Parts list for making a drip irrigation setup

[Doobie]

Hello Budbuilders
I was wondering if anyone could help me make a parts list for making my own drip irrigation auto feed setup for my coco coir grows. I grow indoors in a 4x4 tent. I use liquid synthetic Nutes so idk if that changes anything? I am currently hand watering 4-5 times a day and it's really getting to be a PITA.
I would even be open to a full kit if it works properly. But I have no experience in this category.

 

[Bandit420]

How many plants?

 

[Doobie]

How many plants?

4 plants lol. I thought I put that into my bad.

 

[Doobie]

I was thinking four plant sites with 2 emitters per plant ?

 

[Observer]

How many plants?

420

I mean I could water the 420 grow by hand but I'd rather not lol

So I've been on the look out on how I'm going to set up a 420 site compact watering system

 

[GoodShit97]

420

I mean I could water the 420 grow by hand but I'd rather not lol

So I've been on the look out on how I'm going to set up a 420 site compact watering system

Me thinks you'll have distribution issues but it would be cool if you didnt.

 

[Observer]

Me thinks you'll have distribution issues but it would be cool if you didnt.

Yeah definitely

Gotta really figure some shit out

 

[Pipecarver]

Hello Budbuilders
I was wondering if anyone could help me make a parts list for making my own drip irrigation auto feed setup for my coco coir grows. I grow indoors in a 4x4 tent. I use liquid synthetic Nutes so idk if that changes anything? I am currently hand watering 4-5 times a day and it's really getting to be a PITA.
I would even be open to a full kit if it works properly. But I have no experience in this category.

I've auto pots but along those lines you could have a reservoir with a small 4 way manifold off a small water pump on a timer 4 - 5 times a day on for 1 min ??? off for 4 hrs??

 

[Doobie]

I've auto pots but along those lines you could have a reservoir with a small 4 way manifold off a small water pump on a timer 4 - 5 times a day on for 1 min ??? off for 4 hrs?? View attachment 18104

Sounds good to me. I just get lost trying to order each part individually . I was looking at the Floraflex website. They have a kit for 80$. But I would still need a flood/drain table and a reservoir.

 

[Rootsruler]

Sounds good to me. I just get lost trying to order each part individually . I was looking at the Floraflex website. They have a kit for 80$. But I would still need a flood/drain table and a reservoir.

I made my own auto water system. I made water rings with the 1/4" line. I plan on replacing the watering rings with floraflex Matrix plates.

 

[Nesta]

I like the Auto Pot option but dont run it currently. I run and really like Blumats. Check em out at sustainable village. Either option + pump manifold works great.

 

[Doobie]

I like the Auto Pot option but dont run it currently. I run and really like Blumats. Check em out at sustainable village. Either option + pump manifold works great.

Do blumats work with coco coir?

 

[Bandit420]

4 plants lol. I thought I put that into my bad.

I'm a fan of halo systems and not really into emitters due to clogging and pressure issues.
Halos are drip rings and you'd use about a 350GPH size pump, 1/2" polypro tubing, and shut off valves at each halo to equalize pressure

420

I mean I could water the 420 grow by hand but I'd rather not lol

So I've been on the look out on how I'm going to set up a 420 site compact watering system

Flood and drain is your future.
4'x8' F&D tray, table on casters, 50 g rez under the table. Flood 4x per day

 

[Observer]

Flood and drain is your future.
4'x8' F&D tray, table on casters, 50 g rez under the table. Flood 4x per day

yea the second option was that/something similar and or/a fog chamber under them, if i went that route, fitting 420 in a 5x5 space that way seems more of a problem then, unless... well actually i suppose maybe easier - i could line them up a little closer and better than in solos, in a big pit/tray similiar to @Anthem275 's thread, but god damn the weight from all the water...

and id need 2, as in Vertical.



making it more complicated than it needs to be....just needs reinforcing/different structure..... for the few ideas i have so far on executing it

 

[freezeland]

Do blumats work with coco coir?

Yes they do according to blumat. But using salts they might clog periodically so you would need to keep an eye on that. I run blumat on soil but I top dress my nutrients so I don’t worry about clogging.

 

[Pipecarver]

Sounds good to me. I just get lost trying to order each part individually . I was looking at the Floraflex website. They have a kit for 80$. But I would still need a flood/drain table and a reservoir.

Did you look at the Auto Pots? A reservoir and a float valve on each pot controlling the water flow....I like them a lot.....all I do is keep the res full by adding food when needed in 3 gal loads....

 

[Pipecarver]

Yes they do according to blumat. But using salts they might clog periodically so you would need to keep an eye on that. I run blumat on soil but I top dress my nutrients so I don’t worry about clogging.

