SIP Club - Getting Hydro/Coco Results In A Soil Based Medium

[gazmufc]

Yay! Thank you, SIP-Sensai, for starting this thread, and everything else you’ve done to make my gardening hobby so much better. This moment, I'm loading up flower tent #2, (heretofore referred to as The Burn Unit) with some, already vegged in regular pots+, Gorilla Glue #4. Everybody gets a 10gal (ish) Geopot of customized ProMix HP and drink synth nutes from below. Will be interesting to see how well and how quickly they adapt to their new homes and can be flipped. As close to ‘immediately as possible’ I hope!

As for Tent-1, The Penthouse, an identical setup has been carefully trained to stay level and low, These are Ultra Violet OG in foreground and Runtz behind. Nobody’s over 18”. These SIPs grow very well, and you’ve got to be OK with some defoliation because all that extra water goes to building more biomass.

Hello. Good job mate. Just curious did u make those sip tubs yourself? I can get those tubs easier and cheeper than than the 5g buckets. Would be curious to see how it's made. I've been looking on YT, but all DIY I've seen are the wicking SIP,.. Thanks in advance..

 

[Buds Buddy]

Hello. Good job mate. Just curious did u make those sip tubs yourself? I can get those tubs easier and cheeper than than the 5g buckets. Would be curious to see how it's made. I've been looking on YT, but all DIY I've seen are the wicking SIP,.. Thanks in advance..

I'm trying to figure out how he's wicking the water / nutes up since the soil doesn't wrap around the res to do the wicking. Fabric pots on top a grid with an air gap between the Fabric Pot & the nutes doesn't make since to me; unless he's using some sort of cloth wick from the pots to the res. But then it wouldn't be a SIP system either. In a SIP the soil that's wrapped around the res does the wicking. If there's some type of cloth wick bringing up the nutes I think it's called a SWICK System. Not sure, but that's how I understand it.

 

[gazmufc]

I'm trying to figure out how he's wicking the water / nutes up since the soil doesn't wrap around the res to do the wicking. Fabric pots on top a grid with an air gap between the Fabric Pot & the nutes doesn't make since to me; unless he's using some sort of cloth wick from the pots to the res. But then it wouldn't be a SIP system either. In a SIP the soil that's wrapped around the res does the wicking. If there's some type of cloth wick bringing up the nutes I think it's called a SWICK System. Not sure, but that's how I understand it.

Yeah I see what u mean. So I cud create it with these buckets, if I kept the reservoir with the water in it, back a few inches from the side at the bottom. I cud place a smaller container that holds about a g inside that, use some sort aqua glue to fix it, and pierce small holes in the side of the reservoir so the soil sits down along these holes right to the bottom of the main tub. Think I have it now lol.. Its just making it now. I just have to see which set up is best for me. I obviously wanna try and use what materials are easy for me to get. Thanks for feedback..

 

[gazmufc]

I'm trying to figure out how he's wicking the water / nutes up since the soil doesn't wrap around the res to do the wicking. Fabric pots on top a grid with an air gap between the Fabric Pot & the nutes doesn't make since to me; unless he's using some sort of cloth wick from the pots to the res. But then it wouldn't be a SIP system either. In a SIP the soil that's wrapped around the res does the wicking. If there's some type of cloth wick bringing up the nutes I think it's called a SWICK System. Not sure, but that's how I understand it.

Found this stuff, if it's safe for fish in water, I'm sure it wud be OK for soil, or maybe it might break down in soil? What u think buds?

King British Aquarium Silicone Sealant

 

[Buds Buddy]

Yeah I see what u mean. So I cud create it with these buckets, if I kept the reservoir with the water in it, back a few inches from the side at the bottom. I cud place a smaller container that holds about a g inside that, use some sort aqua glue to fix it, and pierce small holes in the side of the reservoir so the soil sits down along these holes right to the bottom of the main tub. Think I have it now lol.. Its just making it now. I just have to see which set up is best for me. I obviously wanna try and use what materials are easy for me to get. Thanks for feedback..

Don't need holes in the sides. Just the top has holes in the store bought ones. If you have a soldering iron it works great for making the holes. Easier than drilling by far & less likely to crack the bowl you're drilling.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Found this stuff, if it's safe for fish in water, I'm sure it wud be OK for soil, or maybe it might break down in soil? What u think buds?

