Drip irrigation setup?

So Just recently I obtained a new box to grow in. I have a lot of room to work with now and seeing as how often times I go out of town for 3-4 nights, I wanted to set up a simple system to keep my plants fed throughout the day.

I've been looking into setting up a simple drip irrigation system. These seem simple, and cheap. They also feed at a constant (drip) rate, which appeals to me. HOWEVER, every design I've seen online uses a faucet or hose valve to connect to.

Where my grow area is located, I have no access to a faucet. I do however, have two pumps. One is for an aquarium that pushes air through two outlets. The other is a fountain pump that has an adjustable output speed (that obviously pumps water).

Anyhow, I want to set up the fountain pump that will sit in a reservoir, to somehow run off to a main line/tube that feeds smaller lines that run to each plant. I also want to run at least one air stone with the other pump inside the reservoir to keep it oxygenated.

I know this has to be possible as it seems like a simple concept. However I can't find any information or DIY guides to doing this project.

Can anyone help me out? Maybe have some info or something?

What are you going to put the plants in? I use 5 gallon buckets for my similar system.

BendBrewer said:

What are you going to put the plants in? I use 5 gallon buckets for my similar system.

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I have all the plants in smart pots (you know, the bag pot things). Anyhow, I am using a mixture of soil and coco as a medium. I don't want this to be a hydro system, I just want to set up a simple top-feed drip system.

I know I have most of the supplies already probably. I just need tubing and spikes. But I am unsure of how this would all work without using a faucet as one would usually do.

nobody has any ideas?

Hi there, I think more or less you have it figured out already. Maybe you could make the DIY guide for the rest of us

From my little experience I think the difficult part is to get the proper drippers for the kind of pressure you'll have, apart from that it should be pretty simple.

Check out FarmTek, they have a full line of drip emitters and all the hardware to go with it.

And they have great prices too.

Just quick glance here, the aquarium pump will work good depending on the size. Another place to look for cheap pumps is Harbor Frieght.

Then just hook up your pump on a timer and your set to go.

Make sure to put a good strainer on your line to your pump, or if your pump is sumberged, wrap it in some screen to keep any crud from plugging your emitters.

And you should have an inline screen after the pump also.