Drain for coco - How to get rid of it?

[Ttutorial]

Hey

I got now my first DIY wateringsystem for my second coco grow.
A tank, a Pump, a pipe and a timer. So very basic.
Can i use the pipe without anything? I thought i had to use these little dripper. But the buddy of mine, who gifted me this set didnt used it. He meant that it just clog so i shouldnt use it either.


But i do wanted to ask something else, its about the drain!

How can i handle the drain?
I would place the pots on an oven rack that "floats" a few inches above the ground. Underneath that, I would put coasters to catch the drainage. Is there another way to do this?

 

[stiff]

There's draintables, drain-away trays..corrugated sheets with fall into a gutter.
I've got a poor man's setup here

 

[LJ farming]

For the drain gravity is your friend and is one less thing to wrong or flood if done properly. IMO

I also run a low pressure high volume sump pump, octobubblers, and open ended tubing no emitters. No drip emitter also makes one less thing to go wrong.

I run 16 plants in 1 gallon pots per light/16 square feet. So each 4x8 tray has 32 plants and 4 octobubblers.

I live on a ranch so all 3 trays/96 plants drain to a central drain reservoir that drains outside into a sump/french drain. I have the option to keep the waste and use it to water the trees and garden on the ranch but only do this about six months out of the year.

Please DM me if you like and I will send the best video possible. I’m terrible at photos and videos.

Peace

 

[CocoNut 420]

I raise the trays, create a 1" slope and use capillary matt to drain run off.

The tray holds more than the reservoir to prevent floods if the timer fails.

Good luck!!

 

[LJ farming]

It is a lot more work in the beginning however proper drains will make it easier IMO??

 

[Grapefruitroop]

Love this thread....
Just made up some tables from aluminum studs and polycarbonate sheets., draining ina tank that ill empty with a pump..

 

[LJ farming]

Let me say first that It probably took me 2 extra weeks of research and terrible architectural design on my part to have gravity drains! I also live on a ranch and am on a well and the electricity to pump the well water is less than $30 per month even in the summer when fruit trees, the yard, and the garden are being watered. Also the main drain reservoir (a 17 gallon Costco tote) is easily drained from the grow room to a 4’x4’x8’ French drain full of gravel.

So I guess my point is that it might not work for everyone. Also since my cost for water for the grow might be $5/month and my drains are taken care of including the 2/3 gallons the RO waste per gallon made and all the dehumidifier condensate goes straight to main drain and out!

When I built out my room over 5 years ago I knew I had it perfect. Yea not so fucking much I did a major remodel about a year and a half ago and already have started a list for the next remodel!

I am rambling and definitely not preaching. However my mentor preached that ENVIRONMENT control trumps everything and it is the hardest part to control and he was 1000% correct. More light, more nutrients, more C02 is baby shit easy. Proper environmental consistency takes time and probably money! runs under your belt trumps everything. I cheated and bought TrolMaster to control EVERYTHING! but just like he always said only runs under your belt will teach you how to control the controller.

Peace

 

[LJ farming]

ICMAG didn’t let my 18 second video of how my drains work. Sorry

 

[NickHardy]

We use these 40x40cm trays pefect for a 5 Gallon Airpot with Netafim Netbow collars. Downstairs where we have some tents we use giant trays and a Wet/Dry vacuum after every watering, but I have some small pumps ready for some changes when I get round to it. Can't beat that PVC pipe, we use it for all sorts, trellis frame anyone?

 

[LJ farming]

Anything hard piped including tray manifolds with Octobublers should be PVC! It will last forever! Netafim or floraflex 1/4” tubing to each plant. It doesn’t have a memory! The tubing from feed to the tray manifold needs to be black not clear (I learned that the hard way)

My room is built around being lazy and less work! Grow for a minute or 2 and tell me what you think about being lazy/married to the grow. COCO DTW is baby shit easy and it’s possible once dialed in to take a couple long weekends off every grow! A lil vacation makes this fat ole guy smile more these days

 

[NickHardy]

Lazy you ask? Well that blue button, press it lights up and waters the plants, and those black and white buttons raise and lower the lights. Plus I have my step son mix the fert for me, mix that lad, Ph it down a bit and feed - I'm too old for that shit, let it run off and see you tomorrow!

