Hey can Terpinator or Recharge be put in the reservoir? I’m top dressing and water from the top only every 2 weeks. Anyone?
I have used Recharge and it has a petty strong funky odor. Im not sure I'd put it in the res, but for shure I'd top water it in.
 
I covered the reservoir is tape to keep the light out. Let it dry out since Sunday with no water in the reservoir. Checked this morning and this is how she looks. Cup is super light and feels completely dry. I added a small amount of water to the reservoir. I did see roots starting to circle the bottom of the cup. Hopefully she bounces back soon.

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Im still figuring out how to post to my journal and also the SIP forum since I built my first SIP yesterday. I copied and pasted here, but there must be a better way.

 
Im still figuring out how to post to my journal and also the SIP forum since I built my first SIP yesterday. I copied and pasted here, but there must be a better way.

Thanks for the link @Stonecrusher I'll head on over and have a look. :thumb:
 
I'm going to revert back to the other SIP design for my buckets. I've been using the "doughnut design" version which is a central reservoir surrounded by soil, but I've been working through some issues with Gee over in his Gee Spot thread, and we've come to the conclusion that my soil is too wet for my organic grows.

My plants are big and strong but the brix levels are quite low and that's consistent with the bug and deficiency issues that I get around week 3 after flip.

So, I'm going to go back to the original style I started with which is the central column of soil as a footer extending down into the middle of a reservoir. These are quite commonly built as a "bucket-in-bucket" style but, since I am height challenged in veg, I'm going to build it in a single bucket by incorporating a false floor insert.

I've made lots of aeration holes in this insert and cut holes for both my air/water pipes as well as the soil footer container. In my original version I used a 16oz food container as the footer but in this version I'm going down to a 3" net pot which is about 4oz. This will have much less less soil exposed to the reservoir and more of the soil above exposed to air through the aerated floor plate holding it up.

This footer should also serve as a draining mechanism for excess soil moisture in the soil above because of the hydrodynamics of perchered water tables and hopefully keep the soil above moist but not wet and help me get around some of my issues.

I'm also wondering if I'll get different types of roots with this set-up. I typically only get the very fine feeder roots but we've seen other growers showing a very different type of root profile and we've wondered why the differences, so maybe I'll have an answer to that question after harvest.

These changes should go a long way to fixing my overly wet soil which may very well be related to a combination of my homemade mix along with the fact that my 2 gallon buckets are smaller, and more importantly shorter, than a typical bucket which means the perched water table sits at a higher percentage of my set-up than it does for those using 5 gallon buckets.

I'm also going to temporarily switch back from hydoton to perlite for my aeration component to make monitoring the moisture levels in the soil easier when using a moisture meter.

The build is mostly done, I just have to cut the insert to fit, and this is what I'll use for my next plant headed to flower.

I'll repeat that I think this issue may be directly related to shorter pot height (and maybe my mix) as most other SIP growers have not expressed having issues like I have, but I think this other design will allow me to use the SIP strengths while staying with the type of grow (organic) that I want to maintain.
 
I'm going to revert back to the other SIP design for my buckets. I've been using the "doughnut design" version which is a central reservoir surrounded by soil, but I've been working through some issues with Gee over in his Gee Spot thread, and we've come to the conclusion that my soil is too wet for my organic grows.
Ahoy AZZ,
Your perseverance is impressive.

Often in science, the scientist makes the difference. Keep trying my friend. :love:

p.s. river runs have commenced so drop in.
 
Hello Sippers, I’m glad I’ve switched to sip pots. Plants are growing great, main stems are getting thick and training is going nicely. Here they are at 3 weeks old

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These pots do make growing more fun. Takes away the stress of watering correctly and the plants grow so damn big!

I know I'll likely never not grow in these things. :thumb:
 
I've added Recharge a couple of times in past SIP grows no problems. Not every two weeks though. Terpinator burns my plants in my LOS.
Thanks, I’ll skip it. I was more curious than anything, there’s should be plenty of life in there.
 
Today I modified the SIP like planter into a true SIP.

I started by cutting the 4 gallon nursery pot to make a 2 gallon res with a 2.5cm air gap.

I then drilled some holes in the sides if the pot, and cut a hole for the overflow.

I used duct tape to cover the original drain holes.

I mixed the soil from the original planter with the perlite that formed the original res.

I then cut a hole for the fill tube, and filled the planter.

Then I planted Godzilla Glue #4 in there, and topped it with river rocks to keep the squirrels from digging in it.

I also cut a new overflow hole in the planter, and used a section of PVC pipe to connect the res to the overflow hole. That's it. Pretty simple.
 
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