Robert Koot about the FertiFill:

‘Fully automatic fertilizer dosing and quick recipe switching’

HortiMaX has installed a FertiFill in the new rose nursery “Niriko” (12.5 acres) in Nieuwveen, the Netherlands. This system, which consists of a dosing computer and a filing system fully automatically doses up to 15 liquid fertilizers, including trace elements, using up to five reactor vessels in 1 to 20 fertilizer tanks.

The FertiFill works based on the “middle tank” principle. The unit at Niriko has two small reactor vessels (300 litres) installed above the A and B tanks. These are used to mix the quantities of A and B nutrient solution set by the grower. This is done by first dosing a quantity of water followed by the required fertilizer using a self-suction, fertilizer- proof pump fitted with a frequency controller. Then the pump is flushed and the next fertilizer is dosed. This process continues until the last fertilizer has been added. Finally, the A and B reactor vessels are filled with the remaining fresh water to ensure the solution mixes properly. The frequency controller and the litre counter accurately measure, dose and register the set litres of fertilizers and fresh water.

This enables the grower to see exactly how much of each fertilizer has been applied in the various recipes. The FertiFill can also be used for acid/lye tanks. The system is protected against incorrect input at every stage.

Easy to Prepare Recipes

Niriko’s Robert Koot opted for the FertiFill, because it uses liquid fertilizers and offers excellent flexibility in adjusting the fertigation schedules. Another advantage is that the unit prepares recipes fully automatically. “Pre-blended BigBags require colossal 10,000-litre tanks for mixing nutrient solutions. The A and B tanks we use are both just 1,000 litres and enable you to change the fertigation schedule at any point during the day. Since you only need to prepare 300 litres of solution, you can quickly switch recipes,” says the rose grower.

The FertiFill also allows you to program a minimum level for the A and B tanks. When this level is reached, the system will start preparing nutrient solution. All of the storage vessels containing liquid fertilizers, iron and trace elements are connected to the FertiFill. The rose grower, however, still prepares the mixture of trace elements by hand in a storage vessel. The FertiFill draws a small quantity of this mixture when a new nutrient solution needs to be prepared.

Mixing Tank Unit Continuously Operational

One of the benefits of the FertiFill is that it only requires small A and B tanks, regardless of the size of the company. Koot: “A major advantage of the mixing tank unit is that it can keep on running when new solutions are prepared in the A and B tanks.” The rose grower also believes that the tank filler is more stable and less prone to faults than a liquid fertilizer injection unit. “The FertiFill doses in litres and not in millilitres which can have significant consequences if the unit is a few millilitres off. Also, to ensure accurate dosing the FertiFill reduces the pump speed when approaching the desired number of litres.”

Koot operates the FertiFill using the Synopta operating software, but a stand-alone unit is also available. If necessary, the FertiFill can also be connected to a mixing agitator in the A- and B tank. The FertiFill is suitable for any grower, even if they don’t use any other HortiMaX products.

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