homemade hydroponic drip system

chain420smokin420juggalo

chain420smokin420juggalo

Well-Known Member
ok i made a drip system using gallon jugs an i put a hole in the lid of each jug an put a hose in there plug the hole a lil bit so the water dosnt drain but drips ....would this work for a dro system?:confused:
 
H

Hubert

Well-Known Member
chain420smokin420juggalo said:
ok i made a drip system using gallon jugs an i put a hole in the lid of each jug an put a hose in there plug the hole a lil bit so the water dosnt drain but drips ....would this work for a dro system?:confused:
Click to expand...

It will work great...but you'll have to refine it a bit. First off is this indeed going outside? How often can you refill the rez? I'm doing a similar set-up this year...rez, drippers, run to waste system. You'll need a way to keep your water bubbling or you run the risk of bacteria growth. You could use H2O2 but it wont be effective for more than a few days. You'll either need to replace the water every couple of days, or you'll need a bubbler running somehow...I'm using solar panels, but batteries will do if you can visit often enough that they don't run out.
 
chain420smokin420juggalo

chain420smokin420juggalo

Well-Known Member
im prolly going to change the water ever other day then b/c i dont have a bubbler an i was goin to do the other system were chu put 1plant in lik a stryfoam an the root soak in water but i didnt have a air system an yea its goin be outside b/c i have some uptite anti marijuana grandparents
 
H

harvest time

Well-Known Member
Haha yo i got some anti marijuana rents to dude... it fuckin blows... if i could, id sleep on the floor and turn my room into a grow room haha. If I were to make a drip system, where do u get a bubbler that runs on batteries?
 
chain420smokin420juggalo

chain420smokin420juggalo

Well-Known Member
a battery operated bubbler would be handy.....yea it would be worth sleepin on the floor an turin the rest the room into a grow room but a kouple problems 1. when sum1 comes over such as rent money or pizza delivary 2. the nice ass smell
 
Pizzzh

Pizzzh

Well-Known Member
would the water have to be bubbling all the time?? or would say an hour a day work? Hook it up to some kind of timer.
i wanna hear more about this, A drip system that would last even a week would help alot. I want to visit my plants as little as possible.
 
chain420smokin420juggalo

chain420smokin420juggalo

Well-Known Member
nAH jus put the water in homi an change it 1ce a week no bubbler needed but if ya have 1 its better an for it to last a whole week jus find a big ass container
 
H

Hubert

Well-Known Member
chain420smokin420juggalo said:
nAH jus put the water in homi an change it 1ce a week no bubbler needed but if ya have 1 its better an for it to last a whole week jus find a big ass container
Click to expand...
That will work fine if you're using plain water, but with a soilless drip system you can't just use plain water...you need nutrients. Once you've added nutrients you can't let it sit for more than a few days, a week is too long. Nutrients also provide life for fungas, bacteria, algae, etc. A bubbler is essential to provide enough oxygen to the water the fend off unwanted growth.

Battery Operated Pump combine that with an airstone and you're set.
 
panhead

panhead

Well-Known Member
Pizzzh said:
would the water have to be bubbling all the time?? or would say an hour a day work? Hook it up to some kind of timer.
i wanna hear more about this, A drip system that would last even a week would help alot. I want to visit my plants as little as possible.
Click to expand...
I know exactly what your talking about,i have made something very similar for outdoors using milk jugs but it wont last a week,i can turn the drip down to where it barely drips & can only get it to last 3 days, but i can visit my plants every weekend so it will work for me.

Take a milk jug with the screw on cap,drill a hole in the cap large enough to accept a pointed fitting,the fitting should be the kind with ribs on the nipple so you can slide a hose on it & it'll stay snug.

I bought everything from the home depot,i used the hose you get to hook up an ice maker or water dispenser in a refregirator,at the bottom of the hose i put a small brass valve that can be adjusted for drip speed.

I then took an eye hook & glued it to the bottom of the jug so i can hang it & the line will stay fully charged down to the last drop,i used gorrilla glue for this,after its finished it looks like an IV bag hanging in the hospital.

The cost is about $7 per watering device.
 
Pizzzh

Pizzzh

Well-Known Member
panhead said:
I know exactly what your talking about,i have made something very similar for outdoors using milk jugs but it wont last a week,i can turn the drip down to where it barely drips & can only get it to last 3 days, but i can visit my plants every weekend so it will work for me.

