Constituents
The purpose of this dialog is to maintain nutrient constituent concentrations for each brand or custom nutrient mix. These can change if the manufacturer changes the formulas over time. It is best to check the manufacturer’s formula from time to time. There is not guarantee that the concentrations listed by nutrient brand are current. Use the Name drop down list to select a nutrient.
~TDS is determined by adding 1ml/l of each nutrient component to a liter of reservoir water. Record the before and after TDS and enter the difference in the table using the Edit constituent area. This is the only place in HHS where the values are entered as ppm rather than mS. The reason for this is that TDS meters are more commonly used. To convert an EC meter to TDS for this dialog, use the conversion factor selected in Options->Miscellaneous.
~pH is determined by taking a pH reading before and after adding the nutrient component. There are many factors influencing pH. As such, this is a reference number only. HHS does not use the pH change values but the TDS is important for automatic adjustments. An estimate of refill TDS is provided in the Channels Schedule tab based on what is specified here and for the reservoir TDS as specified in Options->Nutrient
The balance of the data in this dialogue is obtained from the manufacturer’s specifications or can be calculated from the salts used for the nutrient recipe. Full coverage of this topic is beyond the scope of this document. There are many online resources that can be used to assist in determining ion concentrations in nutrients created using salts.
New nutrients can be specified by clicking on the New nutrient button. This will enable the Nutrient part names area. Enter the name of the nutrient and each part. To modify data for a constituent, click on the constituent in the table and enter the data in the Edit constituent area.
