So I made an auto water system......

[WickedMichelle]

Ok... so I go to clean out my tent getting ready for my next grow and I notice a lot of crap floating in my water source. I have seen where people will put some hydrogen peroxide in their water for hydro. They claim it helps keep the water free from bacteria and stuff.

Now granted.... the last thing in there was just distilled water and molasses.... but what little that was left from harvest has been sitting for 2 weeks.

There are stains inside the bucket as well. Red stains. Not sure where the red is coming from, maybe from the GH red nutrient who knows. But for a week and a half the only thing running through there was water and molasses.

I wonder what all is trapped in the hoses. I need to do a complete flush, I am wondering if it is worth it. I mean I fill the bucket up every 3 days and they get watered for 1 min every 24 hours.

Very simple system, a fish pump from Vivossun, some 1/2" and 1/4" garden hose, a 3.5 gallon bucket (I have a 5 gallon as well in case I need more) and some drip heads.

Should I be treating my feed water with an additional chemical to keep out the water growth? I really do not want to go back to hand watering. :(

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[ArtfulCodger]

I love automated watering too. I don't put anything organic in my reservoirs. It grows stuff and gunks up lines. If I want to add an organic amendment, I top water.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

the last thing in there was just distilled water and molasses...

Interesting story... I had a 1-gallon watering can with some molasses in it. I forgot about it and it sat for maybe a week or more. When I finally decided to do something with it, I noticed there were bubbles on the surface of the water. So, I decided to dump it. When I looked inside, I found a large growth of black mold in the bottom.

 

[kckid46]

Bio film builds on and in any area that has water with some kind of nutrient or organic material in it . Therefore it will build and eventually become its own lil bio sphere and will make organics aenerobic which is opposite of the good bacteria and microbes . Peroxide in each Lil fill abd and periodically flush system pump tubes ans emmiters with a chlorine bleach and water mix make sure and thoroughly rinse of course before using again.

 

[shooter64738]

I put mixer pumps in all my auto water setups. A small fountain pump with a 1/2 pvc stand pipe on it. It runs constantly and keeps the water from getting stagnant.

I only use GH nutes tho, nothing else. Maybe a cal/mag if they need it, but I never run anything organic in it.

Watch your drip heads for clogs. I used those same heads and some times they would just stop running water. Might leave my plant dry for several days before it got noticed.

I found my plants do better if I water for 15-20 seconds 4 times per day, but I'm also growing in coco. For soil, 15-20 seconds 2x per day seems to do well, but I'm on my last soil grow this year and I'm coco 100% after thay.

After each grow, we mix 50/50 vinegar and water, about a gallon each. Just enough to cover the pumps. Put all the irrigation gear in the resevoir, hoses, heads, valves and all. We let that run over night to help dissolve minerals. Rinse all the calcium, lime, and whatever other minerals built up. Then we rinse with water and run bleach water for 24 hours, rinse and then straight water that empties into another container. By the time we've done that we got clones ready to go back in and we start all over.

I'm on a well, so our water has lime and calcium in it. We have to be mindful of hard water clogging things.

 

[WickedMichelle]

Lil fill abd and periodically flush system pump tubes ans emmiters with a chlorine bleach and water mix make sure and thoroughly rinse of course before using again.

Good ol Bleach. Yep, that is what I did. I let it soak for an hour or two while I cleaned the rest of the tent. Ran water through the tubes.

I found my plants do better if I water for 15-20 seconds 4 times per day, but I'm also growing in coco. For soil, 15-20 seconds 2x per day seems to do well, but I'm on my last soil grow this year and I'm coco 100% after thay.

The timer I am using only works in 1min intervals. I have a wifi power strip that has timer I use. Very reliable and easy to set up vs the timers that cane with the lights. I have to adjust the heads to limit the water so I do not flood the tent. I was thinking of trying 1 min every 12 hours. Maybe this next run. This one will be tricky as I am using 1 gal pots instead of 5 gal.

I only use GH nutes tho, nothing else. Maybe a cal/mag if they need it, but I never run anything organic in it.

Me too. Just the base 3 flora series. I have some cal/mag but have not used it since my 1st grow. I had issues with it. Just using the base 3 and using the aggressive grow chart, my plants have been beautiful and healthy. I do not get ugly leaves or any kind of issues that I have seen on here. (knock wood)

When I finally decided to do something with it, I noticed there were bubbles on the surface of the water. So, I decided to dump it. When I looked inside, I found a large growth of black mold in the bottom.

It is quite a site to see. I thought I ruined my system but it seems to have cleaned well. I think that the small amount of water that was left at the bottom of the bucket (where the pump cannot reach) and what ever was left in the tubes sat too long without movement. Once things are flowing every 12-24 hours it should be fine. If not, back to manual watering. (almost tempted to just dump the drip and manual water anyway, the hoses stink )

Today I finish my cleaning, sift the soil and with luck get some seeds started.

 

[shooter64738]

Do you have a power strip or an outlet? I switched to power strips (a bn link, and a cheap amazon version) because they have an inching function. Using the Tuya smart app it's on the far right. Can go down to 1 second or up to 60 minutes. I've only every seen it on the power strips though.

 

[WickedMichelle]

I switched to power strips (a bn link,

I have the BN-Link. I am using the schedule feature, like my lights. This only sets on the min. I do not have seconds on this one. I am using the BN-Link app with it as well.

Using the Tuya smart app it's on the far right.

I do not see that. I am using the BN-Link app that was recommended by the provided instructions. Does this app work well with the BN-Link? The one I am using atm is very reliable. I have not had any issues with the lights not coming on or turning off.

 

[shooter64738]

Both apps send data to the cloud, then update the device, and from there the device just does what it was last told. I've not had any reliability issues with any of the apps (smart life, smart home, bn link, tuya, midea, etc). I went with tuya because it's idenpendent of products and works with thousands of devices and it's only 1 app. I do see what you mean with bn link going only hours and minutes.

Here's a short video of how mine works. If what you have is working for you, no need to change. I just had more options with this app. My grows are 100% automated, and that pretty much my only way.

 

[shooter64738]

Video didn't link first time.

 

[WickedMichelle]

Video didn't link first time.

This time either LOL.

I did get it figured out. I can use the timer to turn the outlet on everyday at specific times. Then use the inching feature (far right on the top scheduling menu). This will turn the outlet off in better intervals. I tested for 30 sec. Worked like a charm

It will be a week or so before I need it. Just planted seeds this morning. This will be fun. 9 pots..... 8 1gal all autos. 1 5 gal with a fast flower. 5 different strain. All finish at different times. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

[shooter64738]

Well I guess it's just not going to upload, so here is a screen shot of

the Tuya app. The bn link shows minutes, Tuya shows seconds.

Well now they both posted!

 

[WickedMichelle]

Well now they both posted!

Yep, inching.... I found that on the BM-Link app.

 

[shooter64738]

Yep, inching.... I found that on the BM-Link app.

Glad you got it, sorry to side track so much, but that little feature has been awesome. I got some auto vents at home depot, and I use inching to turn those vents on to change air exhaust from room, to outside if humidity gets too high. It just turns the vent on for 4 seconds, which makes it close, then turn on the outside vent for 4 seconds which makes it open. Setup an automation, if this occurs, do this, or that. I've even used a powered shade to split my 4x8 in half. Auto flowers on one side, photos on the other. Photo light goes off after 12 hours, auto shade closes light off from the autoflowers, autoflower light stays on for 6 more hours and shuts off. I love automation.

 

[WickedMichelle]

I love automation.

Me too!