Automated options

[mikeydoughnut]

Just now, GSZZ said:

put some cross sections in it so theres something under the middle of the tray to stop it sagging.

 … My rinky dink table does have a slight sag in the middle when the plants are super heavy. The table it’s self is level but I just chocked it up on some pennies when I discovered the water pooling in the middle. When I put it together it was a means to an end until I could make summat better. Here we are a 3rd flower in. Listen to GS @mysticriver I’ll stop sticking me neb in 

 

[GSZZ]

Excuse the mess I'm still in the process of cleaning down.

 

 

Pretty self explanitory I guess?

[mysticriver]

20 hours ago, GSZZ said:

Excuse the mess I'm still in the process of cleaning down.

 

 

Pretty self explanitory I guess?

pretty much - thats looks some expensive aluminium though, I dont know if this will be a 'cheap' endeavour 

but something has to be done tho' as every night when I Fert the flower tent I feel im doing a lot of extra work, dealing wit' run-off

 

 

mystic

 

mystic

[mysticriver]

22 hours ago, mikeydoughnut said:

why you want to move your plants about?

its more about moving a couple of the front ones out of the way to fertigate/syringe-up the run-off, of the back 4 plants

maybe a bit of fine-tuning of position once they put on their size(s)

the fine tuning bit is not essential, but I do of course have to get to the backs 4, as mentioned

 

 

mystic

[GSZZ]

Just now, mysticriver said:

thats looks some expensive aluminium though, I dont know if this will be a 'cheap' endeavour 

 

I did say it was a bit more expensive than wood... the ally for each frame cost around £50 which I didn't think was so bad - the fittings themselves cost just shy of a tenner each, which very quickly became more expensive than the aluminium, and it didn't help I had to buy them twice as I bought the cheap corners and they shattered when I hit them with the mallet trying to get them into the ally so had to send off for the more expensive heavy duty ones.

 

TBH I could've saved loads of money and just used aqua trays and a few packs of furniture risers off the 'Zon and just ran coir slabs but its a bit restricting the tables gave me the option to switch between pots or slabs.

[sweettooth]

@mysticriver  ally warehouse, already priced up and pretty cheap, will cut to your size  ally won't absorb moisture and rot  like wood. can't put a price on easy manageability.

 

as for ease of use, get yourself a watering pole/lance, peice of piss and with those trays, all the run off you can send to the front for easy collection.

 

shits not that difficult to implement

 

 

[mysticriver]

noted thanks lads

 

 

mystic

[Pot of soil]

Apprecia

On 08/06/2023 at 3:07 PM, GSZZ said:

 

 

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.

 

 

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.

 Appreciate that @gszz

[ravsta]

@gszz  Now i know what the trays were i clocked in my local garden centre the otherday are,, funny thing is the first thing i did was to start lifting them up to see how flimsy they were

are you crop steering like the major weed facilities do over in america by any chance and if you are are you noticing a difference 

[GSZZ]

9 minutes ago, ravsta said:

are you crop steering like the major weed facilities do over in america by any chance

 

Not entirely like what you might see from like Aroya, Athena growers etc but the short answer is yes

 

31 minutes ago, ravsta said:

are you noticing a difference

 

Yeah its positive, plant health and growth rate is great and yield is deffo up (although lights have got better) stay away from those super high ECs though lest you be smoking pond weed.

 

 

[ravsta]

10 hours ago, GSZZ said:

 

Not entirely like what you might see from like Aroya, Athena growers etc but the short answer is yes

 

 

Yeah its positive, plant health and growth rate is great and yield is deffo up (although lights have got better) stay away from those super high ECs though lest you be smoking pond weed.

 

 

I thought so seeing your set up,, ive been watching and listening to aroya and athena for the last few weeks and its made me realise how stuck in the dark ages i am using a iws system and seeing as i already have most of the bits to move over to drippers im gonna give it a whirl and start using athena pro.. I have mates already using athena with the high EC's and ive had a couple of different bits they do and theyve been quite nice but i dont think i could dive straight in to such high numbers so i think ill take it easy to begin with.. I cant be waiting till september tho so i think ill set up a 9 planter in the back garden with the old rockwool trays and use black out sheet so i can give them the 12 hours of darkness.. ive bought meself this moisture meter Extech MO750 which aint cheap to see whats what and im also looking at the grolabs soilbot which has 4 moisture sensors but you also need the gronode bit to go with it but both cost around £750 which seems to be the only thing available in our far behind market

[GSZZ]

On 15/06/2023 at 10:31 AM, ravsta said:

start using athena pro.. I have mates already using athena with the high EC's and ive had a couple of different bits they do and theyve been quite nice but i dont think i could dive straight in to such high numbers so i think ill take it easy to begin with..

