COCO drip irrigation system

[SamRD]

I'm going to do my first coco fertigation grow. I went looking for a drip irrigation system, I'm growing a single sizable plant with a 7 gal pot in a tight space. Came across a number of these: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0743F4532/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ALHMCZG7P2QCI&psc=1

They seem to be perfect for what I need but they all say water only, no nutes. What should I do?

Can they be used with nutes? And why do they all say no to them? Is there a better alternative for me?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[1dude1seed]

I’ve used a similar unit in the past without issues. Ran it for about 4 months before building my auto feeding reservoir. Feeding a single plant every other day, then later increased to every day.

I used GH trio with it, with the occasional Epsom salts in the water. Then would run a little bit of straight water with h2o2 at rez changes to “clear” the pump of any nutrient residue.

Mine was an okay unit that did the job, I just wouldn’t rely on it long term. It worked in a pinch, but a proper system is so much better. Especially when you need to feed more than one plant.

 

[7CardBud]

Buy once, cry once. I would invest in solid equipment that can be upscaled later. A good pump, digi timer, 1/2" drip rings, tubing, and a good size rez.

 

[xtsho]

Blumats

 

[Roguedawg]

A 7 gallon pot of coco is for 10plus pound plants. Use a smaller container and irrigate multiple times per day. small pump and hose to distribute, the small tubing in a circle with a T and several small holes drilled in it works perfect. If you use some huge container and you only water once a day just handwater.

 

[XtraGood]

Blumats

Maybe with just water, but for nutrient solution I'm getting tired of Blumats. After using Blumats in coco with just jacks 321 for a couple years I'm moving towards all pumps and sprayers on 1/2" tube. The drip tubes on the Blumats get salt buildup that slowly clogs them, maybe I need to add a pump to make the Blumats work better? I think the salt buildup at the carrot would still be a problem though?

The Blumat pots end up with unintended dry backs, especially at the ends of runs when I don't want them, where as the sprayer pots are easy to manage at the timer and don't end up dry unintentionally.

The sprayers can clog too buy not as easily and honestly most keep working without issue all year, and with multiple sprayers per halo they're pretty failsafe from the rare clogs. I'd say about 5% of sprayer heads clog over a year, mostly cause I accidentally get some coco bits in the line when setting halos around trunks, all of the blumats clog up over a years' time. Maybe I'm doing it wrong?

 

[waterproof808]

Maybe with just water, but for nutrient solution I'm getting tired of Blumats. After using Blumats in coco with just jacks 321 for a couple years I'm moving towards all pumps and sprayers on 1/2" tube. The drip tubes on the Blumats get salt buildup that slowly clogs them, maybe I need to add a pump to make the Blumats work better? I think the salt buildup at the carrot would still be a problem though?

The Blumat pots end up with unintended dry backs, especially at the ends of runs when I don't want them, where as the sprayer pots are easy to manage at the timer and don't end up dry unintentionally.

The sprayers can clog too buy not as easily and honestly most keep working without issue all year, and with multiple sprayers per halo they're pretty failsafe from the rare clogs. I'd say about 5% of sprayer heads clog over a year, mostly cause I accidentally get some coco bits in the line when setting halos around trunks, all of the blumats clog up over a years' time. Maybe I'm doing it wrong?
View attachment 5186596

No, blumats require more effort to keep them working properly. It’s a big reason why I switched to a pump based drip setup after running blumats for a few years. The benefit of blumats is you don’t need electricity for them to work, but they need a lot more maintenance than a typical drip system.

 

[SamRD]

Thanks guys. Reading your comments I came to the conclusion that with my limited space it's better to use this cultivation nation 70/30 coco in a big 7 gallon pot and hand feed it. I imagine that it will still require much more feeding than soil, but not 3-5 times a day hopefully.

Once I have a proper area to dedicate to growing I'll invest in a good drip system with 3-5 gallon pots

 

[7CardBud]

Thanks guys. Reading your comments I came to the conclusion that with my limited space it's better to use this cultivation nation 70/30 coco in a big 7 gallon pot and hand feed it. I imagine that it will still require much more feeding than soil, but not 3-5 times a day hopefully.

Once I have a proper area to dedicate to growing I'll invest in a good drip system with 3-5 gallon pots

Good luck! I would never personally try to do coco with hand feeds. There is just too much shit that happens in life.
If you aren't dedicated to coco, 7 gallons of peat soiless mix will grow just about the same as coco. After I ditched coco I ran the rest of my H&G Cocos in Promix and it worked fine. I was only watering twice a week at the begining.

