SIP thread -- (Sub-Irrigated Planter)
- Thread starter Humanrob
- Start date
Humanrob
Well-Known Member
I found they LOVE the bubbles, so I used one for a 40 gallon fish tank in a 10 gallon res.
I look forward to seeing how this one goes, and if you see any difference after using air stones.
Tstat
Well-Known Member
Yea, so I think the air stones are gonna make a big difference. Some of mine smelled bad in the end with no air. Not only that, I see explosive growth for a while, but I think in the end, the roots grow into the water, which is stagnant with no stones, and could do better with aeration. This time I placed a long air tone in each sip, right in the middle of the water res.
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1shaggyDude
Well-Known Member
Are you guys running the air stones also using EM-1 in your reservoirs?
Humanrob
Well-Known Member
Placing it under or adjacent to the wick helps, if that's not obvious. Roots were just bursting out of my wicks once I did that.
I don't know what EM-1 is, so I'm pretty sure I'm not using it. The only thing I've added to my res water was Pondzyme, and I did not do that consistently. I guess I'd add a little silica sometimes, but mostly it's just water.
Tim Fox
Well-Known Member
Ok, Getting the sip set up with the air stones and pump,, It has to be quiet,, my grow box is in the corner of my bedroom and well, quiet is more for us to sleep than to keep other people from finding it,, but i do pride myself on how stone cold quiet my grow box is ,,
I decided to zip tie a rock to each airstone to keep them on the bottom of the res, and then I set the top soil part of the sip into place, and i put some towels in the sip to simulate soil dampning, and sure enough the bubbles got real quiet,, the bubbles were louder than the air pump is,, hahah
i thought about buidling a foam box to keep the air pump inside of so it would be perfectly quiet, but after some testing the air pump was actually louder inside the foam box than simply standing on some foam legs,, i like easy,, well it looks like this is going to work,
some pics
I decided to zip tie a rock to each airstone to keep them on the bottom of the res, and then I set the top soil part of the sip into place, and i put some towels in the sip to simulate soil dampning, and sure enough the bubbles got real quiet,, the bubbles were louder than the air pump is,, hahah
i thought about buidling a foam box to keep the air pump inside of so it would be perfectly quiet, but after some testing the air pump was actually louder inside the foam box than simply standing on some foam legs,, i like easy,, well it looks like this is going to work,
some pics
Attachments
Tim Fox
Well-Known Member
This is the soil mix i am going to run this grow,, It cost me around 80 dollars to get all of these amendments sent to my front door, I purchased a couple of them from a local grow shop, but the guy admited they pretty much only sale bottled nutes,, , well i tried to give him my buisness,,
this was allot easier than growing my own earthworms in bins hahaha,, i like easy
1.5cubic feet Fox Farm Ocean Forest
-38cups Wiggle Worms Earthworm Casting (1-0-0)
-10cups Perlite-11tsp Rooters Mycorrhizae
*Soil Base
__________________________
-1.5cups Indonesian Hi-P Bat Guano (.5-13-.2)
-1.5cups Algamin Kelp Meal (1-0-2)
-1.5cups Espoma Tomato Tone (3-4-6)
*Nutritional Amendments
__________________________
-1.5cups Azomite
-0.5cup Espoma Green sand
-1.25cups Hi-Cal Lime
*Mineral Amendments
_This mix is from a old member here that I trust,and he had awesome results!!
This is what im going to run next run.Have been running FF line of nutes.And FFOF
this was allot easier than growing my own earthworms in bins hahaha,, i like easy
1.5cubic feet Fox Farm Ocean Forest
-38cups Wiggle Worms Earthworm Casting (1-0-0)
-10cups Perlite-11tsp Rooters Mycorrhizae
*Soil Base
__________________________
-1.5cups Indonesian Hi-P Bat Guano (.5-13-.2)
-1.5cups Algamin Kelp Meal (1-0-2)
-1.5cups Espoma Tomato Tone (3-4-6)
*Nutritional Amendments
__________________________
-1.5cups Azomite
-0.5cup Espoma Green sand
-1.25cups Hi-Cal Lime
*Mineral Amendments
_This mix is from a old member here that I trust,and he had awesome results!!
