SIP thread -- (Sub-Irrigated Planter)

Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
Evil-Mobo said:
Right on bro thanks for the info. The setup you did with the three wicks looks good and probably I will do something like that for mine because I will be dropping two plants in there.

What's your take on the tubs with the rocks in the res, then the landscaping fabric, then the soil on top of that? There's a PVC fill tube that runs down to an elbow, and then a drilled PVC pipe across the tub underneath in the rocks..........
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Hmmmmm... I'm not sure I've ever heard of that one. Uh... sounds... heavy? lol

I'm sure it works, there are a lot of ways to get results. I'd rather fill the space with just water than rocks and water, so a system that creates an open res sounds better to me. Sometimes it seems to come down to what materials either people have on hand or are comfortable working with.
 
hyroot

hyroot

Well-Known Member
Evil-Mobo said:
If that's the worst of one of my days brother trust me when I tell you how good life really is (:
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All the crafts and recipes that taste horrible that come from pinterest. My x from a couple years ago was nuts about pinterest
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
Evil-Mobo said:
Thanks for the feedback. The wife saw it on Pinterest today and showed me looked very interesting.
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I have a sort of back door escape plan, in case we have a really cold/wet/windy fall and my outdoor plants don't look like they will make it, and the plan includes moving some into the garage and finishing them under lights. I suppose that's why I'm thinking, rocks? Yeah, I don't want to carry those... lol
 
Evil-Mobo

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
Humanrob said:
I have a sort of back door escape plan, in case we have a really cold/wet/windy fall and my outdoor plants don't look like they will make it, and the plan includes moving some into the garage and finishing them under lights. I suppose that's why I'm thinking, rocks? Yeah, I don't want to carry those... lol
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Fair enough I went to a SIP to carry less water around lol......
 
Tim Fox

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
Evil-Mobo said:
Right on bro thanks for the info. The setup you did with the three wicks looks good and probably I will do something like that for mine because I will be dropping two plants in there.

What's your take on the tubs with the rocks in the res, then the landscaping fabric, then the soil on top of that? There's a PVC fill tube that runs down to an elbow, and then a drilled PVC pipe across the tub underneath in the rocks..........
Click to expand...
just remember, three is a point where you can have TOO MUCH WiCk,, resulting in soil that is too moist, leading to root issues, robs 3 wick container appears to be working fine,, but he did not punch to many holes in it,, or he just left the slits in the drain pipe @Humanrob ,, so be careful to not over wick your sip,
those guys using rocks in the res and the landscape fabric are actually trying to keep the roots out of the res, like in above ground planters, this is not something you want for cannabis, we actaully want water roots, plus filling the res with rocks lowers the anmount of gallons of water your res can hold,
things to consider
 
Evil-Mobo

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
Tim Fox said:
just remember, three is a point where you can have TOO MUCH WiCk,, resulting in soil that is too moist, leading to root issues, robs 3 wick container appears to be working fine,, but he did not punch to many holes in it,, or he just left the slits in the drain pipe @Humanrob ,, so be careful to not over wick your sip,
those guys using rocks in the res and the landscape fabric are actually trying to keep the roots out of the res, like in above ground planters, this is not something you want for cannabis, we actaully want water roots, plus filling the res with rocks lowers the anmount of gallons of water your res can hold,
things to consider
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All very valid points. Thanks for the input once again
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
Tim Fox said:
just remember, three is a point where you can have TOO MUCH WiCk,, resulting in soil that is too moist, leading to root issues, robs 3 wick container appears to be working fine,, but he did not punch to many holes in it,, or he just left the slits in the drain pipe @Humanrob ,, so be careful to not over wick your sip,
those guys using rocks in the res and the landscape fabric are actually trying to keep the roots out of the res, like in above ground planters, this is not something you want for cannabis, we actaully want water roots, plus filling the res with rocks lowers the anmount of gallons of water your res can hold,
things to consider
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Really good information Tim. It's important not to lose sight of the big picture. Some systems are focused just on the self-watering part, and others are utilizing the plants ability to reach the reservoir as a benefit.

