Organic SIP or wick set up ideas

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
So I have been hijacking people's threads lately trying to get info about SIP (self irrigating planter) ideas. Was thinking about some easy DIY... then thought well wicking is the oldest school easiest system there is so why not that. Looking to do some large containers with organic soil, water and teas only, scrog style maybe put them on rollers or something in order to move from veg room to flower... so here's to not hijacking threads...
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
you ever try troph blumat maxis before? not old school... but they work awesome.

or a passive hydro system? fabrics on a bed of pumice or other wicking stone and the table the pumice is on gets flooded and wicks up naturally
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
I'm using smartpots now but SIP planters are the shit for organics. I know "the Rev" swears by them. They are cost prohibitive for my situation as I need larger than a couple gal to get the yields I want. Building them DIY is probly the only way I would use them.
Here's a cool idea...
that is fucking bad to the bone.... talk about water conservation. if i lived in an arrid location.... i would probably only garden this way. but im in Michigan so yeah... plenty of moisture and humidity here :)
 

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
I actually was looking at something just like this! But I have herd that in order to really have a true active micro herd u want to be at 7 gallons of soil or more... I guess just apply this idea scaled up... just not something u see often on here
 

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
You ever thought of just installing an old school drip system like you would run through a big garden outside? It would be watering from the top but if you mulched along with the drip system it would cut down on your water usage (if that's your goal). And you could put it together for way cheaper than having to buy or build sip's big enough to meet your needs.

You would still have to hand water your teas (I wouldn't run nothing but water through the drip), dialing in how much to flow through the drip but I don't think it would be too difficult.
 

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
You can run 5000 watts with no cooling in a basement this time of year here. Unless you're in Lansing or using well water I would definitely be using an R/O filter tho! That whole lead thing is going on in more places than Flint!
nice mang im not that legal sadly but close to you.. and i have a great well.. 325 feet deep through clay .. it actually is too good imo... i like a little bit of mineral content.. but I really shouldnt be talking shit to a homie from MI that has to deal with that BS :-( you never really get how important something like that is until you don't have it and most of us take it for granted (me included)
 

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
You ever thought of just installing an old school drip system like you would run through a big garden outside? It would be watering from the top but if you mulched along with the drip system it would cut down on your water usage (if that's your goal). And you could put it together for way cheaper than having to buy or build sip's big enough to meet your needs.

You would still have to hand water your teas (I wouldn't run nothing but water through the drip), dialing in how much to flow through the drip but I don't think it would be too difficult.
i am just trying to go with the idea that going organic and building a soil food web is .. maybe not easier but more beneficial(?) when you get a higher gallon pot size..minimum being 7 gallons.. but the more the better.. hence my goals for SIPS :-) ... I guess if i can pull of something crazy in these 1 gallon air pots, going SOG with this same soil mix, we will see
 

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
nice mang im not that legal sadly but close to you.. and i have a great well.. 325 feet deep through clay .. it actually is too good imo... i like a little bit of mineral content.. but I really shouldnt be talking shit to a homie from MI that has to deal with that BS :-( you never really get how important something like that is until you don't have it and most of us take it for granted (me included)
Ive been super fortunate living in Lansing (we're one of like three cities in the US that actually went through ten years ago and started replacing all the cities lead pipes). But consulting on grows like I do I've seen some nasty stuff. The news is all about the kids and their lower IQs from lead poisoning (which is reasonable lol), but a lot of growers and patients were hurt by it too.

Ever change an RO filters inner parts? They get real nasty...Even nastier in an area with nasty water.
 

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
i am just trying to go with the idea that going organic and building a soil food web is .. maybe not easier but more beneficial(?) when you get a higher gallon pot size..minimum being 7 gallons.. but the more the better.. hence my goals for SIPS :-) ... I guess if i can pull of something crazy in these 1 gallon air pots, going SOG with this same soil mix, we will see
I definitely think to get all the soil food web to offer you all its benefits you need to be in larger pots. I would go for bigger pots and a more traditional drip system to avoid the high cost of a larger sip. But if youre resourceful and can make your own...Then shit the skies the limit lol.
 

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
Yeah I have been looking at some reasonably easy SIPs... basically totes with the lid converted to make a barrier between the bottom irrigation area where the water is stored... some holes cut in it and larger net pots added to use as the "wick" seems like something that wouldn't be to difficult ... my main concern I think would be how to monitor the water rez quality... as in what if something gets funky in there... maybe add an air stone or something to keep O2 in there keep it from getting anaerobic and growing the wrong microbes... just not something I have seen on here...
 

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
Yeah I have been looking at some reasonably easy SIPs... basically totes with the lid converted to make a barrier between the bottom irrigation area where the water is stored... some holes cut in it and larger net pots added to use as the "wick" seems like something that wouldn't be to difficult ... my main concern I think would be how to monitor the water rez quality... as in what if something gets funky in there... maybe add an air stone or something to keep O2 in there keep it from getting anaerobic and growing the wrong microbes... just not something I have seen on here...

Something like that maybe?
 

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
Hmmm yes that looks very interesting... but what is this guy's massive tech break through? Looks like an air pump to me lol but I think I want to try this!
 

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
So I think I have a pretty good idea of how I want to make these but wondering if anyone knows how much wicking I will need? I was thinking of doing a 27 gallon tote inside a 30 gallon tote, adding two 8 inch holes to the bottom of the 27 gallon, inserting two 8 inch net pots. I will be using pvc framework to support the 27 gallons of soil, so the net pots are not the only thing supporting all the wet dirt. I'm wondering if that will be enough wicking for all that soil.... any ideas?
 

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
built my first SIP today! so i ended up just going on the cheap bought two 27 gallon tough totes and a milk crate. first I took one tote and traced the outer edge of a 3 gallon fabric pot on the bottom in the very center and cut it out. I then cut the milk crate in half to act as support for the upper tote (a pvc or hack saw works good for this). I also cut a 2 inch hole in the bottom of the upper tote and added a 25" long section of 2" pvc with a 45 degree angle cut on the bottom so the water flows in freely..I did have to cut this slightly more with the utility knife to get the pvc to fit. I added a small drain hole to the bottom tote at the level where the upper tote fits on the milk crate to prevent somehow overfilling (this would take a LOT of water on my part but hey just in case). Assembly was super easy.. add the pvc to the 2 1/8" hole... the milk crate to the bottom tote... the other tote with the hole in it to the top tote and then the fabric pot in to the hole in the top tote.... I have not filled with soil and water as of yet but I am very interested to see how this preforms. I have also set this on two 12 inch plant caddys that each have 4 wheels so I should be able to move them from veg to flower rooms if I decide to do it that way .. any input on this would be much appreciated! also....while i was at the store getting the materials i was thinking mulch and impulse purchased so animal bedding (for gerbils and hamsters and shit like that) can i use this? or was this an idiotic usual purchase lol thanks for any input!
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
while i was at the store getting the materials i was thinking mulch and impulse purchased so animal bedding (for gerbils and hamsters and shit like that) can i use this? or was this an idiotic usual purchase lol thanks for any input!
dunno mate, what's the bedding made out of?
 
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