Reddit reviews Autopilot Dual Outlet 7-Day Grounded Digital Programmable Timer, 1725W, 15A, 1 Minute On/Off

Possible cheap solution

Heres what I use

General list is:

• CO2 bottle (5# / 2.6 kg bottle).
  
• Regulator with solenoid.
  
• Needle Valve.
  
• Some way of dispensing the CO2. This varies from Atomiser, Reactor or Bubbler.
  
• Tubing.
  
• Light timer.
  
• Drop checker.
  
  I am planning on doing this. Buying a 2.6kG CO2 bottle, Getting a cheap UP Aquarium Regulator, Getting a Needle Valve, Building a Cerges Reactor or going with an Inline Atomiser, Drop Checker and hooking the solenoid through a Light Timer.
  
  Only extra is CO2 tubing, which can be gotten from pet stores or home brew (beer) stores, and teflon tape for wrapping the regulator stuff with. This can be obtained at hardware or plumbing stores.
  
  The drop checker measures the amount of CO2 in the water via it's acidity. If the indicator is too yellow then you're running too much CO2 and the water is too acidic (< 6.5 pH I think). Green is good (6.5 to 7 pH) and Blue is not enough CO2.
  
  You want around 30 parts per million of CO2 in your water which equates to that drop checker being a nice light green (light as in close to yellow).
  
  In the end you'd get a crappy version of this awesome system. Cheap but it would still work. You just need to program CO2 to turn on an hour before your lights turn on and an hour before your lights turn off.
  
  Edit: This is often referred to as a "high tech tank". When you are injecting CO2 and have good lights and added nutrients then your ecosystem will do well.
  
  At the moment I have high lights but no added CO2 or fertilisers. My tank does well but not great. I still have issues with algae occasionally and plants that aren't dark or vibrant green.
  
  Think of a tank in this way. It's like a stool with 3 legs on it. You want all 3 legs to be even to make a nice seat.
  
  The 3 legs of a well maintained planted tank are Lights, CO2 and Fertilisers. If you're not providing enough of one of these "legs" then your stool becomes unstable and you won't get the best use out of it. What you want is to balance the addition of CO2, Fertilisers with the amount of light so that you get great plant growth, no algae growth and the fish are happy and breathing well. It's a fairly hard thing to get perfectly balanced, but when you do you end up with something like this. (You can see the drop checker in the top left corner and the ceramic disc "bubbler" in the right lower corner). Or this.
  
  http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/index.php is a great resource to read though too.

7-day Digital Program Timer

I think you're looking for too complicated a solution for something that is easily (and cheaply) performed. I get it, but...Just seems like a lot.

Sure! It's pretty basic, actually. The table is a 4x2' stainless steel table from IKEA. Pretty cheap, but you could do cheaper, I just already had it. The heating pad is the same size (happy coincidence.) The cups are regular solo cups, most expensive element was the lights. You'll also want a timer, I use this one. And finally, the most ghetto part of the whole set up, the tent! I made it out of cardboard, tin foil and duct tape. Gotta save that paper.

Things I forgot to buy were:

Syringe 10ml

extension cord


strong tape

timer


room temp monitor

I don't sell anything yet. My profession is software-development, and I'm not very good at sales, so I'd probably spend more effort on trying to sell, versus what I could get otherwise.

If I had more land, and a green-house, I might be able to scale it to the point it would be worthwhile selling.

> I'm just eager checking the plants twice a day to turn the lights on and off etc.

Get a timer, turning lights on and off manually is not sustainable. I have 2 of these and they work quite well, and are inexpensive. That said, if you're only growing basil, darkness is not really needed, unless you're trying to conserve energy.

Never heard of the device, but I can speak from personal experience with light as an alarm/ waking up naturally with light: it works for me. I started with one of these wake up lights and because I liked it (and my apartment had very little natural light) I decided to buy an additional full spectrum bulb and put it on an electronic timer, like this It turns on at 7 am and shuts off at 6 pm. As a result, I developed a rhythm for waking up that didn't require a noise-making alarm. Additionally, it's much easier for me to get out of bed in a "sunny" room. Light wakes you up, or at least it does for me.

