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Self watering recirculating pot for outside

gill_za

Never Knows Best
Going on vacation soon and was not sure what to do with the pot I have setup outside.
The pot initially started as something suggested on here but instead of the elaborate connection for the overflow it had a tube that I fastened to the pot itself and used to “regulate” water level.
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Paul Milauskas ( @<a href="http://www.terraforums.com/forums/members/6929.html" target="_blank">GrowinOld</a> ) posted this some time ago:
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So with a little addon the watering problem could easily be solved.
A solar pump was fixed within the second slightly smaller container that will serve as a water reservoir (holds about 3gal) and a base for the top pot.
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I used the aluminum tape to hold both the wire from the solar cell and the tubing from the pump. This might potentially present a problem with aluminum contaminating the water. I plan on checking the TDS periodically and replacing water often.

After that the top pot just sits on the reservoir and the drain from the top is fed back into the reservoir.
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Three bubblers are used to try and evenly-ish water the soil in the pot. The pump in this setup is not very strong so the tops were removed from each bubbler.
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And this is how the entire thing looks like:
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Video of the pump in action:

Sorry for the phone camera images.
 
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Very nice. Do you have the water flow set on a timer (intermittent on/off) or is it flowing all the time?
 
Nothing elaborate. Continuous flow. It is not a very strong flow either. I'll record a video of it in action and will post it here.
 
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I like it, wish I had done something similar for the bog. Keeping the bog, pools, and trays watered when away for more than a few days at a time can be very challenging when relying on non-CP people to keep up with it.
 
Nice work. By the way, your phone camera is better than my actual camera.
 
I have been returning late home lately and by that time the sun is behind the trees. The pump only runs under direct sunlight. After about a week the TDS so far is only 10ppm. We are expecting rain tomorrow so I doubt I will be able to make a recording showing it run :( I'm actually pleasantly surprised the solar panel or even the whole setup hasn't been stolen yet hehe
 
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How insecure is your backyard?
 
Completely insecure as I live in a condo and don't have a backyard :) I do have some questionable characters for neighbors hehe and disappearing packages are not out of ordinary here.
 
That's insecure alright.
 
  • #10
Where did you get the solar pump?
 
  • #11
Harbor Freight. it was $17.99 1.2W 7v Solar powered fountain pump.There are similar ones on amazon.
 
  • #12
It's amazing the things you can find in that store.
I gave up on my cobra Lilly project but this would be perfect. Might have to revisit it.
 
  • #13
Just keep in mind that that pump is rather weak, so use enough tubing but not too much and dont make the setup too tall :)
 
  • #14
I have been considering a similar setup for my cobra lilies as well. I've seen one other person's setup of cobra lilies and he uses a solar pump for them and it works well.
 
  • #15
Updated first post with video.
 
  • #16
I think $17.99 is a bit of a rip-off. I got several from Amazon last year for under £6 each ($9.00) I have 4 of them running in large Darlingtonia seedling trays.
I also carry spares which so far have not been necessary.

It's a different story with the solar air pumps. I only have one working from 3 bought ( 2 refunded)
 
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  • #17
I was looking for a quick fix not a bargain price ;)

But yeah, there are cheaper solutions probably.
 
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  • #18
The quick fix would have been to stand the pot in a large tray of water. :-O
 
  • #19
Live in a condo, strict rules here. I am already getting dirty looks for a tray with VFTs. Ppl complained it will breed mosquitoes.
 
  • #20
Aren't there dunks to prevent that? ( I don't mean dunking the people to stop them complaining)

Edit:- I've had a few minutes to think about it and I reckon that second idea isn't too bad :devil:
 
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