Low Cost Automated Drain To Waste System For Coir

I just use a very basic pre-mixed 25 gallon tank, I use a wave maker for mixing and tape an airline to sit underneath it. I automate my feeds with a sump pump on a timer into the halo rings. Plants sit in a tray with tilt to one corner which drains into a 20 litre collection tub which I pump out after it fills. The 25 gallons usually last about 4-5 days and then I recharge it.

Just wondering is there any advantage to have freshly mixed nutrition as opposed to a tank sitting for 5 days. All my gear sits inside a temp controlled room so water temp is not really an issue.

You can pick up one of those wave makers on Amazon for 20 bucks and it moves a hell of a lot more water around than a pump can.

Going away for a week isn't a problem buy any longer I might be stretching it. I would love to have the time and motivation to automate the dosing but I'm all about simple shit that works. And knowing what I'm like I'm sure to forget to turn it on or something silly like that and end up damaging a grow

CBS2020 said:

How are you finding the accuracy of the nutrient pump and can they handle acid?

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The "pump" is just a piece of silicon tubing that gets squeezed by 3 rotating rollers, so there are no parts exposed to whatever fluid you are moving. As long as you don't let the tubing dry out, the pumps reliably output the measured amount. That's where having the graduated clear containers for the nutrients helps, to make sure they are using the proper amount.

Autofire said:

Just wondering is there any advantage to have freshly mixed nutrition as opposed to a tank sitting for 5 days.

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I'm not sure there is other than not needing a tank large enough for a 5 day/2 cycle a day DTW routine, which would be about 125 gallons for my setup. My well water is like 58 degrees in the winter, so I need to let it warm up first. As far as going away a week, that's unlikely given all the other things that need to be done. 3 or 4 days is plenty.

Autofire said:

I would love to have the time and motivation to automate the dosing but I'm all about simple shit that works

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To me, this IS "simple shit that works". It's just automating what I used to have to do by hand - giving my plants nutrient, and then getting rid of the waste water. Not reliant on any magic technology or delicate settings than any system that uses pumps and the like, and without the hassles and problems of recirculating systems.

Your 10 gallon pots are pretty big. How much run off do you collect over the day after feeding them 10 gallons each?

I run 5 gallon pots but I'm only feeding about 1.5 gallon per day split into 5 or 6 waterings. After running the whole 25 gallon reservior over about 4 days I aim to collect about 2.5 - 3 gallons of run off.

Just cut down the 2 plants this system was tested out on, after 9 weeks of flowering - very happy with the results. Good dense crop of monster branches and buds.







Here's the branches from ONE of the plants awaiting trimming:

One down, one to go:


One in the drying tent:

gr865 said:

Lot's of stuff going on there, nice work.
I am very simple, make a nute mix about every 7 days and run through this setup. Only thing I wish I had was automated ph'ing.

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Minor recommendation: don’t close off your manifold outlets, just bypass them with a loop. The velocity, flow, and pressure gets screwed up when you close them instead of bypass loop.

ProcessSpecialist said:

Minor recommendation: don’t close off your manifold outlets, just bypass them with a loop. The velocity, flow, and pressure gets screwed up when you close them instead of bypass loop.

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Not sure what you mean, please explain!

Very nice set up guys. I hope to go automated soon and you guys have given me some great ideas. Thanks for sharing.

gr865 said:

Not sure what you mean, please explain!

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You should have 8 ports on your manifold (“bubbler” Floraflex trade name). I run one tube to each site (all equal length!!!!). Then install floraflex tee and run two 12” lines to each site which spreads the top feed better than if one tube to each plant (I love the Floraflex clips made for their caps).

That was more info than needed to answer your question BUT unless your number of sites = your number of manifold ports, you need to close them off or you will have feed pushing with nowhere to go. Example: you have 8 ports on your manifold but only 6 plants. Many people simple cap the unused ports...bad fluid mechanics. Take the two unused ports and connect them with a small piece of tube, forming a bypass loop. This will maintain proper flow rates and is how the manifold is engineered to work.
Let me know if that helps or if you have any other questions.

ProcessSpecialist said:

You should have 8 ports on your manifold (“bubbler” Floraflex trade name). I run one tube to each site (all equal length!!!!). Then install floraflex tee and run two 12” lines to each site which spreads the top feed better than if one tube to each plant (I love the Floraflex clips made for their caps).

