Fully Automated Grow Room?
- Thread starter BlaccSmoke
- Start date
kimmy
New Member
That looks nice ! How much are they ? I hope it is cheaper than Grotronix !
Hi Kimmy,
The price is dependent on what you buy. The base systems are for sale now (pre-orders) and range in price with two options.
SmartBee™ Environmental Base System (The Hive + LTH sensor + Smart Strip 4) and the SmartBee™ Premier Environmental Base System (The Hive + LTH+Co2 sensor + Smart Strip 4).
Here is a link to the store on our site:
SmartBee? Controllers ? How to Buy
maybe try Yieldbuddy
its open-source and looks really nice but I will never recommend a webcam if you don't really need it, cause thats only evidence for the police and nobody wants that
its open-source and looks really nice but I will never recommend a webcam if you don't really need it, cause thats only evidence for the police and nobody wants that
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Hello, I am also new to grow room automation and just in the past 2 days have learned that it is very possible to completely control the parameters of our grows using these types of technology. At the moment, I am sold to using the arduino, but gorillagrow mentioned using a beaglebone as opposed to the Arduino. At first glance, I perceive the Arduino to have more user support which makes it easier to learn and how to integrate this into my grow. Also in the past 2 days I created a blog entry here on 
to discuss my findings that is linked in my signature. If anybody that is still subbed to this thread would like, please also subscribe to my blog and share you knowledge & wisdom on the subject. I did not go so far as purchasing anything yet, but I wish to soon. I have seen some pretty good youtube vids that depict using the Arduino to control entire green houses, and if there are cheaper better solutions with as much or more methods of learning/user support, I am all ears, but ultimately I would like to spread awareness of grow room automation, methods used to accomplish this and which would be the best ways for lay people such as myself to enter into what otherwise appears to be a very intimidating subject matter.
to discuss my findings that is linked in my signature. If anybody that is still subbed to this thread would like, please also subscribe to my blog and share you knowledge & wisdom on the subject. I did not go so far as purchasing anything yet, but I wish to soon. I have seen some pretty good youtube vids that depict using the Arduino to control entire green houses, and if there are cheaper better solutions with as much or more methods of learning/user support, I am all ears, but ultimately I would like to spread awareness of grow room automation, methods used to accomplish this and which would be the best ways for lay people such as myself to enter into what otherwise appears to be a very intimidating subject matter.Highdroponic
New Member
Sorry if this sounds harsh, but know I'm coming from a good place:
So, you want to basically set everything up, and come back to finished plants, with no one checking in on things, and no way of knowing what's going on remotely? That's like saying I want to be thin, but I don't want to have to diet or exercise (which unfortunately, I'm guilty of having said that myself). I believe automation is an addition to the plant's processes, not a substitute. Obviously, I'm not qualified to speak about your living/work arrangements, but why not just catch more fish and buy your smoke if you're not going to put the effort in to grow quality...which requires some form of basic on-site or remote monitoring? I mean ya, it can be done, but why go through the effort if it's going to give you crappy results because you didn't catch something something soon enough like a failed timer, an over/under-watered room, or a nutrient issue? You want no effort, total reliance on technology without verification, and (I assume) a good final product. I just don't believe this thinking will ever get you all three. A good grow just takes more attention.
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Why buy lumber at the lumber yard to build your home when you can drop the trees and process the wood yourself? Jk, just playing word games with incorrect logic. Realistically though, those in the most need of the meds might not have the physical strength you or I are blessed to still have and a completely automated grow is something I am very passionate about, though I am at least 1 year away from this goal. I'm not going to pretend that I am disabled, my reasons are based off scalability and stealth in that I would like to manage much more plants than I alone can manage in my space and have the ability to see real time video feeds, every imaginable meter reading last checked 10 milliseconds ago, CO2 levels, nutrient levels PH, DO, EC (in PPM@0.5con), air temp and RH, and all lights and fans controlled by a single microcontroller. The technology is available, just have to piece it all together and write the code that runs it. Oh, I did neglect to mention that all data and of course control shall be accessible over the internet via my Android phone. I am one that believes if there is an easier way to do it, and do more, I will embrace it completely lest I revert back to building my own home from the wood that I ripped out of the ground because I was first too narrow minded to invent the wood saw.
Sorry for the rant, at the ass end of my high and my thoughts are racing a mile a minute.
Sorry for the rant, at the ass end of my high and my thoughts are racing a mile a minute.
- Thread starter
- #29
BlaccSmoke
New Member
Sorry I missed so much of this thread. I originally just forgot about it and left 420 for a while. I did get something set up but I just went for a far simpler option then any of the ideas mentioned above due to time and money. I simply set up a very cheap gravity fed drip system. Speacial shout out to Padox for the info and help, it was most appreciated.