King British Aquarium Silicone Sealant

Should be fine.

 

[gazmufc]

Found this stuff, if it's safe for fish in water, I'm sure it wud be OK for soil, or maybe it might break down in soil? What u think buds?

King British Aquarium Silicone Sealant

Don't need holes in the sides. Just the top has holes in the store bought ones. If you have a soldering iron it works great for making the holes. Easier than drilling by far & less likely to crack the bowl you're drilling.

Oh that wud be even easier then, I cud simply

Don't need holes in the sides. Just the top has holes in the store bought ones. If you have a soldering iron it works great for making the holes. Easier than drilling by far & less likely to crack the bowl you're drilling.

Ahh OK cool. And then just leave a air gap of about 30mm from the drainage hole to the lid of the reservoir right?

 

[Buds Buddy]

Oh that wud be even easier then, I cud simply

Ahh OK cool. And then just leave a air gap of about 30mm from the drainage hole to the lid of the reservoir right?

Instructions on my buckets say drill 3" from bottom of the bucket. But I guess that all depends on how tall your res is. Just keep the drain hole maybe 1" - 2" below the top of the res for an Air Gap.

 

[Azimuth]

Hello. Good job mate. Just curious did u make those sip tubs yourself? I can get those tubs easier and cheeper than than the 5g buckets. Would be curious to see how it's made. I've been looking on YT, but all DIY I've seen are the wicking SIP,.. Thanks in advance..

ResDog's are diy. He's working on an automatic fill as well. I imagine that is up and running already.

I've got a different design version for those buckets which is easier to build in the 'Design' post on page two of this thread. Basically it's some 4 or 6" perforated landscape drainage pipe laid horizontally in the bottom of the tote. Seal off the ends so soil doesn't get it and cover with your medium. Add a fill tube so you can fill the reservoir but bypass the soil. Drill your overflow hole in the tub so it's an inch below the top of your pipe for the air gap.

You can fill the tub with soil and grow right in it if you want as I do with my outside veggies, or cover the pipes with just a few inches of soil and set fabric pots on top of that.

I'm trying to figure out how he's wicking the water / nutes up since the soil doesn't wrap around the res to do the wicking.

He uses something he calls his 'wicking foot.' Basically, the pots sit on a false floor on a column of soil held in a 4 or 6" drainage pipe set vertically. He makes his false floor with a second, shorter tub that has the same footprint as the larger, lower one and sets inside it. Then he cuts a couple of large holes to accommodate his wicking feet. The larger tub is his reservoir, the shorter one holds his grow mix, and the wicking feet connect the two.

King British Aquarium Silicone Sealant

You shouldn't need any sealant at all.

 

[Fenderbender]

Are you talking the Auto Pots ? That 12 gallon res. lasts about a week for 4 plants. In SIP's I go through 14 gallons per week for 1 plant. I use MC & after harvest, when I clean my buckets, there is a little sediment left in the bottom. But it's not much at all & sprayed right out with a hose. There is no Air Gap with the Auto pots so the bottom of the soil never gets any air helping the soil to dry out & take up more nutes. The Air Gap also provides needed oxygen to the roots to grow more vigorously. Yes, you can provide air with Air Stones or Air Domes in Auto Pots, but I don't think it works quite as effectively. I've tried both methods.

Euhm I dunno yet.. autpots are available here, I've seen Octopots that's kinda it but don't see any EU dealers.
The grobucket thing I only see on Amazon and I refrain from being a customer.
I could fashion something with those hydrobuckets I got they fit in each other, there's already a tap.. I'd just need to make a wickpot and fill tube... but I kinda don't want to destroy them and the ratio isn't quite right it's a lot of water container vs the medium holding pot.
So better look for some regular buckets.

 

[Azimuth]

Euhm I dunno yet.. autpots are available here, I've seen Octopots that's kinda it but don't see any EU dealers.
The grobucket thing I only see on Amazon and I refrain from being a customer.
I could fashion something with those hydrobuckets I got they fit in each other, there's already a tap.. I'd just need to make a wickpot and fill tube... but I kinda don't want to destroy them and the ratio isn't quite right it's a lot of water container vs the medium holding pot.
So better look for some regular buckets.

On page two of this thread I describe the diy version of the bucket insert I use in mine. Basically it's an upside down food storage container with a hole for the fill tube and a bunch of small air holes made in it.

