DIY Soilless Hydroponic Slow-Drip Auto-Watering

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PissingNutes

Active Member
Under 100$ systrem I'm working on. Tuning my tent(s) between grows and going on fourth doing soilless hydroponic I wanted a low-cost watering system where I could dial-in watering/feeding making it more consistent and make it easier to do routinely.
For this experiment I will run a 5 gallon felt pot with two Dwarf Lowryder Autos and my res system is a plastic bag in a foam cooler with another foam cooler on top with the mechanical side which is a pneumatic pump/cushion (pressure adjusted with another dripper but on the air hose attached by 3-way junction) and two timers that operate twice a day each for four possible feeding times down to the second. The drippers are PC 2GPH. I'm not stressing about algae too much in making the prototype as I want to get it working first then see how to elaborate the system some more; and water is constantly running in the line as well as an airstone in the res.
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So I have made a nice watering head for my pot if the two test seedlings can grow above it but the contraption connected to the timer won't work twice in a row without a glitch and part of that is due to the rock hard hose even after taking a blow torch to it. I really wanted to have constant flow in the head where the lifting sets off the drippers but since it gives off great spread when watering I'm going use it as a hand watering alternative without the timer. Will see about setting up the pump to timers and let lines go bare in between feedings.
 
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seems like your over complicating it a little. With hydro it should not matter how much or how long you water. Just need to keep it wet. Or maybe I'm a little confused. What is you grow media?
 
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And nutes are Sensi A+B , Grow 200PPM up to week 4 at 350 PPM and Bloom usually up to 650 PPM
Additives : Voodoo, B-52, BigBud, Overdrive, molasses*, EnzymesKomplete.
*Want to use compatible products so cutting thick molasses. I'm debating between carboload and budcandy
 
thanks for the senei info on the other thread. Makes sense it didn't work for me cause I can't keep temps down so I was running a sterile res. Using mega crop on my current grow I started last week.


That explains why it looked like you were growing in soil. I think you would want to follow a coco feed schedule with the stuff. You should look it up and not follow what i say...but I believe it is keep it wet at all times. Never let it dry out. Give it nutes twice a week or so.
 
Failmore said:
thanks for the senei info on the other thread. Makes sense it didn't work for me cause I can't keep temps down so I was running a sterile res. Using mega crop on my current grow I started last week.


That explains why it looked like you were growing in soil. I think you would want to follow a coco feed schedule with the stuff. You should look it up and not follow what i say...but I believe it is keep it wet at all times. Never let it dry out. Give it nutes twice a week or so.
Click to expand...
Makes sense I was stuck trying to find grows using this medium because I want to see visually as much of what's happening. I'm interested in doing system to incorporate a weekly reservoir and automate up to 4 times a day waterings; so many options. All I find is coco perlite that need all kinds of amending/cleaning, fighting root rot and disease, and 3/4 of them are about hands off super easy to grow type lazy people with not great plants. There's a lack of info on connoisseur soilless hydroponics.
If I look at the way I do soilless hydro by hand watering seems pointless to do any of these setups. Thanks!
 
PissingNutes said:
I'm interested in doing system to incorporate a weekly reservoir and automate up to 4 times a day waterings; so many options
Click to expand...
i've done auto feed hempy buckets. i'm doing auto feed GH waterfarms for a few years now. 30 gal res. i can go away for 14 days without issues.

i don't use drippers: just 1/4 tubing on a DiG 6 outlet manifold with a digi timer.
 
rkymtnman said:
i've done auto feed hempy buckets. i'm doing auto feed GH waterfarms for a few years now. 30 gal res. i can go away for 14 days without issues.

i don't use drippers: just 1/4 tubing on a DiG 6 outlet manifold with a digi timer.
Click to expand...
Small DTW 2 plant grow so I don't see top flooding as a viable option for many reasons.
This video got me thinking I want to drip something like this.and maybe incorporate a hydro basin...
 
@rkymtnman

It became quickly obvious when I first did Hydro that a nutrient solution running over Hydroton screws the chemistry in a few ways. Hack grows works for first few days or the plant still tries to grow. "The plant comes out of the seed at 100% potential, everything you do to it lowers that potential so do it right"!
 
I'm confusing the rockwool but what happens to your PH when it's constantly flowing up above and flowing through the clay down the rootzone?
I'm under the impression it's not healthy somehow.
But ideally I'm going to have a felt pot of inert medium that holds about 1-2L per 24H if that can be used as an approximate water holding capacity.
That holds the main rootzone and then thinking of making a basin where I would have cup of hydroton for the roots maybe but that reservoir would be for water roots.
 
PissingNutes said:
what happens to your PH when it's constantly flowing up above and flowing through the clay down the rootzone?
Click to expand...
pH is more affected by what the roots remove/"eat" from your nute solution. i'm not much into chemistry but it has to do with anions and cations.

that's why i like hydroton, growstones and perlite: they are all inert and don't cause many issues
 
rkymtnman said:
pH is more affected by what the roots remove/"eat" from your nute solution. i'm not much into chemistry but it has to do with anions and cations.

that's why i like hydroton, growstones and perlite: they are all inert and don't cause many issues
Click to expand...
I'm using a weak nutrient solution. My 2 plant small reservoir also makes for limited options in premixing nutes because ph doesn't hold in weak solutions. So DTW protects my reservoir where I can seal nute mix and refrigerate close by A/C. Then I start thinking of basin for water roots where DTW becomes more elaborate
 
PissingNutes said:
I'm using a weak nutrient solution. My 2 plant small reservoir also makes for limited options in premixing nutes because ph doesn't hold in weak solutions. So DTW protects my reservoir where I can seal nute mix and refrigerate close by A/C. Then I start thinking of basin for water roots where DTW becomes more elaborate
Click to expand...
that's how i run my auto feeds; DTW. it wastes more nutes but you never have to worry about pH or EC/ppms .

if you have ever seen a picture of a GH waterfarm, imagine cutting the blue tube about an inch above the white line. that becomes your drain when you water them.
 
rkymtnman said:
that's how i run my auto feeds; DTW. it wastes more nutes but you never have to worry about pH or EC/ppms .

if you have ever seen a picture of a GH waterfarm, imagine cutting the blue tube about an inch above the white line. that becomes your drain when you water them.
Click to expand...
I got a similar bubbler I can use. I am planting 3-5 gallon felt pot in open air with inert medium for the main rootzone. Watering currently these pots with 1-2 inches of wet sides water stays at the base for 24h to 48h between feeding. I can further elaborate my grow now because my water roots can come out the base in the hydroton I have a few options for 4" basket to use an airstone there and could also feed a hose to bottom feed sometimes... .
 
PissingNutes said:
I got a similar bubbler I can use. I am planting 3-5 gallon felt pot in open air with inert medium for the main rootzone. Watering currently these pots with 1-2 inches of wet sides water stays at the base for 24h to 48h between feeding. I can further elaborate my grow now because my water roots can come out the base in the hydroton I have a few options for 4" basket to use an airstone there and could also feed a hose to bottom feed sometimes... .
Click to expand...
sounds like you are on the right track. good luck!
 
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