Let's talk coco slabs with drippers
- Thread starter gaiusmarius
- Start date
NPK has a good idea there, that's the way i'm set up too. my table has the tank right under the drain to collect run off. it's best to have the stocking hanging down into the tank. first it stops the dripping noise, second it means the coco particles are collected in the bottom of the stocking meaning it can never block the drain, like it could if you just put a screen over the drain hole. thirdly as the stocking fills with coco, it becomes a great place for the beneficial bacteria to live and breed doing their thing. fourthly it acts to filter the return, lol.
the speed of the water is not such a big deal, you just shorten the running time. but you are right you don't want a jet stream of water, more like a fast drip. you will probably find the bits and pieces to make it work in one of those garden center super markets.
maybe for this first run you might want to continue running to waste. but making a table for your plants is the best way really, even if it has to be low, as long as you can fit a good size res under it, you are good to go. for the beginning you can use any container to collect the run off, running your pump from a second res.
if you wish to recirculate then you need a certain size res. the bigger the better, so the run off has the least effect on the tank solution. in your situation a 50 lt. tank would work great, you can get rubber maids in all shapes and sizes, so you could have 2 of them under the table, your main res, and your run off collection res. this is perfect even if you do want to recirculate later you will be happy to have both tanks for the end flush, as that always goes much faster if you run to waste. flushing in general is quicker with 2 tanks. there can also be moments when you realize a mistake and want to rectify it as soon as possible, in which situation, it's worth switching to run to waste.
if you already have a efficient way to collect run off, you might want to consider waiting to make a table till next run, but you know best what you want. i look forward to seeing how you decide to go about automating the watering for these 2 ladies.
the speed of the water is not such a big deal, you just shorten the running time. but you are right you don't want a jet stream of water, more like a fast drip. you will probably find the bits and pieces to make it work in one of those garden center super markets.
maybe for this first run you might want to continue running to waste. but making a table for your plants is the best way really, even if it has to be low, as long as you can fit a good size res under it, you are good to go. for the beginning you can use any container to collect the run off, running your pump from a second res.
if you wish to recirculate then you need a certain size res. the bigger the better, so the run off has the least effect on the tank solution. in your situation a 50 lt. tank would work great, you can get rubber maids in all shapes and sizes, so you could have 2 of them under the table, your main res, and your run off collection res. this is perfect even if you do want to recirculate later you will be happy to have both tanks for the end flush, as that always goes much faster if you run to waste. flushing in general is quicker with 2 tanks. there can also be moments when you realize a mistake and want to rectify it as soon as possible, in which situation, it's worth switching to run to waste.
if you already have a efficient way to collect run off, you might want to consider waiting to make a table till next run, but you know best what you want. i look forward to seeing how you decide to go about automating the watering for these 2 ladies.
Hey budbeast, you are getting algae on your RW cubes. it's no problem, even if it looks a bit yucky, lol. it really is nothing to worry about,i nearly always have algae on my RW cubes, once the canopy closes up and it gets shady down there the algae can die off, you can also cover it with plastic, algae need light to grow. but like i said you can ignore it, if it's only on the cubes. algae is known to steal nutrients, but it really doesn't effect plants on coco fed by dripper.
G
Guest
Thanks, man. I'll figure something out. Necessity is the mother of invention, lol. Notice the foil duct tape covering the light switch next to the closet door in the picture posted before? No more leaving the light on in the grow space, hehehehe.
hehe, very good solution. maybe take the bulb out too, lol. just kidding. once you get automated, it will be remembering to put the timer back to auto, after doing amanual flush or some such, lol.
