Hydroponic Trays Australia: Types, Sizes & Quality

By Laszlo Bulatko, Founder, LaNiTex Hydro Garden (Sippy Downs, QLD) | Published 15 May 2026

Last updated: 1 July 2026

This guide is for: Beginners and intermediate growers comparing hydroponic trays before they buy.

Last month a Brisbane bloke messaged me asking whether our tray was the same as the last two he'd picked up off eBay; both warped into pretzels the first time he soaked them. His question cut to the point: everyone throws around 'food-grade' like it's self-explanatory, but no one actually unpacks what it means when you're growing food. That's what this article sets straight. I run LaNiTex Hydro Garden from the Sunshine Coast, and every tray-based kit on our site was tested in my own living room before it went on the catalogue.

Quick answer: Hydroponic trays are shallow containers that hold plants and a nutrient-rich water layer in soilless growing. The five common types are flood tables, ebb-and-flow trays, deep water culture trays, microgreen trays, and propagation trays. Each suits a different plant and watering rhythm. The right one depends on the plant, the system, and whether the plastic is genuinely food-grade.

Key takeaways:

• Five tray types: flood, ebb-and-flow, deep water culture, microgreen, propagation. Each suits a different plant and watering rhythm.
• Size and depth matter more than brand name: 40 mm for microgreens, 100 to 150 mm for lettuce and herbs, 200 mm+ for fruiting.
• Food-grade is a real standard. Look for ABS or food-safe-rated plastic, not the cheapest no-name imports.
• In an apartment setup, a complete tray-based system avoids the failure points of buying parts separately.
• LaNiTex doesn't sell standalone trays. Trays live inside complete kits like the Desktop Grow Box ($139) and Microgreen Kit Black ($129), both built for Australia.

What is a hydroponic tray?

A hydroponic tray is a shallow plastic container that holds plant roots in or just above a nutrient solution — no soil. Three things decide whether the setup works: how deep the tray is, how it drains, and what the plastic is made from. Get one wrong and the others can't compensate. The water efficiency case is real: Australian farms applied 7.8 million megalitres to crops and pastures in 2020–21 (Source: ABS, Water Use on Australian Farms — latest available ABS data), and at home scale, hydroponic setups use up to 90% less water than soil per Sustainable Gardening Australia.

The 5 main types of hydroponic trays

Australian growers see five tray types repeatedly. Each one matches a specific watering pattern and plant.

Flood (flooding) trays

A flood tray is a flat-bottomed shallow tray, usually 50 to 150 mm deep, designed to be periodically filled with nutrient water and then drained back to a reservoir. Lettuce, basil and coriander suit it. You set a timer; the pump fills the tray; gravity returns the water.

Ebb-and-flow trays

A close cousin to flood trays, ebb-and-flow trays cycle water in and out typically 2–4 times per day. They have a drain port and an overflow port. Larger plants like tomatoes and capsicum benefit from the wet-dry cycle, which oxygenates roots between fills.

How the timing actually runs matters more than most beginners expect. A single flood usually lasts about 10 to 15 minutes — long enough for roots to drink, short enough that they aren't left sitting in water. How often you flood depends on the growing medium: fast-draining clay pebbles may need three to five floods a day, while moisture-holding coco or a wicking mat needs far fewer. Set the maximum flood height a little below the tray rim so the tray never overflows onto the bench. On a self-contained kit like the Desktop Grow Box, this cycle is automated, so there's no timer to program or flood height to measure.

Deep water culture (DWC) trays

DWC trays are deeper (usually 150 to 300 mm) and hold a permanent body of aerated water. The plants float on a raft above the water. Lettuce thrives. So do most leafy greens. Air pumps run constantly; there is no drain cycle.

Microgreen trays

Microgreen trays are tiny by comparison: around 40 mm deep, often 20x25 cm. They hold a thin growing mat and a few millimetres of water. Seven days to harvest under optimal conditions is typical. Skip the soil.

Seed and propagation trays

Propagation trays are even shallower, with 50 to 200 small cells, designed to germinate seeds and root cuttings before transplanting into a larger system. They are not a long-term home; think of them as plant nursery, not adult housing.

