Hydroponics Tower - Hydroponics Growing System for Indoor Herbs, Fruits and Vegetables - Aeroponic Tower with Hydrating Pump, Timer, Adapter, Seeding Bed & Net Pots (Aqua 64)

I am new to hydroponic growing, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this vertical hydroponics system. I do have quite a bit of experience with gardening and farming in general, as owning a farm is my part-time job.I set this unit up a few days ago and have been quite impressed with what it has to offer.Although my plants have just barely been planted so I can’t comment yet on yields or productivity, I have to say that putting the tower together was a breeze. It’s set up in my basement due to space constraints in the rest of my house, but it’s attractive enough that I wouldn’t mind even having it in my living room.It’s very lightweight - probably less than 30 lbs - and everything snapped together easily. It took less than an hour to assemble and I was able to do it myself. The only difficulty I had was with the water pipe but once I read the instructions for the unit and played around with it a bit, it wasn’t bad at all. I’m horrible at putting together just about anything (just ask my husband) so this feature of the hydroponics tower was a major plus for me.I’ve also been impressed with how durable this unit seems. Even though it’s made primarily of plastic, it doesn't’ seem flimsy and it’s also easy to clean. I’m currently using it to grow just a few herbs and spinach, since the summer is underway and I have lots of plants outside, but I’m looking forward to trying other plants (like tomatoes) in it this winter.So far so good - I haven’t run into any issues at all. I love all the built-in features (the timer is a huge plus) and I’m very impressed with the affordability and quality of this growing tower.

The timer and water pump are not that good. Doesn’t pump enough water to distribute water to all sections.

This product is ok for indoor use but not for outdoor. I don’t think this can withstand the Santa Ana wind that we frequently experience here in Southern California. I’m returning mine.

Quite honestly, I have always wanted an aeroponics garden and when I went on those YouTube videos to see how easy it could be to make one, I was already lost a couple of minutes into the video.It took me about 30 minutes to an hour to complete the assembly. It was easy to put together, but I might suggest marking sure that you count 8 connectors before you connect the final one just because they are a booger to take apart. Also, with the water catcher bins that go under each plant that is slid into the placeholders, I might consider supergluing them so that they don't fall when you are trying to assemble everything. Finally, I did have some initial trouble with the water pressure, but when I made sure the valve was completely open and I cut the hose about a foot and a half so that the water would go directly from the pump to the PVC pipe without much slack, everything worked smoothly.In the sponges, as a seedling, the plants only took about a day or two to start growing leaves, compared to a couple of days in my dirt seed starters. From that point on, I was impressed with how easy this system might make gardening. In Kansas, where I live, if I stop the water running for more than an hour or so, the sponges can dry out, but I have noticed that there is quite a bit of water in the bins and if evaporation is high, they can stay moist if you keep the lid tight.Overall, I am so glad that I didn't have to watch those YouTube videos and go to the store and ask associates for all the items necessary to build this. I mean, I would have taken about 30 minutes of some poor associate's time to get parts that might come together. However, all of the parts came to me and assembly was pretty intuitive for the most part, just click things together and pour in the water. I am so excited that I made this purchase and I am excited about the growth that has already occurred.

Anyone considering buying this, DON'T! If I could give it negative stars, I wouldn't hesitate to do so!DO NOT purchase this product. It works horribly and Amazon only has a 30 day return policy on this. It takes longer than 30 days to grow the seeds, transfer them to the tower and begin to see some/any results. Amazon, this product should have a 60 to 90 day return policy or be removed from your website.Growing the seed into small plants @ 3 Weeks, transplanting the small plants into the tower 1 day, waiting for any activity on the plants for growth @ 2 Weeks. We filled about 8 of the of the 64 pots with plants purchased from Home Depot and transfered them from dirt to the Net Cup, and 14 with plants that were grown from seeds into the Net Cups. From the attached pictures, you can see the results. I had to fill the unit with 4 gallons of water and nutrients every other day (yes, I checked the system for leaks before putting it together and after final assembly). The system never ran dry, but got low (I was able to look inside the unit when removing the top lid to run a Ph on the water every day). We used this outside to take advantage of the sun rather than using grow lights inside to conserve on energy. I don't know how well the system works inside with the grow lights, but I can only imagine the cost of the electricity used on this system with the grow lights. Every plant we put into this system died. Complete waste of money and time, and Amazon only allows 30 days to return the tower when it takes longer to use it and see results.By far the worst product on the market! This system does not work outdoors (as all the advertisements on the companies website state it does)!Amazon, only allows the buyer to return this Nutraponics NFT-based 64 Pots ($600 plus tax) system within 30 days, but you can't see any results until well after the 30 period. It takes longer than the 30 days to use and evaluate it, it is a piece of crap!Look for other companies that sell towers or make your own if you want to do hydroponics farming. Huge waste of money and time. BIG BIG Mistake and waste of money!To Amazon support team, thank you for helping me to resolve the return of this item and understanding that 30 day's is not enough time to use/test this system.