Here are some things to put on your WL. :)

First, an indoor [grow light.] (http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-JSV2-2-Foot-Start-System/dp/B0006856EQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1422226251&sr=8-4&keywords=grow+light&pebp=1422226264209&peasin=B0006856EQ) This one is quite good; the hanging apparatus lets you raise and lower the light to the best level for the type of plants you're growing.

Second, a [timer] (http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-TM01715D-7-Day-Digital-Program/dp/B001BPOBTY/ref=pd_sim_lg_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0E2RX335ER9JP2WTKJX5) to turn the light on and off. This is a surprisingly good timer for only $16; I use these for everything -- grow lights, heat mats, the pump for my mantis humidifier...

Next, a little [growing center.] (http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-TM01715D-7-Day-Digital-Program/dp/B001BPOBTY/ref=pd_sim_lg_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0E2RX335ER9JP2WTKJX5) I linked this one because it has a 7" dome -- I think that's immensely useful. When you're just getting seeds to sprout before putting them outside you can use a smaller dome. However, if you're going to grow them inside longer, it helps to have a taller dome.

That germination station comes with a heat mat, which is why it costs $40. I'm rather ambivalent on the heat mat. Many people swear by them, and I do think they help certain types of seeds. (And they help keep up the humidity in the dome.) If you decide to forgo the mat, though, just look for a growing station with a 7" dome.

I like [this one,] (http://www.amazon.com/9GreenBox-Starter-Germination-Station-Complete/dp/B00IMP1HVQ/ref=sr_1_6?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1422226397&sr=1-6&keywords=germination+station&pebp=1422226594696&peasin=B00IMP1HVQ) incidentally. Notice that it has an outer tray, and you put the seedling pots in it -- this is perfect; it allows you to use whatever size seedling pots you want.

And then the fun part -- search for seeds and put them on your WL. Since you're growing inside, you can grow virtually anything!

However, I recommend NOT starting carnivorous plants from seed. CVs are notoriously fickle, and they're extremely difficult to raise from seed. If you're interested in CVs, you can have young CVs sent to you. Before you do, though, do some reading so you know what to expect -- caring for them is very different from other plants. I can give you some help there, too. :)

I am an experienced cook myself and have been discouraged by slow cooker recipes in the past. For a long time, it seemed that no matter what I cooked it never turned out just right and most times (despite using different seasonings and ingredients) even smelled the same while cooking. I really think it boils down to (pun totally intended) temperature and cooking time. If the food is mush, it just means that even on a low setting it was cooked too long. I suggest getting a timer to shut it off earlier. I find 5-6 hours sufficient for many recipes that call for 7-8 hours. OR hacking your crock pot into a sous vide, capable of producing unbelievably better food. Experiment with different styles of food from well reviewed recipes as they are not created equally. Here are a few I like from a reputable source. I've recently made this lentil sweet potato stew and a pesto lasagna that turned out incredibly.

Maybe this could be a shortcut for those without circuit literacy.

Amazon Link to wall timer

This one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BPOBTY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

is rated for 1725w 15a. I'm using it now and it works good but I am only using 450w not 1000w.

Could get a cheap one and put it on a timer so it's only running a couple hours every day.

Hydrofarm TM01715D 7-Day Digital Program Timer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BPOBTY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_QrglzbP0Z78J4

I have this one, yoy would be able to turn your dehumidifier on and back off up to 4 times a day

https://imgur.com/gallery/hOyQB

I use a ballast and 4 foot t5 bulbs which i bought from incredigrow on macleod trail. Its attached to a rolling shelf from costco. Theres also pulleys that let me raise and lower the lights. Everything can also be purchased for cheaper on amazon.


Ballast

T5 lights

Ratcheting pulleys

Stand

Timer for lights

Multi plug timer

Have two of those, no issues. Easy to program.