Blumat auto watering

[rives]

Not to be a dick, but some punctuation would help a bunch.

I'm not sure exactly what your question was, but you might try a free sample of V+B and see if you like it. I've been using the RO formula for several years now with nothing added except DripClean and SM90, and it works well with Blumats.

 

[marmarb]

Sorry about that. I just sent off for the sample pack $6 bucks is cheap especially if it gets me thru one cycle. The only thing is I've got a bunch of bloom boosters that I'd like to go thru before they go bad on me.

 

[oti$]

Marmarb, i have had my best yielding runs with aqua flakes @1.0-1.2ec which is about 5ish ml\gal fwiw. I had good results with boosters and additives, but i started consitently hitting 1gpw in my blumat grows once i dropped the additives. Im certain that experience as well as dialing in my environment were also factors in tge increase yield, but if you have a balanced nute profile low ec feeds and a dialed environment yield should be good. Drip clean @1ml\gal is a great insurance policy to prevent lockout from salt accumulation in the medium.

 

[marmarb]

Marmarb, i have had my best yielding runs with aqua flakes @1.0-1.2ec which is about 5ish ml\gal fwiw. I had good results with boosters and additives, but i started consitently hitting 1gpw in my blumat grows once i dropped the additives. Im certain that experience as well as dialing in my environment were also factors in tge increase yield, but if you have a balanced nute profile low ec feeds and a dialed environment yield should be good. Drip clean @1ml\gal is a great insurance policy to prevent lockout from salt accumulation in the medium.

thats what ive been doing. 5ml from clone thru flower with aqua flakes and to be honest my yields have sucked. Granted they didnt always have the best environment so i sure that played a part in it and im sure the spider mites werern't making it any better im at a new location started everything from seed. Guess its just time to dial in the environment.

 

[dr-dank]

Update/follow-up.

Things holding steady. Still bubbling mosquito dunks in panty-hose in water res that I draw out of to mix nutes. Have removed air stone from res. Things are steady. I am noticing some different growth (seem more veggy)/less crystals, but chalk this up to the hot temperatures as the plants seems healthy. Only change besides the BMs are adding small amount of drip clean and .5ml/G bleach every 4 days or so.

I did see the ph in the res start to rise, getting to 6.0. Perhaps the bleach. The last few add backs did not get any PH + and this helped bring PH back down to 5.8. I did drain 1/2 the res and top watered all to heavy run-off as a safety measure; both to refresh res and to guard against and salts building up.

I did receive the inline strainer and have it installed. I could not detect any pressure drop, but it's not clogged yet either. The 8mm does fit snugly over a 1/4" barb. I can shut off the res to perform maintenance as needed. They sell replacement screens but should be able to flush this one multiple times.

Regards

 

[marmarb]

Can we get a diy on how to make the gadget that allows us to run multiple blumats without having to have a raised rez? I know they offer one but for 500 bucks that's a bit much.

 

[LostInEthereal]

It's pretty simple really. Weed, Killer posted his setup a few times in this thread, and even created a new thread about it. I'm only piecing together stuff in my Amazon cart, but it's just a few items:

Reservoir/Bulkhead -> Filter -> Pressure Pump -> Accumulator Tank -> Regulator -> Blumat feed line

The regulator needs to be either the Blumat or an adjustable down to 15PSI. Seems that the larger the accumulator tank (within reason?) the better because it keeps the pump from running so often. There are pump/tank combo systems out there as well, taking out some of the guess work. I'm just hand-topping my reservoir for now and will look into a pressurized system for the next round, so I haven't finalized my parts list yet.

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

I am thinking about using the pump linked below, it is for an RO system and is designed to be running a constant pressure so I am ASSUMING I will not need an accumulator. Now I just need to figure out the connections between the pump and the regulator.

"These pumps are capable of continuous duty and are effective for recirculation based applications as well."

https://www.foreverpureplace.com/Aq...=gdfV210784_a_7c3499_a_7c13188_a_7cCDP_d_6800

 

[dr-dank]

I am thinking about using the pump linked below, it is for an RO system and is designed to be running a constant pressure so I am ASSUMING I will not need an accumulator. Now I just need to figure out the connections between the pump and the regulator.

"These pumps are capable of continuous duty and are effective for recirculation based applications as well."

https://www.foreverpureplace.com/Aq...=gdfV210784_a_7c3499_a_7c13188_a_7cCDP_d_6800

The RO pump is interesting. Lets us know....

Meanwhile, an update.

Nothing to report. I have too much free time now.

Seriously, the BMs have been holding steady last week. Recall I was bubbling the rex. Perhaps coincidence, but no issues since I stopped.

I am getting some algae in the feed/drain lines. Need to block light. Need some sort of flexible snake/brush I can run through the drain tube else flush out with bleach or such.

