General maintenance of hydroponics equipment and hydroponic supplies

1. Investing money in the hydroponic system every gardener hopes the equipment will remain working for as long as possible. Buying durable products and quality equipment is the first step to ensuring their long life and proper working, while purchasing unreliable tools and frequently replacing them may, in the long run, result for a gardener in the significant explicit costs. The second step, which is of not lesser importance for preserving your equipment, is good care of it and its proper maintenance.    

Grow lights, besides being vitally important for your garden, are also one of the most expensive hydroponic supplies; thus, it is absolutely necessary to take good care of them. First of all, you should always remember that lights produce pretty much heat, especially taking into account their working period (which is about sixteen hours per day). With the lapse of time heat can damage the parts of the lamps, as well as have negative impact on other hydroponic equipment. To eliminate excessive heat from your garden you can use auxiliary fans. Keeping normal temperature around the hydroponic system will help not only provide its longer lasting (lights can serve twice as long), but it will guarantee you more comfortable work there.  

There is also another way of prolonging the life of the lights in your garden. The matter is that high intensity discharge lights are supplied with special ballast to control and regulate the flow of current in the grow lights. Older generation magnetic ballast can be substituted with modern digital ballast, which is more precise and capable of better controlling the flow of electricity and making it more steadfast in the bulbs. Moreover, digital ballast works quietly and produces less heat than the older ballast, which will favorably reflect on your hydroponic system. Finally, it is possible to save money on electricity with the help of this modern equipment: it is always better to have more consistent operating conditions and fewer power surges.  

The reservoir and pump can be cleaned with the help of the pH-adjusted water, the amount of which in the vessel should cover the pump. As soon as the reservoir is filled with water let the pump run for about five minutes. Then disconnect it and place the drip tube into a bucket. It is necessary to turn the hydroponic system on in order to pour out the remaining water into the bucket. Don’t forget to plug the system out once it begins to absorb air. After that connect all the tubes in the proper way again and load the reservoir with pH balanced nutrient solution.

The pump will work smoothly if regularly cleaned. For this reason, all its components should be cleansed every three months. It is also recommended to either wash or replace the growing medium at the end of every growing season. All the equipment should be regularly cleaned by rubbing it down with isopropyl alcohol to disinfect it and eliminate various germs, as well as maintain the proper looks of the equipment. Buildup on the equipment parts is also quickly and easily dissolved with isopropyl alcohol.