Low ceiling, no easy drain access, what tech to employ?

[bs0]

Long time grower here, but I've always grown using "stinkbud" style aero/NFT systems. I like these because I only needed to change the reservoir like once or twice per run, but my systems require 2' below where the plants start to grow and I only have 6' ceilings w/ SF4000 LED's... So the LED's hang down from ceiling another ~1' and I end up with only 3' of usable elevation. Last crop I ran I kept needing to reduce the LED output to stop stressing/bleaching leaves and I am certain I had negative yield implications from the bleaching + branch bending I needed to do to maintain canopy within the constraints.

In my head there's some sort of system I could design that uses coco + autowatering, but I've read many times that if you don't water to waste the coco will go bad. I can't drain to waste because I have a bad back and lugging 5 gal buckets of water every day is a no-go. Anyone have an idea of a low-profile hydro or hydro/coco tech to use with minimal wastewater?

It's a shot in the dark but maybe someone has a solution. Appreciate any thoughts you may have!

 

[xtsho]

Coco, fabric pots, and Blumats or you can set the pots on a capillary mat.

As for having to drain to waste with coco I always thought that as well until I used Blumats. The first run was one of the best I've ever had. Not a drop of runoff the entire grow except for a Blumat runaway at first until I figured out how to get them set.

You'll of course need to watch your nutrient strength. I run between 1.3 and 1.5 ec when using the Blumats with just a base nutrient and no additional additives. You'll get a wide range of opinions about coco and Blumats. Some just can't make it work while others just love them and have great results. I think those that have issues are overfeeding and adding too much stuff to their nutrient solution. You also don't want to run any organics with them due to the potential for clogging the lines.

This grow was coco in 3 gallon fabric pots using blumats.

 

[bs0]

Coco, fabric pots, and Blumats or you can set the pots on a capillary mat.

As for having to drain to waste with coco I always thought that as well until I used Blumats. The first run was one of the best I've ever had. Not a drop of runoff the entire grow except for a Blumat runaway at first until I figured out how to get them set.

You'll of course need to watch your nutrient strength. I run between 1.3 and 1.5 ec when using the Blumats with just a base nutrient and no additional additives. You'll get a wide range of opinions about coco and Blumats. Some just can't make it work while others just love them and have great results. I think those that have issues are overfeeding and adding too much stuff to their nutrient solution. You also don't want to run any organics with them due to the potential for clogging the lines.

This grow was coco in 3 gallon fabric pots using blumats.

Excellent! What you describe is what I'm looking for, low runoff coco irrigation. I will look into blumat, and I actually already have a supply of 3g fabric pots. I'll set up one light with this system and see how it goes.

Thanks for your response friend.

 

[madalasatori]

Also look at autopots which work on a capillary method

 

[Piecho]

I was thinking about getting one of those for my small coconut setup https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005704343972.html

I have large tray in my setup, so not so much affraid about overflowing. But you can tune it, up to 2 feeding daily.

 

[befa]

https://www.platiniumhydroponics.com/fr/595-systemes-table-a-maree
you can use coconut blocks

 

[bs0]

Ended up buying some "pot pro platforms" from floraflex & am using them with 2g pots & coco. Looks to save me about half a foot VS my stinkbud racks. The runoff pumping situation isn't great but I've got an inline condensate pump on the way that will hopefully solve that.

Rehung my lights differently and gained another half a foot. Things looking a lot smoother than they did before, so hopefully this extra foot+ of clearance can keep the plants happy. Clones popping roots atm so we will know soon enough either way!

 

[Reaper]

you can also use containers that are wide and low instead of narrow and tall pots. Also using vertical bulbs, like Krusty used to preach, will save you a lot of vertical space

 

[greyfader]

Hey buddy! As you probably know, I'm also known as Delta9nxs and I am the creator of the PPK recirculating soilless system. it is a closed-loop system with no drain to waste.

i have used many types of media in it, including coco.

if you set it up to use kiddie pools as the bottom reservoir container and a shallow 6" high container for the plant you can keep the top of the medium quite close to the floor. The top of the medium in the first pic (1940) is only 13" above the floor. pics 2 and 3. (2065 and 2068) show the final result of this grow, a 2.4 lb plant.

this one was in perlite amended with worm castings. i used a large pool here because I had the floor space but you can use a 3' diameter one the same way.

pic 2024 shows the cbd warehouse 10k sq ft facility I set up and ran for some folks. these were also in the PPK system, this time using coco. fully automated and recirculating with no drain to waste.

this thread is an excellent tutorial on building and using the PPK system.

Something wicked this way comes

this thread is intended to show the "state of the art" ppk plumbing. since i started on this journey more than seven years ago the basic operating principles have remained the same but we have all gone through many iterations of plumbing. most of these, i now realize, were derived from our...

www.icmag.com

​

 

[sublingual]

Hey buddy! As you probably know, I'm also known as Delta9nxs and I am the creator of the PPK recirculating soilless system. it is a closed-loop system with no drain to waste.

i have used many types of media in it, including coco.

if you set it up to use kiddie pools as the bottom reservoir container and a shallow 6" high container for the plant you can keep the top of the medium quite close to the floor. The top of the medium in the first pic (1940) is only 13" above the floor. pics 2 and 3. (2065 and 2068) show the final result of this grow, a 2.4 lb plant.

this one was in perlite amended with worm castings. i used a large pool here because I had the floor space but you can use a 3' diameter one the same way.

pic 2024 shows the cbd warehouse 10k sq ft facility I set up and ran for some folks. these were also in the PPK system, this time using coco. fully automated and recirculating with no drain to waste.

this thread is an excellent tutorial on building and using the PPK system.

Something wicked this way comes

this thread is intended to show the "state of the art" ppk plumbing. since i started on this journey more than seven years ago the basic operating principles have remained the same but we have all gone through many iterations of plumbing. most of these, i now realize, were derived from our...

www.icmag.com

​

Kiddie pool with pots of perlite and worm castings is so 40 years ago out of style. This just goes to show simple can be very effective. Great idea!

 

[RicoD]

you are looking for autopots, you may need to shorten the buckets height to help yourself out though. Or just throw a tray on the floor, hand water and use a wet vac to remove drainage.

Power Free, Indoor & Outdoor Irrigation - AutoPot Watering Systems USA

AutoPot supplies simple to use automatic watering systems that can be used either as a hydroponic system or as a traditional soil irrigation system. Indoor growing and greenhouse crops can be produced with ease.

autopot-usa.com

 

[sublingual]

I read that the cut flower industry (what Cannabis basically is) doesn't water to run-off. Jack's fertilizers instructions also say that run-off is not required. One just needs to keep the feed low and balanced then carefully water to saturation. I hand water but automation would be more precise.

 

[greyfader]

Kiddie pool with pots of perlite and worm castings is so 40 years ago out of style. This just goes to show simple can be very effective. Great idea!

howdy!

while this system does use those materials, it is an automated, closed loop, recirculating soilless hydroponic system known as the PPK. it's a flow pattern that can be built to any scale.

it does not require high-speed water movement, airstones, or chillers. the recirculating pump runs 30 sec every 2 hours for a total daily runtime of 6 min.

it is automatically and continuously topped off by a float valve. you can steer the ec and ph from an elevated volume/mixing tank that feeds the float valve.

ph and ec are extremely stable and no regular timed solution changes are necessary.

it does not require chillers and my reservoir runs at 78-82f with no problems. this is because the system derives its o2 from ambient air, not water.

in fact, I have personally seen users of this system running it in 100f heat in a greenhouse with no issues.

the speed of growth is equal to any rdc or undercurrent type scheme operated by an expert hydroponicist.