Athena Toolbox
Precision tools for cultivation professionals
💧 Dry Back Calculator
Calculate target substrate VWC% at dry back based on peak field capacity and desired dry back percentage.
Dry back is the intentional reduction of substrate VWC% (volumetric water content) between irrigation events. After reaching peak VWC at field capacity, the crop is allowed to transpire and deplete moisture to a target level before the next irrigation cycle.
Managing dry back gives you direct control over plant stress response, root development, and generative vs vegetative growth balance.
- Generative Higher dry back (40–50%+) — triggers stress response, promotes flowering, fruiting, and root zone development. Less water = reproductive signal.
- Vegetative Lower dry back (20–40%) — keeps substrate wetter, promotes shoot growth, canopy expansion, and vigorous vegetative development.
- Transition timing and magnitude determine how aggressively you steer the crop.
- Set Target Peak VWC% to the water content at the top of your irrigation cycle (field capacity for your substrate).
- Set Dry Back % to how much you want to reduce from peak.
- The Dry Back VWC% Goal is the substrate reading where you trigger the next irrigation.
- Monitor your substrate sensors and irrigate when VWC hits the goal.
- Athena crop steering protocols vary by cultivar, growth stage, and environment. Calibrate with your local data.
- Dry back targets interact with EC strategy — a heavier dry back often pairs with lower frequency, higher EC shots.
- Sensor placement matters: measure at mid-slab, not edges.
⚗️ RDWC Nutrient Calculator
Calculate Athena nutrient addback volumes for recirculating deep water culture systems based on stage, week, and current EC readings.
| Nutrient | mL / Gallon | Total mL (system) |
|---|
💉 Netaflex Injection System Calculator
Calculate NMC settings, stock tank dosing, and injector flow rate for Athena Pro Line fertigation with Netaflex systems.
- Pro Bloom & Pro Grow use the same dosing column — both are 2-part base nutrients for their respective stages.
- Pro Core uses a separate, lower dosing rate — it's a concentrated micronutrient blend used alongside Bloom or Grow.
- When running a full program, calculate each product separately and set individual injector channels.
The amount of dry fertilizer dissolved per gallon of water in your stock (concentrate) tank. Higher concentration = less volume needed per gallon of fertigation water.
- 1 lb/gal — light mix, easy to dissolve, larger tank required
- 2.5 lb/gal — concentrated, smaller tank, more dissolve time
- Liquid — Athena Liquid Pro Line, pre-dissolved
The NMC (Nutrient Management Controller) takes either a mL/gal or an injector % as its input. Both values represent the same thing — how much concentrate to inject per unit of water.
- mL/gal — direct volume ratio for volume-based NMC inputs
- Injector % — percentage of system flow injected (e.g. 0.85% means 0.85 mL per 100 mL water)
- Calculated from your system flow rate and g/gal dose. Set your rotometer or pump dial to this mL/min value.
- System Flow Rate: Total irrigation water flow in gal/min at the injector point.
- Use Total Injection Volume (mL/hr) to estimate stock tank usage per irrigation cycle.
🔬 EC Blending Calculator
Blend two nutrient solutions to hit a precise target EC. Calculates exact volumes from each tank and validates the result.
Uses the standard mixing formula: blendEC = (volA × ecA + volB × ecB) / totalVol. Solve for volA: volA = (targetEC − ecB) × totalVol / (ecA − ecB). Tank B volume = total − volA.
Set Tank B EC to 0.0 to use pure RO water as your dilutant. This is the most common use case — diluting a concentrated nutrient solution to a target feed EC.
The calculator checks that required volumes don't exceed what's available in each tank. If Tank A or B doesn't have enough volume to hit the target EC, an error will show with the maximum achievable EC given your constraints.
- Always verify with a calibrated EC meter after blending.
- Allow 5–10 min for full mixing before final EC check.
- Temperature affects EC — measure at consistent temps.
🌡️ VPD Calculator
Calculate vapor pressure deficit from temperature and humidity for optimized crop steering.
Tab accessible in dev mode for navigation testing.
Logic not yet implemented.
🪣 Water Volume Calculator
Calculate system water volume, container capacity, and irrigation run volumes.
Tab accessible in dev mode for navigation testing.
Logic not yet implemented.