TheFertilizer
Well-Known Member
Fertilizer: Is there a reason you are starting the soil that far down in the pot? Will you be raising the level as the plant grows?
I just didn't have enough soil to fill them all up to the very brim.
Growing A Legend: An Auto Tribute To Jack Herer
- Thread starter Guy Cavallero
- Start date
I just didn't have enough soil to fill them all up to the very brim.
Gotta work with what got you to the party right!!!
425jesse
Well-Known Member
Damn I am so excited to go on this one!!!
So what are we gonna judge on....obviously we can't judge on taste, but looks, height, wet/dry weight...any other standards to judge by? Or are we all gonna send them to a member to be determined that wasn't part of this grow, lol
So what are we gonna judge on....obviously we can't judge on taste, but looks, height, wet/dry weight...any other standards to judge by? Or are we all gonna send them to a member to be determined that wasn't part of this grow, lol
Damn I am so excited to go on this one!!! So what are we gonna judge on....obviously we can’t judge on taste, but looks, height, wet/dry weight...any other standards to judge by? Or are we all gonna send them to a member to be determined that wasn’t part of this grow, lol
Most bugs
- Thread starter
- #386
Guy Cavallero
Well-Known Member
Man, I wanted to come on and show you my photos of my trial run of papertowel, to cloner, to bucket......well minus the bucket stage, I'm not that far yet......but no photos!
It's all good, I'm the same......cant wait to get this going. Still no Valentine in the mailbox!
It's all good, I'm the same......cant wait to get this going. Still no Valentine in the mailbox!
TheFertilizer
Well-Known Member
Okay guys, so I know we've all got this little trash-talking facade thing going, but first and foremost I hope this thread can be an exchange of information to help grower's grow in Jack's honor. So with that said... Lemme show you canucks how to do this automatic water thing 
To be honest, I was in the dark on how to do this myself, there's not a lot of information about it that's widely accessible, so consider this a very rough primer. Guy expressed interest, and it's new to me, so sorry if this is all old news for the rest of you. If you want more hints and tips, I had gr85 give me some hints in the 4x4 Tent Club thread.
Okay, so carrying on.
Material List:
*First a note* If you live in an area that is not completely metropolitan and there is any sort of landscaping, agriculture, etc. then you will undoubtedly find these supplies at a local hardware store for cheaper. So just check around before you decide to order this all online if you want it to be super cost-effective. It's also way easier to piece together adapters and risers at the store than browsing parts online.
1/4" Hydroponic "distribution line"
1/4" "Barbed" Tee Connectors
1 80-200 GPH submersible pump (unless you need to feed lots and lots of pots, or really big ones, leave the ~500 GPH pumps be)
1/4" Distribution Line Steaks
12" Riser 1/2" Riser Pipe
1/2" coupler
8 outlet 1/2" threaded Orbit manifold ( Orbit manifolds come with individual fine-flow adjustment screws)
5 gallon lowes bucket with "easy off" soft-plastic lids
Okay so, I'll show you how I put all this together, but keep in mind there are probably dozens of ways to skin this cat. In my opinion there are only a couple of important principles.
1. Keep your hose lengths equal. Even if the pots are in different locations to where the line to your reservoir may need to be shorter than one, just having all your lines equal length is going to help keep the flow distribution more equal.
2. Create a riser which places your manifold above the reservoir and allows any leaks to flow-back into the reservoir, making sure the only parts over your floor are the distribution lines themselves, and lessening risks of unintended leaks/floods.
3. Drill holes and cut a flap in the lid to allow for easy filling/adjusting as well as drain-back in case of leaks and spills
4. Pre-assemble your water-rings (I'll explain more later ) with good measurements
Okay. So here we go, I'll just cover the construction of the reservoir and pump first. It's exceedingly simple: Cut a hole in the top of the bucket, put the riser through, attach the riser to the pump so that the manifold sticks up out of the top of the bucket's lid. Remember the pump doesn't really need to be very large, this is a 176 GPH pump and as you'll see later is probably the most optimal size for this, but you can indeed go smaller. Just loop the power cord up over the top, the lid's Lowe's has are soft and flexible enough to close around it.
(P.S. I don't like how stiff this distribution line is. I'd advise to try to find more flexible/soft line. If you get stiff line like this, heating the end to connect to the Tee connectors helps)
When you make the rings, you'll want to be sure to measure a length that's the same perimeter of the mid-point of your pot. So in other words, if you have a 12" pot, and you want the ring to go in the middle, then take 6" (half the pot's diameter) and then multiply that by 3.14 for the ring's perimeter. For my 10-12" pots, 18" works great. Not too much explanation needed past this picture.