Take a milk jug with the screw on cap,drill a hole in the cap large enough to accept a pointed fitting,the fitting should be the kind with ribs on the nipple so you can slide a hose on it & it'll stay snug.

I bought everything from the home depot,i used the hose you get to hook up an ice maker or water dispenser in a refregirator,at the bottom of the hose i put a small brass valve that can be adjusted for drip speed.

I then took an eye hook & glued it to the bottom of the jug so i can hang it & the line will stay fully charged down to the last drop,i used gorrilla glue for this,after its finished it looks like an IV bag hanging in the hospital.

The cost is about $7 per watering device.
Click to expand...

+rep
Yea I had to water too much & made paths. 3 days would work, refill on the weekends. So as long as i don't add nutes to the drip system i wont need a bubbler right? You could also cut the bottome off the milk jug so it would collect rain water.
 
H

Hubert

Well-Known Member
Pizzzh said:
+rep
Yea I had to water too much & made paths. 3 days would work, refill on the weekends. So as long as i don't add nutes to the drip system i wont need a bubbler right? You could also cut the bottome off the milk jug so it would collect rain water.
Click to expand...
If you don't use any nutes than your rez should be fine, a dose of H202 wouldn't hurt now and then since it will be sitting stagnent...H202 provides oxygen to the water, kills bacteria. But if you're not putting nutes in the rez where are you putting them?
 
Pizzzh

Pizzzh

Well-Known Member
Hubert said:
If you don't use any nutes than your rez should be fine, a dose of H202 wouldn't hurt now and then since it will be sitting stagnent...H202 provides oxygen to the water, kills bacteria. But if you're not putting nutes in the rez where are you putting them?
Click to expand...
lol i dunno but the way it sounds nutes wont last a whole week w/o a bubbler. Maybe a two chamber drip sytem one part that drips out much faster w/ the nutes in it and the other part just water that drips out much slower???
 
H

Hubert

Well-Known Member
It's not that the nutes won't last, they'll still be there...but there will also be bacteria, fungas, algae, and whatever else. You could use Canna Coir...it would work with a plain water drip system better than anything else I can think of.
 
Pizzzh

Pizzzh

Well-Known Member
Canna Coir?
never heard of it
i got a 3 pack of foxfarm nutes. Tigerbloom, open sesame and another one i cant remeber it's name..
Where can i get it?
 
panhead

panhead

Well-Known Member
Pizzzh said:
+rep
Yea I had to water too much & made paths. 3 days would work, refill on the weekends. So as long as i don't add nutes to the drip system i wont need a bubbler right? You could also cut the bottome off the milk jug so it would collect rain water.
Click to expand...
I thought about leaving it open to collect rain water but then i figured that evaporation would quickly defeat the purpose,at the time of year where you'll be needing the drip system the most it will be hot as hell & evaporation will take most of the water,also if it rains the plants will allready have what they need,i decided i'd be better off just planning on visiting them every weekend & bringing water with me & knowing that the drip system worked for the 3 days i tested it at.

If the drip system remains closed & was clean when it was filled then simply adding a bit of peroxide will keep the water clean,it will kill any bacteria thats in the water & the closed system will not allow new bacteria in.

I bring my nute's with me each time i visit,i pre mix them in a cup with a lid then add them on site when i water.

Ive thought about using 5 gallon buckets with air tight lids & rubber gaskets(home depot $5 each) instead of milk jugs if we end up with a drought,a 5 gallon bucket full will easily last a week & supply a heavier drip rate,i had the valve on the one gallon milk jug set to where if i closed it any more the water would not drip.

Ive been thinking alot about this,at the extremely slow drip rate needed to make the water supply last 3 days, if its very hot outside the water will evaporate from the top of the soil before it reaches the roots.

In order to get past this i plan on digging a small hole at the base of the plant,then inserting a large plastic tumbler cup upside down so the bottom of the cup is facing upward,then drilling a small hole in the bottom of the cup to accept the water line,after that i'll be back filling the hole with soil so the cup is burried,this should keep the line free & allow water to reach the root system in extremely hot dry weather.
 
H

Hubert

Well-Known Member
Well I'm using barrels myself, that's how I'm getting around running out of water. But if you want to look into dripper alternatives, and are willing to change up the plan a bit....Float Valves can be your best friend :mrgreen:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top