Let's talk coco slabs with drippers

[Spanishwilly]

if your main medium will be coco, then use coco a+b for sure. i use it for the rooting phase in rock wool too with no issues to speak of. but you can use hydro ferts for the rockwool phase too if you want and only switch to coco nutes when you plant them on the coco.

thanks for the reply and he help.

 

[Spanishwilly]

hmmm....I'll have to look for that formula. I contacted the place where I am going to buy my tubing and accessories, but they said they can't help with pump sizing because they don't sell pumps. I am thinking about just going with the 1/4 hp pump and see what happens.

Please, if you find that formula, will you post it. I'm dying for similar info.

 

[cashmunny]

Appreciate the info guys! What I was planning on doing was not using any drippers, but to instead us opened ends (1/4" tubing), but have T's attached to the ends and make little tube circles with holes in the tube for every plant to help the coco get a even distribution of water.http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...-_-100000054-_-100034817-_-N&locStoreNum=4915

I think you are on the right track here, but skip the holes. Just use open 1/4 inch line. Small openings can get clogged with salts or coco sludge. And coco wicks pretty well, Unless you are growing trees one outlet per site should be sufficient IMO.

I use an ECO396 (396 gph aquarium pump) for 25 sites, one open 1/4 inch line to each site. It was about $40. I have no problems with pressure or flow. Pump is three and a half feet below the outlets. I'll bet if you went up a couple sizes and got a 1000 gph aquarium pump you could water a hundred pots with open quarter inch lines and still keep it under $100.

The trick is to use a really free flowing filter. That way your pump doesn't have to work extra hard to overcome the filter resistance and you can get the full flow rating of the pump.

 

[hobb3s93]

Great thread Gaiusmarius...

I have had great luck with a drip system using coco cubes and slabs. I used Flora Nova.

As with most hydro systems you really have to watch your PH and don't forget to add some Cal Mag esp if using R/O

MK Ultra

what kind of light you using buddy? im using RO water n some of leaves get brown and spotty and crispy do u think calmag would help me out?

 

[vta]

what kind of light you using buddy? im using RO water n some of leaves get brown and spotty and crispy do u think calmag would help me out?

That grow was like 6 years ago. Back then I used MH for veg and HPS for flower. I see I am late to reply, so I'll assume you figured out your issue.

 

[Tabwat]

Can someone help me out here?, I'm looking for a reputable online site where i can order slabs .

 

[RidgeRebel]

COGr Slabs with COGr A/B
Before:

After:

 

[gaiusmarius]

you better tie a string around them, else they will be falling over from the weight of ripening.

 

[EddieShoestring]

respect GAIUS, ive seen you helping people on here with detailed shit for years man, you deserve a fuckin knighthood. Seen Greyskull on here to....its like being back in 2005.
excellent
e

 

[WEDDY]

I have been using this set up for quite some time and love that i don't have to water by hand. I have a table of 24 plants which I grow for mu husband and parents. The only problem I have come across with this set up is clogging. no matter what kid of filter system I use to filtter out particles, I still get the same problem.... does anyone have any advice on what kinda dripper heads they use? Thanks!

 

[The Sensi Rebel]

Can someone flow me good link on a cheap good automated drip system or even a D-I-Y? new to the forums, LOVE coco and its results, but I'd like to free up a little more time from having to spend an hour + handwatering and other shit like that. PM me please

 

[Ptone]

Can someone flow me good link on a cheap good automated drip system or even a D-I-Y? new to the forums, LOVE coco and its results, but I'd like to free up a little more time from having to spend an hour + handwatering and other shit like that. PM me please

Pico Drip Manifold
That's what I use... Works great.

I'm having trouble finding Coco Blocks to use before transplanting into a slab... I don't care for rockwool.
Can anyone point me in the right direction

 

[azad]

Time for me to set up a drip system has come.
Ive been using a watering wand with coco up until now.
I want to do multiple watering a day.I have the topspin dripper set.
Thank you to all the contributors for adding to this helpfull thread, full of good info.
Im almost ready to kick it off..
respect..