budbeast
New member
when i first setup my trays i thought i left my timer on auto but it was on constant 
next morning when i opened the door 70l of feedwater came flooding out to meet me
i have a 100l res but id only put a 10l bucket as the waste becouse im in there twice a day
what an idiot
it wasnt a tear job as i grow in the shed but if it had been in the house/attic it whould have been a real nightmare
next morning when i opened the door 70l of feedwater came flooding out to meet mei have a 100l res but id only put a 10l bucket as the waste becouse im in there twice a day
what an idiot
it wasnt a tear job as i grow in the shed but if it had been in the house/attic it whould have been a real nightmare
G
Guest
Jeeze BB, I've heard of light tight, but water tight? lol. Should have a picture of "Swamp Thing" as your avatar. By the way dude, your avatar really, really scares me. Looks like something I saw in a horror movie when I was about 8 - ya know way back in the last century 
Off I go to "Casa de pot" to get the stuff for my drip system. I never can find anything there and I wander around for at least two hours even if I'm just there to pick up nails or some shit like that. Nobody that works there seems to give a shit! Got a little modification to their motto - "You can do it, we can help, that is if we wanted to, but we don't - so eat shit and die." I mean I was there about a month and a half ago, right after I'd had surgery on my hands and all I needed to get was a toilet seat for Ms mojo's bathroom. I know that sounds bad and all but she's been losing weight. Anyway, I found the toilet seats and the one I thought would work for her - it was made out of titanium or depleted uranium or some other indestructible shit that could take a tank round and survive. Anyway it was up on the second section in a box and had about 10 more stacked on top of it. I could just barely touch it and tried to edge it out from under the boxes on top but it sent sharp pains through my fingers because of the incisions in my palms. There was this employee, had to be 10 or 11 years old, pushing an empty cart down the big aisle about 15 feet from me and I told him I could use a little help getting the thing down, being wounded like I was. Well this little mofo walks about 50 feet over to the old man (think he was about my age) sitting behind the counter in the decor section of the store and asks him if he had time to help me. The guy shook his head and said he was really busy - he was reading a fucking catalog and nobody even in his section of the store! Then the kid gets on his walkie talkie and calls for some guy in the back to see if he can help me. I'm standing there, getting so pissed that blood is starting to squirt out of the corners of my eyes and I ask him if it takes a toilet seat specialist or someone skilled in the art of toilet seat box lifting to get my wife's toilet seat down. The little asshole looks at me shakes his head and says "OK dude, where is it?" I pointed to it and asked "see that box sticking out over there about 25 feet away?" "May need your binoculars to see it and a crane to get it down dude, but I think you can do it." Little shit didn't even need a stool to stand on.
Maybe I'll go to Lowe's instead, haha.
Holy shit! There I go again, rambling and ranting about nothing that has anything to do with the thread. Hope the moderator doesn't get pissed and ban me from the forum. Ya pissed, GM?
Sorry
Off I go to "Casa de pot" to get the stuff for my drip system. I never can find anything there and I wander around for at least two hours even if I'm just there to pick up nails or some shit like that. Nobody that works there seems to give a shit! Got a little modification to their motto - "You can do it, we can help, that is if we wanted to, but we don't - so eat shit and die." I mean I was there about a month and a half ago, right after I'd had surgery on my hands and all I needed to get was a toilet seat for Ms mojo's bathroom. I know that sounds bad and all but she's been losing weight. Anyway, I found the toilet seats and the one I thought would work for her - it was made out of titanium or depleted uranium or some other indestructible shit that could take a tank round and survive. Anyway it was up on the second section in a box and had about 10 more stacked on top of it. I could just barely touch it and tried to edge it out from under the boxes on top but it sent sharp pains through my fingers because of the incisions in my palms. There was this employee, had to be 10 or 11 years old, pushing an empty cart down the big aisle about 15 feet from me and I told him I could use a little help getting the thing down, being wounded like I was. Well this little mofo walks about 50 feet over to the old man (think he was about my age) sitting behind the counter in the decor section of the store and asks him if he had time to help me. The guy shook his head and said he was really busy - he was reading a fucking catalog and nobody even in his section of the store! Then the kid gets on his walkie talkie and calls for some guy in the back to see if he can help me. I'm standing there, getting so pissed that blood is starting to squirt out of the corners of my eyes and I ask him if it takes a toilet seat specialist or someone skilled in the art of toilet seat box lifting to get my wife's toilet seat down. The little asshole looks at me shakes his head and says "OK dude, where is it?" I pointed to it and asked "see that box sticking out over there about 25 feet away?" "May need your binoculars to see it and a crane to get it down dude, but I think you can do it." Little shit didn't even need a stool to stand on.