420Sigil
New Member
Hey, I have just found something , Food Factory | Endless Food Factory
they provide custom made hardware as well as software. My friend ordered one and it's awesome, accessible from any phone or computer and there is live stream too.
Soon there will be a new version with programmable grow / flower modes which will adjust all the parameters for you and additional equipment for automated reservoir water change, every week for example.
From what my friend said they are working on water cooling equipment as well, quite interesting
good luck
Skybound
Well-Known Member
Hey, thanks for sharing that. This looks like a pretty cool option and does appear to be further along in the control aspect than I currently am in my own quest. At the moment, I can program any AC powered device in accordance with time, temp or RH and have been racking my brain trying to integrate additional controls into my .PHP website. Once I nail that one down, I also want to build in many solenoid valves to manage plumbing in and out, peristaltic pumps to mete in nutes and finally PH and EC. My current arrangement comes in at roughly $75 USD for the microcontroller, 8 channel relay module, clock and temp/RH sensor. The project box and AC components bump the cost up to about $110, but if anyone wants a functional standalone grow controller with no networking, I'll share my design and code for free. Here's some pics;
There are also quite a few options of connecting a microcontroller to various hosted websites to monitor sensors and control devices for free, but I want my project to connect to a website that I own to mitigate any possible tom foolery. At any rate, thanks for sharing your findings.
There are also quite a few options of connecting a microcontroller to various hosted websites to monitor sensors and control devices for free, but I want my project to connect to a website that I own to mitigate any possible tom foolery. At any rate, thanks for sharing your findings.
420Sigil
New Member
That's a nice setup man, I can see a lot of work being done there, are you using Arduino only ?
I was thinking about the same thing, there are many internet cameras on the market and many solutions but wireless networking comes with some risk (seen some nasty stuff done to online cams and NAS's), that's why I would like to have my camera running on a hidden network and all the traffic should be encrypted, it shouldn't be too hard to setup i guess and it would filter out most of the malicious bots and indexing crawlers/spiders.
Then if you'd like to send all the traffic to your own website which is hosted on a big secure hosting company - your web application could listen to the traffic from your controllers but only on the tor network - to keep it safe and anonymous, whoever will try to sniff around will be wasting time.
My friend is simply logging in to the web application with his user / pass, and everything is hosted in the automation kit, he can login on the local network as well as from his phone when we go hiking, I can't wait to see the outcome of his investment
I was thinking about the same thing, there are many internet cameras on the market and many solutions but wireless networking comes with some risk (seen some nasty stuff done to online cams and NAS's), that's why I would like to have my camera running on a hidden network and all the traffic should be encrypted, it shouldn't be too hard to setup i guess and it would filter out most of the malicious bots and indexing crawlers/spiders.
Then if you'd like to send all the traffic to your own website which is hosted on a big secure hosting company - your web application could listen to the traffic from your controllers but only on the tor network - to keep it safe and anonymous, whoever will try to sniff around will be wasting time.
My friend is simply logging in to the web application with his user / pass, and everything is hosted in the automation kit, he can login on the local network as well as from his phone when we go hiking, I can't wait to see the outcome of his investment
Dave Groomer
Well-Known Member
Just to add another point to this. It was mentioned earlier about a fire prevention system. Not sure what lights you are using, but it may be safer to go with LEDs vs HPS if you are gone for extended periods. Less heat. Just my 2 cents. 
Skybound
Well-Known Member
ATM, I am stuck with Arduino, but also picked up an Udoo board and am looking to get that into the mix. Udoo is a Linux board with Arduino Due pinouts (3.3v) and camera ports, but my funds dried up along with my ability to maintain a secure place to grow so until I can get myself into a detached location, all I can do is continue my studies with little in the application department. My website had minimal security, but without others knowing where it is, I felt would mitigate a lot of prying eyes. Also I am still trying to determine whether to run the MC as the server or client as there are pros and cons both ways. None the less I will press onward as best I can and share my findings so the next grower doesn't have to go through these headaches. Does your pal have a marketable product yet? Who knows, my fortunes may change and I'd definitely be interested in saving my hairline from the imminent recession, hehe!
I am an HID guy and am not at all concerned with the heat. If the grow space is properly constructed with HID in mind, evacuating the heat is not a problem at all and during winter months, I've found it's best to salvage a lot of that heat to maintain a temperate climate, but regardless, managing the heat in a stable grow environment is not that difficult, nor is hiding heat signatures from FLIR, once again if the grow space is properly laid out.
