How does Coltiva work?

Coltiva watches your reservoir around the clock and alerts you the moment something drifts out of range — so you can dose, refill, or drain from the app.

Coltiva measures the things that matter most for your plants’ health: the nutrient strength and acidity of the water, how much water is left, and the temperature and humidity of the air around it. It works with DWC, NFT, or any other hydroponic setup built around a reservoir.

Every reading is visible in the Coltiva app, where you set the range you want each value to stay in. If a reading drifts outside that range, you get a notification — along with a history of how it’s changed over time.

Connect up to six extra tanks and you can refill the reservoir from the app, mixing a multi-part nutrient solution and adjusting pH from wherever you are.

In development

Automatic dosing — where Coltiva holds your targets and doses on its own — is on the way. Today you dose from the app, guided by live readings.

Diagram of a Deep Water Culture (DWC) hydroponic system: a plant suspended above a reservoir, with the Coltiva control unit monitoring and dosing it.
Deep Water Culture (DWC)
Diagram of a Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) hydroponic system: plants in a sloped channel fed by a thin film of nutrient solution, with the Coltiva control unit monitoring and dosing it.
Nutrient Film Technique (NFT)

Sensors

Six sensors — four in the reservoir, two built into the control unit — give Coltiva a full picture of your system.

pH

Nutrient uptake changes the water’s pH as plants feed. Coltiva tracks it continuously, so you know exactly when to add pH+ or pH- before it drifts far enough to stress the plants.

EC (conductivity)

Electrical conductivity rises and falls with how much nutrient is dissolved in the water. A falling reading means the plants are feeding — and tells you when it’s time to top up.

Water level

Mounted at the bottom of the reservoir, the level sensor watches for evaporation and uptake, and flags it the moment a refill is needed.

Water temperature

Tells you whether the reservoir is in the range your plants’ roots actually like, day and night.

Air temperature & humidity

Built into the control unit, so you can monitor grow-room conditions without an extra sensor to place.

Exact ranges and accuracy for every sensor are on the specifications table.

Pumps

Two pump types divide the work: small, precise doses and bulk water movement.

Diagram of the Coltiva control unit dosing two nutrient bottles into a plant reservoir using peristaltic pumps.

Peristaltic pumps

Built for precision, peristaltic pumps dose as little as 5 ml at a time. They’re sold in pairs, so a typical setup runs four: two for a two-part nutrient mix, two for pH+ and pH-.

Diagram of a centrifugal pump circulating water in the reservoir, with drain and fresh-water lines.

Centrifugal pumps

Centrifugal pumps move water in volume — circulating the reservoir, refilling it, or draining it completely. Run them alone, or alongside peristaltic pumps that handle the precise dosing.

Run every pump from the app

Dose nutrients, adjust pH, refill, or drain — from wherever you are, and get notified when it’s time to step in.

The Coltiva app's pump control screen, showing pump type and a manual dose amount with a Hold to Run button.

Flow rates and dosing accuracy for both pump types are on the specifications table.

Ready to see kits & pricing?

Choose the kit that matches your reservoir, from sensors-only to sensors plus app-controlled pumps.

See kits & specs