Trays with holes, without holes, and mesh

Cutting across those five types is one more distinction that trips up beginners: whether the tray has drainage holes. A tray with holes drains freely; a tray without holes holds water. The classic setup nests a holed tray inside a solid no-hole tray — you bottom-water by pouring into the base, the roots wick moisture up through the holes, and the outer tray catches any runoff so nothing spills on the bench. Mesh trays take it further, with an open net base that lets roots and air move freely; they suit microgreens grown on a mat but need a solid tray underneath to hold the water. For an apartment kit this is handled for you: the reservoir and the holed growing tray are matched at the factory, so there's no guessing which tray nests inside which.

What hydroponic tray size and depth do you actually need?

Size and depth follow the plant, not the marketing. Here are the four depth categories you'll actually run into:

Tray Type	Depth	Best For	Kit Example
Microgreen tray	40 mm	Sprouting, microgreens	Microgreen Kit Black
Flood / ebb-and-flow	100–150 mm	Lettuce, basil, herbs	Desktop Grow Box
DWC tray	150–200 mm	Larger leafy greens, spinach	Smart Grow Box Short
Fruiting tray	200 mm+	Tomatoes, capsicum, cucumber	V5.2 systems

A common mistake: matching tray depth to the seedling stage rather than the mature plant. The plant grows fast in hydroponics. The tray does not. Pick for the finished plant size. For an apartment, a 150 mm-deep tray inside a complete kit is the sweet spot: big enough for lettuce and herbs, small enough to live on a kitchen bench.

Tray footprint: the "1020" size system explained

Depth is only half the sizing story. Footprint is the other half, and when growers talk about "tray sizes" they usually mean the standard footprint, not the depth. The most common is the 1020 tray — roughly 10 x 20 inches, or about 25 x 50 cm — which became the industry benchmark because seedling flats, humidity domes and grow-light shelves are all built around it. From there the naming is simple:

• 1020 — the full-size standard footprint (~25 x 50 cm), used for microgreens, propagation and shallow leafy-green setups.
• 1010 — half the length (~25 x 25 cm), handy for small-batch microgreens or a tight bench.
• 5 x 5 / cell (plug) trays — divided into individual cells for germinating and rooting before transplant.

Knowing the footprint matters if you're buying parts separately, because domes, mats and stands are sized to match. A complete kit sidesteps the whole exercise: LaNiTex kits ship pre-sized, so the tray, reservoir and light are already matched and you skip the footprint maths entirely.

Food-grade plastic: what 'food-safe' actually means for trays

Here's where the Brisbane bloke's question matters. Food-grade plastic is a specific standard, not a marketing word. In Australia, the trays worth buying are made from ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) or another plastic explicitly rated for direct food contact. The grade means the polymer holds up under real growing conditions. It won't leach contaminants into the water or degrade under UV exposure from grow lights, and it won't warp the first time you fill it with cold tap water. The cheapest no-name eBay trays skip this entirely. They're moulded from recycled plastic of unknown origin, with no datasheet and no certification.

Look for a clear plastic-grade label on the product page. The construction should be a single-piece mould with no glued seams, and the manufacturer should be able to name the polymer. Don't trust unbranded marketing claims.

How to spot food-safe plastic in 30 seconds

You don't need a lab. Most trays carry a small resin identification code (the recycling triangle with a number), and that number is a quick first filter:

• Generally food-safe: #2 HDPE, #4 LDPE and #5 PP (polypropylene). ABS is also food-safe when the maker rates it for food contact, and #3 PVC is only acceptable if it's specifically marked "food-grade" or NSF-certified.
• Avoid for anything holding your nutrient water: flexible vinyl, #6 PS (polystyrene), and unmarked #7 "other" plastics — these can leach chemicals such as BPA, phthalates or styrene into the water your plants drink.
• The real tell: the manufacturer names the polymer and states it's rated for food contact. If the listing won't tell you what the plastic is, treat that as a no.

This is exactly why LaNiTex kits spec the material up front. Our Desktop Grow Box ($139) uses food-grade ABS in a single mould; the Microgreen Kit Black ($129) uses premium, non-toxic, food-safe materials with an integrated reservoir. Both spec the material, not just the colour. What goes into the nutrient water matters just as much — see our guide to HY-GEN Hydroponic Nutrients: the Two Part explained.

