Hydroponics t’s fast, efficient, and can produce amazing results. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been growing for a while, you’ve probably faced challenges that make you feel like throwing in the towel.
I have been doing it for more then 10 years and here is the good news, you can prevent most of the problmens in hydroponics. In this guide, I’ll walk you through five common mistakes hydroponic growers face and, more importantly, how to fix them. troubleshooting pH levels, balancing nutrients, and learning the hard way what works and what doesn’t. Over time, I realized having the right tools, like Growee’s automated pH controller system, can make all the difference.
How Hydroponics Works
The basic concept of, hydroponics is about replacing soil with a nutrient-rich water solution. Instead of roots digging into dirt for food, they’re submerged (or exposed) to a carefully controlled mix of water, nutrients, and oxygen. The result? Plants grow faster because they get exactly what they need without working for it.
The setup varies from simple systems like deep water culture (DWC) to more advanced ones like nutrient film technique (NFT). But regardless of the system, the goal is the same: deliver water, nutrients, and oxygen in harmony.
Sounds simple right?
It is, but there are a few traps you’ll want to avoid. Let’s break them down.
Here are 5 Common mistakes that you should avoid
1. Leaks in the System
One thing that can sneak up on you is leaks. Over time, tubing can loosen, connections might weaken, or seals could fail. Left unchecked, leaks don’t just waste water—they can disrupt your system and harm your plants.
How To Avoid?
Make it a habit to check for leaks regularly. Pay attention to tubing and fittings, especially around pumps and reservoirs. Secure connections tightly, and don’t hesitate to reinforce them. For threaded pipes, use plumbing tape (like Teflon) to ensure a proper seal. For joints and tube connectors, a dab of silicone or rubber can work wonders in creating a watertight connection. These small steps can save you from big headaches down the road.
2. Not Adapting Water Refill to Plant Growth
Here’s the thing: as your plants grow, their thirst grows with them. They’ll drink more water and absorb more nutrients, meaning your reservoir might drain faster than you expect. If the reservoir runs low, nutrient concentration can skyrocket, which isn’t great for your plants.
How To Avoid?
Monitor your water levels frequently, and refill your reservoir as needed. Better yet, add a simple automatic top-off system with a float valve—yes, like the ones in your toilet tank. It’s a low-cost way to keep water levels steady and save yourself the hassle.
3. Not Replacing Water When You Should
Water quality is critical in hydroponics. Over time, as plants take up nutrients, certain elements like chlorine and chloride (common in city water / tap water) can build up. These unabsorbed elements can reach concentrations that might harm your plants.
How To Avoid?
Adapt to your plants’ growth and changing needs. When the plants are small, the water consumption is low, but in the final stages, it could be a few gallons per plant. The water changes should be adjusted accordingly—you can start every couple of weeks and move to every few days in the final stages. If you’re using city water, consider a filtration system to ensure you’re starting with clean, safe water.
4. Ignoring pH Levels
This is where things get a bit more technical. pH directly impacts how well your plants absorb nutrients. And here’s the kicker: everything affects pH. Adding water? It changes. Adding nutrients? It changes. Plants absorbing nutrients? You guessed it—pH changes.
The Fix
Get comfortable checking and adjusting pH regularly. Ideally, aim for a range between 5.5 and 6.5 (depending on the crop). If you want to save time and hassle, invest in an automated pH control system like Growee. It keeps everything in balance so you can focus on growing, not tweaking.
5. Adding Too Much or Too Little Nutrients
Feeding your plants is an art. Too little, and they’ll starve. Too much, and you risk nutrient burn. While most off-the-shelf brands include feeding charts, plants like tomatoes and lettuce have different needs—and that chart might not always be spot-on.
The Fix
Start by following the feeding chart recommendations. Every nutrient brand has a basic feeding chart schedule that shows the amounts that need to be added from each nutrient and the recommended EC levels. This is a good starting point. You should always keep an eye on your plants leafs color and over all look. The color of their leaves can tell you a lot.
You should also consider using an automated dosing system like Growee. The Growee dosing system can track EC levels and make nutrient adjustments automatically, ensuring your plants always get exactly what they need.
How Does the Growee Smart Dosing System Work?
The smart Growee dosing system monitors the water pH and EC levels 24/7—so you don’t have to. Whenever something’s off your requirements, it steps in and makes the adjustments automatically. No more over-guessing or running back and forth to check your system.
Here’s how it works: Growee continuously monitors your system, and when pH or EC levels wander out of the ideal range, it doses just the right amount of nutrients or pH adjusters. The system is gentle and precise, so you won’t deal with overshooting or stressing your plants. And with the Growee app, you can control and monitor everything from anywhere. It’s like having a hydroponics assistant in your pocket.
Final Thoughts
Hydroponics can be a bit challenging, high risk, high reward, but the good news is that most problems are easy to avoid or fix. I’ve been through the trial-and-error phase; it’s a constant process of improving and learning. But once you get the hang of it, hydroponics is incredibly rewarding
Just stay curious, keep learning and improving, and remember that some tried-and-true techniques always work. I’d also recommend adding tools like Growee to make it even easier—and let the right tools do the heavy lifting.