I am an HID guy and am not at all concerned with the heat. If the grow space is properly constructed with HID in mind, evacuating the heat is not a problem at all and during winter months, I've found it's best to salvage a lot of that heat to maintain a temperate climate, but regardless, managing the heat in a stable grow environment is not that difficult, nor is hiding heat signatures from FLIR, once again if the grow space is properly laid out.
Hi
Just wanted to add that we are currently shipping products now as compared to my post in 2014 when I said we were taking preorders. I think the level of determination to have automation amongst this group posting, is awesome! Wanting more control of our devices and seeing critical data from the grow were some of the main reasons we developed the SmartBee Control system.
I know some of you are already on a path that works for you. However if you were new to this thread an wanted to have control over irrigation, lighting and environment then you should definitely take a look at what we have to offer.
What is the SmartBee Control system?It's a real-time, remote-access solution for your greenhouse or grow room, monitored and controlled from the palm of your hand! Simply configure your environmental set points, and the SmartBee Controller's "smart logic" process detects problems, sends an alert, and automatically takes corrective steps to prevent and resolve critical grow room events!
For example if you wanted to control your existing irrigation pump to water when your medium dries down, you can with our system. This scenario requires that you have our Hive Gateway and a Water Content Sensor Module or WCSM. The WCSM probe technology initiates or postpones timed waterings based on your plant's actual requirements.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. You can also have similar types of events take place to control your environment. If your room gets to humid it can kick on dehums based on your set points. We also have overheat protection to ensure you don't have any accidents or worse come into a room with dead plants because your analog timer failed.We have come along way with this product and we believe people like yourselves who welcome a little tech in the grow could definitely benefit from its ease of use and just plain awesomeness!
Please take a minute to view some of our how-to vids to get you all caught up to speed.
SmartBee Controllers How-To-Video Series - YouTube
Good luck to all of you
Just wanted to add that we are currently shipping products now as compared to my post in 2014 when I said we were taking preorders. I think the level of determination to have automation amongst this group posting, is awesome! Wanting more control of our devices and seeing critical data from the grow were some of the main reasons we developed the SmartBee Control system.
I know some of you are already on a path that works for you. However if you were new to this thread an wanted to have control over irrigation, lighting and environment then you should definitely take a look at what we have to offer.
What is the SmartBee Control system?It's a real-time, remote-access solution for your greenhouse or grow room, monitored and controlled from the palm of your hand! Simply configure your environmental set points, and the SmartBee Controller's "smart logic" process detects problems, sends an alert, and automatically takes corrective steps to prevent and resolve critical grow room events!
For example if you wanted to control your existing irrigation pump to water when your medium dries down, you can with our system. This scenario requires that you have our Hive Gateway and a Water Content Sensor Module or WCSM. The WCSM probe technology initiates or postpones timed waterings based on your plant's actual requirements.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. You can also have similar types of events take place to control your environment. If your room gets to humid it can kick on dehums based on your set points. We also have overheat protection to ensure you don't have any accidents or worse come into a room with dead plants because your analog timer failed.We have come along way with this product and we believe people like yourselves who welcome a little tech in the grow could definitely benefit from its ease of use and just plain awesomeness!
Please take a minute to view some of our how-to vids to get you all caught up to speed.
SmartBee Controllers How-To-Video Series - YouTube
Good luck to all of you
I know this is an old thread, but has anyone used the Smart Bee system?
pros/cons?
pros/cons?
Skybound
Well-Known Member
SmartBees look good from purely a functionality standpoint, but like everything Apple/Mac related, it's a monopoly that will lock you into using only their accessories. Keep an eye out, especially on YouTube for the letters "IoT" which means Internet of Things. IoT devices are meant to work with every other device so you can build your system according to your needs rather than what SB offers. You can expand according to your own plan while staying within your budget. The way the trends are moving, very soon you won't need any code skills what-so-ever as many platforms use apps that makes everything point and click for us. Everything is already online and connected to our smartphones via prewritten apps that are usually free. Of course, I'm hardheaded and actually want to know the ins and outs of everything in my grow. I spent the last 3 years solid learning to code just to build mine. As of late, an expert coder subbed up to my journal and offered to clean up my code in exchange for some growing tips. Though with his level of skill and better budget, he is already beginning to build his own controller and I just know his will be much better than mine. that's a good thing though b/c I can easily change out anything in my project, and code as well. The electronics community is joining the growing community in a big way and just like growing pot, you gotta by all the gear as usual, but now we have kind people that will show us how to use it to grow some sticky dank chongers!