I try to find the largest food container that will fit the bottom of the bucket. Very simple build and I get better roots in that design than I do with the bucket-in-bucket design, although the end result seems similar for both. I've built both styles and am converting everything over to the 'dome' structure.

 

[CBDMed]

Ah yes and which type of nutes? I'm guessing soil as we're still in that but don't you get a lot of sediment? If I leave my biocanna soil nutes in a bucket for a week I've got a thick brown layer coating everything.. in a system with airstones at least the solution keeps moving around a bit.

Yeahyeah I know you say don't overthink it but my mind won't allow it. It autodeduces and looks for scenarios encountered before and wants to understand why it wouldn't encounter the same problems.

Hey Fender,
I am a noob and am learning with each post, trying not to kill my plants while I learn from you pros.
I am using supersoil to power the grow, heavy on worm castings and then 50% rice hulls.
It occurred to me that next time I should put REGULAR organic planting mix without any manures or castings (or maybe even coco? But the point is, without sediments) down into the lowest parts of the SIP (to form around the black platform, whatever it is called), to act like a filter for sediment.
That should stop sediments from leaching into the tank without causing significant disturbance to the water wicking, which should minimize the possibility of an algae grow.

Is coco a good idea? Or a bad idea?
And do I need washed and treated kind of coco?
And if I do not know the status on the coco I have, is there an easy way to wash it or test it?

 

[CBDMed]

I haven't tried it. I have heard good things about it in the past. Probably on here. Maybe type in Dutch Pro in the search bar on the site & see how others did with it.
Wow, I wonder why shipping is so high. I'm sure it's being shipped on a ship or plane with a bunch of other stuff to the same destination. I swear, all these made up fees sure kill a person's income. Bunch of B.S.

Well, some people do think it is "a bunch of BS" (and not with good nitrogen, either).
I dunno, some people say they are systematically shutting down (or destroying) commercial fertilizers and irrigation, and wonder what their long term plans are.
(Because you reduce the world's fertilizer supply, you reduce the world's food supply. And the world is already at food capacity, and still there are people who starve to death. So why do they want to reduce the world's food supply? And what are the implications?)
Can you make Azi's nutes?

 

[Fenderbender]

Hey Fender,
I am a noob and am learning with each post, trying not to kill my plants while I learn from you pros.
I am using supersoil to power the grow, heavy on worm castings and then 50% rice hulls.
It occurred to me that next time I should put REGULAR organic planting mix without any manures or castings (or maybe even coco? But the point is, without sediments) down into the lowest parts of the SIP (to form around the black platform, whatever it is called), to act like a filter for sediment.
That should stop sediments from leaching into the tank without causing significant disturbance to the water wicking, which should minimize the possibility of an algae grow.

Is coco a good idea? Or a bad idea?
And do I need washed and treated kind of coco?
And if I do not know the status on the coco I have, is there an easy way to wash it or test it?

Hiya! I wouldn't know.. I'm new to the thread as well and haven't sipped yet..

 

[CBDMed]

I'm trying to figure out how he's wicking the water / nutes up since the soil doesn't wrap around the res to do the wicking. Fabric pots on top a grid with an air gap between the Fabric Pot & the nutes doesn't make since to me; unless he's using some sort of cloth wick from the pots to the res. But then it wouldn't be a SIP system either. In a SIP the soil that's wrapped around the res does the wicking. If there's some type of cloth wick bringing up the nutes I think it's called a SWICK System. Not sure, but that's how I understand it.

Yes, SWICK is with a wick.
But SIP also kind of has a wick of soil.
I ordered 4 SWICK systems, and want to see how they grow.
Does anyone do this (either SIP or SWICK) for large commercial farming operations?
And where would I look?
Thank you!

 

[CBDMed]

Oh that wud be even easier then, I cud simply

Ahh OK cool. And then just leave a air gap of about 30mm from the drainage hole to the lid of the reservoir right?

30-50

 

[Azimuth]

But the point is, without sediments) down into the lowest parts of the SIP (to form around the black platform, whatever it is called), to act like a filter for sediment.