Hydroponic trays vs pots vs rockwool: a quick comparison

Pots and rockwool fill some of the same role — here's how all three compare for a home grower.

Feature	Hydroponic Tray	Soil Pots	Rockwool
Water use	Up to 90% less than soil (water recirculates)	Standard — soil holds but evaporates fast	Low once established
Indoor suitability	High — no soil mess, compact footprint	Medium — messy, needs drainage	High — but requires drip system
Setup cost	$129–$429 (complete kit, AU)	Low — pots and soil widely available	Medium — slabs + drip system
Best for	Leafy greens, herbs, microgreens indoors	Fruiting plants outdoors	Propagation, NFT, commercial scale
Cleaning	Rinse between crops — no soil to replace	Replace or sterilise soil each season	Dispose and replace slabs

For an apartment in Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne, a tray-based hydroponic kit wins on water use and counter footprint. Pots win on simplicity if you have a balcony with drainage. Rockwool is for serious greenhouse setups.

How LaNiTex builds trays into its complete kits

LaNiTex doesn't sell standalone hydroponic trays. The reason is simple: a tray on its own is half a system. You still need a reservoir, a pump or capillary mat, and grow lights matched to the plant. Selling the tray alone leaves a customer with three trips back to a hardware store and a 50% chance of leaks. So every LaNiTex tray lives inside a complete kit, tested on the Sunshine Coast before it goes on the catalogue.

At LaNiTex, I ran every tray configuration for at least six weeks in my Sunshine Coast workshop before listing the kit. The food-grade ABS tray in the Desktop Grow Box has now completed more than twelve months of continuous grow cycles without cracking, warping, or discolouring — a test I could not replicate with any of the unbranded eBay trays I benchmarked, most of which showed visible deformation within four to six weeks of UV grow-light exposure.

The trays are food-grade ABS or food-safe PP depending on the kit — both single-mould, no glued seams. ABS holds shape up to 80°C and doesn't degrade under grow-light UV, which matters when lights run 16 hours a day. The single-mould build is the practical difference from cheaper assembled trays: seam joints are where the others fail first.

• The Microgreen Kit Black ($129) pairs a shallow microgreen tray with a capillary action reservoir. Footprint 390x195x218 mm. Seven-day harvest from seed.
• The Desktop Grow Box ($139) sits 318x120x367 mm, holds 3 plant pods, runs a 14-day reservoir, and is the soft entry point for apartment growers.
• The Smart Grow Box Short ($429) has a 9 L reservoir and full-spectrum LED lighting, sitting between the entry-level Desktop Grow Box and the Grow Box Tall. Same frame in two variants: 15 holes or 67 holes for more lettuce density.
• The Grow Box Tall ($650) steps up to 15 plants and a 9 L reservoir, supporting both cotton-substrate and full ebb-flow hydroponics.
• The V5.2-A hydroponic tower is the largest system in the range: 76 sowing positions across 0.3 square metres, NFT hydroponics, food-grade PP construction, full-spectrum LED, with panel or remote-control operation. The V5.2-T variant ($1,590) shares the footprint with fewer planting slots.

All ship Australia-wide same week from the Sunshine Coast. New subscribers can use code NEWSLETTERDISCOUNT10 for 10% off their first kit. Reply to this article with your tray story or email me your setup question. I read every message.

Australian hydroponic tray buying guide: what to expect on price

Standalone hydroponic trays on eBay and Amazon Australia run $15 to $40. Most have no food-safety certification and no reservoir. To get one actually growing you still need a reservoir ($20–$80), a pump or capillary mat ($15–$40), a timer ($10–$25), and a growing medium ($10–$30) — you're at $70–$175 and haven't planted anything yet. A complete kit like the Microgreen Kit Black starts at $129 with everything already tested together. For apartment herb and lettuce growing, the all-in kit usually works out cheaper once you actually price the parts separately. Prices listed are current as of May 2026.

Troubleshooting common hydroponic tray problems

Algae buildup in the tray or reservoir

Green or brown slime on tray walls and reservoir surfaces is algae, caused by light reaching the nutrient solution. Cover the reservoir with an opaque lid. Check for gaps around plant holes and seal them with foam net-pot collars or light-blocking caps. Between grows, clean the tray with a diluted 3% hydrogen peroxide solution and rinse thoroughly before refilling.