Maybe I'll go to Lowe's instead, haha.
Holy shit! There I go again, rambling and ranting about nothing that has anything to do with the thread. Hope the moderator doesn't get pissed and ban me from the forum. Ya pissed, GM?
Sorry
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i can spend hours in a good do it yourself store, lol. nothing like walking around in there to give you good ideas for your setup. but you have to be lucky with service, or look for shit on your own.
sounds like this guy was supposed to be a supervisor, not actually a sales person as such, roflmao. he was trying to pull rank on some other worker, but ended up getting out maneuvered by his co workers. some times it seems like the workers in these places are competing to see who can be the least helpful to customers, or something? it's pretty much the same the world over,
the challenge is getting home with everything you need and not too much that you think you might need at some point,
sounds like this guy was supposed to be a supervisor, not actually a sales person as such, roflmao. he was trying to pull rank on some other worker, but ended up getting out maneuvered by his co workers. some times it seems like the workers in these places are competing to see who can be the least helpful to customers, or something? it's pretty much the same the world over,
the challenge is getting home with everything you need and not too much that you think you might need at some point,
NPK
Active member
I hear ya on the indifferent service, mojo...though sometimes it goes too far the other way, and an employee will ask you a million probing questions when you really just want to squint at shit and figure things out for yourself. Funny, dat.
I was at Home Depot today m'self with my girlfriend, who was picking up some paint. Even though I don't need anything (for the first time in recent memory) I felt the irresistable lure of the sprinkler section and drifted over there. Now the shit's fascinating to me. I also looked at the pond pumps, and the weakest one they had puts out 210 gph. Seems like that might meet your needs, eh? If not, there's gotta be a weaker aquarium pump out there for you.
When I assembled my systems, I picked out my pumps, took 'em over to the irrigation section, and picked out my parts accordingly...pipe adaptors and whatnot. Didn't want to get home and find that my half-inch tubing wouldn't fit my pump or anything like that. Seriously, just studying all the different stuff in the irrigation section was a useful exercise.
Here's a shot of my veg setup. The table is elevated about twenty inches off the floor; you could elevate your receptacle with some cement blocks, which are sixteen inches high and only about $1.50 each.
See the stocking filter?
Not the most detailed pic of my plants, but I've got three Bogglegums, six Purple Kushes, and six AK-47s. (Had to punch a few extra holes for the three additional plants.) And I've got some seedlings and "new" clones in coco in the space above the light, not visible here...damn, this makes me want to put up a thread!
I'm growing the Bogs from seed, and they all have steroidal leaf and stem development compared to the clone plants...those look perfectly healthy, but don't have crazy huge leaves. I noticed the same thing in the Caramellas I grew in coco from seed, too. Makes me think coco may affect plant morphology in seed-grown ladies.
I was at Home Depot today m'self with my girlfriend, who was picking up some paint. Even though I don't need anything (for the first time in recent memory) I felt the irresistable lure of the sprinkler section and drifted over there. Now the shit's fascinating to me.
I also looked at the pond pumps, and the weakest one they had puts out 210 gph. Seems like that might meet your needs, eh? If not, there's gotta be a weaker aquarium pump out there for you.When I assembled my systems, I picked out my pumps, took 'em over to the irrigation section, and picked out my parts accordingly...pipe adaptors and whatnot. Didn't want to get home and find that my half-inch tubing wouldn't fit my pump or anything like that. Seriously, just studying all the different stuff in the irrigation section was a useful exercise.
Here's a shot of my veg setup. The table is elevated about twenty inches off the floor; you could elevate your receptacle with some cement blocks, which are sixteen inches high and only about $1.50 each.
See the stocking filter?