Now, as far as how close to the soil to place these barbed tees, I'm not really sure what's best. I'm put these ones practically in the soil, but on my other setup I have them suspended a little bit above. I wonder if they can get clogged up if directly in the soil, but I doubt it. In any case you'll want to try to secure them down fast if you have stiffer line, so that it doesn't pull it off to an awkward angle.
Okay, so now that it's all setup, you only have to supply power if you want a manually operated system, and just sit and watch for run-off. I ran it about a minute, not sure, didn't actually time it, and it watered to pretty hefty run-off and used about 2.5 gallons very quickly, so even this flow-rate of pump is more than adequate for pot setup of this size.
Now, as for automation, there are two options I'm currently aware of.
1. Timers. You'll want to get a 7-day timer unless you're gonna run coco or something, and will have to have a feel for how frequently your pots normally need water. Also don't be tempted to try to calculate how long you want to run it by the rated flow-rates, but instead on the first run, just water until run-off and time that with a stop-watch to know. You'll probably need to keep adjusting this over time as your plants fill your pots with roots, and the individual flow-rate settings on the Orbit manifold will also come into play. This gives you the benefit of allowing more adjustment in wet/dry cycles, is cheaper, and you can easily adapt between manual and automatic watering.
2. Blumat Automatic Water sensors. These are moisture probes which you enter your distribution line into, and then have a distribution line output that opens according to the moisture level in the pot. These will have the most streamlined automation, without having to worry about adjusting for flow rates, but you're also relying a lot more on the moisture sensing, as well as you'll need continuous operation of the pump to keep them under pressure. They are also a little bit spendy, but if you want your plants to have as much water as they desire, exactly when they desire it, then these will plug n play into a similar system pretty easy.
So there's kind of a rough primer. I like these little micro-reservoirs for assisted watering, but it should be easy to see how they could be worked into even larger resevoir setups with more sophisticated automation.
To be honest, I was in the dark on how to do this myself, there's not a lot of information about it that's widely accessible, so consider this a very rough primer. Guy expressed interest, and it's new to me, so sorry if this is all old news for the rest of you. If you want more hints and tips, I had gr85 give me some hints in the 4x4 Tent Club thread.
Okay, so carrying on.
Material List:
*First a note* If you live in an area that is not completely metropolitan and there is any sort of landscaping, agriculture, etc. then you will undoubtedly find these supplies at a local hardware store for cheaper. So just check around before you decide to order this all online if you want it to be super cost-effective. It's also way easier to piece together adapters and risers at the store than browsing parts online.
1/4" Hydroponic "distribution line"
1/4" "Barbed" Tee Connectors
1 80-200 GPH submersible pump (unless you need to feed lots and lots of pots, or really big ones, leave the ~500 GPH pumps be)
1/4" Distribution Line Steaks
12" Riser 1/2" Riser Pipe
1/2" coupler
8 outlet 1/2" threaded Orbit manifold ( Orbit manifolds come with individual fine-flow adjustment screws)
5 gallon lowes bucket with "easy off" soft-plastic lids
Okay so, I'll show you how I put all this together, but keep in mind there are probably dozens of ways to skin this cat. In my opinion there are only a couple of important principles.
1. Keep your hose lengths equal. Even if the pots are in different locations to where the line to your reservoir may need to be shorter than one, just having all your lines equal length is going to help keep the flow distribution more equal.
2. Create a riser which places your manifold above the reservoir and allows any leaks to flow-back into the reservoir, making sure the only parts over your floor are the distribution lines themselves, and lessening risks of unintended leaks/floods.
3. Drill holes and cut a flap in the lid to allow for easy filling/adjusting as well as drain-back in case of leaks and spills
4. Pre-assemble your water-rings (I'll explain more later ) with good measurements
Okay. So here we go, I'll just cover the construction of the reservoir and pump first. It's exceedingly simple: Cut a hole in the top of the bucket, put the riser through, attach the riser to the pump so that the manifold sticks up out of the top of the bucket's lid. Remember the pump doesn't really need to be very large, this is a 176 GPH pump and as you'll see later is probably the most optimal size for this, but you can indeed go smaller. Just loop the power cord up over the top, the lid's Lowe's has are soft and flexible enough to close around it.
(P.S. I don't like how stiff this distribution line is. I'd advise to try to find more flexible/soft line. If you get stiff line like this, heating the end to connect to the Tee connectors helps)
When you make the rings, you'll want to be sure to measure a length that's the same perimeter of the mid-point of your pot. So in other words, if you have a 12" pot, and you want the ring to go in the middle, then take 6" (half the pot's diameter) and then multiply that by 3.14 for the ring's perimeter. For my 10-12" pots, 18" works great. Not too much explanation needed past this picture.
