010. 7:35 AM
so i use gravel instead of soil?
aznaquarist169 says: Mar 15, 2010. 12:34 AM
man your doing this the hard way! simply do the version with the water bottle cut in half!
radioman_cut says: Jan 22, 2010. 9:53 AM
silicone should work also
Kaber says: Dec 25, 2009. 4:34 PM
A 1 or 2 Liter soda bottle would work, too, wouldn't it?
squidstew says: Aug 11, 2009. 11:04 AM
I was trying to figure out where I could get a piece of screen like that, and suddenly I thought "Why not an old sock?" Everyone has a couple of old socks, probably a few mismatched ones. It's already about the right shape (more so with tube sock I guess), so you just drop the toe end down in the container, and stretch the elastic over the top,(probably glue it in place so the weight doesn't pull it down) fill with your medium and plant.
macrumpton says: Jul 13, 2009. 5:39 PM
You don't have to make a hole in the tennis tube, you can just run the air tube up and over the edge and down into the water. A little tape will hold it easily and you have no leak worries.
famousguy13 says: Jun 12, 2009. 9:04 AM
i was wondering if the hot glue actually created a water tight seal or if leaks eventually occured? if it holds water for a signifigant amount of time, kudos. lots of pics were nice.
stramposch (author) in reply to famousguy13Jun 13, 2009. 12:41 PM
surprisingly hot glue will hold a seal but you need use a lot of hot glue after it dries its good to remelt a little of the glue on the seal so it fits better to it
Painkilla05 says: Jun 12, 2009. 9:50 AM
This is pretty cool and a def add to my To Do list.
karossii says: Jun 6, 2009. 5:28 PM
I like your instructable, but... not to be pedantic, but you would be well served to go over the instructable for spelling mistakes. Here is a before/after snapshot of just step 2;

BEFORE: OK so to start you take the tennis ball can and take the wrapper off. After that you clean it out and with the soldering iron burn a whole one the side about and inch from the bottom. You want a six inc T You then insert a piece of the piping in and glue i shut. Having a tight seal is essential if you and bad things will happen

AFTER: Okay, to start you take the tennis ball can and take the wrapper off. After that you clean it out, and with the soldering iron burn a (hole) (on) the side about (an) inch from the bottom. You want a six (inch) T. You then insert a piece of the piping in and glue (it) shut. Having a tight seal is essential if you... (and bad things will happen. - seems like something is missing there).
karossii in reply to karossiiJun 8, 2009. 1:43 AM
This is the first time I have made a civil comment on spelling/grammar... and someone actually fixed things instead of griping about my constructive criticism. I just wanted to add a huge 'Thanks' to the author for fixing the problems, as well as my initial appreciation of the instructable itself. Well Done!
awang8 in reply to karossiiJun 8, 2009. 1:30 AM
I think the missing word is don't.
lemonie in reply to karossiiJun 7, 2009. 11:56 PM
It looks like something has spell-corrected this, but picked the wrong words. The "bad things" is an editing oversight.
Yes, it's worthwhile reading the whole thing once it's published, correcting it, reading it again, and repeating until it's right.

L
awang8 says: Jun 8, 2009. 1:31 AM
Oh yeah, I'm so doing this to grow tomatoes.

=P
lemonie says: Jun 6, 2009. 10:08 AM
Looks super simple. Do you add anything to the water? L
stramposch (author) in reply to lemonieJun 7, 2009. 5:09 PM
just a tiny bit of fertilizer
stramposch (author) says: Jun 6, 2009. 6:03 PM
this is my first one i will fix that thank you and you don't need a check valve if the pump is higher
Tool Using Animal says: Jun 6, 2009. 10:34 AM
You need a check valve.
ChrysN says: Jun 6, 2009. 10:04 AM
Cool, this is nice for small spaces.
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