I use a salt prevention product called Hyclean at 1ml per gallon on every water/feed and it seems to keep my lines clear.Gh has Florakleen

 

[Rootsruler]

All you really need is a pump to pump the nutrient solution out of the reservoir to the distribution head. From there you run your feeder lines to the watering ring of your choice. Digital timer to regulate the volume of feed you want to give them and the frequency. It's actually pretty easy once you understand the mechanics behind it. No need for a flood table as long as you have a catch basin that can catch runoff. I use dollar store plastic bins for catch basins.

My first run with the system allowed me to let it run hands free for around 6 weeks with one intervention at week 3 to top off the res and raise the PPM. I drain my dehu condensation back into the res to keep it topped off but weeks of pure water draining back into the reservoir will drop PPM. I'm using a 30 gallon plastic tote bin as a reservoir. You can see the top of it in the picture I posted previously. Before I left I filled the res with 25 gallons of nutrient.

Quick tip, when you're running your lines from the distro head to the pots make sure they are all of equal length regardless of how close the distro head is to the pot or you'll never be able to equalize the amount of flow going to the pots.

When I'm dialing in the feed times I'll usually let them run open to see how long it takes to get to runoff and set my timer. If you do get more or less volume going to a pot you can adjust that particular line from the distro head to fine tune.

 

[Doobie]

Did you look at the Auto Pots? A reservoir and a float valve on each pot controlling the water flow....I like them a lot.....all I do is keep the res full by adding food when needed in 3 gal loads....

I did look at them. But I was trying to get away from using fabric pots. And I wasn't s fan of the bottom watering. But seems easy to maintain.

 

[Rootsruler]

I'm a fan of halo systems and not really into emitters due to clogging and pressure issues.
Halos are drip rings and you'd use about a 350GPH size pump, 1/2" polypro tubing, and shut off valves at each halo to equalize pressure

Flood and drain is your future.
4'x8' F&D tray, table on casters, 50 g rez under the table. Flood 4x per day

I like the halo system but am afraid of clogging due to my feed solutions having some organics in them. I run 1/4" feeder lines and use drip tees without emitters.

 

[tobh]

Personally I hate the brown drip hosing. That shit is garbage unless used outside for large raised beds.

My current parts list is:

• 8ft 3/4" PVC
• 2x 3/4" ball valves
• 7x 3/4" slip unions
• handful of 90 degree bends
• 1x 3/4" check valve with the spring removed (used for anti-siphon)
• 1x 3/4" NPT male threaded fitting
• 1x six outlet manifold (rainbird)
• an annoying amount of feet of plastic irrigation line
• 300 gph pump
• inline filter

Can snag some pics of the full setup if it would be helpful. Hard line is easier to deal with than black irrigation line ime.

 

[Rootsruler]

Personally I hate the brown drip hosing. That shit is garbage unless used outside for large raised beds.

My current parts list is:

• 8ft 3/4" PVC
• 2x 3/4" ball valves
• 7x 3/4" slip unions
• handful of 90 degree bends
• 1x 3/4" check valve with the spring removed (used for anti-siphon)
• 1x 3/4" NPT male threaded fitting
• 1x six outlet manifold (rainbird)
• an annoying amount of feet of plastic irrigation line
• 300 gph pump
• inline filter

Can snag some pics of the full setup if it would be helpful. Hard line is easier to deal with than black irrigation line ime.

The only "hard line" in my setup is the 6" riser where the distro head is attached. Soft hose seems to be easier to move around if needed, IMO. Your setup is very close to FloraFlex's.

 

[tobh]

The only "hard line" in my setup is the 6" riser where the distro head is attached. Soft hose seems to be easier to move around if needed, IMO. Your setup is very close to FloraFlex's.

yeah, and i ripped a lot of the design traits from Dirtbag haha. I started with the soft lines but found them to be much of a PITA than I wanted to deal with. The whole point of setting up an irrigation system is to have less shit to deal with. when the lines keep moving places you don't want em, it defeats the entire purpose haha

 

[Rootsruler]

yeah, and i ripped a lot of the design traits from Dirtbag haha. I started with the soft lines but found them to be much of a PITA than I wanted to deal with. The whole point of setting up an irrigation system is to have less shit to deal with. when the lines keep moving places you don't want em, it defeats the entire purpose haha

I noticed FF likes to place the distro head in the middle of the patch. I like it more accessible to fine tune the distro head bleeders so distro head in a corner out of the way is what works best for me. feed lines get zip tied out of the way. I don't like much gear sitting on the tent floor. 3/4" main supply seems excessive for a tent unless you're running a 10' x 10' tent. I run a 264gph pond pump through 1/2" line to the distro. My feed times are no more than 15 minutes.

 

[Pipecarver]

I did look at them. But I was trying to get away from using fabric pots. And I wasn't s fan of the bottom watering. But seems easy to maintain.

