Automating a Grow Room / Rooms

Who would use an automated nutrient doser?

  • Yes, cut my garden chore time down!

  • No friggin way, I mix by hand only!


Results are only viewable after voting.

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
Hello good people of rollitup! It is I, the one and only Berten-Ernie!!! Been a while since my last post, figured I'd give a little update as to my operation as of late.

About a year and half ago I moved to a new house. With that, came alot of change to my grow op. Some good, some bad. But I'm here today to talk about, you guessed it, AUTOMATED GROW ROOMS!

About 6 or 7 months ago I started researching automatic rooms. After a few hrs researching nutrient dosers and ph monitors, I came across this wonderful little DIY project from a fellow ROLLITUP-er by the name Devin Olsen. This guy built and programmed his own nutrient doser for a little less than what a commercially available unit would cost. And based on his videos, it worked.

However; when I attempted to replicate his success, I was hitting wall after wall. So i started from scratch, using the "DRO-matic" (as it was dubbed) as a reference. And just started key stroking away. After 3 months, I've finally got a unit to do what I want it to with no experience in coding or arduino sketches. My auto doser will:

Monitor and display the stage of life (week count) for 3 seperate rooms on an lcd screen,

On my set days and at my set time,

Fills my nutrient mixing tank with fresh water from my h20 holding tank based on user set amount of gallons,

Doses nutrients to my mixing tank via peristaltic pumps, at precisely the right amount based on what week the room is on and how many gallons were pumped in, (think 2 tspn/gal @ 20 gals, or 4 tspn/gal @ 16 gal)

Checks the pH and adjusts the pH via peristaltic pumps, to the acceptable range after nutrients were added,

Pumps the feed solution to the appropriate room via submersible utility pump and 12v solenoids separating each "zone" (room).

Advances the week count after the full feed has been pumped out to the room,

Then checks the other rooms if it's there day n time to be dosed and fed.

It's basically a commercial unit without all the bells and whistles.

I have 3 seperate rooms so to make 3 seperate batches of feed nutes either on the same day or even a day apart, was one of my biggest chores, not even including applying it to my soil potted plants. That's all taken care of now thanks to this project.

I will add pictures later this week of each screen, as well as pictures of the doser during each cycle.

I'm currently using an 8 part lineup, with 1 peristaltic pump reserved for pH up, and 1 for pH down. For a total of 10 channels (12v DC peristaltic pumps), 4 12v DC solenoids to seperate each room, and 2 110v AC outlets that I'm using for the submersible utility pumps, 1 for pumping water into the mixing tank, and 1 for pumping nutrient solution out to the designated room.

I've been working on this project for almost 5 months, basically since the whole Corona pandemic came about.

Other than automating nutrient feeding and irrigating, I also have a c02 system that has been part of my operation for about 2 years now. Nothing fancy, just a c02 monitor and controller, a 20lb tank, and a regulator. But it works. Kicks on when lights turn on, pumps up the c02 ppm to within my preset deadzone, and turns the solenoid off when it is reached. I purchased that product tho. Didn't build it, but it's still automated.

Next on the list is to get a trimmer so I can have a 95% automated grow room. Obv I dont want it to be 100%, cuz what's the fun in that? Plus plants tend to respond positively to some human TLC. I'll still go in and trim fan leaves off, but that's really my only chore as far as the garden operations go. If anybody's is interested, I can definitely build another one cheaper than what's available on the market rn.
 

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
An auto doser bought commercially ready, will cost about $2,400. I can build one very similar for half that cost, giving you more time to spend on other garden chores or anything else your heart desires. Very reliable, and very accurate. PM for details.
 

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
Mine is very messy as far as wiring goes. But it works for me. If I get any interest in this, obviously I would do better with hiding wiring and whatnot. But it's a DIY project. Not commercial grade. So take it as you will.
 

neogeo420

Member
Do you have a component list or do you want to keep it under wraps? My buddy and I have been talking about this and I'm very interested in making one, I have experience in code, arduino, rpi, etc so it should be fun.
 

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
Do you have a component list or do you want to keep it under wraps? My buddy and I have been talking about this and I'm very interested in making one, I have experience in code, arduino, rpi, etc so it should be fun.
I can put one together, but no, not trying to keep it under wraps. It's a DIY project, it's not a business. I jus figured if people were interested and didn't want to spend the 2000 to 5000 dollars on a commercial unit, this is a cheap alternative. Most parts came from amazon for under 1000. I'll put one together in the next few days.

I'm curious what sensor you're using for ph and how long it will stay calibrated, also are you using drippers? do you worry about clogs? do the liquid nutrients separate at all over time? (from sitting)
As far as sensors I'm using, it's just 1. The atlas scientific ph probe. The 1 for industrial purposes. It's a bit more heavy duty so I'm told. And I haven't had to recalibrate since operating the unit. And I test the calibration once a week to make sure it's still accurate. And it is.

