Automatic watering system

[weedlover_89]

Hello, i am planning on running an automatic watering system and i would like to ask your opinion as it's something i have not done in the past. I have 2 of these pumps: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hailea-Hx45...=1410431909&sr=8-3&keywords=hailea+water+pump

Each one is rated at 500 gph. I plan on having 24 plants in total in 5 gal pots. I want to water 12 plants with each pump. Pumps in reservoirs will be sitting at 5' and 6' respectively above plants.

I plan on using 2 drippers per pot, that makes 24 drippers per pump. Each pump will be connected with 1 inch tube which will have a total length of 10'.

These are the materials i wanna buy:

2 pumps:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hailea-Hx45...=1410431909&sr=8-3&keywords=hailea+water+pump

20' of 1 inch black watering hose like this: http://www.amazon.com/Raindrip-052050-2-Inch-Watering-500-Feet/dp/B000A24JX2

30' of 1/4 inch watering hose like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Bird-T22...432526&sr=1-9&keywords=watering+hose+1/4+inch

50 drippers and stuff that is required to connect them to the 1/4 watering hose.

Am i missing anything to make this work?I don't need a timer, i will be putting these pumps to work myself. I just want to save the hassle of watering 24 plants every 3 days. Will these pumps be able to water 12 plants each? Thank you very much.


http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Bird-T22...432526&sr=1-9&keywords=watering+hose+1/4+inch

 

[FromHolland]

You need barbfittings to connect the 1/4' hose to the 1' hose.

You need a hole maker (1/4') to create the holes in the 1' hose.

You need to know the diameter of the water outlet. In your case it's 1inch.

You need an inline water filter to prevent your 1/4tubes and drippers from clogging.

You need an airpump with airstone(s).

You need a temp, ph and ec meter.

A reservoir that's big enough, you don't want to dry out your pump.

OPTIONAL: A hose that supplies freshwater, this will save you a lot of time!

The pump capacity is good enough. I wouldn't use drippers, just use the 1/4' hose instead. Because with the drippers it will take much longer compared without drippers.

To calculate the water/time ratio you need to do the following:

1. Build your system.
2. Put two 1/4' hoses in one measure cup.
3. Start the pump and as soon you turn the pump on start to count till the measure cup get filled to 100ml (or anything similar), do this also for 200, 300, and 400ml.

Example:

100ml in 10sec
200ml in 20sec
300ml in 30sec
400ml in 40sec

Know you can see how long it takes to fill up 100ml. In this case our pump pumps out 100ml water every 10secs (note: these results are just examples I made up)

 

[FromHolland]

I forgot to mention something important about your post. Please don't follow the 3-days watering rule. It's very easy to drown your plants that way. Everyone has a different setting thus a different climate, temp, moist lvl in their growroom.

It's pretty easy to determine the watering times. This is how I do it:

Small plants don't need a lot of water. Lets say it's their first week in the vegging period. You give them 100ml water, this also depends on the size of the pot you're using. Just observe your plants, after a day or four you will see dehydration symptoms (curled up leaves - taco effect). For e.x; if it took 4 days then water them every 3 days. So you'll need to water them every 3 days.

After a while when they get bigger they're going to use more water. You will see the dehydration symptoms earlier, if this happens you need to give them more water (check my previous post about how to determine the time/water ratio).

It's better to have a de-hydrated plant than a over watered plant. If you leave them a little bit dry the roots will get bigger, the bigger the roots the bigger the plant. Good luck!

 

[weedlover_89]

Hello, thanks a lot for taking the time to answer my questions! I already have the barbfittings and the hole maker!

Is the inline water filter nescessary? I plan on giving plain water to my babies! I also don't need to check PH,PPM etc! The reason? TLO! I have mixed my own organic soil requiring only water from start to finish!

The hose that supplies fresh water is a very very nice idea! I will use this for sure!

I was planning on putting 12 bottles of 1,5 liter capacity in my growtent, where my pots will be! Then put the drippers or the 1/4 straight into each bottle and start the pump. That way i believe i could see if water goes evenly to all the pots! Anything wrong with that?

Why is the air pump with the airstones nescessary in my setup? I could understand why an airstone could come in handy but still....

I was planning on using 2 30 gallon reservoirs, one for each pump! They are more than enough having previous experience with 5 gal pots!

