A little blumat confusion

[down2grow]

How about using a small pump to pump water to a 5 gallon bucket on a shelf. Have the bucket fill up and then overflow back to the res so that the 5 gallon bucket is always full. Then just feed the blumats off of that 5 gallon bucket.

Other then that using a pump to feed the blumats is pointless - if your going to attempt that why not just use a pump to feed the plants normally. - saving you the money on blumats and having to dial individually.

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I have not noticed any impact on yield or quality with warmer then normal reservoir temps when using blumats. Reservoir temps normally are an issue to prevent pathogens and are kept low so that your water can hold as much oxygen as possible. Important in an active hydro system, but not so much with blumats/coco as your medium has a good oxygen/moisture ratio - your not relying on your water to provide this oxygen.

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Have not really noticed any distinct differences between the formulas. They all seem to work flawlessly. I'm more partial to 8/16 and maxibloom because I'm not doing any real math. I've got to pay more attention when mixing HEAD recipe as its not double the bloom as I'm used to. I'm leaning towards maxibloom because I like to top up my blumat reservoir before its completely empty (say 5 gallons left or so). Because of this its easy to top up, add nutes until I hit my target EC. With head recipe this was more difficult because I was unsure of the amount of water I was adding back to the res which already had SOME water in it - if that makes any sense.

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Biggest mistake I've made using blumats was letting my reservoir run dry. Blumats/pots ran dry and I had to resoak blumats, pots, and then manually re-adjust every pot. Sucked.

I was just about to ask somebody how reservoir top offs work. I'm a total noob about this stuff because I'm hand watering with H&G right now. Directions so to mix A first, then B, PH then the additives. If mixing my A into an almost empty res with nutrients already. Isn't that going to make my nutes out of whack? A one part like Ionic or the floranova series would be so much easier. Just fill up with and pour your nutes in until you hit your desired EC.

D2G

 

[Cheeb]

exactly, one parts make it pretty damn easy. I just top up with RO water, add 1-part until desired EC is reached. Done.

If your doing an A/B or other 2 part you gotta know how much water your adding in so know how much to add back of A, and how much to add back of B. However, I have added "A" or "micro" to a nuted reservoir without any lockout issue - then adding "B" or "bloom". Using a one part makes me "feel" more at ease about lockout issues, etc.

Bluelab Truncheon (EC) and a 1-part nutrient like maxibloom has made all the difference in the world...paired with blumats I can now actually focus on actually growing - training and pruning, etc - instead of mixing and watering.

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you mention pH then additives... I would suggest taking pH reading last. Additives can effect pH as well.

 

[slowandeasy]

Slow,

Ok so I'm just going to run 5 gallon smart pots just to see what I can get. How long were you vegging for to get 3 zips in the one gallon? What kind of light?

I'm about to pull the trigger and get the blumats, but I can't find a source for the extra 3mm dripper hose. Also since I'm only vegging 4 and flowering 4 at the same time. The patio kit should be enough for my set up. I need an extra barrel thing since I'll have two seperate reservoirs. Is anybody usin the shut off valve. I guess I just need a good source for extra parts too.

D2G

Whats up D2G? I got mine from Green Acres, but I forewarn you...call them instead of using the internet. The website was not updated when I ordered...plus I like to talk to someone to ensure the order is right. The extra rez this is called a Thru-Hull adapter I believe.

I dont use a shut off valve, but it is a good idea. My harvest the other day using 1 Gal Smart pots yielded very well for just a small tent with a 400 watt HPS. I have since upgraded to a 600 cool tube in the same small tent.

I only vegged a couple of weeks, otherwise they will outgrow my tent. Another tent I have I started to Defoliate in veg. This has increased my veg time, but I do not care...because of my rotation schedule. I have 4 tents to rotate. Defoliating in veg makes a ton of future bud sites, but keeps it ultra squatty. Which is perfect for the small tent with a 250 HPS.

