Low maintenance hydoponics

I had an idea. It's probably been thought of before....but anyway.

The concept is to have a main resevoir for your nutes. And then another same size resevoir tank right next to it, only sitting 6" higher. You then join the two resevoirs via a nylon tube attached to the bottom of the facing sides of each resevoir. You clamp the hose and fill the main with your normal nutrient mix and ph level and all and then fill the FILLER resevoir up to the same height from the ground with a 1/3 strength mix and a lower ph level. Then unclamp the hose. The water shouldn't flow through the tube unless evaporisation happens in the main resevoir and the extra weight in the filler resevoir forces it's mix down. This would keep the ph level from rising in the main resevoir and replenish the mix with the right strength to maintain a proper EC.

What do you think?

Headshot08 said:

The water shouldn't flow through the tube unless evaporisation happens in the main resevoir and the extra weight in the filler resevoir forces it's mix down.

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I'm afraid it won't work like you expect.

The reservoir will immediately drain down into the pot with the plant (whether there is a plant there or not) until the liquid levels are the same in both containers.

HS, if you were to add a wick, a float valve and a bit of space for a small reservoir in the base of your planter, you'd have an Autopot. The float valve prevents the reservoir from emptying into the planter until the levels equalise.

Autopots are basically wick systems with a central reservoir and float valves to set the level of the water in the individual pots' reservoirs.

See pictorials here.

Al B. Fuct said:

I'm afraid it won't work like you expect.

The reservoir will immediately drain down into the pot with the plant (whether there is a plant there or not) until the liquid levels are the same in both containers.

Click to expand...

I was trying to say that the liquid levels would START at the same level. Since the feeder one would be sealed, there would be no vaporisation so it will flood into the main resevoir which IS subject to vaporisation and plant absorbtion.

It won't work dude, gravity will.VV

Headshot08 said:

I was trying to say that the liquid levels would START at the same level. Since the feeder one would be sealed, there would be no vaporisation so it will flood into the main resevoir which IS subject to vaporisation and plant absorbtion.

Click to expand...

If the feeder is sealed except for the tube coming out of the bottom, a small amt of water will drain out, causing the air pressure in the top of the feeder to fall. Atmospheric pressure will then work against the water trying to come out of the tube and stop the feeder container draining.

If the feeder container is not sealed and absent any sort of a float valve in the bottom of the planter, water will drain from the feeder until the water level is the same in both containers.

This is plain, simple high school science!

If you think this will work, by all means, go try it- but please don't bother wasting everyone's time asking for advice you pretty obviously don't want.

I see what you are saying, but I think you fill both with full strength nutes, this would just allow you to go longer without checking/fixing the nutes/ph, I think that you would not have to worry about the height of the other bucket as even if they where on differnet levels (equal water level) I think the bubbling action (if you have a bubbler in your main bucket) would mix the 2 waters anyways so why not start out with nutes equal in both. Essentially just making your resivor bigger, for example instead of a 5 gallon bucket res you have a 10 gallon bucket res...