Regards

 

[Jhhnn]

One of the great things about blumats is that they allow the use of fluffy relatively fast draining soil mixes that the plants seem to love. I offer up the mix that Eighths-n-aces taught me which seems to work great in fabric pots-

Soil mix- 14 gal

3 gals peat
3 gals coarse flushed coco block
2 gals med perlite
1 gal earthworm castings
1 gal compost
1 gal garden soil
1 gal leaf mold

1/2 cup equal parts dolomite lime, gypsum & powdered oyster shell
1 cup glacial rock dust
2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup azomite
2 cup crab shell meal
4 cup kelp meal
4 cup fish meal
4 cup fish bone meal
1 cup langbeinite
2 cup neem seed meal
1 cup alfalfa meal

Mix well. Wet with ewc/compost tea to level suitable for planting
Let sit & keep moist for 3-4 weeks. Very fishy aroma is nearly gone when it's ready.

It's very similar to a lot of mixes like the one Gascanastan offers but lacks the vermiculite & clay used for moisture retention in between waterings. Using blumats, there is no in between.

Ace uses plastic pots, says he grows 2 rounds before amending using teas as supplemental nutrition. I haven't added anything but water this first time round. At some point, the coco & peat will break down & it'll lose its marvelous tilth.

Putting all the ingredients together is a little spendy up front- I joke that it's the most expensive potting mix in the world- but I intend to grow my way past that.

 

[LostInEthereal]

I'd like to share my experience with Blumats over the last few weeks.

The initial setup was a bit time consuming, but now my time is spent doing other non-grow (does IC count?) stuff and topping off nutes and checking in on the ladies.

I've been struggling with a bit botrytis and cyanobacteria, which I think I finally have under control. Learned my lesson about sterile rez there.

Anyhow along the way, I freaked out and unplugged everything, leaving the cone in the soil, while I had the rest apart for 24 hours while I sanitized everything and read a ton here on IC. I even let the soil become quite dry with one plant showing signs of serious under watering (indicating the cone is sucked bone dry). To which I hand watered heavily over a couple hours and reset the Blumat, and still works flawlessly.

Now, I don't recommend anything like that, but it shows how much the Blumat can take and still work as expected.

 

[sunnydog]

The best solution to just about every issue I see people having is using the B/M pressure reducer. No air issues, etc. B/Ms function best at the 15 psi from the reducer. This is why the higher the res., the better. Only issue is for those running nute water.
Possibly give a hand water feeding say, once a week as needed?
The only caveat is if you have a leak,etc. Be careful

Y'all grow on now!

 

[HL45]

Sub!

Been wanting to play with some blumats for a while and I think it's finally time!

 

[dr-dank]

first issue: Salt build up as predicted

first issue: Salt build up as predicted

So, I have been running BMs in coco long enough to have cycled some new plants through that are on BM for entire flower. Started to see some burning/yellowing and decided to test run off.

Holy shit. ~ 400 PPM in at 5.8 (.5), off the 2000 PPM scale and 5.2 out!!!

To me, this is completely predictable and to be expected in a 0 run off grow with continuous feed. But, I had the foresight to ask about this, and the tenacity to read this whole thread, and seems that many report success with just such an approach.

I'm in 80/20 coco perlite. Using Modified Lucas/H3ad at ~ 500 PPM/5.8. I am using drip clean and adding 2ml bleach to my ~ 7G res every 4 days.

I always doubted drip clean. I cannot see how it can work in the media with no run off. Where are all the bound cations supposed to be going?

To me, the only option is to perform periodic hand water dtw flushes, or use a media that can hold nutes and use water only for maintenance if using while away.

I am further diluting my feed strength to be ~ 400. I use RO, but my tap water is nearly 400, so not big on such a low EC solution, but the hope is to do a 1 x week manual flush and let BMs tend with a low EC to keep labor down. Given I have a perpetual grow I have early mid and late flowers all on same strength.

I believe that having a single feed and 0 runoff for plants in such desperate stages can only lead deficiency for some (use very low strength) or excess for others. Using the same strength (6/9) feed on all stages worked in the past because I hand watered to 20% runoff, IMO.

Did I miss something?

Regards

 

[rives]

How much DC are you using?

Your findings don't surprise me as to the buildup, but if you are using 1ml/gallon of DripClean, it surprises be that the plants had a problem with it during a normal flowering cycle. I've never bothered to check my runoff during a flowering run because I haven't had an issue with it. However, my moms will start showing some problems after about 9 months or so, and when I check the runoff, it is up into the range that you found. I try and flush them pretty thoroughly somewhere around 6-9 months and that seems to take care of it.

My tap water runs @ 70, and I use V+B, so perhaps some of the difference lies with that.

 

[Dave Coulier]

So, I have been running BMs in coco long enough to have cycled some new plants through that are on BM for entire flower. Started to see some burning/yellowing and decided to test run off.

Holy shit. ~ 400 PPM in at 5.8 (.5), off the 2000 PPM scale and 5.2 out!!!

To me, this is completely predictable and to be expected in a 0 run off grow with continuous feed. But, I had the foresight to ask about this, and the tenacity to read this whole thread, and seems that many report success with just such an approach.

I'm in 80/20 coco perlite. Using Modified Lucas/H3ad at ~ 500 PPM/5.8. I am using drip clean and adding 2ml bleach to my ~ 7G res every 4 days.