Now, as far as how close to the soil to place these barbed tees, I'm not really sure what's best. I'm put these ones practically in the soil, but on my other setup I have them suspended a little bit above. I wonder if they can get clogged up if directly in the soil, but I doubt it. In any case you'll want to try to secure them down fast if you have stiffer line, so that it doesn't pull it off to an awkward angle.
Okay, so now that it's all setup, you only have to supply power if you want a manually operated system, and just sit and watch for run-off. I ran it about a minute, not sure, didn't actually time it, and it watered to pretty hefty run-off and used about 2.5 gallons very quickly, so even this flow-rate of pump is more than adequate for pot setup of this size.
Now, as for automation, there are two options I'm currently aware of.
1. Timers. You'll want to get a 7-day timer unless you're gonna run coco or something, and will have to have a feel for how frequently your pots normally need water. Also don't be tempted to try to calculate how long you want to run it by the rated flow-rates, but instead on the first run, just water until run-off and time that with a stop-watch to know. You'll probably need to keep adjusting this over time as your plants fill your pots with roots, and the individual flow-rate settings on the Orbit manifold will also come into play. This gives you the benefit of allowing more adjustment in wet/dry cycles, is cheaper, and you can easily adapt between manual and automatic watering.
2. Blumat Automatic Water sensors. These are moisture probes which you enter your distribution line into, and then have a distribution line output that opens according to the moisture level in the pot. These will have the most streamlined automation, without having to worry about adjusting for flow rates, but you're also relying a lot more on the moisture sensing, as well as you'll need continuous operation of the pump to keep them under pressure. They are also a little bit spendy, but if you want your plants to have as much water as they desire, exactly when they desire it, then these will plug n play into a similar system pretty easy.
So there's kind of a rough primer. I like these little micro-reservoirs for assisted watering, but it should be easy to see how they could be worked into even larger resevoir setups with more sophisticated automation.
- Thread starter
- #388
Guy Cavallero
Well-Known Member
Thanks a tonne for laying that out for us Fert. Ive setup tonnes of deck and garden irrigation detups for clients etc over the years but ive never used a riser and certainly never used the Ts as a watering head. Also, the tip about keeping all of your lines equal......thats clutch info for a small pump. Great little tutorial. How do you find it works with granular amendments to your fertilizer schedule? The pump still has no issues?
I've seen those Blumat units before. Wicked grow idea, maybe down the road when I show my girl how well they work......maybe I'll use the purchase of them as a way to get a vacation lol.....lord knows last year's vacay was overshadowed by dead plants upon arrival home......hence the interest lol.
I've seen those Blumat units before. Wicked grow idea, maybe down the road when I show my girl how well they work......maybe I'll use the purchase of them as a way to get a vacation lol.....lord knows last year's vacay was overshadowed by dead plants upon arrival home......hence the interest lol.
- Thread starter
- #389
Guy Cavallero
Well-Known Member
Has everybody's Valentine showed up except mine?....... What the heck is going on LMAO?
425jesse
Well-Known Member
Hopefully it shows up today!!
425jesse
Well-Known Member
Image mover...can't post photos on mobile right now...weird.
Derbybud
Well-Known Member
Great job there fertilizer. Might I add that it's nice to add a air stone or 2 in your rez to keep nutes suspended. And for dippers I just drilled holes into the tubing. I was feeding 3 times a day and was gone for 10 days and this will work flawlessly if you have a big enough drop table.
flytier
Well-Known Member
Obviously Fert is an American. He's not aware that I'm not a canuck, I'm a Newfie.
Other than that, that's a good layout for the system.
Other than that, that's a good layout for the system.
- Thread starter
- #394
Guy Cavallero
Well-Known Member
Priceless lol....always wondered about that 1/2 time zone lmao.
Jackalope
Well-Known Member
While this does sound like a interesting grow. I thought it would be the soil and hydro guys clashing. The US and Canada thing is so much more fun. I always loved a little trash talk and bashing with my Canadian friends. Thanks to the oilfield there are many.
flytier
Well-Known Member
Don't really have an answer to that one. I guess we're just unique.
flytier
Well-Known Member
Soil vs. Hydro? I don't do botanical discrimination. I'm more of an atheistic religious bigot myself.
Soil vs Hydro is only doable if flavor and tastes are part of the equation. Hydro in the same environment and same genetics will generally out produce soil......but soil shines in taste, flavor and effects IMHO.
We shall see...
Killerbudz
Well-Known Member
Need some more photos posted on this thread. The package still shows up on the app... Just a heads up