How to Set Up Submersible Aquarium Pump Hydroponics

Hydroponics, or the science of growing plants in a mixture of water and air without conventional soil, is a relatively low-cost method of growing plants in limited space. A submersible aquarium pump is the perfect tool to circulate the water, ensuring that an appropriate mixture of air and nutrient-rich water reaches the plant's roots.
You can sprout seeds in a hydroponics system by putting the seed in a grow sponge or peat pellet, then placing the sponge or pellet into the growth medium. Or you can transplant dirt-grown plants into a hydroponics system by digging them carefully out of the dirt, keeping as much of their roots intact as possible, then gently rinsing the dirt away from the roots by repeatedly dunking the plant's roots in a bucket of tepid water.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 6-inch or larger plastic pot
• Power drill with 1/8-inch or smaller bit
• Hydroponics planting medium
• Plastic tub at least 1 inch wider than your plastic pot
• Aquarium tubing
• Wire kitchen shelf (taller than the aquarium pump)
• Tinfoil

1. Drill drainage holes, 1/8 inch or smaller so that your planting medium won't fall through them, in the bottom of the planting pot. Space the holes at least 1/2 inch apart, but drill as many of them as you can in the space allotted. It's okay to drill a few holes low into the sides of the pot as well.

2. Fill the drilled-through pot to within 1 inch of its rim with a hydroponics-suitable planting medium such as pea gravel, perlite or sphagnum moss, all available from hydroponics or home garden supply stores.

3. Dig out a small hollow in the planting medium with your hand and gently set a plant in place, then carefully pat the growth medium into place around the plant until its roots are fully covered and the stem is firmly anchored in the growing medium.

4. Place the wire shelf inside the plastic tub, stand the growth medium-filled pot on the shelf and place the aquarium pump in the bottom of the plastic tub.

5. Attach a length of aquarium tubing to the outlet on the aquarium pump, and run this tubing up into the growing pot so that its end runs into the growth medium near the plant's stem. Use a dab of hot glue to affix the tubing to the rim of the pot if necessary.

6. Fill the plastic tub with water to at least 1 inch over the pump. Cover the gap between the plastic tub and the growing pot with tinfoil or another opaque material, poking holes in the tinfoil to run the aquarium tubing and the plug-in for the submersible aquarium pump through the foil. This helps prevent algae growth by keeping light away from the water.

7. Cover the growing pot with foil as well. You'll need to poke a hole in the foil for the aquarium tubing and wrap extra foil around the base of the plant to prevent light from reaching the growth medium.

8. Plug in the aquarium pump. It should start feeding water into the growing pot, which will then drain down into the plastic tub reservoir and be pumped back into the growing pot again.

9. Add growing nutrients to the water reservoir--how much and how frequently you add them will depend on the nutrients you choose. You'll also need to replenish the water supply as it slowly evaporates.

Tips & Warnings

• Some crops, such as lettuce and other greens, will appreciate a continuous flow of water. For tomatoes, peppers and other plants you might want to alternate flowing water with no water: You can accomplish this by manually switching the pump on and off every few hours or by plugging the pump into an inexpensive light timer and using the timer to control the pump. Take your aquarium pump with you to the hydroponics or aquarium supply store when you purchase aquarium tubing. Pumps come with a variety of different outlet sizes, and having the pump physically with you is the only way to make sure you're getting the appropriate size. You may want to add a grow light directly above your hydroponics system if there's not enough sunlight in your area.