Blumat

@Sc00byD00bie ….

 

Agree!!

 

This page on Sustainable Village gives a few good examples.
Gravity System Diagrams

The diagram you have shows them being set up with their drip tape also so I don't see that being of much help in your situation unless you plan on using the tape too. Outside my experience outdoors with the tape I can't really be of help there at all. But, as far as the 9in carrots (Maxi's) you have now, they're just fine for your size fabric pots. I use the Maxi's in ten gallon pots just fine on eight different pots at the moment. One per fabric pot with three drippers attached per each carrot. Ends up cheaper and less fiddling with setting the blumats as only one or two carrots have to be set vs. 4 or 5 carrots that could be wildly set different from the next. I couldn't imagine trying to set ten plus carrots in 100 gallon beds or bigger on the forums some have been doing, that'd be a pain. An drippers are a whole lot cheaper to buy than multiple carrots per pot anyways.

The only difference from the regular size (5in) and Maxi's (9in) is depth the sensor will go into your pot/soil. They're mainly for deeper pots/beds as the bottom can possibly dry out over time while the top stays moist due to the carrots lack of depth. In my experience the 5in carrots do fine in ten gallons but I tend to prefer the Maxi's just to be on the safe side I suppose just for that thought while I'm away but that's me. If say you were on a budget and had smaller pots then even 10 gallons like I'm using, I wouldn't doubt the Maxi's would be fine in say a 5 gallon or even maybe a gallon pot, just not pushed down all the way. As long as the ceramic probe/carrot itself is submerged in the soil and packed well, it'll drip the same as the 5in carrot, just look a bit out of place for it's size compared to a smaller pot is all. That an the tube itself that drips would be sticking up a lot higher than it would normally, but that shouldn't matter too much I would think.

Double Reservoir / My Example
As far as two tanks I can't attest really to how it would work in your situation if the needed room is possible, but mine is just two buckets hooked up to a aquarium pump with decent head height (about 7' on mine). One 7 gallon bucket on the floor with the smaller reservoir (6 gallon bucket) placed on top of a 6' metal shelf for the necessary pressure required. (I believe for gravity fed blumats it's 2-3 PSI but can't recall off hand) Included with a drain tube twice the pump's tube size to over accommodate any possible pressure build up from draining the excess water when the pump kicks on by a wall timer once an hour to top off the top res. (Not so knowledgeable about the reason why other than backflow pressure or something like that depending on certain variables like water flow, inlet size etc.) Better safe than sorry basically.

Pressure Needs
0.433 psi per foot of height / 2.31 feet = 1 psi above the blumats. They can go upwards to 15 psi but that's more towards pressurized systems which again I don't a clue there. Unless you wanted to build a 35' plus tower to attain that pressure gravity wise. But as far as gravity concerns, "In a gravity system, you need to make sure the water level in your reservoir is above the Blumats and you don’t want to have your supply line longer than 10’ for every 1’ drop below the lowest you let the water drop in the res."
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1149/6312/files/TipsAndTricks_v5_2.pdf

This helps keep run aways from happening as your pressure may drop too low and the sensors don't close soon enough/at all and end up with a flood. So I would just measure from your thru hull adapter on your reservoir to to where the blumats will sit in order to get your true pressure when the top res gets low or single reservoir if you go that route. This way even if you only go a single reservoir, in the event you have not refilled it and it's quite low but not empty yet e.g. only a quart of your res left, the pressure hasn't dropped substantially enough to cause the sensor to creep to a halt and malfunction resulting in flooded media/room.

My Question / Possible solution
Did you buy 24 maxi's (9in version) I'm guessing? If so that's fine as is an can use twelve of those, one per pot with three drippers as I did and be good to go I would believe according to the sizing chart provided.
Design Size Guide Flyer

My other question would be what all have you bought or what do you already have blumat wise? This way you can possibly use what you already have instead of purchasing more unnecessary carrots and supplies imo unless you want extras for down the road. You'll also maybe want to look into the "Red Super Flexible Hose" they sell. It's easier to use and more forgiving to route along the floor/room vs. the regular black hose they have. Navigating the Sustainable website can be a bit of a mind boggle especially with their pricing on bulk items like carrots, drippers, stakes, etc. costing more vs. buying em single... Sorry about the lengthy reply, hope any of this helps.

