Automated options

[Aphatspliff]

Cheers for the help lads.

 

I’m a free spirit and quite spontaneous so having to be somewhere every day at a certain time was becoming like a chore more than a passion. When things become like that I end up fucking them off pretty quick  So got to find a way to make it work, cos I do love having plants, just don’t want to be a slave to them! 

[dingo bingo]

Once you get your head around a dripper setup you will love it.

 

I used to run a DIY dripper setup but later switched to a TopSpin dripper manifold to ennsure even distribution (not that you can't get that with DIY - I couldn't and thought it was worth spending a little instead of running a lot of trial and error).

 

In your space 4 plants in 11L pots seems to work well. I would recommend fabric pots too, I have just used Root Nurse's 11L square fabric pots but they actually took about 15L which left me watering every other day - for the next crop I think I'm gonna try 8L pots and water every day. If you have the space I'd definitely try and have a water butt permanently set up with a heater, circulation pump (basic low power pump basically - also useful to pop on a hose to empty the butt)) and air pump/stones. Just make sure to empty and clean (scrub off the salt build up) the butt every week or 2.

 

To save mopping up run off from a tray on the floor you could build a simple timber frame (resembling a coffee table) to support a danish tray (plastic tray for pots which has drainage channels that flow run off out of a drain on one side of the tray). My timber frames are just high enough to get a bucket underneath so after watering I can easily remove the bucket to discard of the runoff instead of mopping it up. I run these in a 2m high tent so headroom is minimal - but with 4 plants in a SCROG it works just fine, especially with Adjust-a-Wing reflectors and their 'Heat Shield Super Spreader' which allows the light to be closer to the canopy.

 

This is what a dripper setup needs. The anti-siphon valve (you can make one yourself if desired) is critical - without it the pump won't stop after being turned off due to a siphon forming so you can easily empty the whole reservoir.

 

 

I use a MJ1000 pump to supply 8 pots under 2 x 600's and power it with a grasslin mechanical timer, 30 or 45 mins does the job. Finally, just make sure only chemical feed goes through the drippers, anything organic will clog and block the lines/drippers.

 

[GSZZ]

8 hours ago, dingo bingo said:

Finally, just make sure only chemical feed goes through the drippers, anything organic will clog and block the lines/drippers.

 

Just as an add on to this, because I do use top spinners in another space - you can remove all the gubbins inside of the head, which allows more flexibility in what you can run through them without any blockages given you filter the system before it hits the topspinners. Infact one of the first things I did was gut them I much prefer closed loop - open flow style dripper to pressure compensated, they have always been a headache for me. It changed the output for me from 33ml per minute to 200ml per minute - I think its worth noting that when you do remove the pressure compensators you can't run them like in the image above if you're running anymore than a single manifold as it'll give uneven pressure, they must be looped like a DIY system would be - and anymore than a single head will deffo need more than a mj1000.

 

e2a big thumbs up for Danish trays too I think they're ace! A bit more expensive than wood but I made my frames from aluminium box channel and push fish connectors.

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by GSZZ

[mikeydoughnut]

+1 for danish trays. My life has never been easier. 

[GSZZ]

I've just seen that "Idrolab" also do a "danish tray" now, in loads of sizes! Nice to see more options, well cool.

[Pot of soil]

Im in the same boat @Aphatspliff.

 

No knowledge but keen to set somethng up to make life easier and try and get a bit more yield from going hydro over compo so a good post for me this.

 

 

@dingo bingo thanks for posting that pic, a pic is alot less confusing to follow along to, monkey see monkey do and all that.

 

@GSZZ Im sorry to be an annoying memeber but if its not to much of a piss take could you draw your auto watering system out out like the pic @dingo bingo posted 

 

So a simplton like me can look at the picture and then just copy it and get my head around it once its all set up.

 

Fingers crossed 

[J.C]

@Aphatspliff I think I know which shop you mean and the owner was/is involved with AutoPot so they do tend to lean in that direction. The good thing about that is that they can be very helpful with advise if things are going wrong.

 

AutoPots and Coco work really well, I'm on my third run with them now and finally got my new setup dialled in. Takes a bit of work but theoretically I can leave the tent alone for a week and they'll be fine.

[sweettooth]

@GSZZ glad you to hear you can gut the topspin, I'm looking for a new manifold system for a new dripper system and was tempted by the floraflex bubbler manifold but this topspins are half the price, hate pressure compensation drippers, can't have a pump buzzing for 30 mins either, for me it's a quick 1 minute soap 2 or 3 times over the light period.