Thorhax said:
http://www.homemadebycarmona.com/garden-fever-prt2-container-gardening/

easy step by step to make a SIP

ill be converting all my areas to SIPs...i just don't see any drawbacks
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In the #4 post on this thread I link to this, but I think its worth repeating -- The folks at this site http://earthtainer.tomatofest.com/ give a comprehensive overview of how SIPs work (at least the kinds I'm trying to emulate), and then near that bottom of that page provide free instructions on how to build one with Rubbermaid bins, in this PDF file. That, and the information on the Octopot website in the how it works section, is a great place to get an overview for this 'technology'. One thing they both stress (and several other manufacturers) is an air gap between the water and the soil, so that's something I've kept in all of my DIY versions.
 
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Evil-Mobo

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
Now we should start seeing some progress my Tasty LED T2-2100 came in today, no more blurple! Wow this is what an LED light does lol. HUGE difference even on just veg mode, wow. Built extremely well, and I do not find the fan too loud at all like I have seen others say. This is much quieter than the Progro 260 it's replacing. I'm hoping for good results combining it with the SIP's :dunce:

IMG_20160427_144226.jpg
 
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Evil-Mobo

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
Rob & Tim & @hyroot

Yesterday was my first time watering the plants in the SIP's, I must confess, you guys have ruined me. Compared to the DWC this was soooooo much simpler, water in a cup fill until it reaches the line done. No PH, mixing nutes, etc.

Question for you guys. If I am using R/O water (is there any benefit in this system), should I be adding cal mag to the water like in DWC? My R/O setup does have a mineral filter on it not sure if that would be enough.

Thanks
 
Tim Fox

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
the question on adding cal mag to the res in a SIP has not been fully answered by some,
I add domolite lime to my soil that ads cal mag,
I was asking some of the others if adding cal mag to the sip res was ok,, some consididered it nutes, I really didnt think so,, some asked if adding cal mag meant having to ph the water,,
then someguy said he ads organic cal mag to his soil,, so only water in his res,, i asked about the organic cal mag, not sure If that was answered,,
i hope the cal mag question gets answered before my next grow,, because the cobs make the plants cal m ag hungry at times,,
 
Evil-Mobo

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
Yes I had been reading about the COB's and the cal mag that's why I was asking, curious if anyone had an answer based on experience. I have my GH calimagic here that I was using in the DWC setup but not "organic" cal mag. Supposedly the mineral filter on my R/O setup helps with this and brings the PPM up a tiny bit.......
 
hyroot

hyroot

Well-Known Member
There's plenty of calcium in my soil mix so I don't need to add any. Usually..... crab meal, kelp meal, neem cake, oyster shell flour, fish bone meal, and the basalt rock dust all have calcium. Plus my worm castings do as well. I use tap water. Ppm's are low in the tap water here. Around 200 ppm's. I aerate the water for a day at least before adding it to the sips. I have a 30 gal resi that's constantly full and aerating water.

Ro water does create waste grey water. But I do use Ro water for drinking , ice, and cooking and making ice wax. But not my plants lol.
 
Tim Fox

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
whats the idea behind RO water any ways?
why not just use tap water? I am on a well so no clorine
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
I've been contemplating the sanctity of the top layer of soil... looking for ways to never top feed. There seem to be real advantages to leaving it dry, both in terms of bug suppression and allowing the plant to focus all its root growth down and out.

Up to now, I added nutes throughout the grow, so its really hard for me to imagine the plants making the full run without a boost. And with LED/COB lights, cal-mag seems to be essential.

So, I've been thinking about "feeding tubes". I cut some PVC pipes to various lengths, and the idea would be to stick them into the soil, and give light feedings while by-passing the top couple of inches of soil. Optimally, in future grows I would create an L shape of PVC with the a fill tube going down and then turning 90º to horizontal, that would be set into the soil during transplant. The horizontal section would have holes in it -- in essence, a wick in reverse. This could/should distribute the nutes somewhat.


I look forward to hearing from those who have started before me, regarding how your plants finished and if they needed anything extra? Has anyone used SIPs all the way through harvest yet?
 
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