NFT Flow Rate Per Channel Calculator

Audit actual NFT channel timed-discharge samples rather than assuming pump flow divided evenly; caller flow policy not universal nutrient delivery, disease or pump safety approval.

Description

NFT channel flow can be measured by collecting discharge for a timed interval.

NFT channel flow can be measured by collecting discharge for a timed interval. Channels need not receive equal shares of pump flow.^[1]

Enter aligned nonempty nonnegative discharge volumes/positive collection seconds and nonnegative minimum. Return per-channel rates, strict-below indices and summed measured flow.

When to use NFT Flow Rate Per Channel Calculator

Use NFT Flow Rate Per Channel Calculator when you need to evaluate the supplied records under the calculation and evidence rules below. No nutrient delivery requirement, pump setting or disease control is supplied.

Prepare the measured crop, container, lighting or inventory records requested. Supply verified local catalogs, calibration factors and crop-stage limits; keep units and dates consistent.

How to use NFT Flow Rate Per Channel Calculator and understand its results

Prepare the measured crop, container, lighting or inventory records requested. Supply verified local catalogs, calibration factors and crop-stage limits; keep units and dates consistent.
Enter observedChannelDischargesLiters, collectionDurationsSeconds, callerChannelMinimumLitersMinute using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
Read observedChannelFlowsLitersMinute, channelsBelowCallerFlowPolicy, totalMeasuredChannelFlowLitersMinute. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.

Input field	Meaning	Value type; see rules below	Requirement
observedChannelDischargesLiters	Observed channel discharges liters	list of number	Required
collectionDurationsSeconds	Collection durations seconds	list of number	Required
callerChannelMinimumLitersMinute	Caller channel minimum liters minute	number	Required

Enter aligned nonempty nonnegative discharge volumes/positive collection seconds and nonnegative minimum. Return per-channel rates, strict-below indices and summed measured flow.

L/min=60collectedLiters/seconds

Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.

Output field	Meaning	Value type
observedChannelFlowsLitersMinute	Observed channel flows liters minute	list of number
channelsBelowCallerFlowPolicy	Channels below caller flow policy	list of number
totalMeasuredChannelFlowLitersMinute	Total measured channel flow liters minute	number

json

{
  "input": {
    "observedChannelDischargesLiters": [
      2,
      3
    ],
    "collectionDurationsSeconds": [
      60,
      30
    ],
    "callerChannelMinimumLitersMinute": 2.5
  },
  "output": {
    "observedChannelFlowsLitersMinute": [
      2,
      6
    ],
    "channelsBelowCallerFlowPolicy": [
      0
    ],
    "totalMeasuredChannelFlowLitersMinute": 8
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

No nutrient delivery requirement, pump setting or disease control is supplied.

Numeric inputs, where present, must be finite. Follow the calculation-specific rules for overflow, underflow and exceptional cases. Numeric lists are limited to 10,000 entries; string lists to 128 strings of at most 128 characters each. The rules above may impose smaller limits. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Use Hydroponic Reservoir Size Plants Calculator: Reservoir autonomy combines measured plant draw with fixed loop hold-up. Nominal tank size also depends on its usable fraction. For a complementary task, use Mist Nozzle Radius Spacing Calculator: Consecutive nozzle-center spacings can be compared with a measured spray radius. Center-line overlap differs from complete area coverage.

References

NFT Flow Rate Per Channel Calculator — tool.io

Similar or alternative tools

Hydroponic Reservoir Size Plants Calculator
Reservoir autonomy combines measured plant draw with fixed loop hold-up. Nominal tank size also depends on its usable fraction.
Mist Nozzle Radius Spacing Calculator
Consecutive nozzle-center spacings can be compared with a measured spray radius. Center-line overlap differs from complete area coverage.