I think you are right. Do you have a pic of your planter? I was thinking about a plastic tote, perlite on the bottom (a lot, obviously), overflow hole an inch or two below the top of the perlite, fabric on top of the perlite, and soil on top of the fabric. So, this means skipping the fabric pot. I'd have a pvc pipe running down into the perlite. I like this because it keeps air and light from getting to the perlite, so less evaporation and no algae. What do you think?
that was one of my first designs: If you want to go that route put a bunch of plastic bottles in the bottom first with a bumch of holes in them so that they fill with water. This will take up space so you do not have to use as much perlite. Remember, you cannot remove your plant and pot to do whatever you need to without moving the rez too. The rez with water and soil can be heavy and awkward to move. It does work though. You can rig up a cork and thin aluminum rod as a dip stick to tell you how much water you have in the rez instead of filling to overflow then guessing when its low. That's what I did. But your design will work as is and it is straight forward. I used non dyed burlap for the fabric BTW. Also I tried a micro fiber towel too. That worked a little better since the burlap rotten away in one grow.
I don't know how to safely give out the email. It's not a big deal, no worries. So, you mentioned your early design. What about your current design? How is it different?
its light tight too but the perlite bed that the pot sits on rotates so I can service the plant without having to move the rez also. Also I can use a #5 smart pot instead of a #3 and I refined the water level indicator.
I am glad it has not. I have heard of the float valve sticking open and the rez flooded the grow area. I am sure it is not often but it was mentioned enough times on the autopot website that I was concerned. If it can happen, it will happen to me.
too bad this site doesn't have private mail associated with it. I can work on the pix this. Getting them from phone to computer is my sticking point.
Nice. Maybe when I retire. Did not see a price tag but saw a similar product (Titan?) at a local shop that they wanted about $500 for. I grow out 6 plants each harvest and actually have been harvesting better than a lb under a 600W but I do not sell so I do it frugally. Not counting electricity that lb costs me less than $25 in nutes, medium, and bags.
I like this SIP stuff but I have to say it seems like it's pretty much made for organic growing/soil mediums. I'm not seeing the huge advantage for hydro. I don't think it saves a lot of water. You end up watering about the same it's just that the water is stored in the system instead of just in the medium allowing you to water more at a time without overwatering so you water less often but the amount is similar. In DWC hydro the plant is always feeding and aerating at the same time. Obviously I guess there's no application for that system. I wonder if SIP would benefit a coco drip to waste system or not? Would you actually use less water or nutrients? Maybe a very small amount more gets evaporated if you top feed compared to bottom feed? I'm not sure that's worth the effort? Maybe it is. Anyone got any opinions?
Oh sure...I mention my frugality and up pops the guy who once referred to me as the Montgomery Burns of growing.
That was a stroke of comedic genius. I like cracking myself up... hehe. I totally respect you at the same time Bravedave. You seem like a knowledgeable guy.
Back on subject though... In my mind an SIP system sort of bridges the gap on a few advantages some hydro systems have over soil. DWC Hydro is faster growing partially because the plant can always feed and aerate at the same time. Also because the feed is in a readily usable form compared to organic but that's a different discussion. With SIP you can have an organic soil based system that can feed and aerate at the same time just like a hydro system. You limit the amount of water by wicking it in. This allows air to penetrate the damp soil continuously to feed the roots because it's just damp not oversaturated. That is providing you have a well constructed loose medium that allows for plenty of aeration. I'm sure that is one of the important factors of a successful SIP setup. If you do a crappy job constructing your medium and it doesn't aerate well or it packs too hard this method would suffocate a plant. Very interesting, if I was a soil grower I would be doing this for sure.
does SIP save water? Yep a little with regards to this hobby, but it shines more on larger scale outdoor stuff where a lot of water is lost to evaporation or run off. For this application, I don't think water savings is top of the list. Instead its labor and time savings. However, I certainly do not see DWC as a water saver at all....rez dumps seem to negate any savings. I probably am wrong though since I do not do DWC or NFT or Kratky or ???.
You should dump once a week to 10 days unless you are an idiot.. hehe. I hope I didn't offend anyone. I have seen people not change their water for the whole bud cycle. It doesn't make any sense. Every single nutrient company instructs you to change the water. The plant takes what it wants and leaves the rest behind. In no time at all you can randomly have 10x the copper you need or nitro or anything since the plant keeps just leaving it behind as you top off. Not changing your water is a recipe for toxicity of something eventually. I can see how outdoor the SIP system would be huge. I'm not sure how you would compete without it if others are using it. Luckily I live in one of the top 5 rainiest places in the US. We can get 200 inches a year. I am not connected to any type of residential water system. I use rainwater for everything. I got about 7,000 gallons in the tank right now.
Want to learn about making your own nutrients? You can save lots of money. You can reverse engineer any brand name supplement you want. I haven't done it yet. If you dive into this site you may never come back. This is an absolute gold mine of knowledge. Click at your own risk. Check out the section on DIY'in your own hydro nutrients. Hydroponic Science | Hydroponic Nutrients ｜ Additives
Cool site. I actually just recently bought 25lbs of J.R. Peters Peat Lite 20-10-20 and 25lbs of THEIR hat-tip to the MJ growing industry, Aquagold Finisher 7-15-30 complete with a little extra sulphur. Thing is, I will use less than a lb total per grown. Unless I go big...I am good for 15 years or better...at a cost of $72 ($33+$39). Now I just need a head to head with AN. Ha! I also got lucky in the water dept. as I have access to an artesian well whose spring has been flowing since the early 1900s. Drinkable. PH pushes 8 but everything seems to work.
already have made my own......did well on produce...not so well on this hobby. don't know why either....hmmmm I think I needed way more K in the mix. Thanks for the link. I'll chk it out.
A little basic....helps drinkability? . Is it delicious? Rain water---wow dig it. for like $11 I made enough nute for something like 500 gal.