Not the most detailed pic of my plants, but I've got three Bogglegums, six Purple Kushes, and six AK-47s. (Had to punch a few extra holes for the three additional plants.) And I've got some seedlings and "new" clones in coco in the space above the light, not visible here...damn, this makes me want to put up a thread!
I'm growing the Bogs from seed, and they all have steroidal leaf and stem development compared to the clone plants...those look perfectly healthy, but don't have crazy huge leaves. I noticed the same thing in the Caramellas I grew in coco from seed, too. Makes me think coco may affect plant morphology in seed-grown ladies.
G
Guest
NPK, very nice, man. Thanks for the look at the system. I didn't make it to get the stuff tonight as they were closing in an hour and that wouldn't have given me enough time to wander around for my typical 2 hours, lost and not knowing where to find anything. I think you're right about the pump. I should be able to find what I need without too much problem. What will be the problem I suspect will be finding a reservoir low enough that it will fit underneath my table, seeing as how I'm going to need the floor of the table not more than a foot off the floor of my grow space. I really like the way you've done your setup. That tray looks larger than the 24x48 you said it was but I'm sure the camera's adding 20lbs, lol. I've noticed it's hard to judge the size of anything in these posts cause everyone's (including me) so cautious about not showing too much in the shots. The milk crates are a good reference to size though.
And I see what you mean now about overlapping the res with the table. Got the sock Idea now too, thanks to your pictures. Hard to believe how helpful you guys are and you need to know it's appreciated here. I feel like I've got the basic talent to do this (my two girls are still breathing in and out, lol), and when folks such as yourself, gm, caligrown, and all the others out there who've helped me are generous enough to show what you've done, it makes all the difference between success and failure.
I think after I've pollinated a couple of flowers on each of my plants I'll put them back into veg and use them for mothers. They're looking great so far as bud sites and general growth characteristics are concerned. And so are the males, even though they're having to sleep in the garage right now. The lady who cleans the house was over last Friday and I threw a sheet over the males. Broke the top on the Aurora Indica but it didn't seem to mind. The tip just started growing back upwards and it's getting enough food through the uninjured part of it's stem that it didn't skip a beat, hahahaha. Don't know how long it's gonna take for the pollin sacks to open but I wish they'd hurry up. I'd like to get rid of the plants asap if you know what I mean.
Thanks a lot for the shopping tips on where to find stuff and taking the pump with you to the fittings aisle is a nice touch too.
Got quite a variety of seeds from Gypsy and I'm looking forward to growing those as well as doing the cloning thing. if I can just figure out where to veg the clones and moms while I've got plants in 12/12, I should be able to do a perpetual grow. I'd call it a sea of green if it wasn't gonna be so small. Maybe a puddle of green, lmao.
And I see what you mean now about overlapping the res with the table. Got the sock Idea now too, thanks to your pictures. Hard to believe how helpful you guys are and you need to know it's appreciated here. I feel like I've got the basic talent to do this (my two girls are still breathing in and out, lol), and when folks such as yourself, gm, caligrown, and all the others out there who've helped me are generous enough to show what you've done, it makes all the difference between success and failure.
I think after I've pollinated a couple of flowers on each of my plants I'll put them back into veg and use them for mothers. They're looking great so far as bud sites and general growth characteristics are concerned. And so are the males, even though they're having to sleep in the garage right now. The lady who cleans the house was over last Friday and I threw a sheet over the males. Broke the top on the Aurora Indica but it didn't seem to mind. The tip just started growing back upwards and it's getting enough food through the uninjured part of it's stem that it didn't skip a beat, hahahaha. Don't know how long it's gonna take for the pollin sacks to open but I wish they'd hurry up. I'd like to get rid of the plants asap if you know what I mean.
Thanks a lot for the shopping tips on where to find stuff and taking the pump with you to the fittings aisle is a nice touch too.
Got quite a variety of seeds from Gypsy and I'm looking forward to growing those as well as doing the cloning thing. if I can just figure out where to veg the clones and moms while I've got plants in 12/12, I should be able to do a perpetual grow. I'd call it a sea of green if it wasn't gonna be so small. Maybe a puddle of green, lmao.
