MUFGA 12 Pods Hydroponics Growing System, Indoor Garden with LED Grow Light, Plants Germination Kit, Mini Herb Garden with Pump System, Height Adjustable (No Seed)ClimatePartner certified

The media could not be loaded. I am comparing 3 hydroponic systems: MUFGA 12 Pod, Fulsren 12 pod, and Sawdeny 12 pod systems.TLDR; MUFGA and Sawdeny are both great but MUFGA is my favorite because the pods are the most spread apart and the tank is large, but I love that the Sawdeny light extends almost 2 inches higher.MUFGA: I have had this system for a year. I paid $45 in Feb 2022, and have had 0 issues. It came with everything you would need, except seeds. The tank is larger than most, max fill is 6.5 L (1.7 gal). I keep it around 5L since fertilizing instructions are for that amount. I don't hear the pump at all when it is running. The water trickling sounds like a fountain and I find it relaxing. The water sound is noticeably louder if the water level is very low. The pods are more spaced apart than the other systems, which is vitally important IMO. They are 2 inches apart in a row, instead of 1 inch on the other systems however the other systems are offset slightly to allow slightly more room. In all honesty, even 2 inches is not enough spacing for most plants, so you may want to transplant most things when they get big, or leave empty pods between your plants. There is no drainage hole so you have to remove everything and detach the light to dump out the water. I think that's fine, because you need to monitor/clean the pod holders anyways since they tend to grow algae after a few weeks. The light lifts to 17.25 inches above the tank which is plenty for most herbs and transplants, not tomatoes or vines. The pod holders are rigid thin plastic and it can be hard to remove plants without ripping roots. I recommend submerging them in water and wiggling while gently pulling up on the base of the plant, it helps. The system has vegetable and fruit settings (which changes the colors of the leds), and stays on for 16 hours and turns off for 8 hours. The pump automatically shuts on/off every 30 minutes. There is no way to adjust what times the lights or pumps turn off/on. I like that the top of the light is flat, because the heat helps seeds to germinate quickly if you put them in a bag with a moist paper towel for a couple days.Fulsren:I paid $48.13 for this system. I just got this system today so I can't speak to its durability, but it has a few nice features that the other 2 don't have. The biggest one is a led screen with more options like led brightness and a timer function. The motor is not loud, but slightly louder than the other systems. The pods and holders that come with the system are very nice quality. The water refill hole has a course strainer and it attached so you cannot lose it which is nice. The system came with plant food and seedling covers, but nothing else. I was especially disappointed that it did not come with support sticks like the other systems, and the holes are smaller so I could not use the ones I had. I found that large bamboo skewers did fit, but the hole goes straight through so they can go down into the water. The other systems also came with pod collars (to combat algae) and labels which I found very useful. My biggest issue with the system is how close the pods are to each other. You realistically cannot plant 12 things at the same time unless you are transplanting everything when they get a few inches tall. The tank is also not labeled with units which I find annoying. It says "min, mid, and max" which is not helpful when using the "plant food" or fertilizer they provide. The specs say the tank holds 4L, which is small IMO. I suspect that is to the "max" line which is very close to the top on the tank. You would probably spill water if you tried to carry it full to the "max" line. Like the MUFGA you need to disconnect the light and remove all the pods to dump the water out of the tank. The light extends to 17.25 inches above the pods, like the MUFGA.SAWDENY:I paid $42.79 for this system. I also got this system today so I cannot speak to its durability. This would be my favorite system if the pods were farther apart, although they are more spaced than the Fulsren. The light extends to an impressive 19 inches above the pods and the tank is an appropriate 4.5 L max capacity. Unlike the other systems there is a drain at the bottom of the tank. This would be useful when you want to change the water, but not remove all of the pods or light. This is the only system that provided pod hole covers for if you want to cover a spot you aren't using. It also came with plant food, pod holders, pod collars, support sticks, seedling covers, re-usable labels, and extra pods. This is a great and comprehensive kit for a hydroponic system.

We purchased 4 of these following over a year of successful use of an Aerogarden. We wanted a cheaper machine with more pods that used identical sponges as our aerogarden which are widely manufactured and distributed, so easy to get and often sold in bulk. This model fit the bill.It's only downsides compared to our more expensive aerogarden is that1. we have to start them at 1 am the first time if we want them to go on from 1 am to 6 pm and not have the lights on in the evening (when we use the room the occupy). You can't schedule them ahead.2. we have to track the water and nutrient levels ourselves. That said, given the massive price difference between units that's not much of a hassle, especially since we check the levels every other week anyway. Every X amount of days (depending on what we are growing) we refill the water and add nutrients at the same time. The higher number of pods mean that we need to add nutrients at the same frequency as water. So we have each timeline scheduled in our shared calendar (Machine A and B, every 2 weeks, Machine C and D every 3 weeks) and boom, it's done. I quite frankly prefer it to having to visually check up on the screen of my aerogarden or installing a dedicated app.3. The finish and branding of these machines is a bit lacking. Since we wanted utility, that's not an issue for us, but for someone for whom this machine will be on display, it's a bit minimalist.Eventually, we decided to purchase 4 more machines and now own a total of 8 of these units.All of them are set up on a wire shelf and occupy two 24X48 shelves with a bit of room between them. Very compact machines (and packaging). We keep the whole setup under a wire shelf zip cover to create a greenhouse effect and minimize the inconvenience of the lights.We thus have 96 pods across 8 systems. In theory, we could accommodate another 4 machines on a third shelf and max out at a staggering 144 pods (this in what was the footprint of our former aeroponic tower which could support 32 plants). For now, we will likely keep at 8 machines as the extra storage room on the other shelf is convenient for keeping everything tidy, and we've yet to do a full harvest cycle involving all 8 machines, so we first want to see how these perform before further expansion. Our goal is to self-produce most of the vegetables we eat on a daily basis.Although it's more of a hassle to manage 8 machines than a single pump and water tank, it's not much more of a hassle (basically fill up 8 smaller tanks vs 1 big one). Additionally, the pod capacity of this rig makes it very much worth it. The sound levels are also MUCH more reasonable and make these machines perfectly fine to cohabitate in a normal living space (our former aeroponic tower made an infernal racket on the level of a washing machine that dominated the soundscape of our house).I strongly recommend these machines.The trap for most of these hydroponic garden rigs are that they require you resupply on proprietary consumables in most cases: sponges and nutrients. In addition, of course to seeds and water which are easier to get. This machine is therefor incredibly convenient, since you can use the cheapest type of sponges on the market, it will support any kind of generic hydroponic nutrients you can find and you don't require any kind of special apps or seeds.

Works Great! I highly recommend this product to anyone that wants to grow vegetables or flowers or herbs inside their home!