I'm about to upgrade in size a bit. Going from 1 light in the bud room to 3 and I'm still running my feed out of gallon jugs. I've been looking into gravity feeders, ph controllers and ect. So my question is what are you guys using/recommend? I'm not trying to fully automate it or anything. Just looking for a couple ways of speeding things up between filling jugs, pH balancing, mixing, then getting under a scrog to feed. Especially after I upgrade my size. Any help? Thanks.
Ideas for a more "automated" watering?
- Thread starter DirtyD313
- Start date
Mr.5280
Member
If you are trying to run soil or coco I don't know if gravity fed is the best way to got though it is possible. But as far as drip systems go netafim, hands down makes the best products. Hydro is also a good option if you don't have time to hand water and there is a whole lot of options there.
JSB99
Well-Known Member
But I think a small pump and a timer would be easier. Then you aren't limited to having to have your res higher than the pots.
pinner420
Well-Known Member
Autopot-usa the notion of plant driven watering. developed in Australia . ..
Weedy willy
Well-Known Member
What's your guys opinion of a setup like the octopot (sip).
Growdict
Well-Known Member
is this something you are looking for? i am thinking i will put small plates/ recycling lids under the pots, just enough to know i have achieved runoff in all the pots. i will set this up next weekend when i do my changeover. However i think it will work awesome. mix up nutes and or water, hang, check on it 30 minutes later and shop vac up any runoff.
zem
Well-Known Member
how does that work?
This was pretty much exactly what i was looking for. I am SCRogging and I have a 4x4 pvc box so I dont want to crawl under a net anymore let alone for 3 of them. thanks! And thank you to everyone for all the different advice. For the record, Im running soil/coco mix.
If it feeds from the bottom how does it ensure that the water/feed reaches the roots on the top end of the pot? I think I am going to do something like Growdict's idea but this intrigues me.
pinner420
Well-Known Member
A substrate such as coir or tupur utilize capillary action. it's slow motion ebb and flow based on plants needs. I personally top dress with compost tea from the top.
Indacouch
Well-Known Member
On my smaller grows I just made a long watering wand so I don't have to bend over obviously and I have a tank marked with how many gallons I need each time ....I have a small pump inside the tank and water line coming from the pump out of the tank and connected to my wand I made ......super simple ...GL
I was debating between stakes and surface drippers but i went with the drippers because I am using a coco/soil mix substraint. I was told that the stakes can cause the coco to slowly compress and cause a hole around the surface area of the stake. Just left the store ans hopefully get everything built this weekend. Ill be sure to post pics! Thanks again for all the help.
Well heres the end result. Went to htg and licked up 100ft of 1/4 inch hose, ($11 and some change) and some 1/4 inch t drips ($0.23 each) and then went to the hardware and picked this little compression fitting ($2) a 5 gal bucket and a lid ($4ish) and some locktite sealer ($3) I drilled a 3/8 hole in the bucket to match the threads on the fitting. I then assembled the fitting, attached the hose, screwed the fitting in and sealed it off inside and out. To make the drip halo i just hand measured what would look like a decent size for my pot and cut it. I wanted 3 drips so i cut the hose in 3 even pieces and assembled the halo facing the open ends of the T's down. Once i had it together the size looked good so i cut one of the sections in half and put the last T in the halo facing up. Thats the one attached to the main feed line from the bucket. I hung it from an s hook on the ceiling. Did a test run before sealing it off. Ran great in the laundry tub. Cant wait to see it in action once the sealer sets in!