 

@BrodMan Organics
Glad to be of help! On the topic of purchasing more sensors and drippers, just as a heads up I'd buy the 5" carrots singly especially if your going to do away with the black hose anyways. They end up cheaper @ $37.50 for 5 carrots and a thru hull included vs. the more expensive 5, 6, or 12 pack set with everything in it @ $46, $67, and $88 respectively.

Blumat 5-Pack Starter Kit - Automatic Irrigation for up to 5 Plants
Blumat Medium Box Kit - Automatic Irrigation for Up To 12 Plants
Tropf Blumat Sensor - 1 Individual Sensor Bulk

Price Difference
Drippers bought individually end up cheaper.
Single dripper @ $1.15 vs. $1.47-$1.48
Distribution Drippers
Thru Hull Adapter - 3$ Individual vs. $8 - 2 pack ($4ea) or $16 - 4 pack ($4ea)
Blumat Thru-Hull Tank Connector - Bulk - Blumat Bulkhead Fitting to 8mm
Blumat Thru-Hull Tank Connector - 2 pack
Blumat Thru-Hull Tank Connector - 4 pack

Same deal on the stakes... Individual dripper Stake @ $0.69 vs. $0.79 per each @ 7.90 - 10 pack
Going further though, one could be even cheaper and go with their "universal Stakes" for the dripper stakes and get them @ $0.14 ea... Only difference is for the drippers themselves they won't be supported by the dripper, more or less the 3mm tube will be what holds it up from the soil. But ends up cheaper when buying a decent amount.
Stakes - bulk, by the "each"
Support Stakes for Tropf Blumat Supply Tube and Drippers (set of 10)
Universal Stakes - Hold Down for All Tubing

Depending on how many, valves can be relatively not much difference. I went with the cheap(er) regular ones, they happen to work fine. I'd recommend at least one shut off valve on each distribution/feed line directly after the thru hull. This way if you need to disconnect, move, whatever, it makes things easier in hindsight as to make the system easier to disassemble when the time arises to clean or change something out. Down the line I'd think of where if anywhere else you'd also like to put any other shut off valves for easier future maintenance/add ons possibly.

Individual @ $3.95
Blumat Shut-Off Valve - bulk - Great as an Air Purge Valve
2 Pack ($7.50) @ $3.75 ea
Blumat Shut-off Valve - 2 Pack
5 Pack ($20) @ $4 ea
Blumat Shut-off Valve - 5 Pack
10 Pack ($35) @ 3.50 ea
Blumat Shut-off Valve - 10 Pack

Purge/Air Bleed Valve
On the purge/sediment valve they describe, I myself prefer to have a long enough length of tube at the middle of the loop/ end of the line (if no loop) so I can stand up above the reservoir's water height and purge/bleed the air that way. Air will rise and more likely than not, if your not above the water level of the top resevoir, the air will stay trapped within the line instead of escaping and ride along the top of the water inside the tube while you chase gallons of water down the drain trying to release trapped air. At least that's been my limited experience. When done bleeding the air, I'll slowly step down from a small stool watching for water to now come dribbling out the tube as I lower my elevation level or even slightly lower than the resevoir's water level to than finally close the valve so I'm certain there is no air in the line(s).

The super flex red hose in itself pays for the price soon enough when you've had to deal with the original hose and not enough 8mm elbows to go around for it. (currently stuck with the original black hose I set up and can't justify using the red flex yet. "it ain't broke, don't fix it" I feel as it works for the time being. Just not as convenient.) My advice, if going with much length on your runs, I'd opt for the 100ft roll as paying by the foot or smaller rolls just increases initial cost. Besides, never know when you might trip or happen to cut the hose by accident sometime. Makes handy having quite a bit extra also for any later plans.

Do you already have a smaller reservoir for the top shelf in mind? You could check out "US Plastics" for some idea's if not, they're a bit pricey on shipping but it could be of some use maybe, they've got quite a few different style containers to choose from. Good luck on your setup btw and if you still need any help at all someone here will surely pitch in.

 

@pass the pipe So I am dealing with a similar issue...trying to get my blumat system set up and I am in 10 gallons also and elected to go with the Maxi's. I plan on using 3 drippers per pot but my reservoir is significantly higher than my pots (probably 4-5 feet), will this be an issue? Also, with regards to parts, I have the shutoff valve and the valve to make a reservoir with, will I need any other parts?