Tray cracking after several cycles

Cracking almost always indicates substandard plastic — recycled or virgin polymer not rated for UV or temperature cycling. Standard non-food-grade ABS shows visible degradation within 6–12 months of continuous UV exposure; a genuine food-grade ABS or PP tray is far less likely to crack under normal indoor grow-light exposure. If your tray has cracked, replace it and check the material specification on the product listing before buying again. Temporary stop-gap: food-safe silicone sealant on hairline cracks for one more crop cycle, then replace.

Root rot in DWC trays

Brown, slimy roots with a sulfur smell are Pythium root rot. It usually comes from water too warm (above 22°C), not enough aeration, or biofilm from the previous crop sitting in the tray. Increase air pump flow, move the reservoir away from heat sources, and run a hydrogen peroxide rinse between grows. Pythium is much easier to prevent than treat — I run the peroxide rinse every cycle, no exceptions.

How to clean and reuse trays between crops

One of the quiet advantages of a hydroponic tray over soil pots is that there's no growing medium to throw out — a good tray is meant to be reused for years. The routine between crops is short: tip out the old solution, rinse the tray with clean water, and for sterilising give it a dip or spray with a diluted 3% hydrogen peroxide solution (or a mild bleach solution), then rinse again and let it air-dry before the next sowing. That's where genuine food-grade plastic earns its keep — it takes repeated cleaning and UV exposure without clouding or cracking, so the same tray keeps paying you back. A cheap tray that warps or crazes after a few washes ends up costing more than the kit that lasts.

FAQ

Can I use a hydroponic tray in an apartment without plumbing?

Yes. A self-contained tray kit with a built-in reservoir doesn't need a tap or drain connection. You fill the reservoir from a watering can every 7 to 14 days. The Desktop Grow Box is built exactly for this. About 16% of Australian private dwellings are apartments (Source: ABS, 2021 Census), so apartments were the design spec from day one. If you are also considering vertical growing for a small flat, see our guide to grow towers for apartments in Australia.

What size hydroponic tray do I need for lettuce or herbs?

A tray 100 to 150 mm deep with at least 30 cm width per plant suits lettuce, basil, mint, coriander, and spinach. Deeper trays (200 mm+) are overkill for leafy greens and waste water. If you want both lettuce and one fruiting plant, pick a 150 mm tray and rotate.

What does 'food-grade plastic' mean for hydroponic trays?

Food-grade plastic means the polymer is rated for direct contact with food and water without leaching contaminants. In trays that translates to ABS or a similar single-mould food-safe plastic. Look for the material named on the product page, not just the word 'food-grade' used as a generic adjective.

Hydroponic trays vs pots: which should I pick?

Pick a hydroponic tray if you want low water use, no soil and year-round indoor herbs or leafy greens. Pick pots if you have outdoor space and prefer the gardening rhythm of soil. Both work. Pick the one that fits where you actually live.

Where can I buy hydroponic trays in Australia?

Standalone trays are widely available on eBay and Amazon, but quality varies a lot and most don't publish a polymer spec. Complete tray-based kits with verified food-grade materials ship from specialist Australian suppliers like LaNiTex Hydro Garden — same week from the Sunshine Coast, QLD. Either way, ask for the polymer spec before buying.

Sources

• Sustainable Gardening Australia: The Pros and Cons of Hydroponic Growing
• Australian Bureau of Statistics: 2021 Census, dwelling structure
• Australian Bureau of Statistics: Water Use on Australian Farms, 2020–21 (latest available ABS data)

About the writer

Laszlo Bulatko founded LaNiTex Hydro Garden in December 2024 on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. He hand-picked every product and tested it himself before it joined the LaNiTex catalogue, from microgreen kits to smart grow boxes. Before hydroponics, Laszlo spent 15 years in sales, marketing, and brand development across the Hungarian fishing tackle market, representing Okuma, Mustad, Savage Gear, Prologic, Penn, Abu Garcia, Berkley and others, where he helped build 12% market share. ABN 47 682 768 967.

Topics I write about: hydroponics; indoor gardening; sales and brand development; fishing tackle industry; STEM education.

Connect: LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | About Laszlo

Education: IBM, Diageo (Hungary).