We subdivide the technical control of hydroponic systems according to the size and type of system used or planned. These are small systems suitable for households with limited space. Here we see systems that are suitable for a household and take up between ten and thirty square metres of floor space. This includes small greenhouses or outdoor systems that can be placed in a garden. The next level already includes aquaponics systems.
The control of aquaponics systems requires a far more complex evaluation and control of the cycle and can rarely be done with ready-made standard control solutions. Here, animal welfare as a legal framework is added as well as the more complex analysis of nutrient management. Please contact one of our advisors directly if you are interested in aquaponics control systems. Here are some types of hydroponic systems that are already configured and programmed:

Control system 1

For experimentation and home use we offer a microcontroller from RaspBerry. This has Debian as its operating system and basic control software is installed to control the dosing pumps for the nutrient solution.

The set has three dosing pumps, as most of the nutrient solutions available on the market are also divided into three parts in order to optimally combine the corresponding nutrients depending on the growth phase (growth, flowering, fruiting). Usually these are the usual NPK fertilisers and a collection of micronutrients.

To save the somewhat more time-consuming real-time analysis for the beginning, an EC and pH measuring device is included to check the solutions by hand.

This small-scale system can be extended by several sensors in order to carry out the supply of the plants completely autonomously. Since the greater autonomy of the system is technically somewhat more demanding, we would like to offer interested customers a small system that they can expand as they wish. Further sensors in the direction of higher automation are EC and pH sensors as well as a water level sensor that controls the water consumption and refills used water when the plant needs it. The control software and the microcontroller are suitable for a capacity of about 100 tomato plants on a system with about 130 to 200 litres of nutrient solution in NFT (nutrient film technique). For larger plants we recommend standard PCs that are operated in watchdog mode should one of the devices fail.
The system can be extended with two dosing pumps to control the acid or base value of the nutrient solution.

For small systems, we recommend replacing the entire nutrient solution every three weeks, depending on the type of plant, as this is cheaper than analysing all the important nutrient values individually.

Control system 2

Like system 1 with two additional dosing pumps for acid and alkali for pH control. Water level sensor and electrically controlled valve (up to 8 bar) for automatic refilling of the water level of the system.

Control system 3

All technical parts necessary for operation but without programming. This system is intended for people who want to do the programming themselves.