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Idea's on self watering system for soil?

  • Thread starter Thread starter xX Kid Twist Xx
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Idea's on self watering system for soil?

xX Kid Twist Xx 36 Replies 18,283 Views
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xX Kid Twist Xx

xX Kid Twist Xx

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#1
this will be for a 6 light grow 9 plants per light in 3-5 gals. like the title states if anyone has done it how it worked out for them. basically looking for something were i can fill a resivoir and flip a switch to evenly water my plants when they need it. and as time goes on and i get a feel for it maybe set it to a timer incase i cant get there for a weekend? want to know what i would need does it water evenly?
 
#2
Kid I've used reservoirs,and pumps hooked up to water halo's
individual drippers didn't work as well as the halo's did for me....
I got even application in 20 gallon containers doing this,I'd rather hand water,but this set up worked OK, so I could travel a bit....

I would dial in the amount of time they needed to irrigate,over the course of a week or so.....as long as temps and everything stay stable it works OK........

here's a link
http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/93...BaseShopping&gclid=COmSnMXUiL0CFc9AMgodZ04ALw

Good luck!
 
#6
how would you use bluemates for soil?
 
#7
waayne said:
Kid I've used reservoirs,and pumps hooked up to water halo's
individual drippers didn't work as well as the halo's did for me....
I got even application in 20 gallon containers doing this,I'd rather hand water,but this set up worked OK, so I could travel a bit....

I would dial in the amount of time they needed to irrigate,over the course of a week or so.....as long as temps and everything stay stable it works OK........

here's a link
http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/93...BaseShopping&gclid=COmSnMXUiL0CFc9AMgodZ04ALw

Good luck!
Click to expand...
i really like these halos waayne kinda what im looking for. we have been using the gh 3 part at this spot so im not gonna have to worry about clogging. should i set up 2 resiviors for each run of 3 lights and 3 manifolds? i have a bunch of questions
 
#8
xX Kid Twist Xx said:
how would you use bluemates for soil?
Click to expand...
...that's why i provided a link bro, so you could go find your answers yourself.

Blumats get the job done without timers and pumps so as long as your reservoir isn't allowed to run dry your plants get watered. ...and you can use halo's.

bozo
 
#9
Kid I was irrigating trees and wanted to be gone 10 - 11 days so each large tree had it's own 31
gallon reservoir......I used 396 GPH,and some had 1000 GPH pumps,kinda what ever I had laying around....

It worked out in my flower room to about 2 gallons a day,on average ,per plant ,though some trees needed more....

So I had different irrigation cycles depending on pump size,and plant size and individual requirements

I'd probably try 3 reservoirs,per 3 lights,I missed my flight once due to a flight delay.....got home 13 hours later than expected....
and one reservoir was nearly dry.... extra reservoir capacity is something to consider .....
 
#12
I'll snap some pics of my cheesy setup but it's good for 5 days away from the grow with 16 plants in 7 gal pots off of a 35 gal res.the key for me is to super soak the plants before you leave.but my setup would need 3 the res capacity in coco. I been considering those halos for a while now, thinking about making my own out of black pipe.but I run cheap mist heads from home depot and remove the nozzles so they flow faster and it just drizzle on to the top of the soil.i run 6 min sets 2 X a day for 4 days off the 35 gal res with a small pump, like maybe 350gph.
 
#13
i always thought blumats was a mat for hydro or rockwool cubes lol. i just looked at the link. do they water evenly like the whole pot will be covered?
 
#14
great thread!
Bluemats look killer, but if ya need multiples per pot they can really add up quick. I like all the different pump/manifold ideas you guys are cooking up..hope to hear more! I'm going to scoop up some cheap 55 gal blue barrels (farm molasses) $10 per.
 
#17
these r the mist heads/drippers i use from home depot,they r called mister landscaper mist heads.they r adjustable heads but i just unscrew the caps and use them wide open as drippers.but its more of a nice steady flow coming out that will soak a 7 gal pot in 6-7 mins with one head,i run 2 heads in the biggest 3 or 4 plants usually.
Drippers


and i get these manifolds at the hydro store,i think you can order them from hydrofarm or amazon.they have 6 outlets that are adjustable so you can shut them down or run them 50% or wide open or anywhere in between.the bottom of it is threaded for 3/4 pipe and i pull out the screen that comes in it so i dont ever get clogs.i run 3 x manifolds off the 400gph pump so 18 drip heads and it pumps about 10 gals in 6 mins.i just dial down the new/small plants and run doubles in the biggest plants on full throttle with my setup.just need to make sure the manifolds are mounted higher than the top of your res and put a drip leg in the pipe so it cant leak out.the pic above is not correct,those lines should be tied to the stake or a branch up higher than the mist head.otherwise water will run down the pipe onto the floor :)
been there,done that,shitty fo sho :eek: i got about 100.00 into the pipe,heads,and pump and i paid 99.00 for my tank at tractor supply so 2 billz total.i been wanting to try the halos or make some for more even water distr. around the very outer edges of the pot,but it seems fine as long as you use a smaller pump and water a bit slower,it soaks in decent.
Manifold


if i make halos i will def use a pump twice as big for better flow.but like i say,6-7 mins x 2 sets does my room well for a 2 day trip and 8 mins once a day works good for a 4 day trip.i could just have a friend fill the tank and walk away and it could go for weeks like that but not with my rotations lol
 
#19
No problem bro.when you buy those mist heads they come with a tee connection and in spring home depot sells alot of parts like the lil couplers to connect these in series or just to add more hose.think I bought a roll of 50 foot of the hose and used most of it.they also sell an adapter that goes from garden hose size to that hose size with a built in pressure regulator.it was all designed for small outdoor gardens. I just use 1 digital timer to run my setup.it is important to make all your manifolds the same height and all your individual hose runs the same length for even pressure at the drip heads.but turning a few heads down will increase flow at all the remaining heads so it's real simple to dial in for my setup of multi size plants.gl
 
#20
blumats do anything coco soil they water the whole pot ive been using them over 5 years with no probs just need a bit of drip clean in the res and you are good to go no timers to fail best invention ever
 
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