Bahaaaahaaaahaaa! Sorry brother, start at page 1 or 2 of ms. noobs thread. You'll find my original design using #15 smartpots. I have run geopots and they are thicker, but will wick. I use mortar pans from Lowes on dollies and 175lb casters. The dollies can be outfitted with a scrog screen if one so desired. I may set one up for giggles in the near future, but I have so many other things to learn right now. 2 #15 per mortar pan. The key with the SIPs is to let the moisture draw down before refilling. Usually I let them draw down then I apply coconut water or SST and fill the res with plain h20. Oh, and living mulch also works well. HTH SF
I was the last line in yo It was the last line about not being able to apply a tea or SST that got my goat. No offense was ment. Hope none was taken. Just thought it was funny, due to the fact it is all of the things that I though of with the smartSIP.
S'all good. I checked out your posts in noob's thread but something is wrong with the links. I can't see what you made, I can read about it but the picture links are not working.
Post #54 is where it all started. http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1075960-Self-Watering-Containers/page__view__findpost__p__15458951
to answer the questions. Yes it works in large sizes. I'm currently using cattle lick tubs as a reservoir and have 20 gal smart pots in them. Fit great!
I want to use sip system in my next grow but I don't understand some things 1. I don't understand filling a trey with perlite and water and setting a smart pot on top of it, how is the water getting transferred into the soil? Unless you have an extended portion of the pot extending down into the medium that I cant see in the pics, but then in that case I don't see the purpose of the perlite. 2. Why cant we just have a smaller extended portion of the pot on the boddom droop down into a water resivour allowing the soil itself to be the wiking medium? I understand the concept just not following
Here is how it works I've simplified my system to use just 2 -10" net cups with lava and hydrotron. That supports a single 35 gallon planter. No other wick material is in the res. HTH
I understand capillary action. Simple concept. but how does a smart pot sitting on perlite soak up the water? Does the perlite stay wet from the capillary pull of the water in the boddom of the pan and then the fabric pot just stays moisturized because it's on wet perlite?
You basically just described it. Think of when 2 drops of water form one. It's all on the molecular level.
yeah the perlite also acts as a wick and brings the water up to the smart pot, from there its wicked into the fabric and from there to the soil.
Hey y'all, spent quite a bit of time reading through the thread, got some great ideas, and think I got my design, but would love to bounce it off some of you Sippers, lemme know if I'm heading in then right direction 26"-width x 20"- length x8" height black plastic mortar mixing tub Bag of hydroton pebbles( or other suggested medium) 4 square plastic buckets that fit in tub I get capillary action, but I see I always want to keep water level an inch or so below top of hydroton, with out a "wick" how will the water get from the rock into the bucket, do I need a wick,? Will it work as is , would putting an air stone or 2 be of ant benefit, Many thanks Boom
if you are using a plastic bucket on top of the hydroton you will need a wick. can you get a fabric pot? you can set those right on the wicking medium and you dont need anything else since the fabric of the pot will wick by itself.
I can probly come up itch fabric pots, I actually got a giant piece of that Eco felt, maybe I'll fire up the sewing machine and make a couple tonight, this is taking up the entire floor of a 2x2 tent and holding 2 fast and vast autos in living organic soil under a MarsII 400 and an old style Mars 300, Looks like I may be limited on a medium to fill the tub, I wanted to get hytroton pellets, but would have to drive hours or pay way to much to have them shipped I have access to perlite( does perlite float up to much?) and peat stone ( just small Home Depot decorative stone) or lava rock( that red stuff the landscapers use) seems like they all will allow water to wick?) Sorry about the novel I'm writing here, just excited, and trying to put everything together so I can pop them beans, Out of the above mentioned medias which would you suggest? Or anything else Home Depot or Lowes might carry, also, what's your thoughts on a small pump and air stone, overkill? AND....... should I consider anything for algae control, again apologize for all the questions, and I have been reading and scouring all the sites for info, but ya know, some stuff is just not available and is more subjective Many thanks. Boom
Ok, just came back from the store, got a 2'x2'x8" black plastic tub, enough of that red decorative lava stone to fill it with and my black square plastic 4.5 gallon buckets, I'm not gonna screw with the smart pots on this round, gonna figure some kind of wicking system, I read about letting a couple pieces of the cotton reach out the bottom of the bucket, down into the sip, and maybey coiling a peice around the bottom of the bucket, not really clear, but will figure it out, I gotta try to was this stone or everything's gonna be red Thanks for the help guys
i use lava rock, it works great! heres an idea: cut the bottom of the plastic pot and wrap the bottom with the fabric and secure it with zip ties around the pot. ghetto smartpot
Scoobies, that's pretty crafty, I actually am gonna go the smartpot route, seems like it will be the best for the capillary action, talked the wife into taking a little trip on Sunday down to the shopping district ( grow shop), I love going there, I am only able to get there like once a year as its pretty far away. Hey do you use that red stuff, the decorative red lava rock, do you rinse it first, this stuff is messy, I am gonna try to figure a way to wash off some of that red dust