Hydroponics systems must be geared to the needs of the crop you grow. They can be active or passive. Active hydroponic systems let nutrients pass over your plant roots. This means you have to use a large-sized root zone medium like vermiculite or perlite. Air circulation is better in active hydroponic systems because one is making more efforts towards circulating the solution. In passive hydroponic systems, plant roots are suspended into nutrient solutions, but they sometimes need anchorage and support as they grow.
Hydroponic is essentially a water based system of growing. Highly productive, hydroponic systems are geared towards the conservation of water and land, besides being easier on the environment. You have to know what you want to be doing with hydroponics before you set up your hydroponic system.
Light, water, oxygen, temperature and nutrients are the basic recipe for any hydroponic system. The light provided to your plants could be natural if you are growing your plants outdoors. Growing in a greenhouse will usually call for a combination of natural and artificial light. On the other hand, growing indoors requires artificial lighting.
Hydroponics systems consume water in smaller quantities whereas soil-based systems could tend to gobble water up. Water used in your hydroponics systems can also be re-circulated to a certain extent. By promoting the sustainable use of priceless resources like water, hydroponic systems are saving resources for a future that seems bleak, with predictions that the earth could dry up within our lifetimes if we are not careful enough.
Your plants should not be short of good air circulation. Natural air circulation might work for some hydroponic systems. If your water is circulating in a closed system, installing motors that artificially agitate water and allow the air to circulate evenly could be helpful. This should ensure that oxygen evenly reaches your matted plant roots.