Self-Watering DIY For Indoor Tent in Soil

[RIPE]

I will be gone for about two weeks. Is there a way to water the plants? The systems I've seen so far are for a few days. I need water for at least a week. Thanks.

 

[Rrog]

Blumats. You can run a res or tap water to drippers

 

[MajorCoco]

Someone else asked about this in the outdoor section. It's surprisingly tricky without setting up a pump or drip feed system. I suggested they buy an IV drip clamp..you could then just rig that up to whatever you use to store the water. Easiest to get if you happen to work in a hospital though of course...

 

[tekdc911]

why not make a wick ?
a couple pieces of 3/4" rope hanging down into some water ?

 

[hbbum]

Wick is the best idea here, simple so less to break. Just make sure your res tank is not clear so you do not get any nasties build up in the water. If it is only a few days this should be fine. If you are going extended, you may need to add a bubbler so your water is aerated.

Here is an attempt.. need bigger res and do not use a clear tank.

http://www.greenculturesg.com/articles/may06/may06_self_watering_pot.htm

 

[Krabby]

I would say use a garbage can as a res, a small pump with drippers on a timer and as suggested an air stone with a small pump in the res, could be done for less than $100. You could keep using this system even when you get back, plants like a regular schedule...

 

[justanotherbozo]

Blumats. You can run a res or tap water to drippers

...yeah man, this guy has got it right, Blumat's FTW.

Tropf Blumat Ceramic Automatic Watering Patio Deck & Balcony Set


Product Description

12 blumat water sensors meters of hose 1 tee 1 elbow 1 hose coupler 1 hose end-piece 1 rain barrel/gravity tank connector and instructions for installation Fully Automatic Self Watering System. No Batteries - No Timers Required! Perfect for Landscapers and Home Gardeners. It is easilly installed with a pair of scissors and connects directly to your hose, tap or rain barrel with the help of the Pressure Reducer. The Tropf Blumat system is great for watering your balcony boxes, planters or hanging baskets. It fulfills the needs of the plants on an individual basis regardless of location, light levels or plant type. Saves your plants from excessve and incorrect watering. The Tropf Blumat system is always suitable when plant groupings require consistent moisture such as vegetable gardens, bushes and flower beds, grow bags and greenhouse containers. Not only do your plants receive the right amount of water, the slow closed dripping ensures that your plants receive warmed water avoiding shock.

peace, bozo

 

[tekdc911]

problem with blumat is what "IF" one of the drippers gets hung open and floods in the few weeks he's gone
i could see a real problem with stealth if your leaking water through the floor though the neighbors ceiling
or leaking into the apt. next door
or just holding water in general and creating a health risk AKA black mold in the carpet or sheet rock that gets soaked slowly over time



*edit i just noticed that one set up on a res
so i guess it would just leak what ever the rez would hold

comment still stands though

 

[hbbum]

You could do a drain to res, or the wicking system. Should get you through a week or so depending on the size of the res, the maturity of the plants and the conditions of the environment (Humidity, heat, etc.).

Personally I still like the wicking since nothing to malfunction. Worse case scenario is they dry our because you run out of water. If possible get someone you trust to check the res after a few days.

 

[Adjorr]

how big are your plants? how big are the pots? what type of light do your use? Its possible since ur in soil that they wont even need water during the week your gone but that all depends on the factors I asked about. Weed can easily recover from underwatering so id consider just giving them a big drink before you leave as opposed to buying equipment you might not need

 

[Rrog]

To control floods:

Put the pots in a tray. Or make a tray out of a roll of flashing. If there's an overflow it's contained.

Install a simple water sensor shutoff valve. Auto-Shutoff Valve The sensors from this valve are in the bottom of the overflow tray. You can gang as many of these sensors together as you want, all connected to one water valve.

 

[RIPE]

Original plants are still in one gallon containers. I'm procrastinating on transplant but I've got three clones (that MIGHT survive) from the original three Maui Waui's. I've got a Black Russian poking its head out of the potting soil and one-each Jack Diesel and AK Auto seeds that look to germinate. Work, work, work. I chickened out on wicking (not sure how long I'll be gone) and bought a Tropf Blumat Ceramic Automatic Watering Patio Deck & Balcony Set. Not sure how it works without electricity and a pump. But you think a pump would be good to aerate the water? I'm hoping it is a system I can use to keep all plants alive on my patio and in the grow tent. Most of the outdoor plants get some water and don't need much. The Canna does need water.

Does the AK Auto plant just go 24/7 with light and not need a 12/12 cycle? Counting my chickens before they hatch.

 

[MajorCoco]

Almost all Autos start to flower after a certain fixed number of nodes...which varies by strain. So they will flower regardless of the light cycle you put them in.

 

[GrowinDad]

I used to use the blumat and did have times when one of the "sensors" would not trigger and it would keep dripping. I could never figure out why. You also need to be careful with them because nutes can solidify/slime and clog the hoses. They are tiny. I started to add Drip Clean and it seemed to solve that.

 

[RIPE]

Would Clear Rez do the same thing as Drip Clean?

 

[GrowinDad]

Dunno. Name sounds like it would.

 

[yktind]

Wick is the best idea here, simple so less to break. Just make sure your res tank is not clear so you do not get any nasties build up in the water. If it is only a few days this should be fine. If you are going extended, you may need to add a bubbler so your water is aerated.

Here is an attempt.. need bigger res and do not use a clear tank.

http://www.greenculturesg.com/articles/may06/may06_self_watering_pot.htm

Brilliant!!!

 

[RIPE]

This was written by sunnydog at icmag.com regarding the Tropf Blumat:

WARNING!!!
These have failed on me!!!
We used these outdoors, and had failure with several of these.
They seem to plug up quite easily, and almost lost a couple of plants, cone gets sucked dry, etc.
Indoors, maybe not a problem, but , from my exp., I cannot recommend these.
If I remember correctly, if one jams up, all the ones past it go dry.

I can verify that these things are unpredictable without major modifications. They flood your plants, your grow tent, your condo, and I've heard they don't even work outside. Whoever is hyping these products are doing a great job of PR to sell these for the $$$ but they are cheap. Specifically, there is no shut off valve, the feed tube is not flexible and it is black which absorbs heat in a grow tent. Try something else with a timer. More crap from overseas.

 

[Walter9999]

Just use lower light power (CFL) and no fan...then water heavily before you leave...this will slow transpiration and your plants won't use much water...keep light cycle consistent with daily schedule...g/l

 

[hbbum]

Three weeks into flowering and going out of town for four days. I just give a good watering before leaving and they will be fine, if a little thirsty when I return.