@BrodMan Organics Hey man, totally not trying to hijack your thread. I just had a similar question I hope that is okay, happy growing!

 

For your height you'll be more than fine. My reservoir sits just over 5ft above the blumats on the top of a shelf. The general rule they give in their Tips and Tricks are, "In a gravity system, you need to make sure the water level in your reservoir is above the Blumats and you don’t want to have your supply line longer than 10’ for every 1’ drop below the lowest you let the water drop in the res." Your only concern of course, is as long as your distribution lines are 50ft or less at 5ft distance between the lowest level and blumats. 40ft at 4ft distance etc. An at that given length, I'm not sure but some extra height would be necessary I'd think to offset the combined length of 3mm tubing also as you would have quite a bit of tubing added to lessen the psi throughout the whole system possibly enough to warrant the extra height. Any height above your minimum target distance will only add to the gravity systems pressure in turn meaning the blumats will be more responsive to minor adjustments. (e.g. A water level at a height of 10ft above the blumats themselves creates more pressure (4.33 psi) vs. at 3ft height (1.299 psi) regardless of water volume/amount.)

Check out the diagrams I linked above and figure out whether you'd rather do a straight run, a tee off configuration from reservoir, a loop with two thru hull adapters etc. It helps to jot down a sketch up of your ideal run before you start cutting or ordering parts yet. This way you buy/use only what you need unless you want extras. My setup negates the loop due to room constraints and instead I tee off right after an inline filter to two different tents. One 8mm line into a tent each side of the filter. This is also why I recommend the purge/bleed line be long enough to go above your top reservoir's water level in order to ensure all the entrapped air is bled off and not just moving air bubbles to the higher end(s) of your system regardless of how you run your setup, loop, straight, etc.

In my situation it was cheaper and more economical to do it with straight runs and do it like that instead of a big loop run but at the lack of a second line on my top reservoir as a backup in case one gets plugged hence the reason for a loop setup right back to the reservoir.

Minimum parts though I'd suggest are, 8mm tubing (red super flex recommended), 3mm tubing (grab a little extra like a roll, you'll thank yourself later), shut-off valves (grab one or two more than you think you'll need. They can be handy)

8mm to 3mm end piece
End Piece for 8mm Supply Line - 8mm x 3mm Elbow Adapter

8mm x 3mm x 8mm tee
Blumat Tee - 8mm x 3 mm x 8mm - single in "bulk"

Optional Parts

3mm tee (can feed two blumats from one 8mm to 3mm tee making convenient and less 8mm tubing)
3mm Tees

Cheaper by the 3 pack
Blumat Mini-branch 3-pack

Blumat Filter (I chose the non clear one due to algae concerns over time)
https://www.sustainablevillage.com/blumat-filter-white-bowl-8-mm

For your shut-off valves, I would have one directly or shortly after your thru hull adapter to add easement there. and possibly one somewhere before your first blumat also for convenience when you may want to disassemble for cleaning/rearranging. Have one also for sure at the end of your run for a single line or the middle of your loop(s) if going that route. This way as described above you now have a way to bleed off any trapped air and help avoid run aways.

This in itself is the cheaper way I've found to order the parts and still have everything work primarily right out the box without having to buy any kits after scaling up from a few pots. But there are cheaper alternatives when wanting to scale up things even more or lose the 8mm tubing for example and go with a pvc manifold setup or 1/4in tubing instead. But that requires outside parts of course without using the on site parts.

As far as parts, the links here and in my reply earlier should cover your bases. If going with two reservoirs, don't forget to get a pump with more than enough head height I believe its called, to reach the top reservoir. Just make sure to measure twice and cut once I happen to learn the hard way sometimes... If you still have any questions feel free to ask!

 

Sorry for the late reply im currently traveling and cant see notifications.
For each 15-20 gallon smartpot i would do the following:
1 regular blumat tropf carrot hooked up to 4 distribution drippers and one maxi blumat tropf hooked up to 4 distribution drippers. I wouldn’t recommend installing carrots into the bottom pf the pot like in the picture.
To that I would get 50’ of blumat superflex tubing and 50’ of blumat 3mm tubing. A couple of blumat shutoff valves and two blumat tank connectors so you can run the 8mm tubing in a loop going from the tank to the pots and back to the tank. A loop configuration will ensure that even if the line clogs or kinks water will still flow from the other direction.
If you have access
To a faucet you can replace the tank connectors with a blumat pressure reducer and hook up your system directly to the main water line.

