An automated dosing system does two things: Monitoring and Dosing. Using a probe positioned in your nutrient reservoir, the system measures your pH, EC levels, and water temperature.
These are the most critical variables for your hydroponic growing system. (If you’re a beginner, EC stands for electrical conductivity, which uses conductivity to measure the salts in the system. The level of salts present correlates to the level of dissolved nutrients in the water.)
There are a number of benefits that come with working with Auto Dosing systems:
The most obvious benefit of automatic dosing is that you won’t have to spend time testing and adjusting your pH, temperature and EC levels, but the implications of that benefit reach beyond that.
1. Save on labour!
Many growers spend 15- 30 minutes a day testing and correcting their system levels. (2-3 hours per week!) This means testing for pH levels, EC levels, and other nutrients as needed. Beginning growers will often spend more time on this until they get a feel for nutrient levels.
2. Avoid over correcting
Many folks unintentionally over-correct one or two of their variables. This is kind of like adding too much flour to the pancake mix. You have to add more water to balance out the flour, but then if you add too much water you have to add more flour. Auto-dosing systems help keep these levels stable, and provides the optimal environment for your plants. This results in bigger, healthier plants.
3. Avoid shocking your plants
Plant shock events can occur whenever a plant experiences a sudden change in environment or nutrient flow. One common scenario happens when the water is dumped from the system. Some growers do this weekly to start fresh at the beginning of the week with correct nutrient levels. This can be harmful to your plants (as well as being wasteful).
The reason for this is that the water in the bottom of the tank is usually highly concentrated, with more nutrients left from evaporation throughout the week. After the tank is emptied, fresh water is added with nutrients at the correct levels. When the freshwater (with correct nutrients) is added back to the system, the plants absorb it.
4. Freedom of movement
When a farmer has to be present all day, every day, to take care of his (or her) pH and nutrient levels, it tends to be a bit binding. Having an auto dosing system can give farmers the freedom to leave the farm for a day or two. It makes leaving the farm in the care of another person easier in case they want to leave for longer as well.
5. Crop Security
Many crop failures are based on human error and inconsistency. When water pH and EC levels fluctuate, you open up possibilities for health issues or, in more extreme cases, total crop loss.
Automated dosers provide stable environments for plant growth, doing what a machine is supposed to do: accurately measuring nutrients and pH and releasing precise amounts of nutrients or acid into your system.
To Confidently automate pH and nutrient levels in growing reservoirs, Save time and effort with the Bluelab Pro Controller.
Shop Now for The Bluelab Pro Controller
- To help maintain perfect and stable pH and nutrient levels in your reservoir, ensuring optimal nutrient availability for your plants at all times.
- Set your required targets for pH and conductivity and allow the controller to do the rest.
- No need for any spot checks or manual adjustments, the Bluelab Pro Controller saves you time and labour so that you can focus on growing healthier plants every single time.
- Paired with high-precision Bluelab PeriPod dosers, you’ll have a complete nutrient dosing system. Talk to us so we can help you decide on whether you require the Bluelab Peripod L3 or Bluelab Peripod M3 for your growing operation