 

[FromHolland]

Ah I see you have mixed your own soil. Well I think it might give you a problem if you don't know what you're doing. These are the problems you might get:

1. The soil contains fertilizers which are way to strong for a baby/small plant. If this is the case the roots of your plant will burn and it dies.

2. The plant will use the ferts in your soil, after a while there will be no ferts in your soil anymore. Here is where the problem will start, so you still need to mix the water with nutes.

I bought once an organic soil with batcrap and my plants never liked it burned them out like hell (even in their late blooming period). So basically flushing your plants is almost impossible from that say I always used soil without any fertilizer which gave me more control (even with organic nutes). Or you can use/make a light soil mix where you have to start feeding after 3 or 4 weeks this gives you the freedom to flush your plants anytime you want.

3. If you're going to use nutes in your reservoirs then you def need an inline water pump. An inline pump will prevent your tubes from clogging. Especially with organic nutes.

That 500 gph pump will pump 8.3g per min (500/60) which is 0.13 gallon per sec. Now there might be an another problem. If you use the pump in the 30gal res it will take 3/4mins before the pump has pumped out the 30 gallon. If your res isn't deep enough and the waterlevel gets below the pumps water intake there is a chance you might burn the pump.

 

[weedlover_89]

I have tested my organic soil mix twice with great success! Each time, i modify it a little bit, but the basic recipe remains the same! I am confident it won't give me problems! Can't say the same about the times i used to use biobizz soil etc with "organic" nutes!

I see what you mean with the rez problem! What size rez do you suggest and how deep?My rez is about 1,5 foot deep.

 

[FromHolland]

In your case it doesn't really matter as long the water level doesn't get under the water intake of your pump. If (in the future) you're going to use nutes then I suggest you to get a big res, the bigger the better because it will be much easier to keep the pH stable. I always build my own reservoir with wood and pond foil so the water won't leak out.

There is a simple formula to calculate the capacity of a reservoir.

res = length * width * height

In this formula you need to use decimeters instead of cm. 1 decimeter (dm) is 10cm. So you need to divide the l b h with 10. Example 60cm will be 6dm, 120cm will be 12dm.

If we build a reservoir which is 60cm x 80cm x 50cm we need to use the formula as:

6dm * 8dm * 5dm = 240m3 which is 240 liters (63 gallons)

If you build your own res with this formula just add 10cm (1dm) to its height so your water wont overflow.

I think 30 gallon will be enough, just keep an eye on the water levels when you water your plants.

Just check my previous post, if your water time takes more than 3 or 4 mins your res will be empty and your pump might burn out. Thats why its always better to use a bigger reservoir then you really need you never know

Or you can use a fish breeding tank, get them second held which will save you a lot of money and time.

 

[rives]

I can't find a "pump curve" listed for that pump, but you need to be aware that pump volume falls off markedly when the pump is trying to push water uphill. The documentation says that the pump is good for 1.3m-2.8m of head, but doesn't list what volume it is capable of at those heights.

 

[weedlover_89]

In your case it doesn't really matter as long the water level doesn't get under the water intake of your pump. If (in the future) you're going to use nutes then I suggest you to get a big res, the bigger the better because it will be much easier to keep the pH stable. I always build my own reservoir with wood and pond foil so the water won't leak out.

There is a simple formula to calculate the capacity of a reservoir.

res = length * width * height

In this formula you need to use decimeters instead of cm. 1 decimeter (dm) is 10cm. So you need to divide the l b h with 10. Example 60cm will be 6dm, 120cm will be 12dm.

If we build a reservoir which is 60cm x 80cm x 50cm we need to use the formula as:

6dm * 8dm * 5dm = 240m3 which is 240 liters (63 gallons)

If you build your own res with this formula just add 10cm (1dm) to its height so your water wont overflow.

I think 30 gallon will be enough, just keep an eye on the water levels when you water your plants.

Just check my previous post, if your water time takes more than 3 or 4 mins your res will be empty and your pump might burn out. Thats why its always better to use a bigger reservoir then you really need you never know

Or you can use a fish breeding tank, get them second held which will save you a lot of money and time.

