How it works
Tray
Walls about 4 to 6 inches high hold a shared pool
Media
Fill pots with clay pebbles, or pebbles in the bottom third and a hydro mix above
Depth
Keep about 20 to 25 percent of the pot in solution. A 12 inch pot sits in roughly 2.5 to 3 inches
Shallow mix
A 4 inch mix pot only needs about 0.75 to 1 inch of water in the tray
Internal well
You can instead keep the bottom 20 percent of a pot as its own reservoir with a level gauge
Solution care
Circulate
A small pump or air stone keeps oxygen in the water
Temperature
Hold near 72 F with an aquarium heater if the room runs cold
Cover
An opaque light-colored lid blocks algae, rain, and root-zone heat
Top water
On drain pots, water from above now and then so evaporated salts wash back into the tray
Top-up
Plants drink more toward flower. A float-valve header tank steadies the level
Startup steps
Rinse
Wash LECA until pH is near neutral
Fill
Load pots, set them in the tray, and wet the media from the top once
Mix
Blend nutrient solution and check EC or ppm plus pH before you pour
Hardware
Add a circulation pump, heater if needed, and an opaque tray cover
Optional
Link pots to one reservoir with tubing and float valves
Water roots
Wick trail
Roots that follow a wick into the pool get thick and have fewer hairs
Volume
Those water roots can still move a lot of solution if oxygen stays high
Outdoor
Each pot can carry a small reserve and tap a larger tank through a float valve
Gauge
A corked rod in a perforated tube, or a clear side tube, shows the hidden water line