7 Gallons of peat mix can support some good size plants. My outdoor is in 7 gallon bags this year.

 

[EKG Cal Canna]

If you wanna walk away for a day or 3 you can make a pretty simple auto system for cheap. I've used these flora flex rings,a simple submersible pump & cheap old black dripline on a cheap plug timer feeding 1 min at a time.House & garden makes a product called drip clean that keeps it from clogging up,just add to your feed drum.

 

[sessland]

I did what you were thinking of and bought the exact same "irrigation setup"

I didn't like it at all. You're welcome to it if you want to pay for shipping

 

[Billy the Mountain]

If you wanna walk away for a day or 3 you can make a pretty simple auto system for cheap. I've used these flora flex rings,a simple submersible pump & cheap old black dripline on a cheap plug timer feeding 1 min at a time.House & garden makes a product called drip clean that keeps it from clogging up,just add to your feed drum.

They may work ok on their own, but the florafex rings are designed to be used with the matrix tops.
They work great btw, completely even water distribution, works well with low-psi pumps, no tiny orifices to get clogged.

 

[EKG Cal Canna]

I did what you were thinking of and bought the exact same "irrigation setup"

I didn't like it at all. You're welcome to it if you want to pay for shipping

thx, I used that system for a couple years on a small grow, 2 40 plant flower rooms & a veg, Worked ok for the times I needed to be gone for a few days. Keeping it going on a budget is what we have to do sometimes. Ive since moved on to netafims & get a better more consistent grow

 

[PJ Diaz]

I just use pressure compensating emitters on 1/4" line, 4 emitters per pot. Works great. Easy and cheap.

 

[Sniklefritz42069]

I just use pressure compensating emitters on 1/4" line, 4 emitters per pot. Works great. Easy and cheap.

View attachment 5195197

View attachment 5195203

I like this. I need to find those trays. The runoff pump is my best bet to keep heights low.

 

[PJ Diaz]

I like this. I need to find those trays. The runoff pump is my best bet to keep heights low.

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[xtsho]

Odd to see so many people having problems or saying blumats take too much work. I haven't found anything simpler. I've never had clogged lines or dry backs. I don't know what people are doing but I just set them, check the drip in a day, and walk away. The only thing I have to do is add nutrient solution to the reservoir. I don't fuss with them which is probably what people are doing. Set them and forget them. The first run I used them I did have a couple runaways but that was due to me thinking they weren't working right and then opening the valve up too much.

 

[RottyRzr]

Odd to see so many people having problems or saying blumats take too much work. I haven't found anything simpler. I've never had clogged lines or dry backs. I don't know what people are doing but I just set them, check the drip in a day, and walk away. The only thing I have to do is add nutrient solution to the reservoir. I don't fuss with them which is probably what people are doing. Set them and forget them. The first run I used them I did have a couple runaways but that was due to me thinking they weren't working right and then opening the valve up too much.

I have been looking into the blumat system. I have almost pulled the trigger and bought the 'classic' a couple of times but having read quite a few people saying they had "runaways", I'm a little concerned since my grow room is a spare bedroom. Did you have any trouble with that when you first started?

 

[xtsho]

I have been looking into the blumat system. I have almost pulled the trigger and bought the 'classic' a couple of times but having read quite a few people saying they had "runaways", I'm a little concerned since my grow room is a spare bedroom. Did you have any trouble with that when you first started?

The first time I used them because after I initially set them I went back and adjusted them because I didn't think they were dripping enough. They were. Fortunately my tent is in a garage and the water just drained out under the door due to the slope of the pavement. That was the only time I've had a runaway.

You have a valid concern though. If I were to use them inside the house I would definitely have a tray that could hold the volume of my reservoir just in case. Same thing with any automated drain to waste drip system. Plan for the worst case. A tray doesn't cost that much if you buy one and their easy to make if you DIY. I know of instances where for one reason or another pumps kept going longer than they were supposed to and the reservoir was emptied causing a small flood.

 

[PJ Diaz]

The first time I used them because after I initially set them I went back and adjusted them because I didn't think they were dripping enough. They were. Fortunately my tent is in a garage and the water just drained out under the door due to the slope of the pavement. That was the only time I've had a runaway.

You have a valid concern though. If I were to use them inside the house I would definitely have a tray that could hold the volume of my reservoir just in case. Same thing with any automated drain to waste drip system. Plan for the worst case. A tray doesn't cost that much if you buy one and their easy to make if you DIY. I know of instances where for one reason or another pumps kept going longer than they were supposed to and the reservoir was emptied causing a small flood.

No matter what the system, figuring out how to properly deal with runoff is a necessary piece of the puzzle, and when left unaccounted for, can result in nasty consequences. I've only have overflows a couple/few times in the past decade, and every time it was due to my own error (times mis-set, failure to empty runoff catch basin in a timely manner, etc).