DIY Drip Irrigation
- Thread starter ceestyle
- Start date
ceestyle
Well-Known Member
Totally.
If you don't use the circ pump, the nutes will probably settle out. Besides inconsistent feeding, one thing i discovered after putting the circ on a timer is that the nutes can congeal, creating sludgy bits that can - and will - clog your lines and starve whichever unfortunate plant is at the end of the clogged one.
MalteseGrower
Well-Known Member
Car fine spray windscreen washer jets and water pump + 12V adapter = airoponics. I know it is not related but seeing the pump on the link gave me inspiration. Thanks
BigBudBalls
Well-Known Member
Keep an air pump/stone running. A small air pump cost about 20 cents a day to run.
ceestyle
Well-Known Member
As BBB pointed out, a pump helps this, but you needn't have an air stone. For whatever reason, having the water circulating in the stew seems to aerate the solution as well (or better) than an airstone. So say the Dutch, anyway.
As far as letting the pots dry: each watering does not saturate the medium, so by watering each day or multiple times per day, you're really after a consistent water content, not saturated and not dry.
The plant wants an optimum ratio of water to air in the soil. The problem with traditional watering is that you are constantly either too wet or too dry. The plant will tolerate it, but it's certainly not ideal. Letting plants consistently wilt from over or overwatering, for example, is a sure way to stunt growth. This is why drip irrigation - be it hydroponic or soil - is a good way of maintaining balance. This explains why systems that maintain exactly consistent water content - wick systems - are (in my opinion) the ideal.
As far as letting the pots dry: each watering does not saturate the medium, so by watering each day or multiple times per day, you're really after a consistent water content, not saturated and not dry.
The plant wants an optimum ratio of water to air in the soil. The problem with traditional watering is that you are constantly either too wet or too dry. The plant will tolerate it, but it's certainly not ideal. Letting plants consistently wilt from over or overwatering, for example, is a sure way to stunt growth. This is why drip irrigation - be it hydroponic or soil - is a good way of maintaining balance. This explains why systems that maintain exactly consistent water content - wick systems - are (in my opinion) the ideal.
BigBudBalls
Well-Known Member
Cee,
But you'd need two pumps. One for circulation and one to water. The extra pump will add heat, which lowers O2 content.
Wonder if you could use the air from the airpump to turn an impeller?
The daily watering is near blasphemy here. But I have been under the same thought. A little each day to keep a moisture level. (finding the balance is a bit a bugger, but I start dry and work up)
Also comes to mind people say to let it dry so the plant will grow roots to find water. I see its as counter productive. I can understand when the plant is real young to get a 'base'. But if the plant is tossing energy to looking for water then its not growing fruit as hardily. If the roots are happy with what they got, then I'd think the fruit bennies from not forcing the plant to go look for water.
Hey, any news on the wick? I tried a couple with so-so results. Finding the right soil mix seems key. Mine stayed a bit wet. Gonna add a bunch of peat next time.
But you'd need two pumps. One for circulation and one to water. The extra pump will add heat, which lowers O2 content.
Wonder if you could use the air from the airpump to turn an impeller?
The daily watering is near blasphemy here. But I have been under the same thought. A little each day to keep a moisture level. (finding the balance is a bit a bugger, but I start dry and work up)
Also comes to mind people say to let it dry so the plant will grow roots to find water. I see its as counter productive. I can understand when the plant is real young to get a 'base'. But if the plant is tossing energy to looking for water then its not growing fruit as hardily. If the roots are happy with what they got, then I'd think the fruit bennies from not forcing the plant to go look for water.
Hey, any news on the wick? I tried a couple with so-so results. Finding the right soil mix seems key. Mine stayed a bit wet. Gonna add a bunch of peat next time.
ceestyle
Well-Known Member
If you have a large enough reservoir, the heat from a tiny pump is not enough to heat it too much. An impeller isn't a bad idea for smaller reservoirs. Although I wouldn't want to send heated water to my plants anyway, it's not clear to me that warmer means less oxygen. Generally, solubility increases with temperature. For example, crack two bottles of soda and put one in the fridge and one on the counter. The one in the fridge will go flat faster, due to decreased CO2 solubility in cold soda. It has to do with differential solubility in the gas vs. the liquid, so it may be different for O2 for all I know, but you get what I mean.
Wicks are going well. My houseplants are loving them, and we've taken a pottery class so as to be able to build reservoirs for all our pots for near free.
Although I've been running experiments in the last weeks with tomatoes, it's too early to tell just how well they'll work. The moisture content of the soil seems just about right, however, so I'm optimistic. Once I get my indoor going in full swing, the true trial will begin. I'm still having problems finding modular reservoirs that I can get at reasonable cost for anything less than full-sized buckets. As far as moisture content is concerned, this can be easily tuned with the ratio of perlite to potting mix. Surfactants like soap are extremely effective even at very low concentrations at increasing wicking speed, but I'm unsure yet if they will have a sizeable effect on the terminal moisture content.
loh-pan
Active Member
Not that anyone is going to see this, but oxygen content does decrease with an increase in temperature. Cold water holds more oxygen. Oxygen dissolves in water and cold water holds oxygen in 'tightly' between H bonds. Warmer water has more energy and can't hydrogen bond effectively enough to trap oxygen.
I can;t explain your soda analogy unless CO2 is just too large to fit between water molecules' h-bonds.
I can;t explain your soda analogy unless CO2 is just too large to fit between water molecules' h-bonds.
headbandrocker
Well-Known Member
this is great!
JayKush623
Member
This is perfect dude thanx for the post ...good info in all u guys post actually good looks..how do i post pix in threads not here unless u wanna see but i just cant figure it out..lol..
Easy mate 
you can buy an NFT tray. These are slightly angled and have a waste pan you can then drain.
Even easier option is that you don't get any runoff at all. Experiment with the system in a pot with just coco in it until the timer saturates the coco but not runs out the bottom.
You can buy plant saucers, put them upside down so the pots are 1" off the floor and sponge up the small amount of runoff.
I'd advise the last method if height is an issue or you need to leave them for any period of time as you don't want a runoff tray sitting around going stagnent and with the no runoff method you can get buildups of fert salts and it's hard to see if there's a problem with the dripper delivering enough feed to the pots.
Hope that helps
you can buy an NFT tray. These are slightly angled and have a waste pan you can then drain.Even easier option is that you don't get any runoff at all. Experiment with the system in a pot with just coco in it until the timer saturates the coco but not runs out the bottom.
You can buy plant saucers, put them upside down so the pots are 1" off the floor and sponge up the small amount of runoff.
I'd advise the last method if height is an issue or you need to leave them for any period of time as you don't want a runoff tray sitting around going stagnent and with the no runoff method you can get buildups of fert salts and it's hard to see if there's a problem with the dripper delivering enough feed to the pots.
Hope that helps