Thank you man! This formula will be useful for sure! Thanks for the help so far

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I can't find a "pump curve" listed for that pump, but you need to be aware that pump volume falls off markedly when the pump is trying to push water uphill. The documentation says that the pump is good for 1.3m-2.8m of head, but doesn't list what volume it is capable of at those heights. [/FONT]

I am going to use 2 pumps. Each one for 12-16 plants in 5 gal pots. One pump will be sitting 4' and the other 5' above the pots. So, they are not going to push uphill. The opposite! You think i will face a problem?

 

[NotaProfessor]

3. If you're going to use nutes in your reservoirs then you def need an inline water pump. An inline pump will prevent your tubes from clogging. Especially with organic nutes.

That 500 gph pump will pump 8.3g per min (500/60) which is 0.13 gallon per sec. Now there might be an another problem. If you use the pump in the 30gal res it will take 3/4mins before the pump has pumped out the 30 gallon. If your res isn't deep enough and the waterlevel gets below the pumps water intake there is a chance you might burn the pump.

For #3 I think you need the word 'filter' instead of pump.

The math on the 500gph pump rate is correct, but that is with unrestricted free flow. You instructed him to choke it down from 1" to 1/4" so the output rate will be greatly reduced from the 500gph free flow rate (even if 16 - 1/4" holes have the same cross section as 1 - 1" hole, frictional forces for the combined 1/4" lines are much greater than a single 1" line). Only testing will determine the actual rate and you already instructed OP to do so. Fast flow rates could be controlled by installing a ball valve on output and adjusting that.

I am going to use 2 pumps. Each one for 12-16 plants in 5 gal pots. One pump will be sitting 4' and the other 5' above the pots. So, they are not going to push uphill. The opposite! You think i will face a problem?

A siphon effect might occur once all the lines are full, slowly draining the res while the pump is off. Be sure to test that to ensure this isn't the case with your setup.

 

[weedlover_89]

For #3 I think you need the word 'filter' instead of pump.

The math on the 500gph pump rate is correct, but that is with unrestricted free flow. You instructed him to choke it down from 1" to 1/4" so the output rate will be greatly reduced from the 500gph free flow rate (even if 16 - 1/4" holes have the same cross section as 1 - 1" hole, frictional forces for the combined 1/4" lines are much greater than a single 1" line). Only testing will determine the actual rate and you already instructed OP to do so. Fast flow rates could be controlled by installing a ball valve on output and adjusting that.

A siphon effect might occur once all the lines are full, slowly draining the res while the pump is off. Be sure to test that to ensure this isn't the case with your setup.

Questions, questions!
1)Should i test it with bottles all around in positions where my pots are going to be?

2) I was thinking about 4 drippers per 5 gal pot to water thoroughly each pot. Is this too much?

3)In case a siphon effect occurs, what should i do? I haven't had any previous experience with drippers and shit before, that's why i am asking.

4)Should all the 1/4'' tubes coming from the 1'' tube and leading to the pots have the same lenght or it does not matter?

Thanks a lot!

 

[NotaProfessor]

Questions, questions!
1)Should i test it with bottles all around in positions where my pots are going to be?

2) I was thinking about 4 drippers per 5 gal pot to water thoroughly each pot. Is this too much?

3)In case a siphon effect occurs, what should i do? I haven't had any previous experience with drippers and shit before, that's why i am asking.

4)Should all the 1/4'' tubes coming from the 1'' tube and leading to the pots have the same lenght or it does not matter?

Thanks a lot!

I'm a hand-watering guy (interested in uppping to something automatic) so I am likely not the best resource for dripper system design. Knowing that, I'll still give your questions a go...

1. My opinion is that you should test with separate bottles just to ensure it all pumps out evenly.

2. I'll claim ignorance on this and let someone who knows respond. My guess is that 4 would be ok but not excessive.

3. There are siphon breaker valves. Other solutions may be available that I am unaware of.

4. I'll claim ignorance on this too. Theoretically there should be a difference but practically it may not be a big enough difference to matter.

 

[FromHolland]

lol I was typing to fast I ment an inline filter. Why doesn't this forum has an edit post function?

2. Many people just use one dripper per pot, it will only take longer to get the watering amount.

4. Yes there will be a difference because the pressure won't be equaly devided. You need to use a spin valve.

http://www.growland-hydroponics.com/Irrigation-Jet-4-x-1-m-Drip-Hose-with-Spike_1

http://www.eugrowshop.eu/uk/water-irrigation-equipment/drip-systems/cnl-valve-4ltr-h/