Floating Raft (Pond / Raft Culture)
Commercial-scale Deep Water Culture. Plants grow in floating foam rafts on a shallow nutrient pond, with aeration distributed across the pond rather than concentrated per bucket. Mechanically identical to DWC — the scale, pond geometry, and harvest flow are the differentiators. For small-scale setups see the DWC system.
Specs
- Setup cost
- $500–5000
- Monthly op cost
- $25–150
- Footprint
- 20–500 sqft
- Typical draw
- 100 W (peak 300 W)
Strengths
- Highest throughput per sqft for leafy greens
- Continuous harvest via raft rotation
- Smooths solution temperature via pond thermal mass
- Widely documented in cea literature
Weaknesses
- Large footprint floor requirement
- Solution temperature control at scale
- Water weight loads the structure
- Limited to lightweight leafy crops
Best for
Linked names lead to a full hydroponic guide for that plant. Unlinked names will activate as those plants are added.
Compatible plant categories
- Leafy Greens
- Herbs
Required equipment
- Shallow pond or trough
- Foam rafts
- Distributed air pumps and diffusers
- Recirculation pump
- Filtration
- Ph meter
- Ec meter
Sources
Data on this page is drawn from the following extension and research sources.
- Cornell CEA — Hydroponic Lettuce Handbook (Brechner & Both, 2013) (accessed 2026-04-22)
- Cornell CEA — Controlled Environment Agriculture Resources (accessed 2026-04-22)