Self water containers with reservoir..Where did I go wrong...?

[Zenbaas]

So i guess it's much easier to see what I have done from the images than me explaining everything in detail but my idea was to have a reservoir(the black container) water the other four white containers. I clearly hadn't thought this one through due me rushing all over the place and trying to get this done asap but of course thats when mistakes happen.

PicsArt_09-19-04.47.40.jpg

PicsArt_09-19-04.48.52.jpg

So when I fill the reservoir it just levels out the water in all the other containers(and of course it would do this, don't know how I thought any other way ).

In any case how do I go about fixing it...?

Each container is basically two buckets on top of each other (top one with holes and a large center hole with a net pot to act as a wick)and the bottom white container has a whole on the side with 20mm PVC pipe and a rubber grommet connected to all the other containers. There is a small overflow hole drilled into each white container as well so that if the water level gets too high it will simply drain out.

Any advice is appreciated.

[Zenbaas]

Ok seems like a need an additional bucket with a float valve at the same level as the other buckets and then elevate the black container above the rest si it will fill the control bucket with float valve when the level drops sufficiently.

[luigiwu]

Originally Posted by Zenbaas

Ok seems like a need an additional bucket with a float valve at the same level as the other buckets and then elevate the black container above the rest si it will fill the control bucket with float valve when the level drops sufficiently.

exactly. If all the SIP containers are sitting on level ground, then the water level in them will all mimic the level set by the float in its own bucket.
Take a look the photo gallery at my RGGS system. The plumbing is sooooo much easier. I have a bottom gutter to hold water. All the buckets sit on top of it. There is a float that controls the level in the gutter.
http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...highlight=Rggs

[Worth1]

What you need to do now is get them out of the swamp they are in so the water can drain out before it kills them.

Your problem is going to be the fact not every one of the plants will need watered the same.
To keep some alive may be bad for others but I may be totally wrong.

Right now though their feet need to dry out if the containers are saturated.

Worth

[Zenbaas]

Originally Posted by Worth1

What you need to do now is get them out of the swamp they are in so the water can drain out before it kills them.

Your problem is going to be the fact not every one of the plants will need watered the same.
To keep some alive may be bad for others but I may be totally wrong.

Right now though their feet need to dry out if the containers are saturated.

Worth

Sorry Worth why would they be in a swamp..?

I did mention that each bucket has an overflow hole drilled into the side so that only the wick touches the water.

But you're correct with regards to different plants having different water needs but I needed a setup that looks after itself as I cannot tend to these plants daily unfortunately.

[Zenbaas]

Originally Posted by luigiwu

exactly. If all the SIP containers are sitting on level ground, then the water level in them will all mimic the level set by the float in its own bucket.
Take a look the photo gallery at my RGGS system. The plumbing is sooooo much easier. I have a bottom gutter to hold water. All the buckets sit on top of it. There is a float that controls the level in the gutter.
http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...highlight=Rggs

That's exactly what I thought of doing initially (but with manual watering of the gutter) but bow with the float valve it sound even better.!

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Zenbaas

Sorry Worth why would they be in a swamp..?

I did mention that each bucket has an overflow hole drilled into the side so that only the wick touches the water.

But you're correct with regards to different plants having different water needs but I needed a setup that looks after itself as I cannot tend to these plants daily unfortunately.

Sorry I didn't pick it up it in the last sentence.
I stand corrected.

Worth

[pecker88]

I have the same setup, except I used a 5 gal. reservoir.
Float bucket doesn't have to be as large. I used this mini float valve, it works great:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/ite...er=23174#23174

Take your time setting the float valve so that you get the water level right. If it's too high it will swamp the bucket, too low (below your net pot) and the plants will thirst. Using a reservoir & float bucket you really dont' need an overflow hole.

[Zenbaas]

Originally Posted by pecker88

I have the same setup, except I used a 5 gal. reservoir.
Float bucket doesn't have to be as large. I used this mini float valve, it works great:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/ite...er=23174#23174

Take your time setting the float valve so that you get the water level right. If it's too high it will swamp the bucket, too low (below your net pot) and the plants will thirst. Using a reservoir & float bucket you really dont' need an overflow hole.

Thanks..! Ordered few of those off amazon yesterday. The overflow hole is basically for when it rains as the containers are outside. We get some decent rain here so it's a potential issue that the overflow hole will hopefully help mitigate.

As you've said I think setting up the float valve is going to be a huge challenge...! The buckets aren't particularly "deep" on the bottom so it'll be a fine line between being correct or not.

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by Zenbaas

Thanks..! Ordered few of those off amazon yesterday. The overflow hole is basically for when it rains as the containers are outside. We get some decent rain here so it's a potential issue that the overflow hole will hopefully help mitigate.

As you've said I think setting up the float valve is going to be a huge challenge...! The buckets aren't particularly "deep" on the bottom so it'll be a fine line between being correct or not.

It's hard to get it set properly when the inner bucket already has potting mix in it; difficult to determine the water level, you can't see.. I had my setup all dialed in when in the garage with empty inner buckets, then I moved the whole system to the basement grow area. The buckets were not filling the same, reason? The garage floor slopes toward the door, the basement floor was more level. So, I had to re-adjust the float value.

After a month my plants are droopy with under curled leaves, I think, they are still getting too much water so I lowered the valve again. We'll see if they improve. Its a physics dance with water levels and the perfect potting mix; otherwise you swamp the plants or dont' give them enough water. Way more complicated then I originally thought.

Also, with a connected system like we are using it's extremely important to have all identical buckets. Bucket setup #1 might be 2 home depot buckets, #2 might be recycled drywall mud buckets. Due to the bucket differences, #1 might sit lower in the reservoir compared to #2. I got my used buckets off craistlist; although cheap, they are all mixed/matched. The water level can vary by 1" or more between buckets.

If I had to do it over, I would order brand new 5 gal. square buckets online, everything would be the same, as would the water level. I would have saved myself a day of fiddling around, and in the end, time is $.

[Zenbaas]

Originally Posted by pecker88

It's hard to get it set properly when the inner bucket already has potting mix in it; difficult to determine the water level, you can't see.. I had my setup all dialed in when in the garage with empty inner buckets, then I moved the whole system to the basement grow area. The buckets were not filling the same, reason? The garage floor slopes toward the door, the basement floor was more level. So, I had to re-adjust the float value.

After a month my plants are droopy with under curled leaves, I think, they are still getting too much water so I lowered the valve again. We'll see if they improve. Its a physics dance with water levels and the perfect potting mix; otherwise you swamp the plants or dont' give them enough water. Way more complicated then I originally thought.

Also, with a connected system like we are using it's extremely important to have all identical buckets. Bucket setup #1 might be 2 home depot buckets, #2 might be recycled drywall mud buckets. Due to the bucket differences, #1 might sit lower in the reservoir compared to #2. I got my used buckets off craistlist; although cheap, they are all mixed/matched. The water level can vary by 1" or more between buckets.

If I had to do it over, I would order brand new 5 gal. square buckets online, everything would be the same, as would the water level. I would have saved myself a day of fiddling around, and in the end, time is $.

Thanks for the advice. Yes I'll have to take all the inner buckets out when I install the float valve. I'll just have to strategically place them on bricks so I don't mess up the wick portion on the bottom.