Automatic(ish) Setup - Soil

Hey Fellow growers - so this round I’m attempting to take the lazy route and try to automate my set up as much as possible - hey it’s summer I want to be able to take some weekend trips without being tied to my grow tent every/ every other day. So I’ll explain my set up up a little bit:

3x3x6 tent
260w HLG QB
6inch AC Infinity w/ controller 67
6 inch carbon filter

I have my temps and lights under control timers/ fan controller/ space heater (oil filled/outside of tent on a controller)

i plan on making one of these DIY humidifiers so that I only have to fill up once/ twice a week
https://www.dudegrows.com/grow-hack-diy-humidifier-bucket/ I will have this on inkbird controller.

I also plan on using a 5 gallon bucket as a reservoir. With this cheap automatic pump I got on Amazon then going to sprayers/ drippers into pot
Automatic watering system

I should add that I’m only doing one plant this time but will probably veg for 6-8 weeks so it will just be one big girl in there. I typically have yielded about 6-8 oz this way which is plenty enough for my biannual grows and I only have to worry about growing and harvesting one plant. One big plant. Here’s a pic of my last run


my questions:

For the reservoir - say I add liquid nutes. And typically my Schedule is to feed every third watering. If I’m using the reservoir can I constantly feed at low dose so it’s constantly being fed one feeding but over 3-4 watering periods?(ex; say one gallons dose of FF trio in 3-4 gallons of water Ph’d) Should I be aerating this with pump and air stone to discourage bad bacteria build up?

I appreciate any feedback and advice! Sorry about the lengthy post!

I guess ill just have to experiment myself !

drDavidHasselCough said:

I guess ill just have to experiment myself !

Click to expand...

Have you looked into blumats? It's a gravity system using ceramic sensors that open and close a valve delivering water depending on the soil moisture. And yes you need to keep the reservoir aerated.

This is what I'm talking about.

A reservoir being aerated with a small pond pump.



The reservoir is located higher so that gravity delivers the water instead of using a pump. The sensor senses when to open or closed based on moisture level. I use them with coco but they work with soil as well.

xtsho said:

Have you looked into blumats? It's a gravity system using ceramic sensors that open and close a valve delivering water depending on the soil moisture. And yes you need to keep the reservoir aerated.

This is what I'm talking about.

A reservoir being aerated with a small pond pump.

The reservoir is located higher so that gravity delivers the water instead of using a pump. The sensor senses when to open or closed based on moisture level. I use them with coco but they work with soil as well.

Click to expand...

Wow I never heard of Blumats before. I just watched a couple videos pretty neat! I already have the pump so if I have any issues this will definitely be my next option. Do you fertigate with the blumats too?

drDavidHasselCough said:

Wow I never heard of Blumats before. I just watched a couple videos pretty neat! I already have the pump so if I have any issues this will definitely be my next option. Do you fertigate with the blumats too?

Click to expand...

Yes you can fertigate with them but you have to use the right nutrients as some will clog the lines.