 

Athena isn't anything special neccesarily, its just plant food like anything else. With a bit of due diligence I bet you can find normal regular stuff with a similar/the same NPK and save loads of money.

 

On 15/06/2023 at 10:31 AM, ravsta said:

ive bought meself this moisture meter Extech MO750 which aint cheap to see whats what and im also looking at the grolabs soilbot which has 4 moisture sensors but you also need the gronode bit to go with it but both cost around £750 which seems to be the only thing available in our far behind market

 

I had a quick look at that extech thing its max reading is only 50% which suggests to me its not reading volumetric water content,  different mediums have a different field capacity - for example canna coco is 60%. I'd be concerned about applying data in one metric against data in another.

 

I don't really like "giving it all away" so to speak but honestly have a look at the vegetronix jobbie (doesnt read pwEC though) and/or the bluelab pulse. They are realistically the only affordable options available to us unless you are open to spending in excess of £1000 for the equipment and then a yearly subcription on top if you want to actually visualise the data... I very nearly pulled the trigger earlier this year but talked myself down.

 

I've not seen the grolabs thing, I'll look at those. The company that makes the "pulse one" data logger reader thing are doing a pwec and vwc kit now also, but from what I understand their sensors are a bit poopant.

[ravsta]

After doing a lot more digging and finding some good comparisons with the sensors ive now settled on growlink with a capacitance moisture sensor which is one of the most accurate in the world,, you can use up to 4 sensors and it has 4 outlets to control pumps and and valves.. The apps free but you can pay for it monthly for more gumpth but theres no need really and you can get them in the uk for around £775 expensive but worth its weight in gold to get things proper dialed in 

 

I looked at the vegetronix but like most of the other sensors ive come across none seem to be much cop

 

 

[BushDoctoR]

 

Old pic but this is my run off setup. Simple timber studding frame with a garland tray on top (and insulation board and heat mat in between). Outlet drilled in one corner which is 25mm lower than the rest of the tray which drains down into a 30L underbed storage tub.

 

Originally I'd empty the tub every few days but it became a bit of a pain so now I have an automatic bilge pump in the tub which pumps the run off directly into the soil pipe which runs through the loft. I now just fill the tank every 7-10 days and let it crack on. Way easier for a lazy boy like me

 

To add my 2p to some of the other queries (can't remember who asked what)...

I find with my hardwater my pH will rise rapidly in the first 24hrs then slow right down. I'll mix up at around 5.6 and over night that'll jump to about 5.9 and then very slowly creep up to around 6.3 after a week or so. Aim low but within range and you'll be gravy

 

I find small pots way more economical than larger pots, not only medium-wise but also for not wasting too much nutes with run off. Higher volume in the pots = higher volume of run of to reach 20%. I'm currently running 9 in 3.8L fabric pots in a 1m x 1.2m space with 3 x fertigations per day. I could get away with smaller but if you go too small there isn't much reserve in the pots if you forget to turn your pump on or have a failure (been there, done that)

 

Personal preference but I recommend at least 2 drippers per pot. In the event you get a blockage the plant will still be getting something from the other dripper at least until you discover the problem, and that leads me on to my last bit of advice; regularly check on your drippers to make sure they're working okay. Sounds a bit obvious but I'm just mentioning it as from experience when everything is automated and things are all running smoothly for a long time it's easy to become a bit complacent

 

 

[sweettooth]

awesome stuff @BushDoctoR

 

I'm wondering if I can male a drainhole in my 1.5m flexitray and support it in the same way, bit of silicone sealant and its a winner, no need for multiple danish or idrolab trabs, a bit of a drain filter to stop the brain pump clogging and waking me up at 3am (like its happened before )

 

nice easy manageable system to fit though the loft hatch as I'm restricted to anything 600mm wide