This is what im going to run next run.Have been running FF line of nutes.And FFOF
Humanrob
Well-Known Member
People pay good money for little fountains just so they can year the sound of water bubbling while they sleep! So as we used to say, "that's a feature not a fuckup". Bonus!
That looks great, it should really add some dimension to the root space. And your soil mix looks like it has everything covered!
Hawg Wild
Well-Known Member
So... I started a KNF/probiotic Earthbox autoflower grow using a mix of Buildasoil 3.0, FF Ocean Forest, and some cocoa bean hulls for the soil base amended with IMOs, 1/2c. per cubic foot each of diatomaceous earth, oyster shell flour, and fish bone meal; topdressed with Bokashi, IMO 3, and a little more oyster shell flour, then covered with a layer of pinto bean compost, a little more Bokashi and IMO 3, then mulched with a layer of the cocoa bean hulls and a layer of barley straw. I stuck a good ball of seedling starter soil mix in 2 per Earthbox and started seeds directly in that. Other than having to restart another Auto NL because my dumb ass blew it over with the pole fan, it looks like it's going well. I'm not one for thorough documentation but I'll probably post a brief grow report when they're done. Got 1 each Seedsman Auto NL, Seedsman Auto Alaskan Purple, Fastbuds LSD-25, and Binary Selections Nurple going... all just seedlings at this point. My mix is really holding water well, so that's a good sign, I think. I will be using the full compliment of KNF inputs this round, other than the water soluble calcium and calcium phosphate, as those are already in my soil in plentiful quantities.
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NewGrower2011
Well-Known Member
I just dismantled my first SIP and have to agree the rez can have quite a funky smell. I used EM1 throughout the run but also top fed other goodies from NFTG which essentially has some sugars, used some Recharge (molasses) so I can't say I'm surprised that it stank in the end.
I did not use any air stones (one of the goals, being 100% passive setup for being quiet and the reliability of no dependency on power) but am curious and considering it for the next run. My big question is how much air do you need in one of our SIP deals? I want QUIET operation so instead of my EcoAir commercial pump so I considered a smaller dual outlet per SIP, but with 4+ of those I'm uncertain if the commercial wouldn't be quieter especially if I built a sound isolation box for it.
For those who've done at least 1+ run did you revise your wick any after the first? I used a 100% coco wick this last time and it did the job, only question is how well versus one with some perlite or pumice would have done. The bottom 1/3 of my SIP staid nice and damp it turns out even with leaving the top entirely exposed and sitting for the entire run. Next time I aim to do better and use the 'shower cap' approach just as long as it's removable so I can top dress/top feed occasionally. I also considered some type of rope (nylon? hemp? other options?) and draping strands down into the wick chamber before packing it... then letting these 'runners' come up into the SIP bed itself a bit to encourage more wicking.
I did not use any air stones (one of the goals, being 100% passive setup for being quiet and the reliability of no dependency on power) but am curious and considering it for the next run. My big question is how much air do you need in one of our SIP deals? I want QUIET operation so instead of my EcoAir commercial pump so I considered a smaller dual outlet per SIP, but with 4+ of those I'm uncertain if the commercial wouldn't be quieter especially if I built a sound isolation box for it.
For those who've done at least 1+ run did you revise your wick any after the first? I used a 100% coco wick this last time and it did the job, only question is how well versus one with some perlite or pumice would have done. The bottom 1/3 of my SIP staid nice and damp it turns out even with leaving the top entirely exposed and sitting for the entire run. Next time I aim to do better and use the 'shower cap' approach just as long as it's removable so I can top dress/top feed occasionally. I also considered some type of rope (nylon? hemp? other options?) and draping strands down into the wick chamber before packing it... then letting these 'runners' come up into the SIP bed itself a bit to encourage more wicking.
Deadhead13
Well-Known Member
That looks great, make a thread for us to follow.
Tim Fox
Well-Known Member
i was debating with myself if i wanted to do a grow thread or not
Deadhead13
Well-Known Member
I used to debate with myself and folks called me a drunk. I hope your “Yes” side wins as I’m interested to see these SIPs work inside. I’ve got no doubts about them working well outdoors.
Tim Fox
Well-Known Member
well your in luck, this is probably my 4th indoor grow in a sip,, they work really well
Deadhead13
Well-Known Member
I don’t know if we can ever have too much, I can’t wait to get my inside going.