Blumat Drip System

SEBUD

SEBUD

Super Active Member
Just bought a Blumat and was wondering if you run your nutes through it or just straight water?
Got one system with a 5 gal bucket reservoir setup. If doing 6 plants in 5 gal buckets how often will I have to refill the reservoir?
From what I've read on the subject this should really be helpful on the back.
Thanks for any help.
 
Heisen

Heisen

Dont Need One
Admin
SEBUD said:
Just bought a Blumat and was wondering if you run your nutes through it or just straight water?
Got one system with a 5 gal bucket reservoir setup. If doing 6 plants in 5 gal buckets how often will I have to refill the reservoir?
From what I've read on the subject this should really be helpful on the back.
Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...
I think alot of people run the nutes through them .
Keep is posted cause I been looking at em
 
shimz

shimz

vapest
Ran Blumats for years. You might have to change things up a bit versus drain to waste, I found.

For one thing, keeping salts from building up can be a problem unless you have lots of media (I was running 70 gallons of coco with these, indoors). I could to 3-5 runs by flushing and recycling the medium, but the last run would usually suffer. Keeping the EC low was key, 1-1.2 EC.

The other thing you might find is they like to clog with salt ferts vs. plain water. I fought this until I started being proactive about clearing the lines. To do this I would simply pull the spaghetti line through each carrot just a little every few days.

Another switch I made is pressurizing the nutrients. There was some expense involved, but it brought me from extreme frustration to just mild annoyance.

As long as I kept all that up I had pretty good success. By success, I mean 24oz per 3x3 under 600W of HID. I'm not gonna lie, it was a lot of work. I'm back to drain to waste and liking it more I must say.
 
SEBUD

SEBUD

Super Active Member
Thanks this is great info👨‍🎓. The drip clean seems straight forward but with my fast search all they talk about is using it as a flush at the end of the grow. Would you use it during the grow to control build up in the lines how much you would use in say a 5gal. bucket for control and how often if at allo_O

The blumat tensiometers do you use this as a control with cheaper units?
 
SCJedi

SCJedi

Synergist
I will post because I do both.

Indoors I run Jacks 3-2-1 through 9" carrots in 2 gallon peat pails DTW. Each put sits on a small, short stand that is meant to sit in a deep drain tray. They are gravity fed by a 27g HD tote that lasts for weeks.

Outdoors I have six 30 gallon smartpots. Each has one 5" carrot toward the interior of the pot, and a 9" carrot toward the outer edge. Each carrot is connected by about 3'-4' of BluSoak tape. This system is loop fed plain filtered, gravity-fed water by an elevated 55 galllon drum on a float switch.

I run Drip Clean through the indoor system once in a while but honestly do not think that I even need to. I have yet to see any kind of build up problems

There are some challenges. 1) As a plant goes into flowering and water demand goes up you have to dial up your microtubing drippers. 2) The microtubing kinks very easily, and 3) if you don't get them set up and tweaked well you will get what I would more commonly refer to as a "runaway". As in "Huh, why is there 27 gallons of water on the bottom of my tent?"

As mentioned above Blumats DTW is a little more of a challenge if your drain has minimal containment.

Other than that I'm not sure where these things have been all of my life. I have not had to hand or power water my outdoor pots all year and they are in 100% full northern California sun where we get 30-40 100*+ days a year.

I am happy to help answer questions here or via PM.
 
SCJedi

SCJedi

Synergist
Posting a follow up to state that the Blusoak cannot keep up with our hot, arid weather even covered in straw. I have to either add more carrots with drippers or put a pump and regular drippers in and keep the Blusoak as a backup in case I have a breaker trip like 2 years ago.
 
quiescent

quiescent

Super Active Member
Outdoors in the heat and intense sun you guys get I'd say just drippers would be the way to go. I think blumats are better for indoors or somewhere that gets regular rain, have to run 8 in a 100 gallon outdoors I bet. FWIW, indoors, I use 4 regular blumats T'd off for 8 total drip lines for 45 gallon smart pots.
 
SCJedi

SCJedi

Synergist
quiescent said:
Outdoors in the heat and intense sun you guys get I'd say just drippers would be the way to go. I think blumats are better for indoors or somewhere that gets regular rain, have to run 8 in a 100 gallon outdoors I bet. FWIW, indoors, I use 4 regular blumats T'd off for 8 total drip lines for 45 gallon smart pots.
Click to expand...
Indoors or out? I'm fine with one long carrot in 2g of coco indoors. Last year I ran two short and one long and one of the shorts had a string of 4 DDs on it. Still too dry in a 30g. This year one short inner and one long outer tied to drip tape wide ass open and still too dry. Its all covered with compost, EWC, and straw now so it only supplements...
 
Capt C

Capt C

Saltwater Cowboy
SCJedi said:
I will post because I do both.

Indoors I run Jacks 3-2-1 through 9" carrots in 2 gallon peat pails DTW. Each put sits on a small, short stand that is meant to sit in a deep drain tray. They are gravity fed by a 27g HD tote that lasts for weeks.

Outdoors I have six 30 gallon smartpots. Each has one 5" carrot toward the interior of the pot, and a 9" carrot toward the outer edge. Each carrot is connected by about 3'-4' of BluSoak tape. This system is loop fed plain filtered, gravity-fed water by an elevated 55 galllon drum on a float switch.

I run Drip Clean through the indoor system once in a while but honestly do not think that I even need to. I have yet to see any kind of build up problems

There are some challenges. 1) As a plant goes into flowering and water demand goes up you have to dial up your microtubing drippers. 2) The microtubing kinks very easily, and 3) if you don't get them set up and tweaked well you will get what I would more commonly refer to as a "runaway". As in "Huh, why is there 27 gallons of water on the bottom of my tent?"

As mentioned above Blumats DTW is a little more of a challenge if your drain has minimal containment.

Other than that I'm not sure where these things have been all of my life. I have not had to hand or power water my outdoor pots all year and they are in 100% full northern California sun where we get 30-40 100*+ days a year.

I am happy to help answer questions here or via PM.
Click to expand...
@SCJedi is the drip clean for a sterile system? Would it hurt the bennies like mycrohaze.
 
macsnax

macsnax

PICK YOUR OWN
So I know that people are wondering how blumats and certain nute lines work together. I just came across this, looks cheap enough whether or not it's effective enough idk. Anyone have any insight on this product? @Capt C check this stuff out. Seems like a bonus product with the enzymes keeping roots healthy, but I don't think it's a substitute for hydrogaurd either. Probably need to use both together.

Z7 Enzyme Cleanser, 8-Ounce https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A3YVVK6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_DkRxDb1A6MXBE
 
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