 

[gaiusmarius]

I have been using this set up for quite some time and love that i don't have to water by hand. I have a table of 24 plants which I grow for mu husband and parents. The only problem I have come across with this set up is clogging. no matter what kid of filter system I use to filtter out particles, I still get the same problem.... does anyone have any advice on what kinda dripper heads they use? Thanks!

there are 2 aspects, or 3 to consider. frst the water in the tank. you need a stocking hanging from the drain so that all the coco particles that flow back out the drain dont end up in your tank. then a good quality filter. then it comes to controlling the drippers after every harvest. make a knot in the drippers that are slower or blocked and replace them. with a small set up and a good pump you shouldn't really get blocked hoses. but it's always best to check them between each harvest.

the last thing which many are doing now, is using drip clean in the tank. that also helps to keep your drip irrigation dripping freely.

there are also some people using wider lines, specially for smaller set ups you can use wider watering lines, they will not block.

 

[dansbuds]

Hey Gaiusmarius ... glad to see your still helping out in here
I've been doing DTW coco in 2 gallon pots for awhile now & love it !! but have been concidering the slabs to make things cleaner & easier . I use 3 x 3 flood tables setting on the floor cuz i have no headroom( 48" to the lights )& i suck the runoff out every night with a bucket head . 3 tables ... 3 rez's with a 250gph pump feeding a 1/2 line running to each tray in a loop around each tray coming to a T & then 1/4" lines to each pot ... 2 per pot . so my drip system is in place . i'll do 3 slabs per table .... 3 plants per slab .9 in total .
my main thing is .... i don't like rockwool blocks & wanted coco blocks to veg in & then drop on the slabs . the boss blocks are to big & i'm not sure about the 4" grotek blocks for vegging a clone . they don't look like they hold water well & they even say to constant slow drip feed the blocks . can i use a 4" square nursery pot or the 3 1/2 " round starter pots to veg in & put those on the slabs ????? basicly wondering if the roots would grow through the holes well enough or if i should enlarge them .
whats your thoughts on this ???
thanx brother

 

[bayou man]

coir grow in buckets

coir grow in buckets

i be interesred in learning about growing coir in buckets


View Image

View Image

peace out [/quote]

 

[gaiusmarius]

it would depend on the size of those holes, having big openings is sure to be better then only a few small openings. some of those nursery pots have quite big holes in the bottom though, makes them ideal, if filled well and quite tightly with coco, as starter cubes. only reason i still end up using the rock-wool starter cubes is because it's just so damn convenient.

edited to add: i would make the holes bigger unless already very big. specially if you are going for good sized plants you will get quite fat roots, so either they will stretch and bust the holes, or you do it in advance lol.

 

[dansbuds]

I thought i showed you this before .... maybe it was in another thread . but i set the slabs up like i mentioned above ... they're at 47 days today .
everything is working great !!! the holes in the bottom of the pots were plenty big enough & they're were plenty of them to let the roots grow through very nicely . can't wait to see what kind of root mass there is after harvest .
3 x 3 tray , 3 slabs , 4 plants per slab , 1 drip line per pot & right now they're getting fed 4 times during the light cycle for 30 seconds each time & i'm still getting a bit of runoff . i basicly started with 2 feeds & when i stopped getting runoff ... I added another 30 second feed to the timer .... i'm up to 4 times now .

I'll start at the beginning ... the pics are pretty self explanatory . the only comment i can think is .... the net is there only to hold up a few of the branches that got leggy & would need support as they filled in . its not a scrog gone wrong

shortened up the 1/2" loop after i put the plants in cuz i was afraid the weight from the plants & slabs would pinch the feed line in the corners where they went under the slab .

i'll do the most recent pics on the next page .... damn 5 pic limit !!!

 

[dansbuds]

These were taken a few days ago @ 41 days of flower ..... can't wait to harvest them .... I have the next round about ready to go into pots for a week of veg .

i'll throw this one in too ... its just as the net was put over them .

41 days of flower ....

Thanx again Gaiusmarius for showing us this grow method !!! it works great for my limited headroom .

 

[Harry Lime]

A quick question;- what temperature should my rez be at?