Creating Your First Mixture

This guide will walk you through the essential workflow of creating your first fertilizer mixture in Hydro-Calc. Following these steps will help you understand the core concepts and unlock the full power of the platform.

1. Create an Account

First, you'll need a Hydro-Calc account. An account is your personal workspace, allowing you to save your substances, mixtures, and nutrient targets.

You have two easy ways to get started:

Method A: Sign in with Google (Recommended)

1. Navigate to the Register page (or Login page).
2. Click the "Sign in with Google" button.
3. Select your Google account. You will be automatically authenticated and redirected to the Home page.

Method B: Email Registration

1. Navigate to the Register page.
2. Fill out the form with your email and a secure password.
3. Click "Register". You will be automatically logged in and redirected to the Home page.

2. Add Substances to Your Shelf

The Shelf is your personal library of ingredients. Before creating a mixture, you need to populate your shelf with the substances you have on hand.

Add from the Global Library

The easiest way to get started is by adding substances from our pre-populated global library.

1. Navigate to the Substances page from the main menu.
2. Browse or search for a substance you want to use (e.g., "Calcium Nitrate").
3. Click the "Add to Shelf" button next to the substance. This action adds the substance to your personal shelf.

Create a Custom Substance (Optional)

If a substance you use is not in the global library, you can create your own.

1. Navigate to the Substances page from the main menu.
2. Click "Create New Substance".
3. Fill in the substance's name, formulation (if known), and its nutrient analysis (the percentage of each nutrient it contains).
4. Click "Save". The new substance will now be available on your shelf.

3. Create a New Mixture

Now you're ready to create a mixture. A mixture is a recipe that combines substances to achieve a desired nutrient profile.

1. Navigate to the Mixtures page.
2. Click "New Mixture".
3. Give your mixture a descriptive name (e.g., "Lettuce - Growth Stage") and an optional description.

4. Select a Nutrient Target, Water Quality, and Substances

The Mixture Editor is where you bring everything together.

1. Water Quality: Select your source water profile.
2. Nutrient Target: Choose your desired PPM goals.
3. Substances: Add the ingredients from your shelf.

5. Run the Optimization

This is where the magic happens. The optimization engine will calculate the precise amount of each substance needed to meet your nutrient target.

1. In the mixture editor, click the Run Optimization (Rocket) button.

2. The process runs in the background and may take a few moments. 3. When complete, the optimized results are automatically loaded into Amount A. The previous values in Amount A are pushed to Amount B, and the old B is pushed to Amount C.

Congratulations! You have successfully created and optimized your first fertilizer mixture. You can now use this recipe to mix your nutrient solution with confidence.