Wick system Guru's needed...............

[funkpew]

The Short: can i use soil in a wick system, or will it just become water logged?

The Long:
ok, i can not get an answer to this question maybe my fellow micro cabbers can help. i am looking to run an ultra stealth cab so i am trying to stay away from pumps. I need the watering to be automated because i live a busy lifestyle and cant gurantee i will be able to stick to a proper watering schedule. so I have considered a soil-based wick system, all needed nutrients are already present in the soil and I dont need air pumps for res because its just plain water instead of nutrient mix. I want to know if the wicks will water log the soil leaving it a muddy mess. I am open to suggestions and or corrections about my idea no ego involved, just want a clear understanding before i get started.

 

[PanchoBuddah]

As long as you dont have surplus wicks in the rez-soil you should be fine. I've experimented in the past and had both good and bad experiences. You check out Oldone's PPK thread. Superb simplicity growing IMO.

 

[infinitylimit]

As long as you dont have surplus wicks in the rez-soil you should be fine.

Can you explain why?

--

As for wick systems, in my experience they are generally more pain then they are worth. Any DIY system becomes difficult to gauge wetness, sometimes too wet, other times too dry. Your wicks will grow algae if your not careful and nutrients tend not to get wicked.

I also take a hint that there aren't any commercial wick systems for growing.

Forget the wick, and invest $20 in an air pump, air stone and line and set yourself up a Water Culture instead, you will be much more pleased with the results.

 

[PanchoBuddah]

Can you explain why?

As for wick systems, in my experience they are generally more pain then they are worth. Any DIY system becomes difficult to gauge wetness, sometimes too wet, other times too dry. Your wicks will grow algae if your not careful and nutrients tend not to get wicked.

Not to bring up an arguement, but you anwsered your own question.. sort of. In my experience, if they are more than enough wicks wicking up water, the soil container will get water logged, and like you said, algae will grow. Not enough wicks and you will have some dry spots. With just the right amount of wicks, you can have a care-free experince, as long as your reservoir is filled properly. It's just a matter of experimenting and finding what works for you and your plant.

 

[infinitylimit]

Not to bring up an arguement,

No I thought perhaps you know of a physical reason as to why. The whole water climbing upward always amazed me. However it sounds like we have had similar experiences with the wicks.

 

[oldone]

Hi funkpew,

Despite Pancho's shoutout (thanks bro) I am by no means an expert yet but I have learned a thing or two. The expert is delta9xs and his Passive Plant Killer thread.

Anyway the waterlogged problem you mentioned is known as the perched water table. It is an area where the forces of gravity pulling water down meet the wicking forces pulling water up. How to control it is explained in this post:

Essentially all a PPK does is suspend a growing-media filled container above a reservoir. This container and rez are connected with some kind of wicking material. Thats all it is. Kinda hard to believe, eh?

The distance between the bottom of the media filled container and the fluid level of the ppk rez is known as the "air gap" and IMHO, is *the* critical factor in the design. This distance must be consistently maintained. Fortunately this is easy to accomplish by using an adjustable float valve. I use these 1/4" valves. Great supplier. I think you should to plan on suspending your media container a minimum of 6" above the floor of your rez. This will allow a good range of air gap distance adjustments. How you do it is up to you.

The air gap is so important because of something called the Perched Water Table (pwt). I think it wise to experiment a little before you commit to your design. Just get a clear container (like a 2 liter pop bottle), cut the top off, put some holes in the bottom and fill it with your media of choice. Then just saturate with water and observe. Within hours you will see a layer form that stays saturated (and poorly oxygenated). This is the pwt and must be eliminated. You do that by using a wick and manipulating the air gap distance. So add a wick in the bottle and play with water levels below it. You will soon discover what air gap works for you. I did this...its very cool to watch...with coco it happens fast.

Whats worked for me?...7" coco depth (1 gal pot), 3pcs x 1.5" x 8" microfiber wicks, 3" air gap, 2" rez depth. And for the record RO water w/ 1.5 EC FNB and 0.4 EC CalMag, Ph'd to 5.7ish. This recipe has been used since day 5 of veg.

I guess my last piece of advise is to use a bulk rez. I does not matter how deep your ppk rez is, its the air gap that matters. The bulk rez is what gives you that maintenance freedom so desirable in this system.

I chose to suspend my container by shoving it into another upside down pot that had its bottom removed. Its crude (and cheap) but it works.

Pancho is right that you need to experiment before you commit to your design. I did and I think the results speak for themselves.

Anyway good luck, I hope this has helped.
OO

 

[funkpew]

well thanks for the oldone lead, found some info that help make my decision even more difficult. I have a hard time making up my mind, lol. I have done coco pots with hand water, dwc and rdwc, hempy tub and pure blend pro kiddie pool. i was looking into wicks for the automation and convienence but if i have to be an expert on wick installation to get proper amount of water to my plants i am not so sure now. This will be first soil attempt, want to go completly organic and just let the microbeasties (beneficial micro life) control the show. Mother nature has a much greener thumb than I. I want to keep it simple with very low maintenance required, so there is less that can go wrong. I.e. I got sick of bubble bars clogging in dwc setups, what an unnecessary pain in the arse. Just looking for a way to automate the watering so that i can be gone a few days without catastrophic failure.

 

[!!!]

I would go with hand watered soil first if you've never done soil, or use drippers (there's also Bluemat.)

A water pump and a timer together will run you $15. You don't even need the timer if you're willing to just plug the pump in for 10-15 mins to water the plants.

You've done hand watered coco before—It's tedious work and it's the reason I'm moving away from coco, but I don't find hand watered soil to be too bad in this respect.

 

[oldone]

well thanks for the oldone lead, found some info that help make my decision even more difficult. I have a hard time making up my mind, lol. I have done coco pots with hand water, dwc and rdwc, hempy tub and pure blend pro kiddie pool. i was looking into wicks for the automation and convienence but if i have to be an expert on wick installation to get proper amount of water to my plants i am not so sure now. This will be first soil attempt, want to go completly organic and just let the microbeasties (beneficial micro life) control the show. Mother nature has a much greener thumb than I. I want to keep it simple with very low maintenance required, so there is less that can go wrong. I.e. I got sick of bubble bars clogging in dwc setups, what an unnecessary pain in the arse. Just looking for a way to automate the watering so that i can be gone a few days without catastrophic failure.

Sorry I came across that way. I think this is the easiest way to grow, period. My lady is at day 46 of flower. The only feeding or watering I've had to do in that time is refill the rez 4 times. I've also had to hand flush once for a tip burn problem. Here she is at 42 days;

I think thats the beauty of it...there are so many ways to grow. All of them work more or less.

Oh and you picked the right place to get help. There are some terrific folks here on IC.

Good luck and keep the updates coming,
OO

 

[someotherguy]

here is a thread discussing the above mentioned Blumat's.

if you have the dough these will solve your problems.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=111046Blumat auto watering

hope this helps, SOG

 

[*mistress*]

this may be helpful:
coco+wick+gh flora nova=never dump run-off|pdg’s imaginary/enjoyable garden

 

[infinitylimit]

I want to keep it simple with very low maintenance required, so there is less that can go wrong.

For myself, the simplest way was gravity feed watering. Just use a reservoir that you can raise above the soil bed for water to flow down a hose or dripper line. If you need to go on vacation make sure you have a drain for the bed and just leave the dripper lines running on low.