HTH


Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, MY opinion, man.

 

@pass the pipe Wow! You sir are a wealth of info regarding blumats haha. Forgive me if I have some stupid questions that may have already been answered as I just want to make sure I am following this right. So, I did in fact order the flex tubing, however, why would I still need the 3mm if I already have the 8mm tubing? Secondly, what do the tees do? Are they for connecting the distribution drippers together?

@Sc00byD00bie A couple questions for you also...first, why are you also using both the 8mm and the 3mm tubing? I was under the impression the super flex tubing would replace the weaker tubing altogether, no? Secondly and most importantly, how do you make sure the water is dechlorinated if you hook it right up to a faucet? That has been my biggest wonder this whole time. I am even wondering how it would be possible to make sure my reservoir (if I go that route) would be dechlorinated in time. Basically my plan is to have my reservoir about 8 or 9 feet above my plants as I have a perfect inlet built into the room. I then have plumbing going right up to the res that with a lever I can turn on and fill the reservoir. I was thinking id have to have a shut off valve on the reservoir so that I could shut it off, fill it again, let it dechlorinate for 24 hours, and then turn the shut off valve off and continue business as usual. Would this lead to air in the line or any problems? And if so, what could i potentially do different to achieve the same result?

 

As Brodman explained, the 8mm is your main line going out from the reservoir and the 3mm is what splits off to connect to the carrots (they only connect to 3mm).
As for chlorinated water, its really a non issue with soil high in organic matter. This has already been proved in a study (i have it bookmarked but wont be able to look for it since im on mobile and wont be back till next week) but basically the organic matter quickly turns chloramin to chlorine and chlorine quickly evaporates doing no real damage to the microbial population that would require any special treatment. I know a lot of poeple will say you have to let it sit etc but the reality it makes no difference whatsoever.


Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, MY opinion, man.

 

Just like BrodMan Organics said the 3mm goes directly to the blumats and drippers while teeing off the 8mm line.

Sc00byD00bie gave a good description of the loop setup I mentioned which is the preferred method instead of a single 8mm line for gravity fed setups for which he described why.

The 3mm x 3mm x3mm tees I talked about are for convenience and are not mandatory. They just make less 8mm tubing to work with as pictured below.

I drew up a quick sketch to help give an idea how I set up my dual reservoir along with some pictures I took of a 10 gallon fabric pot with them and examples of some extra's I had lying around. The Blumats are set on the floor to help illustrate the overall setup easier. I included the 3mm tee setup between two Blumats I mentioned (picture) for convenience especially if you have pots side by side. An in a sizeable setup, I believe the smaller tees would save some money on parts if that's a concern. They're cheaper than one 8mm x 3mm tee per Blumat sensor when setting up multiple Blumats this way I believe. (One 8mm tee @ $0.75 per Blumat vs. one 3mm tee @ $0.80ea in a 3 pack($2.40) per two Blumats)

1st Image - My primitive sketch...

Ignoring that, the rubber stopper is something you can get at any hardware store and just keeps water from splashing outside your bottom reservoir and help make a light proof fit while holding your pumps cord in place. I chose this as I can pop it out anytime and change pumps, clean, etc. with ease vs. say glued in place. You would ideally use a pair of calipers to measure your cords diameter to then get your size hole needed for your stopper. But if you don't have one, its far from ideal, but you can try using several drill bits till you find about the same size by gauging/eying them. I don't have a pair on me so I went this route with decent success. It won't be perfect but it worked in a pinch. Then you would just carefully saw/cut one side of the rubber stopper so it can now "wrap" around the cord snug and when pushed in place keeps everything tight. As much as a stopper can anyways... (Don't put this below the water level! The water pressure can possibly pop it out of place if done so. Keep above intended highest water level)

The Uniseal's mentioned are these alternatives to bulkheads. I had a hard time tracking them down locally other than one hydro shop that happened to not carry my size but they can be bought online from multiple places. You just push the pipe in and turn. After a lot of huffing and puffing to finally squeeze it in, you'll have a water tight fit that lasts. (Just make sure to use a hole saw appropriately sized for the Uniseal size you intend to use and take your time drilling. Otherwise it will pop in with ease and when water goes to flow against it, all will be all for none and have a hell of a mess...)


