I am looking at the blumats watering system with using a 5 gallon bucket for the reservoir for it. What do you recommend to view the water level in the reservoir? The blumats from what I read people often put the reservoir a few feet up and I may not be able to look down into the reservoir to see the water level so it would be nice to have a way to know how much water is in it to pump water up to it. I do not really want to drill more holes in the bottom of the bucket below the water line than I need to on there for it.
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What do you do to view the water level in your reservoir?
- Thread starter The123321
- Start date
PurplePotion
Member
Install an overflow in the 5 gal bucket right below the top of the bucket and run a line to another larger res on the floor. Set a pump in the larger res on the floor on a timer so the res on the floor fills the top res every so often. You want the water level in the elevated 5gal bucket to stay as consistent as possible.
Use a larger diameter hose for your drain/overflow line than your feed line. Ie: 1/2” tubing going from pump to 5gal bucket = 3/4-1” tubing for over flow line.
Use a larger diameter hose for your drain/overflow line than your feed line. Ie: 1/2” tubing going from pump to 5gal bucket = 3/4-1” tubing for over flow line.
I've got a right angle connector with a piece of clear tubing coming out the bottom of my rez.
Automation. Then your tank can be tiny. Something resembling a hanging basket. Using a 2L paint bucket. That you can get down, if you really want a look. The bucket size means nothing to the emitters, only it's height matters. I chose 2L as it's room for a bit of splashing about, and something to let through your lines, should you wish to purge them.
The easiest automation by far is the timed fill pump, and overflow. Though I would use a floatless switch.
The easiest automation by far is the timed fill pump, and overflow. Though I would use a floatless switch.
Douglas.Curtis
Autistic Diplomat in Training
This is what you want, thank you PurplePotion for pointing this out. Blumats work best with a consistent pressure, and keeping the water level the same does this for you. (physics) You'll get much more reliable and predictable operation, which translates to significantly better results.
Thanks. I am looking at only having like 3-4 plants in the tent with 1-2 in veg and 1-2 in flowering. I want to try not to have to use a pump in the tent. I think I may try to have the reservoir to the side of the tent like 1-1.5 feet over the top of the pots then I could likely look down into the reservoir to see how much water the reservoir needs on there for it.
PurplePotion
Member
You want your elevated res to be, at minimum, 3’ above the drip point. 5’ is preferred. Setup two reservoirs. One on the floor and a small one up top like I stated earlier. A simple $20 pond pump from Home Depot will do the trick to move from bottom res to top res. Or you can spend a few hundred and set up a pressurized system with on-demand pump and use one res on the floor as the pump will provide the needed pressure rather than the elevation of the res. If you aren’t willing to setup them up correctly, it’s not worth setting them up at all.. stick with hand watering. You’ll spend more time monitoring your 5gal res and adjusting your Blumats than you will hand watering those plants.
Also... you’re going to have trouble keeping some plants in veg and some in flower in the same tent... unless you’re planning on growing autoflowering genetics, those two phases need different durations of light (18-24hr veg vs. 12hr flower).
Also... you’re going to have trouble keeping some plants in veg and some in flower in the same tent... unless you’re planning on growing autoflowering genetics, those two phases need different durations of light (18-24hr veg vs. 12hr flower).
Thanks for the information. I am looking at having 2-4 plants in the tent. I do not want to have a 2 reservoir system with a pump for 2-4 plants. I think I may try to have the reservoir near the front of the tent a few feet up from the floor that I can look into it and fill it by hand on there.
Your eyes.
not bad. i was expecting something like "i ride my ATV to the top of the hill & look at it.."
Thanks. When I made the post I was hoping there may be gadgets or something you could put in the reservoir that you could read the water level on your phone or I read somewhere that you could put a float inside with a magnet on it that raised a magnet outside the reservoir. Things like that on there.
The easiest method I found is a simple F & D
Here's my DIY, I upgraded to an igloo cooler, Y adapter and control valves on each leg (more important than you would think) I also replaced the table with am open frame which allowed me to move the F/D bulkheads to the bottom of each tote
hth
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Here's my DIY, I upgraded to an igloo cooler, Y adapter and control valves on each leg (more important than you would think) I also replaced the table with am open frame which allowed me to move the F/D bulkheads to the bottom of each tote
hth
View attachment 523561
View attachment 523562
View attachment 523563
Douglas.Curtis
Autistic Diplomat in Training
Be prepared for unreliable behavior when you forget to top it off soon enough. As a new user of blumats, the constant pressure of a full reservoir is much more important than you realize. Adding a pump, second reservoir and float will save you a significant amount of hassle and guessing. So, great time/hassle trade offs for a little bit of extra work.
