Blumats

[CoB_nUt]

I'm gonna have to keep looking into this. When I set up a new garden I would like to get as dialed in and automated as possible.

x2

I'm really interested in these. Haven't run soil in a long while, but I'd like a water only soil grow. To run against my hydro system. See how the end product compares. I'm a ways off from trying it tho. Bugs,are a deterrent for me mainly on trying soil. I may be better off going with coco since I'm familiar with it.

I'll be lurking and learning Mac.

 

[CAPT CHESAPEAKE]

Copy that. I guess I thought the point of florakleen was to remove the salt from the soil LOL. I'm switching to water this week for the next week for a final flush although the more I read it's not really necessary LOL

I am assuming you are talking about the Floorakleen mixed with water right? A good rule of thumb is to flush with 3x the amount of the container. I know that is a lot but you can see the results of only running 3 gallons thru your media. I would not worry about it to much just use strait water till the end should get those PPM's down some.

 

[macsnax]

x2

I'm really interested in these. Haven't run soil in a long while, but I'd like a water only soil grow. To run against my hydro system. See how the end product compares. I'm a ways off from trying it tho. Bugs,are a deterrent for me mainly on trying soil. I may be better off going with coco since I'm familiar with it.

I'll be lurking and learning Mac.

Don't be shy buddy, jump in and ask questions.

 

[CAPT CHESAPEAKE]

Yes that's 100% coco. I don't flush but I imagine that you could. The blumat would likely stop releasing water until it sensed the coco was dry.

Also @xtsho are you using 100% coco from Blumats recommendation? I have been working with coco for several years and have recently started treating it more like hydro ( keeping it wetter than i used to).Performance has been good but i also invited fungus gnats for the first time using coco. How do you like keeping your moisture level in the coco using the Blumats? It appears to to look pretty dry in the photo. Also any concerns about not having runoff like we do when we hand water?

 

[xtsho]

Also @xtsho are you using 100% coco from Blumats recommendation? I have been working with coco for several years and have recently started treating it more like hydro ( keeping it wetter than i used to).Performance has been good but i also invited fungus gnats for the first time using coco. How do you like keeping your moisture level in the coco using the Blumats? It appears to to look pretty dry in the photo. Also any concerns about not having runoff like we do when we hand water?

Yes 100% coco. It looks dry on the top but it's damp underneath. I also might have still been getting the blumat dialed in with the one in the picture. I can't remember. As for no runoff, I just run low ec, don't dump a bunch of additives into the mix, and start tapering down about mid flower. I'm just running 1/4 strength at harvest time. I don't flush. Weed turns out fine. If you run high ec and a bunch of additives the outcome might be different. But for that matter the same goes for any medium/method of growing. Many people just use too high of ec and unnecessary additives.

Blumats keep the moisture level perfect in 100% coco when set properly. Not soaking wet, not dry, but good and damp. Root growth is great. Even when I hand watered coco I wouldn't necessarily water everyday. I would let it dry out some. I noticed better root growth when I didn't drench it everyday. 100% coco doesn't dry out as fast as coco/perlite. The trick is keeping it at the right level of moisture and blumats do that. I gave up the daily water until runoff a long time ago. If the coco is still good and wet then you don't need to water anymore until it dries out some. Many will disagree but that's how I have been doing things for a long time and all I grow is healthy plants.

 

[macsnax]

Yes 100% coco. It looks dry on the top but it's damp underneath. I also might have still been getting the blumat dialed in with the one in the picture. I can't remember. As for no runoff, I just run low ec, don't dump a bunch of additives into the mix, and start tapering down about mid flower. I'm just running 1/4 strength at harvest time. I don't flush. Weed turns out fine. If you run high ec and a bunch of additives the outcome might be different. But for that matter the same goes for any medium/method of growing. Many people just use too high of ec and unnecessary additives.

Blumats keep the moisture level perfect in 100% coco when set properly. Not soaking wet, not dry, but good and damp. Root growth is great. Even when I hand watered coco I wouldn't necessarily water everyday. I would let it dry out some. I noticed better root growth when I didn't drench it everyday. 100% coco doesn't dry out as fast as coco/perlite. The trick is keeping it at the right level of moisture and blumats do that. I gave up the daily water until runoff a long time ago. If the coco is still good and wet then you don't need to water anymore until it dries out some. Many will disagree but that's how I have been doing things for a long time and all I grow is healthy plants.