That was more info than needed to answer your question BUT unless your number of sites = your number of manifold ports, you need to close them off or you will have feed pushing with nowhere to go. Example: you have 8 ports on your manifold but only 6 plants. Many people simple cap the unused ports...bad fluid mechanics. Take the two unused ports and connect them with a small piece of tube, forming a bypass loop. This will maintain proper flow rates and is how the manifold is engineered to work.
Let me know if that helps or if you have any other questions.

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Disclaimer - no affiliation with FF. This is my first time using their full system but it costs are comparable to than what I see at the box stores (proper materials for the application), fits great together, and looks clean and professional.

UPDATE : Here is a list of the components used in this system for anyone interested in building one. I'd be happy to assist anyone taking the project on. It's working really REALLY well.

"Whole House" type water filter - $40- $80 (optional)
INLET VALVE - 3/4" Stainless Steel Electric Solenoid Valve 110VAC Normally Closed Air Water - $50 (Amazon)
NUTRIENT PUMP - Active Aqua AAPC1010 Utility, 1479 GPH/5600 LPH Sump Pump - $120
WASTE PUMPS - VIVOSUN 1150GPH Submersible Pump (4500L/H, 100W), Ultra Quiet Water Pump with 11ft High Lift - 2 of these @ $36 each = $72

Outlet Timer, 7 Day Wall Plug in Light Timer Outlet, CANAGROW Indoor Digital Programmable Timers - 6 of these @ $14 each = $84

DOSER- Jebao Aquarium Dosing Pump (DP-5) - $91
DOSER TANKS- Marinecolor Acrylic Liquid Storage Bucket 3 Rooms 4.5 Liters - 2 of these at $54 = $108 ( you could easily make your own clear graduated containers from 1 liter soda bottles. I just thought these looked really cool, OK?)

NUTRIENT TANK - Probably $40 or so for the main tank and the smaller one I sliced up. I can't find the model on Home Depots site, but there is a similar one with wheels.
It's a Husky storage bin ( 45 gallon I think), with a cutout in which I inserted a second smaller storage bin that been sliced in half horizontally so I could use the lid from this smaller bin to access the tank without disturbing the other plumbing.
VIVOSUN 317-1750GPH Commercial Air Pump 20W-102W - $45
AquaticHI 2 Pack Large 4 inch (100 mm) Cylinder Air Stones - 2 pack - $14
Hygger Mini Wave Maker - $70


PVC LowBoy Tables
3 Way Tee PVC Fitting -Grade SCH 40 PVC 1" Elbow Fittings - 12 of these @ about $3 each = $36 ( you can probably find them cheaper on the web)
1" PVC for table frames - 3 x 10' lengths @ $5 each = $15
1" PVC caps for leg ends -12 @ 83 cents each = call it $10

WASTE TANKS - 14-Gal. HDX Tough Storage Bin in Black - 2 of these @ $10 = $20

Waste and Nutrient lines - 1/2 PVC - probably 6 10' lengths, some elbows and stuff. PVC is cheap and the joints are reliable - Estimating $100 for all of it including the flood rings.
This cost doesn't include the copper fittings and pipe on the inlet side, probably another $75 to round it out to....

TOTAL SYSTEM COST - $1000 including the fancy-ass clear tanks so you can feel like a scientist. Lab coat not included.

I neglected to include the cost of the black 2 x 2 trays that the plants sit it:

2' x 2' TRAYS FOR LOWBOY TABLES - I bought mine from GrowGeneration. 4 of these @ $36 = $144
You can make the PVC tables so that these set down into them so that about an 1" of the tray is gripped all around the perimeter.
Another cool trick which I stumbled on is making these fit in the tables to the right height so that a plastic milk crate can be snugly placed under the center of the tray, which would otherwise sag from the weight of a large pot of coco mix over time. A milk crate is ideal for this as it won't absorb water and quickly dries, and doesn't impede the flow of air, and is the right height for this setups drain scenario.

I have a similar automated system set up....although without the nutrient mixing aspect. One solution to the problem of evenly distributing the mix to each plant is to assign each plant it's own pump. You can use cheaper/smaller pumps when each plant has it's own pump so the system might end up costing the same with the added benefit of being able to control individually how much nutrient solution each plant gets.