Daveindiego
Well-Known Member
I was hoping to avoid ‘made at home’ modifications to a water holding device.
Keeping it simple - Coco + Blumats
- Thread starter xtsho
- Start date
DesertHydro
Well-Known Member
kits come with a through hull fitting for the 8mm line but there are a few options out there. you can use 1/2" ebb and flow fitting to make a feed line with 1/2" hydro tubing(17$/100') and then just use the 3/32 barbs into that line.
if you are trying to go as plug and play as possible just use the stuff in the kit and drill a whole in any sturdy bin or container. all mine are DIY and no leaks EVER. the 8mm line they come with is a little stiff and hard to work with but it works fine with proper planning
DesertHydro
Well-Known Member
i dont reuse my coco but i may start to. with these you arent generally doing giant pots so its not that big of a deal. ive only had clogs when trying to add shit to the res that you shouldnt....ie any organics. if you wanna add kelp, molasses or any other slimy sticky shit just hand water it weekly. all im running is jacks, calnit, epsom and some sm90 to keep the tubes clean and bugs away, plus it smells AMAZINGAnd u reuse the coco? Seems like it would be a pain to do that. And have you had any clog up and quit? I'm just trying to weigh these as opposed to drain to waste with timed watering.
DesertHydro
Well-Known Member
sorry to keep posting in your thread, but i figured i would share my recent success. my plants were looking TERRIBLE because of some bad salty coco. flushed the hell out of them, hit the reset button and they are booming back to life. dont mind the two on the front end and the two in the middle right. they were overgrown mothers i took the weed whacker to. getting flipped in a couple days
xtsho
Well-Known Member
The set I got came with this. Just drilled a hole about two inches up from the bottom of the 18 gallon tote. It was simple. I keep it filled between 1/3 and 2/3 of the way. Three feet off the ground and at either level it provides enough pressure to gravity feed four blumats. The top of the blumats are 11 inches off the floor.
xtsho
Well-Known Member
And u reuse the coco? Seems like it would be a pain to do that
No I don't reuse coco. I'm growing in three gallon fabric pots and by the time the plant is don't it's just one big ball of roots that gets chopped up and tossed in the garden. I haven't had any clog but I go through and squeeze along the length the 3mm lines about once a week in case anything's building up. I have had a couple runaways where they kept watering but I think that was due to factors caused by me and not the design of the system. In other words I didn't set the flow properly.
Anyway, blumats might not be for everyone but I'm extremely happy with the system. There is nothing wrong with a timed drain to waste system. I just didn't want to deal with the waste and when I found out about blumats I thought I'd give them a try. Now I don't know how I grew without them.
DesertHydro
Well-Known Member
Same here. I'm in the desert and I hate to waste water. It's cheap as hell but it still bothers me to just dump it.
Daveindiego
Well-Known Member
How many carrots per plant do you use?
And how far from the stalk?
And how far from the stalk?
xtsho
Well-Known Member
I just don't want to deal with draining the runoff. It can be a hassle.
xtsho
Well-Known Member
I use one per plant in 3 gallon fabric pots of straight coco. 4 - 5 inches from the base of the plant. I put the carrot on one side and the end of the 3mm hose on the other side of the stalk.
DesertHydro
Well-Known Member
what are you keeping your ph at? i may have asked already. been having issues with cal/mag uptake and thinking i should have my ph just a tad higher into the cal/mag absorption range closer to 6.2.
i was running 5.8 and they are going deficient again but i know there is plenty of food in there
Budley Doright
Well-Known Member
I hear ya and that's also an issue for me. I grow in a shed so water access is a pain in the winter, that's why I'm looking at different ways to set.up the next run
Daveindiego
Well-Known Member
My starter kit just here today, and I finished setting it up. Just waiting for some RO water to fill the resovoir.
I’m stoked so far.
I’m stoked so far.
Daveindiego
Well-Known Member
Since those plants are non feminized seeds, I expect them to thin out in another month.
This growth so far is from seedlings started on 1/1/18.
This growth so far is from seedlings started on 1/1/18.
DesertHydro
Well-Known Member
thats a nice clean setup. i would invest in some extra 8mm line so you can relocate your res out of the tent as soon as you need the space. looking good
Daveindiego
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I still have another 20 feet or so. I wanted to keep it in the tent, and inside that tray, so in case there is a problem, the tray will catch it.
Daveindiego
Well-Known Member
Questions.
So I set it up, as you see. Filled the reservoir, and have all the carrots closed, but the very last one. I’m not getting any water flow. Is there a period of time where the sensors will adjust before releasing water?
I watered everything a couple of hours before I set this all up, so they are already wet/moist.
Should I just keep all the carrots closed for the night, and try adjusting things in the morning?
Or have I already run into a problem.
All carrots are closed, except the last one, which I have the screw wide open.
So I set it up, as you see. Filled the reservoir, and have all the carrots closed, but the very last one. I’m not getting any water flow. Is there a period of time where the sensors will adjust before releasing water?
I watered everything a couple of hours before I set this all up, so they are already wet/moist.
Should I just keep all the carrots closed for the night, and try adjusting things in the morning?
Or have I already run into a problem.
All carrots are closed, except the last one, which I have the screw wide open.
Budley Doright
Well-Known Member
So I'm thinking coco perilite or vermeculite may. be a good choice then, I also have about 100 5 gallon grow bags (plastic) that may be a better choice for containers as I can fill to any height and fold over. Thanks for all the ideals guys, I'll keep watching this thread
.
Daveindiego
Well-Known Member
OK, got it installed and dialed in now. The feed hose had gotten kinked inside all the carrots, easy fix.
Filled the reservoir with 12 gallons of feed.
Filled the reservoir with 12 gallons of feed.
DesertHydro
Well-Known Member
i ordered 50 5 gal grow bags and they are fucking HUGE lol. most companies say five gallon and they are way smaller. not these guys. i will also say that 5gal is way too big for coco unless you are doing multiple pound monsters. i like in the 2-3 gal range for mine. you can definitely do the 5 gal but you will burn through your coco supply real quickSo I'm thinking coco perilite or vermeculite may. be a good choice then, I also have about 100 5 gallon grow bags (plastic) that may be a better choice for containers as I can fill to any height and fold over. Thanks for all the ideals guys, I'll keep watching this thread
