PRO002 - Hydroponic Farm

Intro

Groing plants hydroponically is basically without using soil. The roots of the plants are being exposed to a nutrient, which is a water based fluid that contains all the food the plant is going to need.
The benefit is that this way plants can be grown in more severe environents and even indoors. Another benfit is a drastic decrease in the amount of water needed for cultivating a plant and 'faster' groing times, since the plant does not need to invest as much energy to cultivating the root system.

There are a lot of different types of hydroponic farming, and the type that speaks to me the most is the ebb and flood type. A crude sketch of what I am imagining:

What I think I need

• 10 cm tube: To keep the plants and pass through the nutrient. The plan is to start with a single T-junction to use as a setup for my proof of concept.
• pump: To flush the nutrient through the tube.
• Hose tail: One or two to drain and fill the pipe with nutrient.
• Hoses: To connect everything.
• UV light: Shall provide natural light, in case I want to grow the plants in my basement or winter times.
• Controller: For controlling the pump, valve and the light cycle. Looking forward to try something else than an Arduino, I'll opt to use an ESP8266 controller board.
• Relais: 1-3 pending on the type of pump, valve and lights.
• Net cup: for growing the medium in, still thinking about what would be the better medium.
• Ph tester: For optimal intake of nutrients, the fluid should have a Ph between 5.5 and 6.5.
• Vent: To provide a breeze, removing the moisture from the leaves to avoid fungi. Thinking about it, this shall only be a lesser priority.