G
Guest
Hey NPK is that a cfl you've got over your table or have you got the plants under an HID of some sort? I've got a hydofarms hood with a 200w cfl over the spot I use to start seedlings and it's kick ass for doing that. The sonofabitch does put out some heat though. I always shoot air from a fan up under the hood to keep the plants happy. Lots of people say they just drop the light on down till it's almost touching the plant tops, but that makes it hotter to the plants than I like.
Like I said dude, great looking setup. Mind if I copy more or less?
Like I said dude, great looking setup. Mind if I copy more or less?
hats a cool setup NPK, i love the simplicity of coco. you might wantto consider letting more of your sexy stocking show, lol.
i mean so that the lump of accumulated coco in the stocking hangs in the water, this way you get the added benefit of a place for your beneficial bacteria to cultivate? i have even seen guys make a pillow of hydro ton/coco with a stocking tied off on both ends and they just leave that floating around in the tank.
it's really true about the irrigation section, one can get a lot of ideas for solutions to ones challenges.
mojo didn't you show us some rubber maid containers that were really low? to roll under the bed i think they were? anyway some thing like that would be low enough. some places have those rubber maid things in all shapes and sizes.
i can't wait to see how you solve your automated watering?
i mean so that the lump of accumulated coco in the stocking hangs in the water, this way you get the added benefit of a place for your beneficial bacteria to cultivate? i have even seen guys make a pillow of hydro ton/coco with a stocking tied off on both ends and they just leave that floating around in the tank.
it's really true about the irrigation section, one can get a lot of ideas for solutions to ones challenges.
mojo didn't you show us some rubber maid containers that were really low? to roll under the bed i think they were? anyway some thing like that would be low enough. some places have those rubber maid things in all shapes and sizes.
i can't wait to see how you solve your automated watering?
NPK
Active member
Hey Mojo, glad to be of help. I learn so much from the generous people in this forum, it feels good to share the wealth. Of course I don't mind if you use some ideas--that's what they're here for, and they certainly don't belong to me anyway! Recycling is a good thing. I'm psyched to see your setup when it's done.
Gaius, I didn't know about the beneficials collecting in the hose filter. I'll definitely replace mine with a longer piece of hose so it's actually in the reservoir. Thanks for the tip!
Edit: Mojo, that's a 430-watt HPS. I have a wall-mounted fan aimed at the area between the light and the plants to keep temps under control, provide a little stalk-strengthening breeze, and keep powdery mildew at bay.
I'm psyched to see your setup when it's done.Gaius, I didn't know about the beneficials collecting in the hose filter. I'll definitely replace mine with a longer piece of hose so it's actually in the reservoir. Thanks for the tip!
Edit: Mojo, that's a 430-watt HPS. I have a wall-mounted fan aimed at the area between the light and the plants to keep temps under control, provide a little stalk-strengthening breeze, and keep powdery mildew at bay.
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G
Guest
I want to make my own slabs with this old unused coco laying around... thoughts opinions? Coco, possibly some panda plastic and holding it all together with yarn or something... hmm... lots of pondering to do...
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G
Guest
aero/nft has been...interesting. Id love something I don't have to worry much about. coco and drippers sounds pretty nice. I was thinking of using a 4x8 ebb and flow tray. What way could I use coco with that?
I have these trays and i dont know if i should use them, does anyone think they would be good w/ coco? it may be hard to understand them from the picture.
blue line is nutrient delivery line, so it goes drippers to coco or rw slab placed in the V shaped channel so that leaves an empty channel below the slab, with roots hanging in moist air and then into an NFT-like channel at the bottom, so thatd be a few different hydro methods. havent seen anyone using something quite like it, has anyone else?
