Im in the process of building my auto drain to waste coco system with hydro halos. I just hooked everything up and let the pump cycle 2 gallons of ro water. The system ran through the 2 gallons in probably about 30 seconds if i had to estimate, and it seems the water is being forced out of the halos too quick.
My question is, should I reduce the intake going into the pump or should I close the valves 1/2 way that are connected to my tubing at the beginning of each halo. Or maby i need to do both. I just wasnt expecting to burn through water so quickly. I figured the water should trickle out of the halos instead of a heavy stream of water. Thanks for the help and hope everyone has a lit Merry Christmas.
Iām not experienced in a grow environment but using impeller pumps āin a past lifetimeā we used a āYā fitting on the pump output. One arm was the āwater outā on the second arm was a valve (bypass). So basically you would crack the valve and set the flow rate. I was told the reason was that impeller pumps love lower back-pressure.
I started with dirtā¦ and Iām still doing dirt.
Over the years Iāve looked at every hydro system and figured that there were just too many ways for me to screw it upā¦ and dirt was safer, at least for meā¦
I have a few diy drain to waiste coir/perlite grows going at the moment. I use a 400 gph or bigger water pump and I drill a hole in the line before it comes out the top of the reservior to ease up the pressure and also stop the flow of water once the pump shuts off (siphon effect) using 1/2" hydroponic hose from pump to filter and 1/2" drip hose from filter to 1/4" drip fittings, I donāt use rings but I do use 1/4" t connectors on each pot to disperse the nutrient water better. I also run a inline 50mesh filter to keep my lines clean every works great. Iāve also had great success with the automatic watering systems sold on amazon for around 35.00. Problems with those are they come with clear lines and clog easier and doubt there as reliable in the long run
Coir is easier than dirt if you can keep up with the watering or have it automated. If you treat it like dirt it will grow like dirt but if you water it every few hours it will grow like hydroponics . Technically coir should never dry out and you should have some runoff every watering to prevent nutrient buildup. 1 gallons pots i use straight coir in 3 gallon pots i uses 50/50 coir/perlite but your ratios can vary depending on your watering cycles etc. My main system runs for 30 seconds every 6 hours . I threw away all my dirt indoors once I discovered what coir can do and I guarantee everyone else would do so to if they gave it a try
Sometimes I reuse the medium up to 3 times before throwing it into an outdoor bed but if you reuse it then you gotta make sure to get all the old roots out .
Yea, im planning on keeping the few moms i have in soil just to make watering and maintaining them easier, but i just transplanted some young plants from soil to coco and within 2 days theyāve completely blown up. Im defiantly a believer in this medium.
Donāt restrict the intake side, youāll eventually burn your pump up.
The challenge with regulating the flow with individual valves per line is getting consistent flow per halo, is going to be extremely tough. Iād restrict the main output line (before it branches) and let your halos run free.
Or better yet, just install a pressure regulator on the output. Drip depot, less than $10.
Edit to add - you want to get .5 to 1.0 gallons per hour output at each halo, depending on your pot size. So with all six going, should take 20-40 minutes to pump 2g. Good luck.
Hate when someone asks āwhat is the best way to use X?ā Then bunch of folks post about why you shouldnāt use X, but use A orB instead.
But here I go, about to do it!
I used halos a bit but found the flow rates from halo to halo to be too different.
For about 30 bucks, you can get 25 Netafim .3 got drippers with 3 foot whip lines already attached.
Also, seconding what was previously said about frequency of watering in coco. Itās like coco doesnāt start really doing itās thing until the plants are rootbound and demanding 2 or 3 or more watering per day.
Edit: damn auto cucumber on this tablet lolol
I just transplanted tonight, I am trying to configure a drip system I am using coco coir but I mixed it with the remainder of my Mother Earth organic potting soil I used when they were babies. My original plan was to go straight coco coir but I had to use up the soil so I figured why not mix the two together. My friend who had a hydro shop used to take a regular black tube and drill holes into it and place little black tubes through the holes. It works but I would like something a little more easier than drilling holes but if thatās what I have to do then I will do it. I donāt want to spend a bunch of money on a whole entire drip irrigation system. Any ideas?
Might try the T fittings as drippers. Have had pretty consistent flow from them. Challenges is that they move lots of water, and most timers have a 1 min minimum. In a 1 gal pot and 2 or 3 drippers, I was only wanting like 15 seconds of pump time per event, so had to work out something else. Still a decent and cheap way to go tho.