Blumats using salt nutes into coir or clay balls.... Am I dreaming ?

[Kneeko]

So every grow Ive done has been soil.
Tired of pests..
Want to try hydro

The blumats have been working great for me..
So I want to first try slat based nutes (SBN) thru them into coir to start with..
Then maybe into pebbles later on to minimise cost...

Anyone done this ?

Don’t want to fuck with a F&D table and would prefer to dodge Reticulation system too..

So had the idea to keep using the blumats..

As I said... Ive only soil experience.. I know ph is more fickle but what issues would I bump into and how hard would it be ?

Thx fellas... and ladies if your out there

 

[Pikey]

Yeah, Mic was using them in coco with canna nutes (I think).

I haven't tried myself, but as long as there is an inline filter I don't see there being (m)any issues .

 

[Kneeko]

Why the filter..?
All the slime..?

I will use a black res to try to minimise that...

 

[Pikey]

Might not need it, I was just thinking as a precaution to take out any undissolved salts so they don't block the blumats .

 

[R3za92]

I’ve seen it work with coco but you don’t get any runoff so you can get salt buildup and ph issues if your not careful

 

[Kneeko]

I’ve seen it work with coco but you don’t get any runoff so you can get salt buildup and ph issues if your not careful

Hmmm... I wonder if a big str8 water drench once a week would help that..?

 

[Pikey]

I'd think just a normal strength "manual" feed with a bit of run off (~15%) every couple of weeks would be enough. You can always test the run off at that time to give you a better idea of whether there's much build up or not and make adjustments .

I was thinking to give it a go myself when Mic mentioned he was doing it. Now your question has sparked my interest again, I might give it a try next run and see how it goes with my nutes ...only one way to find out .

 

[VinDeezle]

I've ran blumats alongside CTP as a medium with canna terra nutes and some capsicum before. Didn't have any issues with the lines clogging as the mix never went over an EC of 1, and I'd alternate here and there between feed and straight water.

Only advice I can give is to go easy on aggregate/aeration, especially around the sensors. To much aggregate can fool the sensors into thinking the medium is dry and the valves will open regardless of the moisture content. For that reason clay balls would be a no go.

I've been mulling over running some blumats again in some CTP but never get around to it. I'll follow along if you decide to give it a go.

 

[R3za92]

Hmmm... I wonder if a big str8 water drench once a week would help that..?

A drench would help yes. But straight water and coco is a nope. Make sure the drench is just your usual full strength nutrient

 

[Squire]

A drench would help yes. But straight water and coco is a nope. Make sure the drench is just your usual full strength nutrient

Why is straight water for a flush a no no in coco??

 

[R3za92]

Why is straight water for a flush a no no in coco??

It fucks with the cation exchange and strips all the calcium and magnesium out of the cation sites and leads them to be replaced with potassium which just leads to even more issues. If you need to flush use a weak nutrient solution so it buffers the medium correctly

 

[Goonie Goat]

I'd be going the clayballs over Coco any day. Coco is loads better than soil but you'll still get pests and as Rez mentioned the salt buildup is a problem too (at least for me anyway) when the pots dry out too much. Since using expanded clay those issues are non existent but I will continue to use Coco in solo cups for raising seedlings and clones.
If you were to use hydroton then you would have to go with a recirculating setup and keep in mind your res size will play a big role in a few things such as pH, temps and PPM etc
A small reservoir with an air stone will increase pH rapidly compared to a larger reservoir and ppm will change too based on a few things but I'd go as big as possible (at least 40L) so you don't need to pH or add more water as much over time

 

[Rabbitlicker]

Don’t want to fuck with a F&D table and would prefer to dodge Reticulation system too..

What's your aversion to F&D? Sure, it takes a bit to set-up initially, but once you have things dialled-in, it's very low maintenance. Just monitor the pH & keep the res. clean with a small regular dose of H2O2 or Calcium Hypochlorite (Barracuda Granular Chlorine). Change the res. once a week/fortnight. Job's a goodun.

I use plastic pots inside fabric pots on the table to keep solids (coco/perlite) out of the res. & means I can take them out for inspection/maintenance, or move them around on the table if one's getting less light than another.

EDIT: The fabric pots on the outside of plastic also stops a huge mat of roots clogging things up.

You may have guessed I'm kinda-sorta lazy with some things. I'd rather use my head than my back...

Food for thought??

 

[SAW]

Lazy is efficiency, and winds up OCD types.
Viva La siesta