I used to use 2 gal Smart Pots, but with Defoliation I increased my yield by 25% this round using just 1 gal Smart Pots. 1 plant was over 4oz in a 1 gal container. Not too shabby!

 

[greentrich]

Just to clarify it's the dripline for .55 cents per foot, right? It doesn't seem like they sell the barrel adapters. Is there anything else that I can use or is there another source where I can buy that?

Hey D2G. Ya what Slow said, call 'em up. Much easier, and like he said...their website isn't nearly up to date.

I don't know how much the drip line is since I never bought it...just used what the kit came with. But it's the 3mm Silicon drip line. Can't be too many of them out there...I hope lol.

Edit: Sorry, forgot to answer you barrel adapter question. Yes they should sell them, if not...they can get them. They come in two packs, product number 3519 (Tropf's product number, Greenacres' may vary)

 

[greentrich]

Just a comment:

with blumats I can now actually focus on actually growing - training and pruning, etc - instead of mixing and watering.

A-fucking-men! I was tired of spending 1.5 to 2 hours a night watering, after working 10 hours. Never saw my family. Now I check on them when it's lights on, check the res PH..adjust if necessary(spend 10min tops in the room)...move on with my life. Then when the kids are in bed I can go do whatever gardening I want, or none at all. Point is, even if I don't feel like doing shit that particular night....izzz ok, my Blumats gots my back!

Sorry, I know it's not uber relevant...but had to express my happiness in using these.

 

[Flying High]

Last time I ordered from Green Acres, I was able to buy the 3mm tubing in 70 meter(210+ft.) lengths or rolls.

When you have to remodel your system, having the 3mm tubing on hand is priceless. Especially if you are like me and always improving your rooms.

 

[Cheeb]

no shit?

I was only able to get 98 ft roll from greenacres. Maybe it was all they had at the time..

$0.55/ft sounds about right about what I paid.

 

[slowandeasy]

You could always pre-mix your nutes in a separate container. Then just top off as needed. No matter which formula you use. Especially when using Maxi-Bloom, the crystals are hard to dissolve sometimes.

I have used them all, and they all work well. I run a modified 6/9 and hand water a few times in flower with Kool Bloom added. I like that you cut the Micro. Something you cannot do with Maxi.

 

[greentrich]

Quote:
Originally Posted by asher1er View Post
to the ones running blumats with coco... are you keeping a lower ppm then usual in your tanks?

I can never get a straight answer to this question, the impression I'm getting is to use the Drip Clean product from House & Garden and then you don't have to worry about excess salt build up.

Ok, after running them for a little bit...I can give you MY straight answer. And it goes like this:

I've been keeping my EC around 1.4. That's about 800 PPM @.5. Now normally, with hand watering, I would jack this up as the plants got bigger...eventually landing around 2.2 EC or 1200-1300 ppm at the end of the grow.

This time (my first time with a res and blumats), I will keep the EC constant at 1.4 and using drip clean. Finding with constant feed and water, there's no need to up the dosage. Whereas in the past I wouldn't have gotten to this strength yet, then later would have been well past it.

God I hope that makes sense lol

 

[dunkydunk]

Maybe this thread is punked out, but if any of you Blumatters are still out there, has anyone noticed the blumats get slower as the rez runs down?

I only have a 2 gallon rez hooked up to one plant, a good 6 inches above the the pot and running through 18 inches of tubing.

 

[Rasta311]

Maybe this thread is punked out, but if any of you Blumatters are still out there, has anyone noticed the blumats get slower as the rez runs down?

I only have a 2 gallon rez hooked up to one plant, a good 6 inches above the the pot and running through 18 inches of tubing.

I personally see no difference. But my rez is rather large.

 

[slowandeasy]

Maybe this thread is punked out, but if any of you Blumatters are still out there, has anyone noticed the blumats get slower as the rez runs down?