As for nutrients separating, yes that was a problem at first. The first time I used it, I noticed the nutes were seperating, so I redesigned the way the nute bottles are positioned. They are now sitting on the floor, with a long stretch of fish tank tubing that goes to the bottles up to the peristaltic pump, and into the nute mixer. So now I just come down, shake the bottles before feed time and it's good to go. I'm not using drippers, just plumbed everything with PVC, and some silicone hose that feeds the plant from the PVC. It floods the whole base of the plant so it works. I'm sure drippers would work as well and space the water-nute mix out more but if it's not broke, dont fix it right?

I did however run into a lil bug. Some of my code wasn't 100% so my pH adjustments were not taking place. Not to worry, the code was written in such a way to have redundancy after redundancy so as to not fuck my plants up if something was ever off. The system just basically went into a pause mode. Something I'm gna have to tweak yet.
 
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neogeo420

Member
ok awesome, thanks for the info. Is the system controlled via arduino? is there anything in the mixing tank doing any mixing or is it just the temporary tank before you feed (I was thinking one of those magnetic flask mixers would be cool)? have you considered making anything to agitate the nute bottles?
 

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
ok awesome, thanks for the info. Is the system controlled via arduino? is there anything in the mixing tank doing any mixing or is it just the temporary tank before you feed (I was thinking one of those magnetic flask mixers would be cool)? have you considered making anything to agitate the nute bottles?
The system is controlled via an arduino mega. The mixing tank is only used when the day is called to feed. Other than pumping and keeping a few gallons of plain water in it after all the nutrient mix pumps out, it sits idle waiting for the set day to start a feed cycle. I have a constant flow however, so as to not let water stagnate. I use fish tank pumps, submersible style, to have a current all the time in both my h20 reservoir and my mixing tank. I've thought about an agitation system, but like I said, I jus shake the bottles once a day before they dose. And it's good to go.
 

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
Here's the parts list:
1) arduino mega
1) dfrobot 16x2 lcd shield
1) atlas scientific ph probe KIT
(Optional tentacle shield for expanding more sensors. if not, the ph kit has a isolated circuit that comes with it)
1) real time clock (I used the ds3231)
1) li ion battery for the rtc (rechargeable!)
1) 16 channel relay board
1) 12v 30 amp dc power supply
10) peristaltic pumps
2) outlet receptacles
4) dc power adapter connectors (2.1mm x 5.5mm)
10) 1N4007 rectifiers/resistors
2) half inch water flow hall sensors
4) half inch 12vdc or 110v ac solenoids (normally closed)
1) 3/4 hp submersible utility pump
1) 1/2 hp submersible utility pump
1) 32 gal trash can (h20 res)
1) 30 gal storage tote (mixing tank)

Odds and ends i had laying around:
Way more wago connectors than I needed
Fish airline tubing
Hot glue
Extension cord (3 prong)
1/2 inch PVC, elbows, tees, crosses,
1/4" silicone tubing
 
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berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
awesome, thanks for the info. I have a couple spare raspberry pis around, maybe I'll try coding something in python and get a touch screen.
I've been told I should've used a pi, as it offers a lil bit more versatility and functionality. But the duino works for me. And I had zero knowledge of the arduino or raspberry pis existence prior to this build. Not to mention what they could do.
 

PissingNutes

Active Member
Would leaving nutrients unsealed expose them to air for oxidization?
Or if system fails and leaks a bit I wouldn't risk wasting unmixed nutrients.
 

berten-ernie420

Well-Known Member
Would leaving nutrients unsealed expose them to air for oxidization?
Or if system fails and leaks a bit I wouldn't risk wasting unmixed nutrients.
The bottles are technically unsealed. However, they are not. I hotglued the tubing through the cap, creating a seal. As for oxidation and waste, I've got 3 seperate rooms running. I'm not holding onto nutes for long enough for them to sour. I'm literally burning through gallons in weeks.
I dont see my system being any different than someone hand mixing, taking some nutes out of the bottle, Leaving AIR to be trapped inside, even with a lid on. Jus saying.
 

neogeo420

Member
Would leaving nutrients unsealed expose them to air for oxidization?
Or if system fails and leaks a bit I wouldn't risk wasting unmixed nutrients.
Things to consider for sure, I'm sure there are ways to mitigate the risk (how do comercial systems work?). As long as you don't set it up in a way that it can siphon out from the tanks then I'm sure that leaks would be minimal. Maybe a one-way valve (to relieve vacuum) could minimize contact with open air?

I've been told I should've used a pi, as it offers a lil bit more versatility and functionality. But the duino works for me. And I had zero knowledge of the arduino or raspberry pis existence prior to this build. Not to mention what they could do.
I'm not an expert with pi but I do have a fair amount of experience with arduino and although it is very useful, I like the potential for better gui with pi.
 
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