Help! need to set up auto water system

[bullseye]

hey guys! another hurdle.. i relocated the plants into a bigger grow room under hps, repotted.. now it's ideal temperature in there but the water retention of my soil isn't that great. it's coco with perlite.. since its half hydro anyway i need to set up an automated watering system that i can top up say once every 3 days. it's too conspicuous for me to water these twice a day where they are.

what do i need to know? i have to find out:

1.What type and where i can get a water pump for this small install?

they're drinking about 1 litre each per day including evaporation so i'll get a resevoir to hold about 15 litres or so.

2. what sort of irrigation is best?

that ring around the top of the soil? drip feeder planted into the soil?

3. where can i get this type of irrigation piping from?

4. do i need anything else or have i left out anything?

i want to put a timer on it so it's giving them a dose twice daily.. they're not getting enough water now as i can only access them once per day. maximum.

please help! i need to know everything i need by saturday so i can make it up and not starve my poor ladies!

i'll be reading posts.. thanks guys;)

[Gazza2001au]

you can get a pump from any hydroponic store or aquarium shop the hosing you can also get from the hydro shop you'll need a timer with minimum 15mins on/off's a digital timer i better as u can turn it on/off per minute once u have it set up u need to run the pump for X amount of minutes untill it fills up 1L use a clock or something so u know how long to set the pump on with minimal run off if any as over watering could be a problem if u dont have some sort of catchment feeder rings require a larger pump Edited May 7, 2009 by Gazza2001au

[bullseye]

cheers Gazza,

1.so am i looking for any particular size of pump that would be best? do they have a rating of flow per minute that i should look at or anything?

2. you'd recommend drip irrigation, where i plant 'drip feeders' into the pot? is that right? perhaps you or someone has a different suggestion or is this good enough? and would bunnings stock these and the hoses?

3. the digital timer is an awesome suggestion i'll get one of those

cheers mate

[Gazza2001au]

A:

1: since your plants will be low to the ground (plants must be higher than the reseviour tank or a continous feed of nutrient will gravity flow thru your feeder hose) u shouldnt need a huge pump im running a cheap aquaone pump 1200 litres per hour on the lowest flow setting (its adjustable) my pots/feeder hose is about 45-50cm off the floor (high) where my res tank/pump is and with 2x 4mm feeder hoses i get a stream around 10-12cm long (4cm is plenty) so thats an idea of how much pressure my pump puts out i would say at the height i have my feeder hose,pump on lowest setting and only 2 feeders i would guess i could run up to around 8-10 feeder hoses off this size pump

2: u can use drippers they may require a larger pump with more pressure u will still need to time them this is where it could be a problem as one dripper could drip more or less than the others if it was me i would just run a strait 4mm feeder hose with it pouring onto a small peice of panda film or plastic so it doesnt dig a hole into your medium

[Gazza2001au]

shit ay i dont think i even fully answered your question all the things you'll need

 

res tank

aquaone 1200LPH pump

X amount of 13mm soft hose

X amount of 4mm soft hose

1x 13mm end stop

X amount of 4mm adaptors

digital timer

an imaginary mind to set it up

 

all the above u can get from a hydroponic shop the pump u might need to get from an aquarium shop

[bullseye]

thanks Gazza you've been a big help=) i was able to sex a 'mazar i sharif' lady tonight=) i think from two seeds looks like one male one female=) very happy! thanks buddy

[bullseye]

questions:

with a recirculating hydro set up like that shown in sukonmiskunks pinned post in this forum (a drip irrigation recirculating system with feeder rings), how often do you set for the water to be running? as it's instant drainage, do you run it half hour on half hour off or more/less?? i need to restructure my system for hydro.

[Gazza2001au]

use expanded clay balls run the pump for 15mins once every two hours if the plants are really small or clones run the pump 15mins once every hour untill the roots have grown deep enough for the clone to survive

[bullseye]

cheers gazz, hey buddy would you recommend clay balls over perlite? i just think perlite looks cooler. makes you cough tho. what do you reckon?

[Gazza2001au]

some swear by perlite others by clay balls i prefer clay balls when im handling perlite for my coco grows i use a gas and partical respirator used for car spray painting Edited May 15, 2009 by Gazza2001au