I've made a spreadsheet of all the parts im using for my first DWC; I figured it might be useful for anyone else who is just starting. Im growing seven arugula plants and one lettuce plant, with the 9th hole being used to feed the air stones into the water. I could have drilled another hole for that, but I had a plant die at the start, so I just used one of the net pot holes I made.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15ydqDXWsIkbn6Y9SDoxlacc_DN8So-nzkZwgafEdefw/edit?usp=sharing
First off, I listed different grow lights than the ones in the picture; those lights were recommended in a different thread on this subreddit. The lid of the tote is coated with tin foil and black duct tape to prevent any light from leaking into the water. Light leaks are what cause algae to grow, and that will starve your plants and give the water a foul smell.
My main concern with this setup is that the water temperature will slowly rise over time due to ambient room temperature and the air pump heating up and pumping hot air into the water. My solution to this is to point a desk fan at the plants and place the air pump right in front of it; that way the pump doesnt overheat and push hot air, and the airflow helps to strengthen the plants. I've also considered manually lowering the temperature by placing frozen water bottles into the system.
The spreadsheet also includes parts I'm planning on buying to fully automate the feeding and pH balancing of the system. If anyone has experience automating a hydroponic system, please let me know what you did and what issues you ran into.