2nd Image - 8mm x 3mm end piece with a 8mm x 3mm x 8mm tee


3rd Image - Closer look of Blumat hooked up to drippers


4th Image - Overall look of one Blumat hooked up to three drippers inside a 10 gallon fabric pot


5th Image - Example of setup on floor for ease of illustration. Thru hull adapter to 8mm tee to blumat with drippers followed by another blumat and dripper linked to a 8mm x 3mm end piece.


6th Image - Same example setup with 3mm tees to show two 8mm tees feeding four Blumats via 3mm tee each.


7th Image - Close up of 3mm tee feeding two Blumats


By the way, I just use a cheap wall timer plugged into my pump that kicks on once an hour or every other hour for fifteen mins to keep the top res topped off. The idea you propose with shutting off the res for a period of time would more than likely result in surplus amounts of air in the lines resulting in run away(s) if I read your question correctly. The water flow has to be constant. Same with the faucet deal. If you happened to turn off the faucet anytime it's hooked up for a period of time and proceed to turn it back on later will result in again air being introduced within the lines. Besides that, in my opinion with the faucet hook up comes the matter of do you have an Olympic size swimming pool or similar to catch the cities water? Reason I ask because without certain precautions in place and the incidence your not there periodically checking, with a runaway(s) could result in flood/major structural damage due to the faucet never stopping or running out of water per say. Forget the idea of just drowned plants, it comes down to what your willing to deal with and how you proceed. I don't intend to discourage if you intend to go that route, just know the precautions if possible. Outdoors, I wouldn't worry as much except the skyrocketed water bill. But indoors regardless of garden size I'd opt for the dual reservoir due relative ease of maintenance and you can most likely come up with a way to hold all or majority of the water in that case, in the even of all goes wrong. (e.g. Kiddie pool for small grow, few plants. Make shift catch pan / bed for larger grows or use multiple reservoir setups for smaller catch pans etc.)

As far as de-chlorinating your water, Sc00byD00bie hit it on the nail. The study I believe Scoobs referencing can be found easily under his Thread "All Organic Recipes and Notes Compilation" here.
All Organic Recipes and Notes Compilation

Scroll down to "Can I Use Chlorinated Tap Water?" for more information and the study referenced.
Hope this all helps.

 

@pass the pipe Holy cow haha that is a whole lot of amazing info! So forgive me again if I am missing something but why would I need a double reservoir? The way I had intended it was to have one large (20 gallon) reservoir and then, coupled with the info you have relayed to me, I would have the 8mm line come out of the bottom of the reservoir (this is where the rubber stopper would be installed also, correct?) go down to my plants and then have T fittings going to each of my 6 plants which will have 3mm line coming off the T's and then one Maxi carrot in each pot with 3 distribution drippers. The 8mm line would loop around as you guys stated back to the reservoir right? And would I need another rubber stopper for the return line?

It definitely makes sense regarding the spout and honestly if I can in fact use chlorinated water then that solves my main issue. I will try to post a pic of my set up so you guys can understand what I had my plumber do, its a really cool and ergonomic set up so Im excited to get it going but am feeling a little overwhelmed with all the extra parts haha but you guys are helping me feel more comfortable setting it up so I appreciate it whole heartedly.

 

The 8mm line is connected from the bottom via the blumat tank connector, no rubber stopper but there is a rubber gasket that comes with the tank connector already. The rubber stopper is used for the return overflow to the bottom reservoir.

Re double reservoir: the system can work perfectly fine without it BUT a double res insures that your main elevated reservoir is always topped off. It works like this: you fill water into the bottom res and a pump pumps water up into the main elevated res. The main res has an overflow, say an inch or so below the top, this is to prevent the main res from overfilling. The overflow drains the access water back into the bottom res.
The second benefit to this system is that you only have to fill water into the bottom res so there is no need to lift water to fill the elevated res. This also helps prevent the main res from drying out (which can lead to the blumats drying out which can cause runaway).
Hope that makes sense. You can check out the first page of my journal (towards the bottom) to see how I built my double res system.

Scoobies Secret Doobie Farm

 

Just like Sc00byD00bie has said above. Yes the 8mm line comes out towards the bottom of your reservoir linked from your thru-hull adapter. Minus the rubber stopper. That is only for the aquarium pump's cord.