I'm not in fabric bags, I've 15L plastic pots with my auto pots + air domes

 

[tobh]

I noticed FF likes to place the distro head in the middle of the patch. I like it more accessible to fine tune the distro head bleeders so distro head in a corner out of the way is what works best for me. feed lines get zip tied out of the way. I don't like much gear sitting on the tent floor. 3/4" main supply seems excessive for a tent unless you're running a 10' x 10' tent. I run a 264gph pond pump through 1/2" line to the distro. My feed times are no more than 15 minutes.

so, you raise a valid point. the reason for 3/4" is because that's all the hardware store near my old house had in stock, so that's what I used. My feed times are substantially shorter than yours, too, so the large sized pump helps make the 1min minimum fertigation cycles push the volume I need to each site (roughly 250ml/min iirc). I should've put the manifold somewhere easier to access but I didn't want to fuck with drip emitters to try and equalize each site. easier to cut six feed lines to the same length and run em to each site from a central location.

 

[Nesta]

Do blumats work with coco coir?

Yep

 

[Bandit420]

yea the second option was that/something similar and or/a fog chamber under them, if i went that route, fitting 420 in a 5x5 space that way seems more of a problem then, unless... well actually i suppose maybe easier - i could line them up a little closer and better than in solos, in a big pit/tray similiar to @Anthem275 's thread, but god damn the weight from all the water...

and id need 2, as in Vertical.



making it more complicated than it needs to be....just needs reinforcing/different structure..... for the few ideas i have so far on executing it

You may want to buy a book about this. Hans pretty much showed the world how to run Dutch style commercial grows, sea of green, for personal use back in 1998. It might show you things you've never considered possible. It changed everything for me when I moved indoors to grow

Amazon.com

 

[Observer]

Keep it moist and shouldn't clog too much

You may want to buy a book about this. Hans pretty much showed the world how to run Dutch style commercial grows, sea of green, for personal use back in 1998. It might show you things you've never considered possible. It changed everything for me when I moved indoors to grow

Amazon.com

ill check it out, thanks man

 

[Observer]

Top part wasn't supposed to be there.


If kept moist properly and proper amounts used/ppm properly made solution with good chelated salts, id think it should not have too much salt residue left behind

 

[Nesta]

Anyone ever run or currently running any of the Floraflex systems?

 

[Rootsruler]

Anyone ever run or currently running any of the Floraflex systems?

I think Zen or Ninja runs their gear.........

 

[Nesta]

I think Zen or Ninja runs their gear.........

@ZombieRider @ninjadip are you using floraflex? If so, which system?

 

[Seb]

Anyone ever run or currently running any of the Floraflex systems?

I have been setting up a system just like what you seem to be after. There is a threat on the old farm where people advise Aqua Man on the setup he had been planning. I got most of my ideas from there ("Planning out coco advice"). I would highly recommend that one. This is what I have learned:

Piping
You can go with PVC which is cheap and popular, especially if it is a permanent system. I went with 16mm PE pipe. It works with push fit fittings and is easy to work with. It can be disassembled easily. I am a fan of PE and would recommend it. For your size it is also cheap enough.
You should run a full loop for the pipe so the pressure equalises.

Pump
You don't need push water volume but a fair amount of pressure. Diaphragmatic pumps are cheap, reliable and produce a good amount of pressure. They are loud but will only run for roughly half a minute at a time. Mine does 4.3L/min 35psi. The brand is Seaflo.

Manifold
Floraflex looks pretty good. I have a Rainbird that I now run empty because the pressure regulating drip valves go up to 8l/h which is not enough and pointless for this endeavour. There is a simple 6x manifold that seems popular (in pic below). I'd go with that or the Floraflex.

Emitter
I initially got a cheap setup from Amazon for about 20USD. It wasn't terrible but I wanted more control. In the end I bought a set of the Floraflex Square Matrix emitters/trays. They are affordable and spread the water nicely. I have seen some experienced growers recommending open lines to avoid clogging but I prefer the way Floraflex spreads the water. It also reduces evaporation and reduces exposed surface for pests.

I have read a lot over the last few weeks. I have not seen anybody not be happy with Floraflex. Their prices are also decent.

This is an image I "found". It uses PVC (with threaded connectors) rather than PE. I put valves as risers which gives me two circuits I can control independently.

 

[ninjadip]

@ZombieRider @ninjadip are you using floraflex? If so, which system?

Nah, never heard of it. Sorry

 

[Observer]

I have been setting up a system just like what you seem to be after. There is a threat on the old farm where people advise Aqua Man on the setup he had been planning. I got most of my ideas from there ("Planning out coco advice"). I would highly recommend that one. This is what I have learned:

Piping
You can go with PVC which is cheap and popular, especially if it is a permanent system. I went with 16mm PE pipe. It works with push fit fittings and is easy to work with. It can be disassembled easily. I am a fan of PE and would recommend it. For your size it is also cheap enough.
You should run a full loop for the pipe so the pressure equalises.