 

[NickHardy]

For the drain gravity is your friend and is one less thing to wrong or flood if done properly. IMO

I also run a low pressure high volume sump pump, octobubblers, and open ended tubing no emitters. No drip emitter also makes one less thing to go wrong.

I run 16 plants in 1 gallon pots per light/16 square feet. So each 4x8 tray has 32 plants and 4 octobubblers.

I live on a ranch so all 3 trays/96 plants drain to a central drain reservoir that drains outside into a sump/french drain. I have the option to keep the waste and use it to water the trees and garden on the ranch but only do this about six months out of the year.

Please DM me if you like and I will send the best video possible. I’m terrible at photos and videos.

Peace
View attachment 19095384 View attachment 19095385 View attachment 19095386 View attachment 19095390 View attachment 19095391

You have winches as well? Sweet looking room, we're selling the house next year when our youngest changes school, moving more rural closer to her new school with more land and building our own place - the extra space I can't wait, building a proper dedicated space to grow in, so we can get 360 degree access. Your yellow controllers look like the same our winches came with - we just swapped them out for a control board, spent ages choosing the buttons, my design concept was "Chernobyl Control board circa 1986"

 

[LJ farming]

Props to your electrical expertise bud!

One of the things I first wanted to be lazy about was 4 rope ratchets per light! Up or down or even looking at the fucking lights perturbed me.

Enter 5+ years ago watching a podcast and learning about light lifters that were state of the art to my ole ass! Check websites for brand x of said light lifter and the fucking things were $1100+ EACH!

Weird that whatever bullshit tracking troll spyware on my phone recommended $100 electric hoists from Amazon the next day on sale for $40 because of Black Friday.

$240 on Amazon or $6600 from typical online grow retailer!

Damn I felt smart! However I will not be admitting the other 500 grow equipment, gear, etc poor purchases that I made in the beginning that have been in the local landfill for numerous years!

Peace

 

[LJ farming]

You have winches as well? Sweet looking room, we're selling the house next year when our youngest changes school, moving more rural closer to her new school with more land and building our own place - the extra space I can't wait, building a proper dedicated space to grow in, so we can get 360 degree access. Your yellow controllers look like the same our winches came with - we just swapped them out for a control board, spent ages choosing the buttons, my design concept was "Chernobyl Control board circa 1986"

View attachment 19096364

Lazy you ask? Well that blue button, press it lights up and waters the plants, and those black and white buttons raise and lower the lights. Plus I have my step son mix the fert for me, mix that lad, Ph it down a bit and feed - I'm too old for that shit, let it run off and see you tomorrow!

Nice your step son helps bud! My real daughter gets upset when I give her untrimmed flower just to be an old ass!

I have to mix 50 gallons of nutrients 2-3 per week and my lil 1 gallon pots get watered 3-8 times per day. However a $40 timer that goes down to seconds irrigates.

I’m am never very comfortable being away from the grow but so far my longest autopilot/set it and forget it time is 5 days.

Cheers

Peace

 

[NickHardy]

One of the things I first wanted to be lazy about was 4 rope ratchets per light! Up or down or even looking at the fucking lights perturbed me.

Because we can't get all around ratchets were always a pain to adjust and then we had two ratchets basically explode, one just missed my eye. I paid something like your $40, they go 250KG, same yellow controllers but swapped them out with the button switches - heh some guys like building fancy trainsets, I liked building a fancy grow room!

Nice your step son helps bud! My real daughter gets upset when I give her untrimmed flower just to be an old ass!

Oh step daughter can do too (actual daughter a bit young at 5!) but the 20 year old lives under our roof and gets free weed so fair swap!

Props to your electrical expertise bud!

I have no electrical skills! In fact I got a pretty nasty electrical shock just this year - I'd just killed a snake in the house so seemed like electrakarma! have a decentish Thai guy but @Absorber has given me lots of much appreciated second opinions as well.

