Month: October 2011

Team Brawndo headed into the lab on Friday 10/28 to mix up new nutrient solution.  We found that our pH level was very low in both our system and extra jug.  We mixed up new solution with the right pH level and hope this will help our plant grow a little faster. 

We checked our plant on Monday 10/31 and noticed more growth mostly within the growing medium.  The roots are coming through the bottom of the sponge which is good.  We tested the pH level and it seemed to be ok for now as it is at about 6.5.  We also discussed when we want to switch the valve to a ring.  We decided to wait a little until the plant has grown more to switch to the ring.  The ring will allow more space for our plant to grow and will cover more area with water.

Today Brawndo Hydroponics had its first growth of our lettuce seeds. Thus far the group has not ran into any problems, and everything is running smoothly.

Today Brawndo Hydroponics recorded a video on how our hydroponic drip system works.

The video can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9I3xYjkoJo

The class went on a trip to Tellus 360 on Monday, October 17th so we did not have class time to work on the project. We did, however, choose to utilize the open lab time that day. Tyler had already painted the bucket so we attached the Brawndo logo with contact paper. We mixed the nutrient solution and planted our seeds.  We decided to plant the seeds in a sponge like medium. The system was put together and placed in the container, under the lamp, in the lab.  The system is plugged into a timer which is set for three times a day.  The system will turn on for half an hour every eight hours. The system set in place in the lab can be seen in the picture below.

Phil and Emily attended open lab on Wednesday, October 5th to find a way to secure the drip system.  Tyler could not make open lab due to classes.  We discovered that strings could be used to keep the drip system up right and centered.  The working system can be seen in the picture below.

We did not have class Monday, October 10th due to fall break.

Wednesday, October 12th we discussed what still needed to be done and worked on odds and ends.  The system is completely built so we did not need to go into the lab at all.  We planned on spray painting the bucket black but the rain stopped us so Tyler will be doing it at home.  The system was put together to reference in updating the bill of materials and taking measurements for the computer drawing.  We looked at a timer to use but discovered we will need a different one with a 3 prong outlet.

On Monday, October 3rd, Bawndo Hydroponics looked over some of the materials acquired by Phil. The hole to hold the net cup was drilled in the lid of the bucket, and the stand for the system was completed.

 

On Wednesday, October 5th the drip system and water pump were tested and the hoses and appliances were fitted, the finishing touches on the stand were completed, and the preliminary bill of materials was submitted to the instructor of the course.

Pictured left: testing the water pump.

 

 

 

Pictured right: testing the drip ring and fitted hose and appliances.

 Up until today most of the work for our hydroponics project has been researching and planning. Our research gave us a sense of what needed to be done and how to do it. We then sketched out ideas for different systems and picked the best one. We decided to grow lettuce with a water culture system. We began the actual building today. We looked at a wide range of materials including water bottles, hoses, PVC pipes, growing mediums, and different size buckets. We decided on what buckets to use and tested how much liquid they each hold. We wanted to make sure if the inside bucket began to leak the outer one would hold the liquid without over flowing. Construction on the actual unit was then started by making a hole to fit a cup for the seed and growing medium. A stand was also made to hold the unit and pump system.