List of MicroSims for Hydroponics

Interactive Micro Simulations to help students learn hydroponics fundamentals — from plant biology and nutrient chemistry to system design and data analysis.

• Biomass Growth Tracker

  

  Enter plant growth measurements to plot growth curves and calculate relative growth rate and fresh-to-dry weight ratio over a simulated crop cycle.

• Commercial Vertical Farm Comparison

  

  Radar chart comparing five vertical farming models across 10 dimensions including energy efficiency, yield per floor area, CapEx, and location flexibility.

• DIY Build Cost and Complexity Selector

  

  Filter four DIY hydroponic builds by budget and experience level to find the best starting project, with component lists and safety ratings for each.

• EC and pH Monitor Over a Crop Cycle

  

  Dual-axis chart showing how EC and pH evolve over a 35-day crop cycle with interactive management actions like topping up water and adding pH adjusters.

• Failure Mode Analysis Decision Tree

  

  Color-coded failure mode matrix for six hydroponic system types, showing time-to-crop-loss, detection method, and recommended mitigation for each failure.

• Growing Media Properties Comparison

  

  Radar chart comparing seven growing media across water retention, air porosity, reusability, and pH neutrality with filters by system type and crop.

• HACCP Food Safety Risk Matrix

  

  Identify Critical Control Points and corrective actions for your hydroponic setup by selecting crop type, water source, scale, and consumer group.

• Hardware Interface Architecture

  

  Architecture diagram showing how GPIO, ADC, PWM, I2C, SPI, and UART protocols connect a Raspberry Pi Pico W to hydroponic sensors and actuators.

• History of Hydroponics Timeline

  

  Scrollable timeline from 1200 CE to today with clickable milestones tracing the history of soilless growing from Aztec chinampas to modern hydroponics.

• Hydroponic Farm Financial Model Builder

  

  Enter CapEx, OpEx, and revenue inputs to calculate break-even, NPV, IRR, payback period, and a 5-year cash flow chart for a hydroponic operation.

• Hydroponic Systems Side-by-Side Comparison

  

  Clickable gallery of six hydroponic system cross-sections (Kratky, DWC, NFT, Ebb-and-Flow, Aeroponics, Drip) with trade-off comparisons on five dimensions.

• Indoor Grow Room Layout

  

  Bird's-eye view of a grow room with clickable zones identifying each component and linking to the chapters that cover it in depth.

• Interactive Mulder's Chart — pH and Nutrient Availability

  

  Drag a pH slider to see how each of 14 mineral nutrients changes in availability and visualize Mulder antagonism relationships between nutrients.

• Ion Uptake Mechanisms Comparison

  

  Step-through side-by-side comparison of passive diffusion and active transport with concrete concentration values and ATP consumption at each stage.

• IoT Data Flow Architecture

  

  Architecture diagram tracing sensor data from a Pico W through Wi-Fi to an MQTT broker and out to dashboards, databases, alert bots, and OTA update server.

• Learning Graph Viewer

  

  Interactive network graph of all course concepts with search, category filtering, and click-to-expand navigation showing concept dependencies.

• MicroPython Concept Map

  

  Four-tier dependency map showing how 25 MicroPython concepts build from hardware setup through language fundamentals to object-oriented programming.

• Nutrient Deficiency Visual Diagnostic Tool

  

  Select leaf symptoms (yellowing, browning, distortion) to identify nutrient deficiencies with a leaf illustration that updates based on mobility rules.

• Nutrient Solution Mixing Calculator

  

  Enter target element concentrations in ppm to calculate the salt quantities needed with EC estimation, N:P:K ratio, and co-precipitation warnings.

• Photosynthesis and Respiration Cycle

  

  Step-through visualization of photosynthesis and cellular respiration showing inputs, outputs, molecule counts, and energy flow between chloroplast and mitochondrion.

• Plant Life Cycle Stages Explorer

  

  Circular diagram of six plant life stages with clickable nodes revealing nutrient, light, temperature, and timing requirements for each stage.

• PPFD and DLI Calculator

  

  Calculate DLI from PPFD and photoperiod, compare lighting energy costs at your electricity rate, and see how fixture mounting height affects PPFD.

• Root Cross-Section and Absorption Zones

  

  Clickable longitudinal root cross-section showing five zones from root cap to mature tissue with a lateral cross-section revealing vascular structure.

• Root Exudate pH Drift Simulator

  

  Simulate reservoir pH drift over 14 days by adjusting the nitrate-to-ammonium ratio to see how nitrogen source affects pH direction and rate of change.

• Sensor Data Analysis Pipeline

  

  Apply data analysis steps (noise, validation, fill, resample, rolling average) to a simulated 35-day crop cycle dataset and observe real-time transformations.

• Sensor Node Architecture

  

  Four-layer hardware diagram showing sensors, signal conditioning, Pico W microcontroller, and network output with power supply rails (3.3V, 5V, 12V, GND).

• Solar Power System Designer

  

  Design a solar power system by entering energy loads and location to calculate panel count, battery size, total cost, and levelized cost of energy (LCOE).

• SPC Dashboard for Hydroponics

  

  Statistical Process Control dashboard for a 35-day crop cycle with control charts, anomaly flags, and trend analysis for pH, EC, and temperature.

• System Selection Decision Tree

  

  Clickable decision flowchart guiding students through crop type, budget, and electricity availability to recommend the most suitable hydroponic system.

• VPD and Environmental Parameter Dashboard

  

  Set temperature and humidity sliders to calculate Vapor Pressure Deficit in real time with color-coded feedback for propagation, vegetative, and fruiting stages.