Double Reservoir Example & Reason Why
The main reason as to why you want a dual reservoir setup is this. Say in this given example your single reservoir setup is only a 10 gallon vessel with a water column height of 2ft at full with a 5ft distance from the thru-hull adapter to the Blumats. When your tank loses say 5 gallons and you go to refill it, you've already lost approximately 0.433 psi of pressure. (10 gallon tank at 2ft height full / half full = 1ft water column in example)
You've now gone from 3.031 psi down to 2.598 psi which the Blumats in this example would work fine and move along without skipping a beat. But say your distance was only 2ft above the Blumats to adapter, when full you only have 1.732 psi max. That's at full! Imagine when the reservoir is only half full. 3ft x 0.433 psi/ft = 1.299 psi
Now what happens when your tank gets too low the pressure keeps dropping until the Blumats fail to stop dripping causing runaway due to the lack of needed pressure. They're a quite low pressure application but too low and they fail to work at all. The other unintended problem, even when in your situation you will have more than enough leeway pressure wise given your intended height from the Blumats is when you calibrate/set your Blumats at full tank they're set at that pressure. When the reservoir level gets lower so does the pressure and comes with it also responsiveness of the Blumat to where you may notice.

Picture Examples with Explanations
This is how my top reservoir looks. Notice the drain/overflow pipe is situated just below the top as Scoob said. I choose the top for the pump's tubing as I wouldn't trust the grommets water tightness anywhere near what the Uniseals are capable of. This is why I chose to have it placed higher than my drain hole, if enough water pressure were to push the grommet out of place your gonna have a mess. Even a slight drip could lead to problems in my setup, no need to risk it. Doesn't mean it's not feasible, but in my application if the bucket happened to tip, the grommet leaking any up there on the lid instead would be the last of my worries...


The view of the bottom reservoir. The big tube is a 1in dia. vinyl black tubing for my drain pipe instead of pvc for example. Costly but was worth it to me to be able to move my bottom res out of the way from time to time. If going with tubing like I did as pictured here, I used a 1-1/4" Spigot x 1" FIPT PVC Reducing Bushing inserted into a 1-1/4" Uniseal. Threaded into the bushing, is a 1" Tube ID x 1" NPT Threaded Elbow Barb. The pump tube is just held by the rubber grommet mainly for keeping light out and any splashing in.


This is a look into what the bottom reservoirs lid looks like while the pump is running. The water drains down the bigger tube to avoid overflowing. I know I got algae build up around the drain, that was actually something I wanted to mention while this thread was up and going that I'll ask about below if you guys don't mind.


The rubber stopper is for this reason only. To make a light/splash tight fit and also be removable when the time comes/needs. Notice it's also at the top as because of water pressure being a possible problem if placed at or below water level.


View inside the bottom reservoir with the rubber stopper holding pumps cord in place. Water level in my opinion should never reach at or above the stopper as leakage can occur as can the whole plug popping out.


Algae Dilemma
My quick question, this is directed at anyone running the Blumats for a period of time that sees this. What do you do about algae build up? Besides hydrogen peroxide treatment, is there anything safe or close to that can help rid/break up the algae in tank without disassembly and good ol' elbow grease? The peroxide works wonders compared to just doing nothing. But over time I'm afraid the peroxide won't cut it in the long run? Especially the harder to reach areas? As an idea of time frame, I've been running this setup like this for about a year almost and am just worried about the long term water quality and what others have done to correct/prevent this?
@BrodMan Organic Not trying to but in either myself, just figured I'd ask in this thread as it would possibly help you and Ancient along with others in the same boat including me down the road if the same problem occurs. I'll retract my question if it's not fine. Thanks.

 

I wrapped my tank in black panda film and aluminum foil to light seal it, never had algae develop in it during the three years it’s been running.

 

@Sc00byD00bie Okay so it comes down to light still coming in somehow? I'm just trying to narrow down the cause between a light leak somewhere (it's definitely possible) or maybe the added excess heat given off from the pump when running? I know if I ran the pump for a good half hour or better the water in the bottom res gets quite warm to the touch even on the outside given I've only got a 7 gallon bucket with maybe around 6 capacity full and the top being a 6 gallon is probably more like 5 gallons when flowing over. Is warmth/temperature a major factor or only when combined with a light source?