Reddit mentions of Intermatic TN111K 15-Amp Lamp and Appliance Timer

My crock is the simple Off-High-low manual switch type, but I use a simple lamp timer to have it start while I'm gone or asleep.

Please have common sense about food safety if you do this- ie don't leave chicken in the crock at room temperature for 6 hours. However, putting refrigerated ingredients in at 8am and having it come on at 10 or 11 is fine.

This is the style timer I have:
https://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-TN111K-15-Amp-Appliance-Timer/dp/B00LBHBLEU?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_3

> an Arduino/relay/thermistor system

I guess when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Here's a simpler solution for $9:

http://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-TN111K-15-Amp-Appliance-Timer/dp/B00LBHBLEU/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1454108954&sr=8-13&keywords=timer

Of course there is. It's just a standard timer. You can get it at any Target, Home Depot, etc. It will look something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-TN111K-15-Amp-Appliance-Timer/dp/B00LBHBLEU/ref=zg_bs_495340_3

Or you can get a fancier digital one with more options.

Great start for a low tech tank! I really like your stone placement. I think that it would be better if you grouped similar plants together. If it were me, i would put all of the java ferns in the back right, the grass in the middle and the anubia in the back left.

1. Did you bury the java fern? The rhizome needs to be attached to a rock or piece of drift wood and not buried or else it will start rotting and die.
   
   
2. With that anubia ensure that the 'crown' is exposed or else it will rot and die.
   
   
3. What kind of grass is that?
   
   
4. I think that if you had some smaller crypts and anubias with color that would look incredibly nice. You need at least two to three more mid ground plants and some smaller foreground plants like anubia nana 'petite to complete it. This will increase the depth and overall perspective of the tank.
   
   
5. Are you using osmocote root tabs? At a bare minimum since you are goin low tech, you will need to use this to fertilize the heavy root feeders in the inert substrate that you have. Here is a link for more info on why its important to use them!
   
   Quick run down of osmocote root tabs
   
   
6. what is your lighting time like? For low tech 8-10 hours is recommened so get a timer to automate the lighting a little bit like this one: Light timer
   
   
7. Any questions feel free to ask.

I did for my cfl set up, I got the one recommended on growweedeasy: this one

Now that we upgraded our system it looks like it can't handle the power. It has no power turning it off at the right time but it doesn't turn it back on. And no the timer isn't broken, we tested it on the cfl lights and it works, so I'm assuming the current from the ballast is too strong?

After some googling, it appears that they aren't for ballasts and that it could be a fire hazard. I tried searching for a strong digital one but it seems like they all say "not suitable for ballast" so hoping to find someone in the community that uses one that works for them.

I google'd and Amazon'ed before coming here, I promise ; )

I have built some larger modules for lighting the interior of a hydroponic setup (1200 sq ft of lit area). It was quite an undertaking even though I'm apt at electronics.

For smaller setups such as yours I'd recommend combining several different wavelengths of these LED ribbons and control the light cycle with a timer such as this. It won't really matter which timer you choose, although i prefer the simpler mechanical ones with pins as they are simpler to program and adjust than some of digital ones, which can be a headache. You'll have to do a lot of window shopping to find the LED ribbons that offer the right balance of colors for what you want to grow.

Have you given any consideration to the PAR spectrum your aiming to provide? If your not trying to grow top shelf medical marijuana, I'll be honest its not worth getting to crazy about. A simple formula I've used to make LEDs for some of my house plants was to split up the total LED count into 1/5's, with 2/5's being red, 1/5 being blue, 1/5 warm white, and 1/5 (hyper)violet. Violet is highly overlooked and especially important in making things taste good, ultraviolet light is better at this but harder to find in general purpose lighting so I left it out of this.


Any more questions you have I'd be happy to answer. Shoot me a PM anytime

you can use cron/ahk/etc to make the computer lock itself every x seconds 5-9

use cron to turn your router off at 5pm

plug your monitor into https://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-TN111K-15-Amp-Appliance-Timer/dp/B00LBHBLEU/ref=zg_bs_495340_8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KF1F0V4932Z052WY4W02

What about something like this?
Intermatic TN111K 15-Amp Lamp and Appliance Timer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LBHBLEU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_uHeGwb95EM0PE