There really isn't any water flow in this type of system so whatever sediment you'd get really shouldn't be an issue at all. The soil below the water line will get soaked and the soil above will wick it up. I wouldn't overthink it. I know it can sound too simple to actually work and we want to do all kinds of things to try to improve the design like with air stones and such, but the plants will start emptying the reservoir before too long so stagnant water really is not an issue.

While they're small I like to monitor the reservoir with a simple dip stick since I figure no need to add water to an existing pool that they're not using all of yet, but that only lasts a short time. Once I see good new growth I know they are drinking strongly and then I fill the reservoir every day and call it good.

That should stop sediments from leaching into the tank without causing significant disturbance to the water wicking, which should minimize the possibility of an algae grow

Algae is going to be more of a function of light getting to the water so if you are using clear containers be sure to cover them with light blocking material. Paint, or burlap, or your cardboard, etc.

Is coco a good idea? Or a bad idea?
And do I need washed and treated kind of coco?
And if I do not know the status on the coco I have, is there an easy way to wash it or test it?

Coco is a good idea, but carries a different set of grow parameters. @Bill284 can weigh in on this one but a good soak in clean water followed by a few good flushings should be enough I'd imagine. Coco does tend to lock up certain nutrients so those need to be supplemented more than in a soil grow and coco is never supposed to dry out from what I hear Bill saying.

Hiya! I wouldn't know.. I'm new to the thread as well and haven't sipped yet..

The SIPs are really just a really efficient watering pot at the end of the day, so you would stick with whatever your normal nute routine is. Nothing much to learn really other than breaking the habit of watering through the soil. Our rule is only (or at least mostly) through the fill tube, by-passing the soil to fill the reservoir directly.

 

[Bill284]

There really isn't any water flow in this type of system so whatever sediment you'd get really shouldn't be an issue at all. The soil below the water line will get soaked and the soil above will wick it up. I wouldn't overthink it. I know it can sound too simple to actually work and we want to do all kinds of things to try to improve the design like with air stones and such, but the plants will start emptying the reservoir before too long so stagnant water really is not an issue.

While they're small I like to monitor the reservoir with a simple dip stick since I figure no need to add water to an existing pool that they're not using all of yet, but that only lasts a short time. Once I see good new growth I know they are drinking strongly and then I fill the reservoir every day and call it good.


Algae is going to be more of a function of light getting to the water so if you are using clear containers be sure to cover them with light blocking material. Paint, or burlap, or your cardboard, etc.


Coco is a good idea, but carries a different set of grow parameters. @Bill284 can weigh in on this one but a good soak in clean water followed by a few good flushings should be enough I'd imagine. Coco does tend to lock up certain nutrients so those need to be supplemented more than in a soil grow and coco is never supposed to dry out from what I hear Bill saying.


The SIPs are really just a really efficient watering pot at the end of the day, so you would stick with whatever your normal nute routine is. Nothing much to learn really other than breaking the habit of watering through the soil. Our rule is only (or at least mostly) through the fill tube, by-passing the soil to fill the reservoir directly.

I prefer pre washed and buffered to be on the safe side.
Coco is good if you want to cut veg time in half and max out your harvest.
So you make sure it's fed daily and damp all the time.
No big deal.
Worth the little extra effort for mel
Take care.




Stay safe
Bill284

 

[Azimuth]

I prefer pre washed and buffered to be on the safe side.
Coco is good if you want to cut veg time in half and max out your harvest.
So you make sure it's fed daily and damp all the time.
No big deal.
Worth the little extra effort for mel
Take care.




Stay safe
Bill284

But, if you can't get your coco pre-washed and buffered, how would you go about doing that yourself?

 

[Bill284]

But, if you can't get your coco pre-washed and buffered, how would you go about doing that yourself?

I posted a thread from here on doing it .
Let me see if I can find it again.
Give me a minute.

Quick buffering question

Hello all, I've done 2 grows in coco now. This time instead of using the Royal Gold Tupur (comes washed and ready to go) I wanted to do plain coco/perlite and bought a compressed brick. So far I've re-hydrated it and then strained it twice to try to get any dust/coco peat out. Now it's in my 3...

www.420magazine.com

Buffering Up: Adjusting the Cation Exchange Capacity in Coco Growing Media

Buffering Up: Adjusting the Cation Exchange Capacity in Coco Growing Media Interesting findings buffering coco. Some people wonder why a calcium deficiency is hard to undue once it has started.

www.420magazine.com

Stay safe
Bill284