RDWC Hydroponic Controller

Full-stack IoT system for hydroponic monitoring and automation

---

Overview

RDWC Hydroponic Controller is a production-ready system for monitoring and managing Recirculating Deep Water Culture (RDWC) setups. It combines ESP32 firmware, a web dashboard, and a Telegram bot into one integrated platform.

What it does:

• Reads pH, EC, root temperature, air temperature, humidity, and solution level in real time
• Displays live data and historical charts on a responsive web dashboard
• Controls 4 dosing pumps remotely
• Sends alerts and accepts commands through a Telegram bot
• Streams device logs to the cloud for remote debugging

---

Screenshots

Login	Dashboard

Charts	Calibration

Pump Control	Device Logs

---

System Architecture

┌──────────────┐         ┌──────────────────────┐         ┌──────────────┐
│   Sensors    │         │       ESP32          │  HTTP   │  VPS Server  │
│              │──────── │                      │────────►│              │
│ pH, EC, Temp │  I2C /  │  Reads sensors       │         │ PHP + MySQL  │
│ Humidity     │ OneWire │  Posts JSON to API    │         │ REST API     │
│ Level        │         │                      │         │ Web Dashboard│
└──────────────┘         └──────────────────────┘         └──────┬───────┘
                                                                 │
                                                                 │ Webhook
                                                                 ▼
                                                          ┌──────────────┐
                                                          │ Telegram Bot │
                                                          │              │
                                                          │ Alerts       │
                                                          │ Commands     │
                                                          │ Monitoring   │
                                                          └──────────────┘

---

Hardware

Component	Purpose	Interface
ESP32 DevKit	Main controller	—
DS18B20	Root zone temperature	OneWire (GPIO 4)
AHT10/AHT20	Air temperature + humidity	I2C (0x38)
MCP3421	18-bit ADC for pH probe	I2C (0x68)
MCP23017	GPIO expander for pumps	I2C (0x20)
EC electrodes	Solution conductivity	ADC
HC-SR04	Solution level (optional)	GPIO

Wiring

ESP32 Pin Map
─────────────────────────────────
GPIO 4        → DS18B20 (OneWire)
GPIO 21 (SDA) → I2C Bus
GPIO 22 (SCL) → I2C Bus
GPIO 34       → EC Electrode (Ap)
GPIO 35       → EC Electrode (An)

I2C Devices
─────────────────────────────────
0x38  AHT10   (temp + humidity)
0x68  MCP3421 (pH ADC)
0x20  MCP23017 (pump relays)

---

Software Stack

Layer	Technology	Description
Firmware	C++ / PlatformIO	Sensor reading, HTTP posting, OTA
Backend	PHP 8.0 + MySQL 8.0	REST API, data storage, auth
Frontend	HTML/CSS/JS + Chart.js	Responsive dashboard with charts
Bot	PHP (webhook)	Telegram alerts and commands
Server	Ubuntu + nginx	VPS hosting

---

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api.php?action=data	Push sensor data from ESP32
GET	/api.php?action=log	Push device log entry
GET	/api.php?action=logs	Fetch log history
GET	/api.php?action=last	Get latest readings
GET	/api.php?action=pumps	Get pump states

---

Quick Start

1. Server Setup

apt update && apt install -y nginx php-fpm php-mysql mysql-server

mysql -u root -p -e "
  CREATE DATABASE wegabox;
  CREATE USER 'wegabox'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
  GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wegabox.* TO 'wegabox'@'localhost';
"

git clone https://github.com/myseringan/RDWC-Hydroponic-Controller.git
cp -r server/* /var/www/wegabox/
mysql -u root -p wegabox < /var/www/wegabox/database.sql
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/wegabox

2. Flash ESP32

Edit firmware/src/pre.h:

#define WIFI_SSID     "Your_WiFi"
#define WIFI_PASSWORD "Your_Password"
#define SERVER_URL    "http://your-domain.com/api.php"
#define API_KEY       "your_api_key"

// Enable sensors (1 = on, 0 = off)
#define c_DS18B20     1
#define c_AHT10       1
#define c_MCP3421     1
#define c_MCP23017    1

cd firmware
pio run --target upload

3. Telegram Bot

# Set your bot token in bot.php
# Configure webhook:
curl "https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/setWebhook?url=https://your-domain.com/bot.php"

---

Calibration

pH — 3-point calibration with buffer solutions (4.01, 6.86, 9.18). Submerge the probe, wait 2-3 minutes for stabilization, record the raw mV value, and enter it in the Calibration page.

EC — 2-point calibration with reference solutions (1.413 mS/cm and 2.76 mS/cm).

---

Project Structure

RDWC-Hydroponic-Controller/
├── firmware/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── dev/              # Sensor drivers
│   │   │   ├── aht10/
│   │   │   ├── ds18b20/
│   │   │   ├── mcp3421/
│   │   │   └── mcp23017/
│   │   ├── main.cpp
│   │   ├── pre.h             # Configuration
│   │   └── cloudapi.h        # API client
│   └── platformio.ini
│
├── server/
│   ├── index.php             # Web dashboard
│   ├── api.php               # REST API
│   ├── bot.php               # Telegram bot
│   └── database.sql          # DB schema
│
├── screenshots/
└── README.md

---

Troubleshooting

ESP32 won't connect to WiFi — Check SSID/password in pre.h. Make sure the router is on 2.4 GHz. Monitor serial output at 115200 baud.

pH readings are wrong — Run 3-point calibration. Check MCP3421 I2C connection. Make sure the probe is submerged.

Telegram bot not responding — Verify bot token. Webhook requires HTTPS. Check that your chat_id is in the allowed list.

Web dashboard won't load — Run nginx -t && systemctl restart nginx. Check file permissions. Review /var/log/nginx/error.log.

---

Author

Temur Eshmurodov — @myseringan

License

MIT License — free to use and modify.