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Blumat auto watering

N

NachoConQueso

Blumat auto watering

It actually wasn't from my res being too low. I kept getting solids in my line. Problem solved now.
 

headseed

Active member
down2grow said:
How strong of a sump pump would you guys recommend to keep a 60-70 gallon reservoir circulated? Using maxi, bloombastic, silica, drip clean currently. Hand stirring a few times a day isn't enough because the bloombastic just loves to settle on the bottom. Thanks

What about a large aquarium power head from fosters and smith? They may even have ones that oscillate back and forth if I remember.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.c...=22582&item=22582/46013/44.9900/1/NULL/NULL/0

theres a nice one that comes in many different gph
 
Last edited:

mitch_connor

large member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
General Blumat Questions - need some advise please.

Firstly, sorry I have not read the entire thread, I got about 20 pages deep so far but I haven't the time today to get through it all.

SITUATION

I currently run a 36 Plant SOG in organic soil - Fed organic liquid nutes
I hand water every 3-4 days at present, but this can vary depending on temps/time of year. Sometimes I have to divide the watering and do 18 plants every 2 days.
They recieve approx 1 litre each time.

However it varies plant by plant how much water they are drinking between waterings, some can stay heavy, others can be light.

I don't always have time to handwater delicately and it can be tedious sometimes.

I do ok though, but I think something like Blumats could really help them excel.

What I would like to know is:

Would I need an individual blumat sensor for each 6 Litre pot? - I've seen kits of 12 available.

I would like to use the tank set-up, but does anyone use liquid organics in them? As I'm sure Biobizz say to mix and use the nutrient/water on the same day..would they start to go off in the tank?

Ideally I'd like to Fill the tank and mix in nutrients just once a week.

I currently like to move the pots about in order to achieve an even as possible canopy, once they have finished the preflower stretch they do pretty much stay in position though, other than I like to rotate each pot by a 1/4 turn each day.

I'm guessing it would not be practical to be doing the above using an automated watering system.

Any feedback will be much appreciated :)
 

Lazyman

Overkill is under-rated.
Veteran
General Blumat Questions - need some advise please.

Firstly, sorry I have not read the entire thread, I got about 20 pages deep so far but I haven't the time today to get through it all.

SITUATION

I currently run a 36 Plant SOG in organic soil - Fed organic liquid nutes
I hand water every 3-4 days at present, but this can vary depending on temps/time of year. Sometimes I have to divide the watering and do 18 plants every 2 days.
They recieve approx 1 litre each time.

However it varies plant by plant how much water they are drinking between waterings, some can stay heavy, others can be light.

I don't always have time to handwater delicately and it can be tedious sometimes.

I do ok though, but I think something like Blumats could really help them excel.

What I would like to know is:

Would I need an individual blumat sensor for each 6 Litre pot? - I've seen kits of 12 available.

Yes.


I would like to use the tank set-up, but does anyone use liquid organics in them? As I'm sure Biobizz say to mix and use the nutrient/water on the same day..would they start to go off in the tank?

No you can not. Organics in the res are a bad idea anyway, but with Blumats it will clog them instantly. Run a dead res with bleach (1ml/10 gallons per day) or run plain water with organic soil.


Ideally I'd like to Fill the tank and mix in nutrients just once a week.

When they get bigger you will probably need to add food to the res more often than that, I have to addback ferts to my 50 gallon reservoirs every other day.
I currently like to move the pots about in order to achieve an even as possible canopy, once they have finished the preflower stretch they do pretty much stay in position though, other than I like to rotate each pot by a 1/4 turn each day.

I'm guessing it would not be practical to be doing the above using an automated watering system.

It's easy with Blumats IF you get enough 3mm tubing. I put about 4-5 feet of tubing onto each plant so I can spin them, move them, and shuffle them without disconnecting anything.

Any feedback will be much appreciated :)

You're welcome!
 

mitch_connor

large member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
cheers dude, may stick to my watering can given the above info..

ta mitch

EDIT: Was drunk last night, Thanks a lot for answering my questions.

To follow up, My plants consume about 40-50 litres a week at present, 36 Plants under a 600w in a 4x4 tent - That's why I thought a 47 Litre Tank would be sufficient to supply water through the Blumats each week. - But I could find a bigger tank if neccesary.

So would my options be to use plain water in the tank, and use organic top dressings to provide additional nutrients in flower?
Or use synthetic nutrients?

I also read that one blumat sensor could be adapted to feed multiple pots - But I guess then you're missing out on the point of each plant being individually catered for in it's moisture requirements and may aswell just run a conventional dripper system.

Cheers again
 

dansbuds

Retired from the workforce Bullshit
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Quick question to you guys that have been running these for awhile now . I finally got mine hooked up & am trying to fine tune these . My understanding is that the ceramic cone was a moisture sensor , when the soil around the cone gets dry enough .... it opens up & waters till the cone senses enough moisture to close the valve & stop feeding .... Right ? so in theory it should not be feeding unless the soil is at its proper dryness . feed ...stop ....dry out ....feed .... stop & repeat . mine seem to drip all the time .... never seems to shut off . (that i've noticed anyway ) so basicly i set the drip on each bucket to drip at the count of 4 . this keeps it moist but not saturated . Is this wrong ???? are my blumats not working correctly ????? or is this the way its supposed to work ?????:dunno::dunno:
 

Hammerhead

Disabled Farmer
ICMag Donor
Veteran
That's not working right. You can test them by setting it in a cup of water there should be no water coming out of the end then take it out and dry it with paper towel now water should flow.


