Commercial Hydroponic Systems

How To Pick The Best Possible Air Pump For Your Hydroponic System

In the world of "Dirt less Gardening" comes the term "Hydroponic, " which derives from Latin and means "working water." Hydroponics is becoming an ever increasingly popular form of gardening for a variety of reasons including improving plant health, research, creating more locally grown produce, increasing soil erosion, decreasing freshwater supplies, and an increasing resistance of insect pests and plant disease to traditional chemical controls.

With out the use of soil, the gardens can be created just about anywhere. With all the reasons to do hydroponics, there are many obvious places they would come about including commercial greenhouses, and research labs. But they work out quite well in the classroom setting when teaching children about the formation of plant life as well. When you can see the roots growing in an aquarium of water below the plant, a whole new aspect of the plant life is seen through the little eyes of children.

There are hundreds, if not more, methods of hydroponic gardening. You must first decide which plants you intend to grow before determining the hydroponic method to follow. It must be determined if the system should be indoors or out. There needs to be a good air flow, adequate sun as needed for the plant, as well as an environment suitable for the system to achieve its maximum potential.

Once you have determined the method of hydroponics you will be using, you then have to find the appropriate equipment. Will your system require aeration? Will you need an air pump? If so, do you know what kind? How about what size? Consider this... How large of a scale will the hydroponic system be? The main idea behind the aeration is how much volume will you be working with? Eco Air Pumps for example come in a range of sizes depending on the needs of your system. The smallest unit has one 1/4" fixed rate outlet and uses 3.0 watts of electricity per hour. It has a 1.8 liter output per minute at 1.75 psi. This is ideal for reservoirs holding up to 15 gallons. The larger the pump, the more output it produces, and this line of pumps goes up to the largest having eight outlets servicing a reservoir up to 75 gallons. You can also find water pumps that feature multiple connection ports to handle multiple hydroponic systems instead of using several different pumps.

It is important to have a clear idea of what you are trying to achieve so that you spend the least amount of money and time setting up the perfect hydroponic system for your needs.