I always doubted drip clean. I cannot see how it can work in the media with no run off. Where are all the bound cations supposed to be going?

To me, the only option is to perform periodic hand water dtw flushes, or use a media that can hold nutes and use water only for maintenance if using while away.

I am further diluting my feed strength to be ~ 400. I use RO, but my tap water is nearly 400, so not big on such a low EC solution, but the hope is to do a 1 x week manual flush and let BMs tend with a low EC to keep labor down. Given I have a perpetual grow I have early mid and late flowers all on same strength.

I believe that having a single feed and 0 runoff for plants in such desperate stages can only lead deficiency for some (use very low strength) or excess for others. Using the same strength (6/9) feed on all stages worked in the past because I hand watered to 20% runoff, IMO.

Did I miss something?

Regards

Im not surprised by the high levels Dr. Dank. Previously when I ran nutrients in the res I started off with similar feed levels, and by the end of flowering it was at very high levels such as yours. Plants dont suffer as much though because of the rootball stays moist the entire time. If you had dry down periods the roots would suffer more damage, which would lead to more damage up top.

I ended up running nutrients at around 25-35% of what I had ran before. Spurr used to recommend around 40% your normal feed rate as drip feeding is a constant feed and we can use less nutrients. Thats one benefit people may be missing out on.

Personally, I got sick of adding bleach constantly and went water only + CRF, and an occasional WSF hand-feeding at 450-500ppm. Things are going much better this round than last time.

I wouldn't advise flushing personally. Invest in a hanna suction lysimeter and use your EC meter to take daily,weekly, etc readings so you can tailor your nutrient load precisely. If you stay on top of readings, you'll never need to flush again.

@ Rives, I wanted to keep you up to date with my trials with CRF + Water only Res. The 4 or 5grams Osmocote/gallon of media is working so much better than the previous 18grams. Some of my plants are outpacing the release rate of the Osmocote during heavy flowering and dropping EC levels in the soil solution to .3 and .4 ms/cm. Too low for healthy flowering, but excellent for an end of flowering fade. Ill be tweaking the dosage rates for flowering some time going forward.

One plant that is rocking it right now is a Mr. Nice Shit Clone. You said these plants do take on a beautiful look when fed with CRF. Is this beautiful?

Day 39 Flowering Mr. Nice Shit Clone.

 

[rives]

You said these plants do take on a beautiful look when fed with CRF. Is this beautiful?

Wowzers! Beautiful, indeed. You are piquing my interest a bit here.... Good thing that I haven't thrown any of that stuff away!

 

[dr-dank]

How much DC are you using?

Your findings don't surprise me as to the buildup, but if you are using 1ml/gallon of DripClean, it surprises be that the plants had a problem with it during a normal flowering cycle. I've never bothered to check my runoff during a flowering run because I haven't had an issue with it. However, my moms will start showing some problems after about 9 months or so, and when I check the runoff, it is up into the range that you found. I try and flush them pretty thoroughly somewhere around 6-9 months and that seems to take care of it.

My tap water runs @ 70, and I use V+B, so perhaps some of the difference lies with that.

Thanks for the reply. In this case the plant in question was started on BMs on 7/3.

As for DC rates, I add 1.5/2ml to about 1.5G of water each time I add to the res.

But again, I cannot see how drip clean can do its job with 0 run off. Is the theory that the ions in DC bind up the salts, while leaving them in the media, yet somehow causing no ill effect to the plant?

Seems like snake oil; more so when you read the DC MDSS. It has nothing I did not already feed.

 

[dr-dank]

@Dave. Nice plants. Thanks for the feedback.

If I follow, you have media with time release nutes and give just water? I can see that working.

I was at 650 6/9 and drop that to 500 (6/9 in 1.5G RO water). That already seems low, but as you say over time it can build up. Seems less than ideal as a new plant starves while an older bakes.

I think that using a res drain on a weekly basis as an excuse to flush all makes sense. More so if you ends with a normal strength to reset the clock as it were. Then over the course of the week the drippers run at reduced strength, keeping moist/saving water, but also starting salt build up clock for those plants that are not booming.

But before too long, another flush.

I used to flush/water each day. This would reduce that to 1:7 days, and with the weaker drip feed give the best of both.

As I have drainage, another option is to open the drippers to have some low-level of run off at all times to do a continuous flush. That seems hard to manage as wet is wet and drying to dial in for continuous run off could easily lead to run away.

Regards

 

[rives]

But again, I cannot see how drip clean can do its job with 0 run off. Is the theory that the ions in DC bind up the salts, while leaving them in the media, yet somehow causing no ill effect to the plant?

Seems like snake oil; more so when you read the DC MDSS. It has nothing I did not already feed.

No idea how it works, I just know that it has worked well for me and apparently lots of others.

Flushing with the blumats is easy - just top water with your flush and the blumats will automatically stop until the media dries out enough for them to restart. For my plants & media, this is usually about a day and a half.

I don't think that you will have much luck trying for controlled runoff with the blumats. My experience, and I think most other people's, is that when you hit runaway saturation levels the spikes are out of their control range.