I just purchased 3 of there Blumat Maxi. They look like ther twice as long as the normal ones. I have 12g pots that my plants are in and need to use 2 of these per pot. If anyone know what the difference is with the Maxi Blumats.
 

dansbuds

Retired from the workforce Bullshit
ICMag Donor
Veteran
That's not working right. You can test them by setting it in a cup of water there should be no water coming out of the end then take it out and dry it with paper towel now water should flow
thought so ..... ok gonna feed the plants till they are moist & start over. turn the knob till a droplet hangs then tighten 2 notches ( 2 arrows ) then tweek for proper moisture level from there . does this sound right to you guys ????

thanx guys
 

huntingbb

Member
yaknow, that never made sense to me... why not start while dry, and let it water to perfection? anyone? (skip the 'you have to' and lets get right to the why if possible ☺)
 

rives

Inveterate Tinkerer
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
yaknow, that never made sense to me... why not start while dry, and let it water to perfection? anyone? (skip the 'you have to' and lets get right to the why if possible ☺)

I have found that the easiest way to set them up is to hand-water to runoff, and the following day set up the Blumats to where the droplet clings to the end of the tube, maintaining the existing moisture level. Very minor adjustments over the next week or so to hit the ideal follows. If you start dry, you have absolutely no idea where your adjustment is going to wind up - the Blumat will simply run until it hits whatever setting the knob is at, and different Blumats may have wildly different settings. Imagine it as being similar to the speed control on your car - you get up to the speed that you want, engage it, and it maintains that speed.
 

Hammerhead

Disabled Farmer
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Please guys can you tell me what the blumat Maxi is??? the only noticeable change is the length is twice as long and its made out of a green tube. If anyone can tell me what the maxi does compared to the normal blumat jr.


Thanks
 

rives

Inveterate Tinkerer
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Please guys can you tell me what the blumat Maxi is??? the only noticeable change is the length is twice as long and its made out of a green tube. If anyone can tell me what the maxi does compared to the normal blumat jr.


Thanks

HH, I haven't used the Maxi, but from what I have read it is the same as the standard blumat (not the blumat jr. - that is a whole different animal), but is just longer in order to get a more accurate reading in a deeper pot.
 

Hammerhead

Disabled Farmer
ICMag Donor
Veteran
cool that's what i thought. These are going into 7-10g pots so they need to go deep. I'm thinking 1 short and one long would be perfect.
 

sunnydog

Drip King
Veteran
thought so ..... ok gonna feed the plants till they are moist & start over. turn the knob till a droplet hangs then tighten 2 notches ( 2 arrows ) then tweek for proper moisture level from there . does this sound right to you guys ????

thanx guys

I think that will do.............


SD
 

dansbuds

Retired from the workforce Bullshit
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I have found that the easiest way to set them up is to hand-water to runoff, and the following day set up the Blumats to where the droplet clings to the end of the tube, maintaining the existing moisture level. Very minor adjustments over the next week or so to hit the ideal follows. If you start dry, you have absolutely no idea where your adjustment is going to wind up - the Blumat will simply run until it hits whatever setting the knob is at, and different Blumats may have wildly different settings. Imagine it as being similar to the speed control on your car - you get up to the speed that you want, engage it, and it maintains that speed.
rives .... I tried it your way . watered till run off last night & tonight i set them so that a droplet is just hanging there ..... didn't tighten the valve after that so now we'll see what happens in the next few days . i just can't figure how tightening the valve even 1 arrow will let the water flow through cuz of how sensitive the turn valve is .... a fraction of a turn will slow it down to a point of no dripping .we'll see i guess .
thanx guys !!!

growem green & stay safe ....Dan
 

sunnydog

Drip King
Veteran
rives .... I tried it your way . watered till run off last night & tonight i set them so that a droplet is just hanging there ..... didn't tighten the valve after that so now we'll see what happens in the next few days . i just can't figure how tightening the valve even 1 arrow will let the water flow through cuz of how sensitive the turn valve is .... a fraction of a turn will slow it down to a point of no dripping .we'll see i guess .
thanx guys !!!

growem green & stay safe ....Dan

That's how it's SUPPOSED TO WORK! LOL!:jump:
It will open the valve as the soil begins to DRY OUT.
These DO NOT drip constantly.
SD:tiphat:
 

lokes

~Pollinator~
Veteran
Just had my 3rd runover with these. I believe because I cleaned my rez today, and I bet the water drained from the BluMat which probably changed it sensitivity. (had them disconnected from water source for about 2hrs) Will talk to Lazy about it.
I imagine when you change the rez you will need to refill them with water at least, or reset them all at most.
I'll try to find out. Thank god for shop vacs at midnight. Ughh.
 
A

ak-51

My 12 pack kit is in the mail and will be to me soon! I just had a few questions and forgive me if they've already been answered, I just don't have the patience to read through this entire thread. I have been following it as of late though.

Anyway, how high above the units themselves is it recommended that I place the rez? I am assuming that the size of the rez will also impact pressure at the pinch point, so if anybody can also throw out their rez size, height above blumats, and number of blumats that would probably be helpful. As far as my setup is concerned. I will probably be using a 27 gallon tote for my rez, which I will probably only fill 12-20 gallons full. I like having fresh nute mixes and I don't need to be gone for long periods of time. Depending on how high above the rez it needs to be I may just leave it on the ground and pump up to a suspended 5 gallon bucket (I think somebody else previously in this thread had a setup like this illustrated). I will have 4 blumats running for this run.

I keep reading about this bleeder valve thing for bleeding out air bubbles. Is this 100% necessary? And how does it work? Where do you place it?

I think that's it for my questions right now. My other question was going to be how to adjust flow but I think that was pretty much answered in the last 10 posts or so.
 

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