Halo or drip system for coco?

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Hello grow friends I’m just wondering if anyone has success with this? Being in coco I fertigate daily to runoff. It’s a weekly feed schedule and I have an idea as well as the materials in the shed to DYI getting my feed to the plants, but perhaps there is a specific halo brand or a sweet tube set up to ensure an even soak at the pot? I’m a DYI’ing fanatic so there’s no question I’m gonna try my plan, but it actually working would be pretty groovy too so I’m open for any suggestions. Thanks for your time and happy growing. :cheers:
 
Hello grow friends I’m just wondering if anyone has success with this? Being in coco I fertigate daily to runoff. It’s a weekly feed schedule and I have an idea as well as the materials in the shed to DYI getting my feed to the plants, but perhaps there is a specific halo brand or a sweet tube set up to ensure an even soak at the pot? I’m a DYI’ing fanatic so there’s no question I’m gonna try my plan, but it actually working would be pretty groovy too so I’m open for any suggestions. Thanks for your time and happy growing. :cheers:
I've used the hydro halos with good success. You will need valves for each one so you can adjust them. I've also heard making a loop in your line will help equalize your pressure. Shorter the line the more efficient your pump will be with them.

If you want to DIY it all cocoforcannabis has a setup that is easy to copy. I made my own custom bases but copied everything else on there for an auto drain to waste system and its all been working flawlessly for over a year now. Everything drains automatically into a 20 gal trashcan outside my tent.
 
I didn't have good luck with the halos. Much better luck with drippers. Here's my drip setup and parts list
 
Honestly if I were to do it over again I really like the floraflex system @Dale's Proper Bud uses. They're technically drippers if I remember right. Looks really high quality.
Yup was going to post up in here tonight:d5: very happy and just order more :thumbsup:
 
So I guess I can do it now… I use the round floraflex caps with my own grow bags… I am very happy with them they do a excellent job of distributing the feed while helping hold some moisture in the pots… best thing about them is they are dishwasher safe makes cleaning super easy :cooldance: I feed the caps with(2) .5gph pressure compensating drip emitters… during flower when plants are drinking the most I bump them up to 1 gph I didn’t think I was getting enough feed with the .5’s once they got older.

I did use the little 3 “ matrix rings in a attempt for solo’s but couldn’t get a even distribution they would only feed out of a couple holes in the ring but I did not have a loop system like @Dankerson mentioned I also have heard same thing but can’t wrap my head around it and haven’t found pics that make since in how to plumb a loop system

Before you ask I only the the caps, clips, and drip emitter from floraflex the rest of my irrigation parts were bought at Lowe’s for standard drip irrigation setups except pumps are bought on Amazon since theyremuch cheaper there:thumbsup:

Here this thread has where I started using the caps



This is my current run with them in progress now


if I missed anything don’t be afraid to ask but I may not have the answer still working bug out of my system…

@Olderfart had done some very nice work some DIY drip rings maybe he’ll chime in but think he has had some issue with them recently as we have all had :thumbsup::d5:
 
I am making things work, but am on about Mark III with the solos. The problem with the solos is first, not overwatering them from the same pump the big pots are on, and second, distributing the nute mix early on when it does not pool on the top of the medium because the medium is plugged with roots.

I dealt with the distribution hassle by putting a synthetic cloth sleeve over the DIY halo. The cloth prevents the water from shooting out in one spot under each hole, and may help get it around the pot a bit. It looks like this will be my go to unless one of the smallest square Floraflex caps will work on a solo, which it might if my initial size estimation is good. The other thing I have now confirmed with my solo mischief is that I have to leave enough head room above the medium to contain a full dose of nutes. The problem is that with some solo plants, the roots eventually get so dense in the pot that water takes a long time to penetrate to the point of runoff - much longer than a normal fertigation cycle for less tight pots. So, if mixing pots sizes, sometimes solos will flood over the top unless headroom will contain an entire dose of nutes. This issue has so far happened with two of the half dozen or so solos I have grown, and it ain't easily fixed any way other than more headroom. An alternative is a separate pump and timer for the solos, but I am trying not to do that.

The bigger rings on the big pots are working fine as far as I can tell, all the big pots on auto watering are thriving, so it seems that the cloth sleeve that I put on the solo rings may not be helpful in the larger pots, at least not for distribution of water around the pot. The sleeves also keep medium from splashing onto the rings and being siphoned into the holes though...

All considered though, if I stick with the current pot setup for the next grow, I will see if one of the round floraflex caps will work on my large pots. They solve the medium getting into the halo holes, they distribute the water well around the pot, they keep the top of the medium moist, and I would not need emitters to supply them because I have tube clamps on the supply lines to adjust the amount of nute mix to send to each pot. All I would need is the clips that hold a 1/4" tube to the tray on each side. At this point, I don't even use clamps on the supply lines to the large pots. Feed to the large pots is adjusted exclusively with the timer on the pump. Once the feed to the big pots is sorted, I use tube clamps to reduce the feed to solos to the appropriate runoff. The basic setup is working just fine with one pump, as long as feed to the solos can be reduced with valves, or in my case, tube clamps.

Happy fertigation peeps. :bighug: :pighug:
 
I didn't have good luck with the halos. Much better luck with drippers. Here's my drip setup and parts list
I almost went for hydro halos, and would have if I had found a decent price. I made them instead, and am using them in my current grow. DIY halos worked well last year with solos, so now the whole grow is set up with automatic top irrigation with DIY halos.

However, I will likely be giving up on them for full sized pots. The holes plug, even in my DIY ones, likely due to splashing of the medium and subsequent siphoning of particles into the holes. Also, on a good sized halo (say 6 inches or so), one side usually emits a fair bit more liquid than the other, at least it does with my DIY ring, and I have heard the same complaint in online reviews of the HydroHalo.

At any rate, I will likely be going to Floraflex caps for my full sized pots next time around. They can't plug if set up without emitters, they keep the surface of the medium moist, and according to growers who use them, they do an excellent job of distributing nutes through the entire pot. And they go in the dishwasher to get cleaned according to one of our cherished members here.

There is more than one way to do this stuff, but if automated top irrigation is a grower's thing, Cocoforcannabis is where to figure out how to do it. At last report, they had gone from distributed emitters in each pot to halos, but the online halo reviews and my experience with my DIY ones persuade me to do something else. :pighug:
 
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