Hand watering I would let the top layer dry and then feed, pretty similar. Def how the roots really take off. I'll have to put up pictures tonight, I'm already getting the lil root spikes where it drips. These things are pretty cool.

 

[CAPT CHESAPEAKE]

Yes 100% coco. It looks dry on the top but it's damp underneath. I also might have still been getting the blumat dialed in with the one in the picture. I can't remember. As for no runoff, I just run low ec, don't dump a bunch of additives into the mix, and start tapering down about mid flower. I'm just running 1/4 strength at harvest time. I don't flush. Weed turns out fine. If you run high ec and a bunch of additives the outcome might be different. But for that matter the same goes for any medium/method of growing. Many people just use too high of ec and unnecessary additives.

Blumats keep the moisture level perfect in 100% coco when set properly. Not soaking wet, not dry, but good and damp. Root growth is great. Even when I hand watered coco I wouldn't necessarily water everyday. I would let it dry out some. I noticed better root growth when I didn't drench it everyday. 100% coco doesn't dry out as fast as coco/perlite. The trick is keeping it at the right level of moisture and blumats do that. I gave up the daily water until runoff a long time ago. If the coco is still good and wet then you don't need to water anymore until it dries out some. Many will disagree but that's how I have been doing things for a long time and all I grow is healthy plants.

Thanks @xtsho great info. That sure is a hard lesson to learn for most (more is better). Just the man way of thinking i guess. Probably why females are usually better growers. Never thought about the higher EC numbers having anything to do with cal mag deficiency. Like @macsnax i rarely go over 6-700 ppm anymore and it has taken a while to get down that low.

 

[xtsho]

Hand watering I would let the top layer dry and then feed, pretty similar. Def how the roots really take off. I'll have to put up pictures tonight, I'm already getting the lil root spikes where it drips. These things are pretty cool.

I've noticed much faster root growth with damp coco over wet coco. I start my seeds in small pots and then transplant them straight into three gallon fabric pots. Usually I'll see root tips poking through in about a week. That's into coco that has been soaked in a weak nutrient solution, then drained and excess water squeezed out. Once I see roots coming out the sides I start watering more and increasing the nute strength. This is for vegging when I'm hand watering. After a few weeks I move them into the flower tents, hook up the blumats, and let them take care of the watering. I just keep nutrient solution in the reservoir. Blumats sure have made things easier.

Hand watering is easy in a 2 x 4 tent with one row of plants while vegging but in the middle of flower in a 4 x 4 tent it becomes a hassle reaching the back plants and then worrying about catching runoff. With the blumats I just add a certain amount of water to the reservoir, add my nutes, and walk away for four or five days.

 

[macsnax]

Thanks @xtsho great info. That sure is a hard lesson to learn for most (more is better). Just the man way of thinking i guess. Probably why females are usually better growers. Never thought about the higher EC numbers having anything to do with cal mag deficiency. Like @macsnax i rarely go over 6-700 ppm anymore and it has taken a while to get down that low.

I really think everthing we want out of our plants aside from a lil bigger yield is obtainable with a lower ec, happier plants too. There's no need for 1000+ ppm unless you're trying to mass produce and don't care about quality, lol.

 

[macsnax]

I've noticed much faster root growth with damp coco over wet coco. I start my seeds in small pots and then transplant them straight into three gallon fabric pots. Usually I'll see root tips poking through in about a week. That's into coco that has been soaked in a weak nutrient solution, then drained and excess water squeezed out. Once I see roots coming out the sides I start watering more and increasing the nute strength. This is for vegging when I'm hand watering. After a few weeks I move them into the flower tents, hook up the blumats, and let them take care of the watering. I just keep nutrient solution in the reservoir. Blumats sure have made things easier.

Hand watering is easy in a 2 x 4 tent with one row of plants while vegging but in the middle of flower in a 4 x 4 tent it becomes a hassle reaching the back plants and then worrying about catching runoff. With the blumats I just add a certain amount of water to the reservoir, add my nutes, and walk away for four or five days.