Pump
You don't need push water volume but a fair amount of pressure. Diaphragmatic pumps are cheap, reliable and produce a good amount of pressure. They are loud but will only run for roughly half a minute at a time. Mine does 4.3L/min 35psi. The brand is Seaflo.

Manifold
Floraflex looks pretty good. I have a Rainbird that I now run empty because the pressure regulating drip valves go up to 8l/h which is not enough and pointless for this endeavour. There is a simple 6x manifold that seems popular (in pic below). I'd go with that or the Floraflex.

Emitter
I initially got a cheap setup from Amazon for about 20USD. It wasn't terrible but I wanted more control. In the end I bought a set of the Floraflex Square Matrix emitters/trays. They are affordable and spread the water nicely. I have seen some experienced growers recommending open lines to avoid clogging but I prefer the way Floraflex spreads the water. It also reduces evaporation and reduces exposed surface for pests.

I have read a lot over the last few weeks. I have not seen anybody not be happy with Floraflex. Their prices are also decent.

This is an image I "found". It uses PVC (with threaded connectors) rather than PE. I put valves as risers which gives me two circuits I can control independently.

View attachment 18521

Those panels remind me of dirtbags room

The drain/water guide panels

 

[Nesta]

I have been setting up a system just like what you seem to be after. There is a threat on the old farm where people advise Aqua Man on the setup he had been planning. I got most of my ideas from there ("Planning out coco advice"). I would highly recommend that one. This is what I have learned:

Piping
You can go with PVC which is cheap and popular, especially if it is a permanent system. I went with 16mm PE pipe. It works with push fit fittings and is easy to work with. It can be disassembled easily. I am a fan of PE and would recommend it. For your size it is also cheap enough.
You should run a full loop for the pipe so the pressure equalises.

Pump
You don't need push water volume but a fair amount of pressure. Diaphragmatic pumps are cheap, reliable and produce a good amount of pressure. They are loud but will only run for roughly half a minute at a time. Mine does 4.3L/min 35psi. The brand is Seaflo.

Manifold
Floraflex looks pretty good. I have a Rainbird that I now run empty because the pressure regulating drip valves go up to 8l/h which is not enough and pointless for this endeavour. There is a simple 6x manifold that seems popular (in pic below). I'd go with that or the Floraflex.

Emitter
I initially got a cheap setup from Amazon for about 20USD. It wasn't terrible but I wanted more control. In the end I bought a set of the Floraflex Square Matrix emitters/trays. They are affordable and spread the water nicely. I have seen some experienced growers recommending open lines to avoid clogging but I prefer the way Floraflex spreads the water. It also reduces evaporation and reduces exposed surface for pests.

I have read a lot over the last few weeks. I have not seen anybody not be happy with Floraflex. Their prices are also decent.

This is an image I "found". It uses PVC (with threaded connectors) rather than PE. I put valves as risers which gives me two circuits I can control independently.

View attachment 18521

Thank you!

 

[Seb]

Those panels remind me of dirtbags room

The drain/water guide panels

It might be his. I have a whole directory full of screenshots I have taken and this is one of them.

I noticed that the Floraflex Matrix trays don't drain 100% so they might leave small puddles. That is my first slight negative experience with them. The water distributions seems great and I don't see them clogging. We'll see. I had made ghetto halos by drilling holes in a piece of drip irrigation pipe and turning into a loop using a T adapter. I guess they would have continued to work as well. I just wanted to try the Floraflex as well...

In general I have found some good drip irrigation providers that are not cannabis specific. Price and quality look good and they are established from other farming / irrigation systems. I don't think cannabis is special in this case so it might we worth looking into. Rainbird seems decent.

 

[Observer]

Me thinks you'll have distribution issues but it would be cool if you didnt.

Lmao yea...maybe just rig up a shower.

 

[Observer]

It might be his. I have a whole directory full of screenshots I have taken and this is one of them.

I noticed that the Floraflex Matrix trays don't drain 100% so they might leave small puddles. That is my first slight negative experience with them. The water distributions seems great and I don't see them clogging. We'll see. I had made ghetto halos by drilling holes in a piece of drip irrigation pipe and turning into a loop using a T adapter. I guess they would have continued to work as well. I just wanted to try the Floraflex as well...

In general I have found some good drip irrigation providers that are not cannabis specific. Price and quality look good and they are established from other farming / irrigation systems. I don't think cannabis is special in this case so it might we worth looking into. Rainbird seems decent.

It is indeed.