There are a number of different hydroponics growing systems for growing hydroponic plants. Each of these systems has their advantages and disadvantages though most of them can be used as indoor growing systems. The descriptions below will give you a starting point for each hydroponics grow system.
Ebb and Flow
Also called a “Flood and Drain” system is a simple design. The basic design is to use a pan or tube as your growth chamber and fill it with some type of growing medium. Place your plants into this medium and on a regular schedule flood the growth chamber with you hydroponic nutrient solution. After 10-15min you allow the nutrient solution to drain back into nutrient tank. The medium will absorb some of this nutrient solution allowing your plants to uptake nutrients until the next flood cycle.
The advantage to this is you will not have a pump running the whole time. Also since your medium stores nutrients between each cycle power failures are usually no big deal. A disadvantage is the need to have a nutrient solution on hand to completely flood your growth chambers without allowing the pump to run dry. Also a timer will be required to control the flood cycles.
Drip Systems
The Drip hydroponics grow system is pretty much any system that uses drip irrigation to provide your nutrient solution to your plants. This type of system is often used in larger commercial systems because adding additional plants is easy. Just fill a bucket or tub with medium and add another drip spout to the end of the hose. If plant need to be removed in the middle of the system just close off that drip spout.
Bucket
The Bucket or Tub type systems are often used for growing hydroponic peppers, tomatoes, and other large, long-lived plants. Taking a bucket (3 or 5 gallon) or some type of non-clear storage bin and add some growing medium. There are two common layouts to this system.
Hobby growers will often take two buckets and stack them. On top will be the bucket with growing medium and the plant and the bucket underneath will contain the nutrient solution. The nutrient solution is than pumped up and dripped onto the upper bucket with the excess drain back down into the bottom bucket.
Commercial growers will line up dozens or hundreds buckets each with one plant. Nutrient solution is delivered through drip irrigation and the excess either flow to waste or is allowed to flow back. Those than drain the excess nutrient to waste will usually have the drippers set to deliver just enough nutrient so there is really very little waste in the end.
NFT
Nutrient Film Technique is one of the simplest hydroponic growing systems to get started growing hydroponics. This nicest example was at Disney’s Epcot Center where they were growing hydroponic lettuce.
You basically setup a sealed tube (growth chamber) and suspend your plants through holes at the top of this growth chamber. Nutrient solution is allowed to run at a slow and continuous rate along the bottom of the growth chamber. The plant roots will grow down to the nutrient solution so the lower portion of the roots can uptake nutrients while the upper portion of the root stays suspended in the air and absorb oxygen.
Some of the advantages to this system are little if any growing medium is needed and the growth chambers can be made out of about any watertight tube. A disadvantage is you will need to provide nutrients to your plants in some way until their roots are long enough to reach the nutrient solution river below.
Aeroponics
Perhaps the most expensive and complex of the hydroponics growing systems, aeroponics uses a fine mist to keep the plant roots damp at all times. The plant will hang in a growth chamber with no medium while spray nozzles spray non-stop throughout the growing period. What makes this system expensive is the finer the mist the better. Fine mist nozzles typically are a pricy and a pump capable of providing adequate pressure can cost 3-5 times a regular pump of the same size.
The advantages to this system is the complete lack of medium and some claim the fine mist approach provides superior aeration to the plants roots. I am not sure that this extra oxygen to the plant roots justifies the cost. Also in the event of any type of failure you will have a limited amount of time before the plant roots begin to die off.