Hydroponics systems are used to grow virtually any plant without the need for soil. There are many variations of hydroponics systems such as NFT (nutrient film technique), drip irrigation, flood and drain, ebb and flow, bubblers etc.
The type of system you should use depends on the type of growing situation you have. Bubblers are a great way to get started on a small scale and are also a very cheap to make at home. A bubbler generally consists of a bucket or two, a bucket lid, an air pump, some air line, an air stone, a meshed pot, water, nutrients, a hand full of clay pebbles and a grow media like rockwool.
Hydroponics hobbyists often choose to use a NFT system to grow their plants. The system is cheap to purchase. The system generally consists of a couple of trays, a water pump, a spreader mat, rockwool and a timer.
Larger hydroponics operations require more versatile equipment. Drip irrigation as used famously by the Dutch are very popular and more recently flood and drain systems have proved themselves to be very reliable.