Indoor Hydrogarden : 5 Steps

This is the write up on how the indoor hydro garden was built! Sadly I didn´t documented the build very well therefore this guide will not contain that may pictures. The garden is mostly based around IKEA products and cheep Ebay/AliExpress electronics. Products listed and linked under supplies is an example of products used in the build. A lot of the stuff used I had at home to start with. That said make sure all your electronics works out as planed before you buy anything.

Hope this answer some of your questions!

Supplies

Main structure

OMAR shelf - https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/omar-1-shelf-section-...

TROFAST boxes small (5 pcs) - https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/p/trofast-back-gul-5030...

TROFAST box large - https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/p/trofast-back-orange-3...

TROFAST box lid (6 pcs) - https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/p/trofast-lock-vit-0009...

Pvc pipe roughly one inch thick

Plastic tubing at least 3 meters long

Plastic cups used as pots

Electronics

LED chip 20w (8 pcs) - https://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Chip-light-SMD-Cool-W...

Heat sink (8 pcs) something suitable like this - https://www.amazon.com/28x28x8mm-Aluminum-Heatsink...

Small cooling fan (8 pcs) optional depending on how efficient heat sink is used - https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Cooling-Raspberry-Mode...

Arduino uno - https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Board-ATmega328P-ATM...

Two channel relay - https://www.ebay.com/p/1439188635?iid=15320391089...

DC - DC voltage booster - https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-DC-Adjustable-Voltage-...

Submersible Water Pump - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Submersible-Water-Pump-Fi...

Pc power supply

A lot of cord! Preferably in different colors

Tools

Basic tools you should have at home if you reading this :)

Step 1: Water Flow

The flow of water I designed in a way that the bins fills to a certain level, stays filled for a certain amount of time and then drains completely. As shown in the picture it is important that the holes in the pvc pipes relate to each other in the correct way. The main inlet must be smaller or equal to the main outlet and the bottom drainage must be smaller than the main inlet, it also has to have a lower flow than the water pump. The placement (height) of the main outlet determines how much water is filled in the bins.

Step 2: Lighting

The lighting consists of eight 20W led chips with active cooling. After a few test I found out that a light spectrum in the natural white range (close to sunlight) suited my needs the best. A heat sink was soldered to the led chip and a small pc fan was attached above. The whole thing is driven by a modified pc power supply and the light cycle is controlled by the Arduino.

Step 3: Modify a Power Supply to Fit Your Needs

As said before the power source for this construction in based of an old pc power supply. The LEDs as well as the water pump and control chip need direct current to function properly therefore we need a way to convert AC into DC and thats exactly what a power supply does. The picture above is´t the best but what I essentially did was cutting all the wires and paring the ones that were the same color. The colors of the cords indicate the voltage and the amperage output. One problem that I faced was that the maximum voltage output of a normal power supply is 12v and my leds need some what around 24v. I solved this by using the "current booster" listed in the inventory list.

This is a pretty descriptive link on how to convert a power supply https://makezine.com/projects/computer-power-supp...