# Water system!!



## biothanasis (Jul 28, 2010)

Hello all,

I am thinking of creating a dripping sytem so that my plants are watered when I'll be gone for 2 weeks. I have noone available to water them for me, so I have to make sure they are properly watered.

I have figured out of makin a system with hose coming out of large containers and distributing water in form of droplets in the plants' pots, using adjustable screwable heads to contlor droplet amount/volume and (indirectly) drop time, but all day long and in everyday basis.

The question is, will this be ok or should specific requirements be met? Approximatelly how much water should a pot receive in a day? I have paphios (perlite+bark), phals (sponge-like medium), coelogyne (almost s/h), dendros (bark or s/h), catasetinae (s/h), cymbidiums (perlite+gravel) and some terrestrials (perlite+bark, or bark+leca).

Also I keep some miniatures mounted (neos, chiloschista, bulbos, haraella, tolumnia etc) in the tank (some are in pots with very coarse potting mix or sphagnum), which I haven't yet found a way how to keep them watered... Maybe put them in containers with leca & water and put them in touch with the leca???

I have fans blowing many hours a day and the temps usually stay near 30oC (+1.5oC, -3oC). Some of them are kept inside under lights and some outside. 

I would really appreciate any suggestion, instruction, help (moving inside, changing media etc).

Thank you in advance!!!!


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## NYEric (Jul 29, 2010)

Try the system, a slow drip shouldn't keep things water-logged. Also have a friend visit once to water plants, especially the mounts. Good Luck.


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## John Boy (Jul 29, 2010)

Interesting question. I’d be joining in, since I have similar issues with my collection and work life. Have you considered a fogging system to support the performance of a dripping system? I’m currently considering starting things this way around, since it would definitely help my mixed collection to be kept within a high humidity environment in the conservatory during the days. On the other side you could (cloud forest alike) send plants dripping wet into the morning, or even run the system throughout the night, so that plants have some time to dry up throughout the morning hours, before the fog comes back on around about midday to deal with maximum day time temperatures. So my approach in this moment in time is less of a watering kind, but more a balancing act…


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## NYEric (Jul 29, 2010)

I think he is an apartment grower!


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## biothanasis (Jul 29, 2010)

Hey, thank you for your suggestions.

I am an appartment grower indeed. The only fog I can provide is with ultrasonic device submerged into water, which produces fog....I might put this into the tank to support the mounted ones in water demand....!

I will try it for a week to see how it goes and I will distrurb you more if a problem occurs or if I have any success!!!

Thanks again!


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## Mrs. Paph (Jul 29, 2010)

Two weeks seems like an awful long time to depend on a makeshift system for...depending on the size of the collection you could buy one of the automated systems made for watering plants in just the way you described with little nozzles that you can adjust more or less depending on the pot size/water needs of each plant. I've used one in a pinch and set it on a digital timer, so that it pumped water to give everything a good drench every 3 days in the morning for a weeklong trip, and that worked out fine. I grouped smaller seedlings in a tray to hold the runoff water to give them access to the water longer and help with humidity, and the mounted ones I put into tupperwares so I could mound up LECA and put water in the bottom so that they were S/H-ish for a week, so that idea of yours does work well enough. Before the next trip I took though, the automated waterer clogged, so I was in a panic the day before leaving. I ended up putting every pot into a tupperware, seedlings into casserole dishes etc. and putting an inch of water in the bottom of it plus watering them in the trays before leaving, and they actually did fine like that for one week. I would re-evaluate your statement that you cannot find Anyone to water...they don't have to have a clue what they're doing for a week or two, just so long as they're coordinated enough not to knock down or drop things and they water every few days. As long as you're confident they won't steal from you, just leave them a note with the plants reminding them with something simple: water small pots & mounts every time you come (give dates and leave example empty S pot on table), water larger pots every other time you come (give dates). Poor watering habits for two weeks by a person are better than an automated system that could spring a leak and flood your plants and the floor on the first day and then not have any water for the rest of the time. Good luck with the plants, and I hope your travel goes well!


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