Welcome to my newbie journal! I'm currently finishing up my 4 plant DWC set up. I'll be growing Northern Lights fem seeds when it's ready. There will be a lot of content below so hopefully it's organized in the clearest way possible. I don't know much about arduino, wiring, or plumbing so I won't be giving much detail about that set up. I have a friend working on automating this using sensors feeding information to a Raspberry pi, hopefully he knows his stuff. If this first grow is successful, I'll get him to write up instructions on the set up here. For now, I'll just be giving enough detail to clearly explain the basics of how it's being used in this set up. The set up: Apollo grow tent - 2'L x 3'W x 5'H 6 site DWC hydroponic kit but I only plan on using 4 sites in a square - 20"L x 15"W x 9.5"H, 8 gallon PH Probe sensor. Will be in the tub, feeding the raspberry pi PH levels. Raspberry pi<span style="position: absolute;"></span> will be programmed to activate a PH up/down solution doser as needed. Water level sensor. Will be in the tub and will tell the <span class="skimwords-potential">raspberry pi</span> to activate a pump to top off water from an external bucket. Rockwool with clay pellets Global Star dimmable, full spectrum, 360w LED grow light. Separate switches for vegging and flowering. Lighting schedule for each switch will be controlled by the raspberry pi<span style="position: absolute;"></span>. VenTech Inline Exhaust Blower Fan with Carbon Filter and Variable Speed Controller, 440 CFM, 6". The carbon filter is connected to the external fan with ducting. Carbon filter is being held up by ziptie chains for now, planning on replacing with metal chains soon. Not pictured, Corsair Air Series AF120 LED Quiet Edition High Airflow Fan Twin Pack to go on the bottom right side of the tent. Laundry drying rack. I removed the center bars and fit it in the tent to hold up my oscillating fan and soon the U scrog chicken wire. Not pictured, DYNA-GRO Liquid Grow and Flower plant food My questions Am I missing anything information above or any parts/sensors? I'm waiting on a thermometer and humidity sensor. Whats the best way to control humidity without buying a humidifier? How should I position the oscillating fan for U scrog? I understand that it has to blow and oscillate right above the canopy, not directly on it, but I'm confused as to what to do when I start U scrogging. I was going to replace the oscillating fan pictured with 2 of these fans- one for under the scrog and one for the middle of the U. How do I dose the nutrients? -Should I mix it in to the bucket of topping water mentioned in the 4th bullet above? -Should I get a separate dosing pump that's on a timer and feeds a certain amount every so often? If so, how much and how often? I've read that I should start with half of the dosage recommended on the bottle (1 tspoon per gallon x 8 gallons = 8 tspoons / 2 = 4 tspoons to start) and slowly increase to reach the full recommended dosage in 2 weeks. Is this accurate? What should be the distance between the top of the hydroponic tub and the bottom of my U scrog? What should be the distance between the bottom of my U scrog and the light? This is all I have for now, I will update this post with the answers to my questions as they come in. Thank you all for reading and please let me know if I haven't explained something clearly enough!
I can't answer any of your questions, but I was wondering about a few points of your build. 1. How often do you plan on draining and replacing the water? 2. How accurate is your pH sensor? How often will the readings be taken? I was under the impression that you couldn't leave an electronic pH meters electrodes submerged and expect consistant results without needing a recalibration, and most that i've seen hunt around a range of values and never really settle (especially in aerated or volatile water), which could cause your arduino setup to respond by dunping ph up and down constantly. I can appreciate the idea of automating the whole grow process, but wouldn't it just make more sense just to test and adjust your water with a more conventional method? -Recently Sent from my SM-G900P using Grasscity Forum mobile app