Blumat auto watering

[overmyhead]

Sorry if this has been asked already, but I am thinking about making the switch to blumat and coco. I was doing some searching and found that they sell what they call the "Tropf Blumat Outdoor Sensor case of 50", now I am looking to get a bunch of these, is this what I would need or is there another 50 or 100 pack that I should pick up? (I am going to being using 3 gal pots) Also what else would I need besides the 50-100 sensors? And I saw a few links to online places that sell blumat supplies, but does anyone have an updated link that would have cheap prices for the big packs. Appreciate all the info, this thread ROCKS!

If I were starting over I'd just get the sensers, lots of the 3mm tubing, the little barbs from kent systems.com , 1/2' tubing from your hydro store and that's it. THen you just have to figure out how you're going to set up your rez etc but really, all you need from them is the sensors and tubing imho. Unless you need distribution drippers which you shouldn't in 3 gal. Lots of setup and rez ideas in this thread.

 

[BigPhil]

Thank you Rives...Sunnydog...Overmyhead ill go for 1 then and maybe order a cupple of spares

 

[supermanlives]

how are you guys setting up the main water line. a circle aint gonna cut it for me. i think i need to branch out a few lines. anyone see a problem doing this? like air in lines or such

 

[Lapides]

how are you guys setting up the main water line. a circle aint gonna cut it for me. i think i need to branch out a few lines. anyone see a problem doing this? like air in lines or such

No problem as long as you keep your rez 1 foot above the feeding line for EVERY TEN FEET OF FEEDING LINE YOU USE.

 

[joe4444]

No problem as long as you keep your rez 1 foot above the feeding line for EVERY TEN FEET OF FEEDING LINE YOU USE.

Can the reservoir be too high? In a box or closet with more vertical than horizontal space would a reservoir on a shelf 5-6ft above the sensors with only a 10-15ft line cause problems?

 

[Lapides]

As long as it's not too high for you to fill the rez, no.

 

[Pompey_Monkey]

Lazy, quick question, where can I order quality 1/2" inline shutoff valves? I got 7 ngs or whatever it is and all of them leak from the valve barrel.

overmyhead - I'm not sure what country you live in, but in the UK, the 1/2 inch feed tube supplied with the kit is exactly the same external diameter as small-bore gas tubing used to feed domestic fires.
I found that the mini gas shut-off valves work a treat. Not one drop leaked in over two years!

 

[louie]

Thanks for the info over my head! much appreciated

 

[McSnappler]

There is an argument for two drippers per pot regardless of size, especially if you are leaving your setup unattended for days at a time.

If one fails, you've always got a second dripper to make sure the plant doesn't die whilst you are absent.

Just a thought - I've not had one fail on me yet - but it's a theory that regular mechanical dripper guys use and it does make sense.

 

[louie]

So what kind of medium do you think works best with blumats? promix or coco?

 

[overmyhead]

overmyhead - I'm not sure what country you live in, but in the UK, the 1/2 inch feed tube supplied with the kit is exactly the same external diameter as small-bore gas tubing used to feed domestic fires.
I found that the mini gas shut-off valves work a treat. Not one drop leaked in over two years!

I'm not in Europe, thanks, I'm actually using bigger tubing, I think the stuff that comes with it is 1/3 maybe smaller. I'm just using standard (in the US anyway) 1/2" inner diameter. And the valves that I got from blumat store work great but I neede the larger ones because I wanted to try just tapping directly into the line instead of having all those joints. Thanks again!

 

[overmyhead]

So what kind of medium do you think works best with blumats? promix or coco?

I'd say coco, once you deal with it you'll never want any more peat products in your space! Although, I am trying an experimental with just osmocote plus in straight pro mix, getting nothing but tap water, then I'm gonna try the osmocote plus in coco but I wanted to see what the absolute cheapest solution would do - the nutes are literally pennies per plant PER GROW and people are getting results.

 

[Lapides]

I'd say peat. Once i dealt with coco, I never wanted another coco product in my space.

 

[overmyhead]

I'd say peat. Once i dealt with coco, I never wanted another coco product in my space.

What was your bad experience with coco? I guess I should have prefaced my statement with the fact that I've only used the Atami coir in bags ready to go, there's no prep etc. I like it because there's no dust to deal with and I am using it straight and my plants look the happiest I've had yet. It is pricey but man, it's just so dang clean!

