Hydroponics Made Easy Hydroponics Made Easy

Setting Up The Intermediate System

CHECK THE CONTENT OF YOUR INTERMEDIATE AUTO-POT HYDROPONICS KIT

1. 10 Hydrotray and lids 2. 10 Smart-valve Mk2 and screws 3. 1 roll 13mm tubing 25M 4. 2 pieces 13mm grommets 5. 1 unit 13mm in line filter 6. 2 units 13mm taps 7. 10 units of 4mm taps 8. 1 roll of 4mm 10M tubing 9. 1 hole puncher 4mm 10. 20 units of 10 Squat pots 11. 10 pieces of 4mm straight joints 12. 2 uints of 13mm elbow joints 13. Instruction booklet

Mix in nutrients into the reservoir tank. As per recommendation on the labels.

Options:1. 250 litre recycled drums 2. Nutrients 10 litres 3. Nutrient meter

Connect up the system as shown in the diagram below. Place the tank 0.5 meter or higher than the growing module. The higher the better.

200-Litre drum

Auto-Pot Nutrient in 2 x 5 Litre pack

Lid

13 mm tap

13mm filter 4mm tap

250mm pot

4mm tubing connection to 13mm main feed 13mm main feed line 13 mm tap Smart-valve Hydrotray

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B. The Next Step a pump assisted system.

As you continue to add more growing containers to your system you may eventually come to a point where you feel that filling tanks has become more of a chore than a pleasure. This can become more apparent when you first encounter a very hot and windy day as the plants are all in a growth cycle. Water that you have grown accustomed to lasting for several weeks can be gone in a few days. The added demands for water in these conditions is surprising. Fortunately, provided there is water available, the system copes wonderfully well because it is at this stage that the deficiencies of hand watering or even programmed watering really show up. But when you start to feel that you are there to serve your system rather than it being the other way around, its time to consider upgrading to a pressurised system. So we introduce you to yet another ingenious innovation by Jim Fah the Smart-pump Feeding System. There are several ways nutrient solution can be delivered to the growing modules. It can be fed from a small pressure-switch pump as shown in diagrams A and B page 28 together with different options for nutrient supply and additional dosing of other chemicals such as pH correction fluids.

The decision to install a pump assisted system is usually governed by economics. It is often cheaper to put in a pump assisted system than it is to install a large tank, or when there are space limitations that make a large tank difficult to site.

LARGER AUTOPOT SYSTEM

There is no limit how large the Auto-Pot Systems can be extended to. For example, the picture below shows a commercial hydroponic tomato farm with a 2,500 pot system (or 1,250 modules) fed by a single unit of the Auto-Pot dosing System (photo right).

Autopot Dosing Unit with venturi feeding system for more serious hobbyists.

Autopot Dosing Unit with electronic dosing system for commercial growers

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2. The Autopot Smart-pump Set

A pump is used to generate and maintain a working pressure of 10psi in the tubing delivering nutrient solution to the growing modules. Three methods of nutrient dosing are available to work in conjunction with the pump.

A. Manual method as shown in diagram A page 29. Nutrients are

mixed into the water of the larger reservoir tank manually. Topping up with fresh water and adding of nutrients is carried out daily. A larger capacity tank would require less frequent topping up.

A solar panel this size can provide sufficient power to operate a 4 Autopot Smart-pump sets.

B. Venturi method as shown in diagram B page 29. Water in the 50liter reservoir tank is kept at constant level by the ball valve connected to mains water supply. When the pump operates, water is drawn from the nutrient bottle and a proportion of the nutrients is sucked from the tanks into the delivery lines.

C. Electronic doser method as shown page 27 photo of doser and

pump set on the bottom right. Nutrients are dispensed into the reservoir by gravity via the two solenoid valves operated by the electronic doser to maintain a preset nutrient concentration. A low cost 12-volt pump works perfectly with the Smart-valves. It starts pumping when one or more of the Smart-valves open to allow nutrient water into the growing trays. Once the last working Smart-valve closes, the pump will immediately stop pumping. The pump works only when necessary, that is, only when there is a need to refill a tray as dictated by the Smart-valves. Hence, the system is extremely energy efficient. In actual operation, the pump works intermittently - busiest during the heat of the day when nutrient demand by the plants is the highest and quietest during the night when nutrient demand is the lowest. The power required by the pump is 12V 4 amp DC. The system can be powered from a car battery, a transformer or a solar panel. A Battery is a good insurance against temporary power failure. In areas where power supply is a problem or unreliable, the gravity tank is the best option. The cost of installing the pressure switch pump systems is cheaper than the gravity tank method. *****
The control panel for solar power.

Batteries provide back up power .

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Diagram A
Pressure pump

Agitator Pump

Manual mixing of nutrients into the tank at regular intervals.

Water supply Flow Feeding up to 2,500 plants

2,000 liter inground tank

Ground level

Safety Level

Manual Nutrient Dosing

Diagram B
- +
Battery charger or transformer 12V DC

PRESSURE PUMP SET

With Venturi Feeding
Connected to mains water supply

Car Battery 13mm tap 13m m polypi pe Flow Flow Feeding up to 2,500 plants 13mm In-line filter

50liter tank

Ballcock Valve

Damper

Water reservoir 4mm check valve

Pressure Switch pump 12V DC 4 amp Nutrient part A

4mm tap 4mm feeder tube

Nutrient Part

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