I have these trays and i dont know if i should use them, does anyone think they would be good w/ coco? it may be hard to understand them from the picture.
blue line is nutrient delivery line, so it goes drippers to coco or rw slab placed in the V shaped channel so that leaves an empty channel below the slab, with roots hanging in moist air and then into an NFT-like channel at the bottom, so thatd be a few different hydro methods. havent seen anyone using something quite like it, has anyone else?
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Indica Sativa said:
there is no reason why you can't make slabs of your own with the panda foil, some staplers or strong duct tape should do the job really. hope you do a thread about it if you do it.
sbaegis said:
i would highly recommend a good drip set up with coco. it is a magical combination. but there are some threads and reports of ebb and flow grows too in coco. but coco with drippers is tried and tested many times, by many growers.
i like your channels, but i fear that a coco slab will slowly take on the shape of the tray, meaning the space bellow would nearly disappear. not that this posses a big problem, as long as the water can still run through the tray freely under the slabs, it's all good. in fact i think the coco roots would love a space under the slabs to hang in. so some kind of mesh support for the slabs would make it work maybe?
nice idea.
G
Guest
Just posed this in a new thread about Waterfarm drippers.
Just posed this in a new thread about Waterfarm drippers.
I've been trying to come up with a drip system for a few days. I've got a weird sized space for a grow room and haven't been able to come up with the ideal sized reservoir and trays to make it work. I can't use anything higher than about 12 inches or I could use Rubbermaid stuff. I was talking with the grow guru at the hydro shop I drive to a couple of hours away about what he had in stock that would work for my reservoir problem. I've had an order for some stuff sitting there for a couple of days so I could get it all shipped together when I came up with a solution to the res problem. Finally, after we talked back and forth about a res solution for about 20 minutes on the phone, he said "dude you really need to get a "Waterfarm controller." Not knowing what it is and whether or not it would work for a coco grow, he told me he has sold them by the hundreds to coco growers and absolutely nobody has had anything negative to say about them. He said everyone says the system grows killer plants.
Anybody here had experience with the setup? Here's the link to how it works.
http://www.gthydro.com/images/produ...roller_inst.pdf
All opinions are appreciated. My space is 25"deep X 87"wide X 8' tall. I could get two twenty gallon tanks that would fit and provide enough volume that I wouldn't have to mess with it for a few days but I'd have to tie them together with bulk head fittings and the circulation between the two might be a problem.
So I am considering this Waterfarm system if it will work.
Just posed this in a new thread about Waterfarm drippers.
I've been trying to come up with a drip system for a few days. I've got a weird sized space for a grow room and haven't been able to come up with the ideal sized reservoir and trays to make it work. I can't use anything higher than about 12 inches or I could use Rubbermaid stuff. I was talking with the grow guru at the hydro shop I drive to a couple of hours away about what he had in stock that would work for my reservoir problem. I've had an order for some stuff sitting there for a couple of days so I could get it all shipped together when I came up with a solution to the res problem. Finally, after we talked back and forth about a res solution for about 20 minutes on the phone, he said "dude you really need to get a "Waterfarm controller." Not knowing what it is and whether or not it would work for a coco grow, he told me he has sold them by the hundreds to coco growers and absolutely nobody has had anything negative to say about them. He said everyone says the system grows killer plants.
Anybody here had experience with the setup? Here's the link to how it works.
http://www.gthydro.com/images/produ...roller_inst.pdf
All opinions are appreciated. My space is 25"deep X 87"wide X 8' tall. I could get two twenty gallon tanks that would fit and provide enough volume that I wouldn't have to mess with it for a few days but I'd have to tie them together with bulk head fittings and the circulation between the two might be a problem.
So I am considering this Waterfarm system if it will work.
G
Guest
Are we talking about a controller bucket? I don't see how that would help you in any way except to drain your pockets...
G
Guest
Indica Sativa no it's the whole system. 8 buckets, tubing, air pump, reservoir, controller, the works. On another thread it was mentioned that the system runs all the time and if that's true, I definitely don't want it as coco won't tolerate that. At least the way I want to grow.
IndicaSativa said:
Roflmao hehe, talk about blunt. but i must agree, that set up is no use for coco.