I only have a 2 gallon rez hooked up to one plant, a good 6 inches above the the pot and running through 18 inches of tubing.

Yes your Blumats will slow down, because there is not as much force. If your bucket gets low, tilt it to the side of the outlet until you can refill. 6 inches is not much fall, so once the pressure drops...the drip rate slows. Either raise your bucket, tilt, or refill. Good luck!

 

[dunkydunk]

I personally see no difference. But my rez is rather large.

Yes your Blumats will slow down, because there is not as much force

I love ICMag. How high do you recommend keeping the rez? I figured I could cheat on height because I was running a tiny system. Aren't the directions for something like a meter of height for two or three meters of run?

 

[sanjuan]

The Blumat instructions say 1:10 (rise to run ratio). They assume you're running a rain barrel outdoors.
I haven't set my 10 gallon res up yet but I'm planning to mount it a foot above the drippers with about a four foot run.

 

[slowandeasy]

I love ICMag. How high do you recommend keeping the rez? I figured I could cheat on height because I was running a tiny system. Aren't the directions for something like a meter of height for two or three meters of run?

I cant remember the figures off hand, but I run a bunch of different sized blumat set ups. I just keep mine a couple feet above the res. I the smaller bucket set ups there is less water pressure, so it will slow down faster.

 

[Cheeb]

I'm using a 27 Gallon (yellow lid) Strong Box from Homedepot as my blumat reservoir feeding 21 plants in 2 gallon bags. It sits up on cheap plastic sawhorses and works great.

Pic doesnt show blumats or line, but I have 2 thru-hull adapter coming from each overhanging corner of that bin. They tee back into one another.


Other place has a 55 Gallon drum reservoir about 30" off of the floor. It feeds 16 blumats using a dedicated 8mm line per 8 2 gallon pots.


Both seem to be working/dripping just fine.

 

[greentrich]

Maybe this thread is punked out, but if any of you Blumatters are still out there, has anyone noticed the blumats get slower as the rez runs down?

I only have a 2 gallon rez hooked up to one plant, a good 6 inches above the the pot and running through 18 inches of tubing.

I know you've gotten some answers already, but just to add to the reference table....my res sits about 2.5' above my drippers. I'm watering 8 plants, with a combined feeder tube run of about 3'. That does not include the bleeder line...jury is still out on whether or not this is needed for my application though. I have no slowing of drip rate when my 10g res (that I am filling to 6g now) runs low. Regardless of the fill level, my drip rates seem to be increasing on a weekly basis.

These little fuckers really are ingenious. I can actually enjoy my garden now, instead of working on it with the limited time I have.

@ Cheeb: in your last picture, that drip line seems pretty far out there from the blumat. How far out is it if you don't mind me asking, and what results do you get from that?

 

[mooseknuckle]

hope you dont mind me jumping on your thread,i thought it better to keep the blumat info together rather than start another thread,im new to blumats(and to growing)so far they seem a lot better than lifting pots in and out and sucking up water with a turkey baster,how often should i clean my rez out,or do i just do it after a run?im about to buy some drip clean,so is it ok to use molasses with blumats?

 

[Guywithoutajeep]

i wipe my rez down at least every 2 weeks, it literally takes 15 seconds, save yourself the trouble of getting gunk in your lines

don't know on the molasses, probably

 

[down2grow]

I'm using a 27 Gallon (yellow lid) Strong Box from Homedepot as my blumat reservoir feeding 21 plants in 2 gallon bags. It sits up on cheap plastic sawhorses and works great.

Pic doesnt show blumats or line, but I have 2 thru-hull adapter coming from each overhanging corner of that bin. They tee back into one another.


Other place has a 55 Gallon drum reservoir about 30" off of the floor. It feeds 16 blumats using a dedicated 8mm line per 8 2 gallon pots.


Both seem to be working/dripping just fine.

Cheeb,

How long do both of those reservoirs last you?

D2G