He builds us these control boxes with digital timers and magnetic contact switches inside running to dedicated breakers (the more basic relay style were struggling with the Amps all coming on at 8am, now they give a reassuring "THUNK" when they I/O

Damn I felt smart! However I will not be admitting the other 500 grow equipment, gear, etc poor purchases that I made in the beginning that have been in the local landfill for numerous years!

Umm yeah - we have a room in another house we rent filled with poor grow purchases

I have to mix 50 gallons of nutrients 2-3 per week and my lil 1 gallon pots get watered 3-8 times per day. However a $40 timer that goes down to seconds irrigates.

We do similar 50 gallon = 200L the 8x4 and the flower room will take about 70L daily mid flower - 17-18 Gallons. Mostly we do once a day 2 hours before lights out, to run off. But when everything is in full effect, say some in veg, some in flower we do 300L - 75 gallons every two days. Plus a bit extra for the mothers/clones. Its actually only 15 minutes to mix on your own, 10 if its two of us. But whole family and nanny/driver can do it if required. Hard getting there given my Thai is super basic and most of them their English is worse!

But yeah love your room dude! That I had a bit more space!

Nick

 

[Absorber]

Props to your electrical expertise bud!

One of the things I first wanted to be lazy about was 4 rope ratchets per light! Up or down or even looking at the fucking lights perturbed me.

Enter 5+ years ago watching a podcast and learning about light lifters that were state of the art to my ole ass! Check websites for brand x of said light lifter and the fucking things were $1100+ EACH!

Weird that whatever bullshit tracking troll spyware on my phone recommended $100 electric hoists from Amazon the next day on sale for $40 because of Black Friday.

$240 on Amazon or $6600 from typical online grow retailer!

Damn I felt smart! However I will not be admitting the other 500 grow equipment, gear, etc poor purchases that I made in the beginning that have been in the local landfill for numerous years!

Peace

I have 1000w phlizon lights in my 4ft² tents for coverage they are wall to wall ( i run em @480w ) and are to awkward and heavy to raise with plants in the tent so i 3d printed these light lifters to get me out of trouble.
Theres always a work around

 

[Absorber]

ICMAG didn’t let my 18 second video of how my drains work. Sorry

Ive found if i upload my video to a discord chat then download the video from discord , it will be a different format that will now load on IC Mag .

 

[LJ farming]

Because we can't get all around ratchets were always a pain to adjust and then we had two ratchets basically explode, one just missed my eye. I paid something like your $40, they go 250KG, same yellow controllers but swapped them out with the button switches - heh some guys like building fancy trainsets, I liked building a fancy grow room!

Oh step daughter can do too (actual daughter a bit young at 5!) but the 20 year old lives under our roof and gets free weed so fair swap!


I have no electrical skills! In fact I got a pretty nasty electrical shock just this year - I'd just killed a snake in the house so seemed like electrakarma! have a decentish Thai guy but @Absorber has given me lots of much appreciated second opinions as well.
View attachment 19096465
He builds us these control boxes with digital timers and magnetic contact switches inside running to dedicated breakers (the more basic relay style were struggling with the Amps all coming on at 8am, now they give a reassuring "THUNK" when they I/O


Umm yeah - we have a room in another house we rent filled with poor grow purchases



We do similar 50 gallon = 200L the 8x4 and the flower room will take about 70L daily mid flower - 17-18 Gallons. Mostly we do once a day 2 hours before lights out, to run off. But when everything is in full effect, say some in veg, some in flower we do 300L - 75 gallons every two days. Plus a bit extra for the mothers/clones. Its actually only 15 minutes to mix on your own, 10 if its two of us. But whole family and nanny/driver can do it if required. Hard getting there given my Thai is super basic and most of them their English is worse!

But yeah love your room dude! That I had a bit more space!

Nick

My daughter is 23 and trimmed 1 time in the past 5+ years! She is 100ish miles away at college and the biggest reason I run 6 lights. Is because Her college expenses hurt a lil less with a lil extra grow dough.

 

[NickHardy]

I think I've grown 25kg (50lbs+) the last 2 years, almost to the day. I have still never trimmed a single bud

Honey, my brilliant, beautiful wife! I love you very much!