Probably Stolen Hydroponic System: Crops, Nutrients & Yield
Load a seed, water mixed with nutrients and a power source; the Hydroponic System does 8 work per night for 8 energy. Nutrifruit (23 work) is ready in 3 nights. Keep nutrient concentration inside the crop’s band and the water clean — health decides whether you harvest small, normal, large or huge produce.
On this page
Hydroponic System at a glance
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Base price | 300 Credits |
| Energy | 8 per night |
| Speed | 8 work per night |
| Inputs | Seed, water container with nutrients, power source |
| Pauses when | Water or power runs out (no extra drought damage) |
| Warning | Removing a growing crop destroys it |
Crop table
| Crop | Work (nights) | Base yield | Water / night | Nutrient band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nutrifruit | 23 (3) | 5 | 100 ml | 0.5–2.5% |
| Kotton | 32 (4) | 9 | 176 ml | 2.0–5.0% |
| Dream Cap | 28 (4) | 8 | 100 ml | 1.75–3.25% |
| Coffee | 21 (3) | 8 | 100 ml | 1.75–3.25% |
| Fillerweed | 11 (2) | 4 | 287 ml | 0–2.0% |
| Hydroreed | 18 (3) | 0 (purifies water) | 20 ml | 0–2.0% |
| BloomBerry | 18 (3), refruits at 10 | 8 | 100 ml | 1.25–2.75% |
Nights assume a default machine (8 work per night). Concentration is measured against water volume, not total mixture.
Health decides harvest size
Plants lose 1 health per work point when nutrients are too low and 0.5 when too high. Heavy metals, chemicals, microbes, organic waste, acid and base each cause separate damage once they pass a small threshold — clean water matters.
| Crop health | Harvest |
|---|---|
| 15 or less | All small |
| 16–30 | 70% small |
| 31–50 | 30% small |
| 51–70 | All normal |
| 71–80 | 80% normal, rest large |
| 81–90 | 30% normal, rest large |
| 91–95 | All large |
| Above 95 | Large and huge (Kotton and Dream Caps never grow huge) |
A reliable first crop
- 01
Start with Nutrifruit or Fillerweed
Nutrifruit is cheap (a seed packet costs 1 Credit) and done in 3 nights. Fillerweed ignores nutrient and water quality, which makes it the safest test crop.
- 02
Dose the water
Drop Hydroponic Nutrient Tablets (5 Credits) into the water container and check the concentration with the Plant Analyser (200 Credits) before the first night.
- 03
Use clean water
Scan the water. Contaminants above the threshold damage health on every work point.
- 04
Make room for the harvest
Produce can overflow into shop inventories, but if every inventory is full new items are lost.
Hydroponic modules
| Module | Price | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Nutrifruit | 150 | +1 Nutrifruit per module |
| Dream Cap Neutralizer | 150 | Turns Dream Cap into edible Meal Cap (+2 per module). Stackable. |
| Dream Cap Nightmare | 150 | Turns Dream Cap into toxic Nightmare Cap |
| Kotton Auto Loom | 200 | Weaves Kotton Fiber into fabric while farming |
| Fillerweed Production | 115 | +4 Fillerweed once, but no seeds returned. Not stackable. |
| Hydroreed Filter | 105 | Harvest a Hydroreed stem as a water filter |
| Smuggler | 100 | Removes the contraband status of the growing seed |
Common questions
How long does Nutrifruit take to grow?
23 work points, which is 3 powered nights on a default Hydroponic System (8 work per night).
Why are my crops small?
Low crop health. Keep nutrient concentration inside the crop’s band and remove contaminants from the water; health above 50 gives normal produce.
Do Dream Cap Spores count as contraband?
Yes. A Smuggler module removes that status while the seed grows, but not from every later chemistry product.
Sources & version notes
Community game-data research. Sources reviewed October 31, 2026. This guide does not claim an independent in-game test.
- Nico Wiki: hydroponics
Crop baselines, nutrient bands, contaminant damage and harvest-size rules.
- Nico Wiki: Hydroponic System
Energy, work and overflow behaviour.
- Nico Wiki: hydroponic items
Seed and supply prices.