 

[louie]

hmmmm....If dialed in properly with the blumats do you think you could achieve better yields with coco, then with peat?

 

[Lapides]

hmmmm....If dialed in properly with the blumats do you think you could achieve better yields with coco, then with peat?

I really don't think so. I would suggest trying both out and see which one you like better and go with it.

What was your bad experience with coco? I guess I should have prefaced my statement with the fact that I've only used the Atami coir in bags ready to go, there's no prep etc. I like it because there's no dust to deal with and I am using it straight and my plants look the happiest I've had yet. It is pricey but man, it's just so dang clean!

I know brother, a million ways to skin a cat, you know? I was playing around.
I had to mess around with the compressed coco bricks, that was my bad experience. Uncompressed bags would have ended up costing me a fortune, so I had to go with bricks. Breaking up 50 or so bricks was no fun. I agree tho, coco is much cleaner to work with.

 

[overmyhead]

I know brother, a million ways to skin a cat, you know? I was playing around.
I had to mess around with the compressed coco bricks, that was my bad experience. Uncompressed bags would have ended up costing me a fortune, so I had to go with bricks. Breaking up 50 or so bricks was no fun. I agree tho, coco is much cleaner to work with.[/quote]

I figured that was it, I bought some from a guy that imports them direct and guess where they sit, in the garage! They actually break up pretty nicely if you soak them then let them sry out just right but I think mine had a lot of salt in them. YEah, the bags are pricey but for this setup I'm trying they're just right. I looked at some of your stuff and wow, I love it. I just don't have a veg space so sog it is for me and with the coco, I can fill one tub right next to another one that's in full flower without getting all kinds of stuff on it. I would however like to try something like what you've done in the future though.

 

[overmyhead]

hmmmm....If dialed in properly with the blumats do you think you could achieve better yields with coco, then with peat?

I think it depends on how you want to grow, if your using straight "chemical" ferts I'd say coco in a heartbeat but don't skimp, get the good stuff. I'm using Jacks pro jydroponic and calcium nitrate from here ( http://jrpeterslab.com/spec_chemicals.html ) the recipe is 3.06 grams/gal hydro, 1.5 grams/gal espom salts, then 1.5 grams/gal calcium (depends on your water though) yosemite sam on another site has been sharing some great experiences with it and my plants are loving it, if I could only go back and not have spent tons of extra time and money! But, also look for a thread on osmocote plus (make sure it's plus because it has micros in it) at 420mag - some great stuff there too. literally a tablespoon of that stuff per gallon of soil per grow (I think that works out to like $.15 or something like that at home depot prices!) It's amazing how us newbies thing that the hydro industry has some inside knowledge that professional greenhouse growers haven't grasped yet! HEck, you can even talk to the folks at peters about it their all about the medical mj market.

 

[overmyhead]

Finally, some pics of what I've come up with. First is my rez set up. the trash can is the main rez, it has two 2' air diffusers, one little pump that kicks on every couple hours to make sure everything's stirred up and another little pump that has just enough lift to feed the top rez (black hose.) THen the top rez has one 2' diffuser and two overflow valves going back to the main rez and they drain faster than the pump can fill. The tubs are filled with straight coco with drain holes in the bottom going into 5 gal buckets just in case. Each tub has 4 sensors (3 drippers on each - might up it to 4.) THe ones on the right have been in 12/12 (straight from rooted clones in 9oz cups) for about 30 days now and they look great but the ones in the middle right under the main light (I've got some lgm 5 led bars around the edges) look funky compared to the ones on the outside (see last pic for outside.) could that be from being closer to the heat? Hopefully they'll fatten up too, they're the healthiest looking plants in the bunch. The ones on the left side have been in 12/12 for 10 days and they're looking great but not flowering yet. All are cuts from the same plant.

Edit: I figured out what's wrong with those flowers, the ballast was at 50%, notice how much brighter the left side is. Well, I guess it shows that those little (each bar is only 9 watts) led bars work pretty good when used in conjunction with an hid for the radiant heat.

 

[Cheeb]

Sweet.

This method of setting up a smaller elevated res looks to be a really good alternative to those not wanting a large heavy reservoir up high. Eliminates the need to build something heavy duty enough to support a large trash can or barrel FULL of water.