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Hydroponics - the growing of crops without soil - can be achieved by a vast variety of methods. The obstacle in each technique is to suspend the plant in place while exposing the roots to a regular supply of water-nutrient formula. There are several ways you can do this and some of these methods are more effective that the rest. Typically hydroponic systems fall into the classes of active or passive (active normally means a pump is used) and recovery or non-recovery (recovery means the solution is captured and re-circulated). Some systems make use of grow trays to hold the plants and a container for the solution. With these things in mind, here are some of the most common hydroponic systems.

Ebb and Flow

In this active recovery method, plants in the grow tray are usually anchored by some sort of medium (ideally one that retains water, like rockwool). A pump floods the grow tray with water occasionally depending on the time you set on the timer, it then shuts down and lets the nutrient solution drain through a maze of tubes attached to the tray that leads back to the tank. This technique is otherwise known as the flood-drain system which is very famous among beginners.

The Drip System

This system is more or less the same with ebb and flow but instead of surging the grow tray this system uses a pump that pushes the nutrient solution around the network of tubes that drips the solution straight on the plant roots. Depending on your choice you can turn the hydroponic systems into a recover or non-recovery system. If you would like to do without the constant monitoring of the pH level then you might want to utilize the non-recovery version.

The Wick System

This is a simple, passive non-recovery hydroponic method in which the nutrient formula is carried from the reservoir to the crop roots by means of a wick (like an oil lamp wick). There's no need for a pump and for water circulation thus making this system easy and cost-efficient. However, the produce may not be as impressive because regulating the water flow is a challenge which means that the roots are getting too much or too little solution.

Nutrient Film Technique

Also called NFT for short, this is an active recovery system in which the plant roots are hanging in a continual flow (or film) of solution. The "grow tray" is generally a tube, where the plants are suspended on top and the roots are open below. The pump sends the solution into one end of the tube, and it drains out the other end back again into the tank. While efficient, this approach is also more complicated and higher-maintenance.

There are a number of variations of hydroponic systems but the ones mentioned are the most common. Which hydroponic systems you choose will rely mainly on your skill level and budget.