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IKEA Hack Hydroponic System

by ardisson

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A simple to build ebb and flow hydroponic system made (mostly) from IKEA containers.
Ebb and flow hydroponic systems are a great way to get started in hydroponics and make a wonderful
educational project for children. Not to mention you can grow yummy food easily and inexpensively in
your own home year round! A system like the one shown here is the perfect size for a kitchen herb
garden.
A basic ebb and flowhydroponic system consists of a growing bed, porous growth media, a
nutrientreservoir, pump and a timer. The system works byperiodicallyflooding the growing bedwith
a nutrient solution and then allowing the nutrientsolutiontodrain from the bottom of the growing bed.
As thenutrientsolutiondrains,oxygen is drawn into the growth media from the top. Because the
growth media is porous, it retains moisture andnutrients, and allows oxygen to get to the roots of the
plants.
Supplemental lighting is necessary if you will be growing plants indoors. Specialty grow lights
areavailable but you can achieve good results using common light fixtures and 100
wattequivalent"daylight" compactfluorescentbulbsavailableat most home stores. Generally, I like to
locate my hydroponic system near a window to take advantage of natural light and add one or
twosupplementallight sources as needed. Just make sure that you can adjust the height of the light
fixture so that it can be easilyre-positionedas the plants grow.

24

Tags: IKEA hydroponics herbs kitchen

garden

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Step 1: Materials and Tools needed

See More

Materials:
1. IKEA SAMLA container with the tote insert. (Any nesting plastic containers will work as long as the
outer container is approximately twice the volume of the innercontainer or larger.)
2. An adjustable desk lamp. You may use more than one if you need more light. (TheIKEA TERTIAL
lamp works well.)
3. A small submersible fountain pump. (Availableinexpensively at Harbor Freight tools)
4. Two plugin timers, one for the pump and one for the lamp.
5. 24" clear vinyl tubing sized to fit the outlet of your pump. This will generally range from 1/4" to 1/ 2"
for fountain pumps.
6. One nylon hose barb to MIP adapter. (One side has a barb that you can press the vinyl tubing
over, the other side has threads. I got mine at Lowes.) You can use either a straight or right angle
fitting.
Tools:

A hand drill
3/4" or larger step drill bit
tin snips or heavy scissors to cut the tubing

Step 2: Preparing the Growing Bed

The inner nestingcontainerwill hold the growing media and serve as the growing bed. A hole must
be made in the bottom of the container which the nylonadapterwill thread into. The hole should be
approximately in the middle of the container to one side of the center ridge.

Theadapterthat I used required a 1/2" hole. Yours may be different so be sure to check the size. It
is important when making the hole not to make it too big. Irecommendusing a step drill bit which
allows you to gradually increase the size of the hole. You can always make the hole bigger but is
really hard to make it smaller!
Thread the nylonadapterinto the hole. It should be a rather snug fit. You only need to catch a few
threads for a secure fit. The top of theadaptershould only protrude about 1/16" into the growing bed.

Step 3: Prepare The Pump

Attach the 24" piece of vinyl tubing to the pump. The pump I used has a a 5/16" outlet port which
makes for a snug fit with 1/4" tubing. It is helpful to carefully warm up the end of the vinyl tubing (a
hair dryer or heat gun works well) to make it a bit more pliable and easier to slip over the outlet port.
You should not need a hose clamp. However, if the tubing is slipping off after you press it over the
pump outlet, a hose clamp or a dab of crazy glue will fix the problem.

Step 4: Attach the pump to the growing bed

Next push the free end of the hose over the nylon barb fitting on the growing bed. You will need to
push fairly hard. Be careful not to pull the fitting out of the hole.
Note: If you slip and pull the fitting out and it will not thread back in snugly, hot glue is your best
option.
Optional: If you have a bit of plastic screen, tape it over hole in the nylon adapter. Depending on the
growing media that you select, the screen will help prevent clogs. (More on this later)

Step 5: Position the pump

Place the pump in one corner of the outer box. Mostpumpscomewithlittle suction cups attached to
the bottom to hold the pump in place. You should have enough slack in the tubing to lift out the
growing bed and place it across the top of the outer container. This will make filling and cleaning
thereservoireasier.
Once you have your pump positioned, make a hole in the outer container for the plug. The pump
that I used had a plug that wasslightlyover 3/4", just bigger than the stepper bit that I was using.
Ienlargedthe hole by holding the drill at an angle and reaming the hole a bit larger with the bit.
Make sure that the hole for the pump cord is slightly above the bottom of the growing bed. You will be
filling thereservoirwith growing solution just shy of the bottom of the growing bed.