I know what you mean. As I walk by I check the clear tube on the res and that's about it, unless I need to add to the res. I'm trying to figure out a float valve on a bigger res to feed the main smaller res so I can leave for a week plus and not worry.

 

[macsnax]

Also @xtsho say you have 8 plants on bm's and pull 4...... What do you do with the carrots that have no pot? As of now I did just that, turned them off and let them sit on the floor, is this a bad idea, should they stay wet?

 

[xtsho]

Also @xtsho say you have 8 plants on bm's and pull 4...... What do you do with the carrots that have no pot? As of now I did just that, turned them off and let them sit on the floor, is this a bad idea, should they stay wet?

That's what I do. Just turn them all the way off. Just prep and soak them per instructions before using them again. I would make sure that the ceramic part is protected. It probably wouldn't take much banging around to damage them and make them useless. Wrap them in a rag or something.

 

[macsnax]

That's what I do. Just turn them all the way off. Just prep and soak them per instructions before using them again. I would make sure that the ceramic part is protected. It probably wouldn't take much banging around to damage them and make them useless. Wrap them in a rag or something.

I meant to ask you that the other day. These plants are under a net now so the carrots are pretty safe, thanks man.

 

[CAPT CHESAPEAKE]

I know what you mean. As I walk by I check the clear tube on the res and that's about it, unless I need to add to the res. I'm trying to figure out a float valve on a bigger res to feed the main smaller res so I can leave for a week plus and not worry.

I am building my reservoir soon Mac can you pm me or post it here a picture of your clear tube on the reservoir . I would like to incorporate that into my build as well.

 

[macsnax]

I am building my reservoir soon Mac can you pm me or post it here a picture of your clear tube on the reservoir . I would like to incorporate that into my build as well.

I can tonight when I get back, be about 6 hours or so.

 

[OZZZ]

I’ve got a microcab with an aquarium on top with a single large fish as you can see in this Pic, seriously considering hooking up blaumats to the fish tank and seeing how the plants perform. The only thing I’m wondering is that I’ve heard fish water is too high in nitrogen for flowering? Anyone know anything about how this would work out? I run organic soil mixes.

 

[Craigson]

I'm not aware of a blumat thread on this forum and i think we need one. I started using them a few weeks ago. Installed them 3 days before I left for 8 days, and came back to plants that grew more than if I was there hand watering. It really got my attention on how effective these are at delivering nutrients. I'm in coco as well, so for me to see increased growth rates, well I'm impressed. You can see the 8 day difference in these pics. I think more people need to be aware of these things, from the convenience to simply better performing plants. Hopefully this thread will spark some interest, I love sharing things that can help anyone improve their garden. And for anyone handy with some simple diy, there's better res options than buying the complete kit. It will save you 40 bucks anyway. Let's get a blumat discussion going. Especially if you have been using them for a while and have tips and tricks that can help people new to them.

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Ya its actually pretty wild how much the growth increases
What strain and ligts are u running? Thats crazy tight nodes

 

[macsnax]

Ya its actually pretty wild how much the growth increases
What strain and ligts are u running? Thats crazy tight nodes

I'm running cxb3590 cobs and thats a strain I created. It's double dawg biscuits or DDB's, credit to @genuity on the strain name. It's a real nice pheno of gu's cookies n chem x purple stardawg pollen that I got from @Dankonomics_genetics. I think the purple afghani mixed with cobs is where the tight nodes are coming from. Great structure on them for sure.

 

[macsnax]

Ya its actually pretty wild how much the growth increases
What strain and ligts are u running? Thats crazy tight nodes

This one seems to be leaning to the purple afghani side more than the others. It's actually making me wonder if I took too much off down low, lol. I hope it stretches a bit more.

 

[macsnax]

I’ve got a microcab with an aquarium on top with a single large fish as you can see in this Pic, seriously considering hooking up blaumats to the fish tank and seeing how the plants perform. The only thing I’m wondering is that I’ve heard fish water is too high in nitrogen for flowering? Anyone know anything about how this would work out? I run organic soil mixes.

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I don't have that answer for you. Hopefully someone will come along that does.