5 gallon or larger reservoir. Rubbermaid or Sterilite
Commercial air pump
1/4 inch fish-tank airline
Small air stones
Chrome air manifold (divider)
Root plugs or Rockwool
Net pots
Hole saw, tin snips, or utility razor knife
I recommend making your own setup. Then it is made exactly to your exact situation. This allows you to control the height, width, and the volume. You always want the most volume as possible. The bigger the reservoir, the less problems you experience. Ph shifts quicker and more drastically. The nutrient solution strength can get overly concentrated from evaporation. The temperature is also less stable.
Height is a concern for all indoor growers. When you choose the reservoir, you can control this. I always use a wide, low-profile container. This gives me the higher volume I want, while still saving room. This also spreads my plants out more. They do not do well, when overcrowded. Each plant needs to have no less than 3 gallons in the reservoir. I.E. a 15 gallon could handle 5 plants, or less.
A Rubbermaid or Sterilite container is what you need. They are made of high quality rubber/plastic. This is the material needed to hold nutrients. Metal containers will rust. I would not even trust a galvanized tub. Make sure the container is lead free. If it says it is made with chemicals know to be carcinogens and neurotoxins, get something else.
They next thing is to decide if you are going round or square net pots. I have round root plugs, General Hydroponics, so my net pots are round. If using round ones, you need a hole saw. I use a 2 inch hole saw bit attachment. This lets the 2" net pot slip through, but catches the lip firmly. If doing square net pots, just measure, and mark, a square the size you need to catch the lip. Then use a utility razor knife, and cut the square out. If you cut too large, the pot will fall through. A pair of tin snips might do the trick.
I do not do a drain plug. This is just another possible point of system failure. If it leaks out while I am gone, the whole crop would be lost. I use a simple hand pump for antifreeze. It lets me empty the whole ten gallons in about 5 minutes.
The airstones need to be the small ones. They build up better pressure, so blow better bubbles. I use a six line manifold, on a 17 watt, 728 GPH, commercial EcoPlus pump. Do each airline at a different length. That way they all stay at different locations. You do not want them all together. My favorite stones are Jardin's round 30mm ones.
Do not forget the extra hole. You need that for the airhose, and water additions/changes.
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