 

thise idrolab trays are about 3 times the price of the danish ones, was tempted as been rocking the idrolab pots but gonna go danish and make some elevated brackets with a drain hose to the outside, used thise brain buckets before, pump got air lock and woke me up at 4am before.

 

@Aphatspliff you won't regret going automated, and you defo won't regret going RTW tray from what the others have recommended above, saves all the headache of mopping up and keeps RH a bit lower and reduces pests and bugs from standing water and decaying plant matter.

 

I've tried all sorts of pressure compensated drippers, buttons......free flow works best, Blue arrow drippers, just get a decent big pump like an aquaking Q2007 (that runs 32 drippers for me just fine, 2 per pot) or Haliea do a pump just as big, think it may be quieter?

[Pot of soil]

I seem to be asking the wrong people for help.  I expect there are other equally  knowleable hydro growers on here who might have a little bit more time to help a hydro noddy like me out.

 

All Ive ever grown is compost but I want to move over to coco and id like to have a automated watering system.

 

I keep hearing about a ring manifold which looks to be made from hosepipe apparently its betrer to give a more strady flow of nutriebts to each pot,  ive seen various pics and would really like to make one.

 

Id like to have 6 plants  

 

Can anyone help me out and tell me what i need to get to build this thing so i can go and buy the bits and build it and then try and get me head around how it all works so it doesnt flood the place.

 

Ill be using growera ark custome hard water coco nutes.

 

Ill be honest when I read about it all get a bit confusiing especially the bit about makkng sure you put this in to save flodding the room.

 

I just think if i build one and get it running ill be able to understand it all better and get a grasp of what ive been reading which currently leave me a little bit confussed

 

Can anyone assist a hydro noddy looking to build a ring manifold automated watering system gather a list of materials pretty please 

 

 

 

[mysticriver]

On 01/06/2023 at 10:51 AM, dingo bingo said:

a simple timber frame

have you got one? let me see it - I really need to get something built to deal with the run-off

as oil-syringing-up the run-off takes more time than the fertigating, for me

 

 

mystic

[mysticriver]

On 01/06/2023 at 7:22 PM, GSZZ said:

I made my frames from aluminium box channel

any chance of a picture?

 

 

mystic

[Diddy]

I do the same as dingo bingo...without the filter, without the heater, without the non return valve and without the head

I have a hose going into my water but think its about 100ltrs.

The pump i have is exactly the same as Dingo's

The pump has a filter on it....looks suspiciously like an old sock....

The pump is on a per-second timer. From memory (I don't have a grow on right now) it comes on 4x a day for about 25 seconds which gives a decent run off in cocco

The ambient temp is fine for the water/feed

The PH does rise over say the week or more that my tank lasts. But IMHO this is fine because it only rises within the "growing range" so for instance I start it at the lower end of the perfect ph growing/feeding scale and by the time it needs redoing/topping up it is at the higher end of the acceptable range.

I ditched the heads/sprinklers in favour of those stakes that you attach the feed tube to. Seems to work well without clogging up.

I have a Titan wet and dry vacuum that deals with the run-off...which is in a 1mx1m tray......every plant is on upturned plant pot saucers. So that gives about 7 days leeway without needing to vac out the run off...which in turn raises the humidity which is super handy in the height of summer and the air is too dry.

I am a lazy/but busy grower...aka im busy doing other stuff so i now don't tinker with them...just a quick look in make sure nothing mental has happened...or indeed im away for say 10-12 days and come back and it's all been pretty good.

 

[Diddy]

 

Not the clearest pic but that is the idea. The big hose just goes into the tank with the pump at the end of it. The part of the pump that sucks in the water is covered by a sock...which gets replaced as and when required.

[GSZZ]

On 07/06/2023 at 10:04 AM, Pot of soil said:

Im sorry to be an annoying memeber but if its not to much of a piss take could you draw your auto watering system out out like the pic @dingo bingo posted 

 

4 hours ago, Pot of soil said:

I seem to be asking the wrong people for help.

 

I really don't mind helping out, but come on mate there was less than 24hrs between those posts and what you're asking of me I get paid for in my day job and privately so forgive me for not breaking my back and spending my free time giving you what you want in what you think is a timely manner. Crikey.

 

3 hours ago, mysticriver said:

any chance of a picture?

 

Yes, I'll take a picture tonight and get a picture up when I have a minute over the next few days to upload it.

[The Green Manalishi]

@Pot of soil have you decided how you are going to deal with your runoff? This should determine how you approach this

I have 2 tanks feeding different plants, one with A+B the other on Fishmix, the runoff goes into the ground once you have the parts, you can build a system in minutes, piece of piss