Step 6: You're almost done!

You need to addgowningmedia to the bed. I like to use acombinationofrock woolcubes and
expanded clay pellets as growing media but many alternatives exist. There is plenty of good
informationavailableonline. Just search for "hydroponicgrowingmedia" and you will be presented
with aplethoraof options. In order to prevent clogs and and keep the growing media from falling into
the nutrientreservoir, I like to tape some plastic mesh over the drain holes (see the photo). The
plastic mesh from fruit bags that you get at the grocery store works very well.
You should fill the bed with growing media to a depth just below the overflow drain. The overflow
drain allows the nutrient solution to drain back into the reservoir while the pump is running.The IKEA
container has a built in handle that makes an excellent overflow drain. If your container of choice
does not, simply make a hole in the side of the growing bed container with the stepper bit.
Your plants will need abundant light. Expensive grow lights are available but I have achieved good
results using 100 watt equivalent "daylight" compact fluorescent bulbs which are available
inexpensively from home stores.
One "must" is the ability to adjust the height of your light. You need to keep the lamp about 4" above
your seedlings to ensure that they get enough light. Otherwise, the plants may bolt and grow long and
spindly. You will also need to move the light up as the plants grow.
There are many options fornutrientsolutions. I get good results with Fox Farm Grow Big which is a
commercially made organic plant food. Just dilute it with water according to the directions on the bottle.
When you fill the reservoir, make a mark on the side and note how many gallons the reservoir holds.
This will make mixing the nutrient solution easier in the future. I change my nutrient solution about
once a month and I keep thereservoirtopped off by adding water as thesolutionevaporates. You do
not need to add more nutrients every time you top off. If you do add nutrients each time, you will likely
over feed your plants and they may suffer as a result.
Plants grow best if the PH of the nutrient solution is maintained around a range of 5.5 to 6.5. You will
need a PH test kit ant a way to adjust the PH up and down. Commercial products areavailable that
contain buffered acid and base solutions for adjusting PH. You may also usevinegarand baking
soda.
You should flood the growing bed with the nutrient solution once or twice per day depending on how
well your growth media retainsmoisture. Plug the pump into the timer and set the pump to run for
about 5 minutes once or twice per day. (5 minutes is usually the shortest time possible using a
mechanical timer. If you are using a digital timer you may use less time. Just make sure that the
pump runs longenoughto fully flood the growing bed.) After the pump stops, the nutrient solution will

slowly drain back through the pump and into the outer container.
You will have the best results if you do a bit of research on hydroponics. There is plenty of
informationavailableonline and in your local library. (Yes, that big building with the books.) Have fun
and happy growing!!
I made it at TechShop! www.techshop.ws

Post Comment

DanceObnoxious says:

Apr 2, 2013. 9:48 PM

Reply

Couple questions on specific equipment.

One: what size of IKEA tip did you use? They sell tubs and inserts in a variety of sizes.
Two: What do you recommend for the pump in terms of GPH? The lowest I saw on the
site you recommend is 92 GPH and that still seems overkill to me, but I'm not sure.

ardisson (author) in reply to DanceObnoxious

Apr 3, 2013. 1:10 PM

Reply

I used the 6 gallon SAMLA container but you can use a larger or smaller container
if you wish.
1

The 92 GPH (Gallons Per Hour) pump is a very small pump. You should not use
anything smaller for reliability reasons. It is adequate for the 6 gallon container but
if you plan to use a larger container, get the 158 GPH pump or larger. You should
also use the largest tubing that will fit your pump to minimise back pressure and
facilitate drainage.
Good luck with your build and feel free to ask additional questions!

minu.dina says:
rest

Mar 20, 2013. 9:23 PM

Reply

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