How to Use a Hydroponics Bubbler

Growing indoors is a lot of fun, and the only way people in some parts of the world can keep any type of garden. Using a hydroponic bubbler to grow your plants is a simple and efficient way to grow your plants. Hydroponic bubblers provide your plants with everything they need--water, light and nutrients--so they can grow year round, blooming and fruiting longer than if they were growing outside. Growing in a hydroponic bubbler is simple and quick to get up and running. You can grow all different types of plants, from flowers to cucumbers to strawberries.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 5-gallon bucket with lid Grow (plant) net Knife or scissors Growing medium Aquarium pump and tubing Plant nutrients

1. Place your grow net or container on top of a bucket lid, upside down. Trace a line around the container, then cut your hole out--1/4 inch smaller (on the inside of your tracing)--with your knife or scissors. Place your net into the hole. If it is a bit too tight, cut just a little bit more towards your tracing mark. The net pot should fit snug.

2. Place an aquarium pump in the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket. Use your aquarium pump's adjustment, if it has one, to set the amount of water that will be pumped through it to the top of your bucket. Otherwise, attach some tubing to your pump, tape it to the side walls of your bucket and let it float at the top of your bucket, about half way across the bucket.

3. Gently place your plant into your net pot, with some of the roots hanging out of your pot. Put your medium (soil-less medium, vermiculite, expanded clay pellets or anything similar) into the net pot; surround your plant carefully. Place your net pot and plant into the hole in the top of your bucket.

4. Fill your bucket about 3/4 full, then add your plant nutrients, according to the directions on the bottle you have purchased. Place your bucket in a spot where your plant will get plenty of indirect sunlight and plug your pump in.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure to check your water levels often, and top off when necessary. Adjust this single plant bubbler to include multiple plants in the top of a 5-gallon bucket. You may have to adjust the flow of your aquarium pump occasionally, depending on your water levels.
• Do not use full-strength nutrients on plants that are not well established. If they are only six to eight weeks old, use half-strength or less for the first few additions; after a few months, use full-strength nutrients.

References

• DIY Hydroponic Bubblers
• Build a Hydroponic Bubbler
• Instructables.com: Hydroponics at Home and for Beginners