Indoor drainage system ideas?

[FiggieSmalls]

Hey folks,

I've just constructed a grow tent that I intend to use for intensive care and to house tropicals during winter etc.

My next step is to figure out what to do about excess water/runoff in the tent, since my current (temporary) solution is to a) give the plants less water and b) use a towel after...

Once I get my drainage system worked out, I want to set up an automated watering system.

I was doing some research and discovered something hydroponics growers use called a "flood and drain" system. This involves a pump to actively drain water from a tray below the plants into a reservoir. It sounds ideal, but I'm not sure it'll be suitable for my purposes since it is supposed to be part of a hydroponics setup. Maybe it doesn't drain entirely, or maybe the pump would not work where soil is involved.

I could simply drill a hole into a tray, attach some rubber tubing onto the hole, and let the water drain away into a bucket for convenient removal. But I would be relying on gravity to do the work, which is workable but may be limiting. Another option would be to fill some cloth sacks with super absorbent material (as in a diaper) and just leave them at the bottom of the tent to absorb water. That feels silly but idk, maybe it would work...

Anyway, I was wondering if anybody has any suggestions!

Thanks,
Figgie

 

[RJG2]

I use a condensate pump to pump my runoff into a drainage trap (same trap my furnace condensate pump goes to).

But yes, you would need a raised tray with tubing to go to the pump. I posted my setup somewhere, I'll look for it.

 

[RJG2]

Found it:

Recommendations for indoor watering??

Finally got around to getting this started. Basically, just using an aquarium bulkhead fitting. Draining into a bucket right now, but will add a utility pump to pump the overflow to a drain trap. The setup with the buckets is what I'm trying this year. Definitely beats having to move...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[FiggieSmalls]

Found it:

Recommendations for indoor watering??

Finally got around to getting this started. Basically, just using an aquarium bulkhead fitting. Draining into a bucket right now, but will add a utility pump to pump the overflow to a drain trap. The setup with the buckets is what I'm trying this year. Definitely beats having to move...

www.bonsainut.com

Nice!!!

Unfortunately I don't have a good place to set up next to a drain and/or hose connection... so I'll have to use a bucket for my setup (both for drainage and for any automatic watering setup). That is a big part of the challenge for me which makes me debate how much automation is worth it.

That said this is a very useful thread you sent!
Maybe I can use those bootstrap farms trays to hold water (with trees elevated) and attach some kind of drainage spout to drain them every few days instead of every time I water. Without a proper hose and drain any system I implement is gonna require significant upkeep... Anyway, getting set up with those trays seems like a good place to start! Thanks

Figgie

 

[19Mateo83]

Nice!!!

Unfortunately I don't have a good place to set up next to a drain and/or hose connection... so I'll have to use a bucket for my setup (both for drainage and for any automatic watering setup). That is a big part of the challenge for me which makes me debate how much automation is worth it.

That said this is a very useful thread you sent!
Maybe I can use those bootstrap farms trays to hold water (with trees elevated) and attach some kind of drainage spout to drain them every few days instead of every time I water. Without a proper hose and drain any system I implement is gonna require significant upkeep... Anyway, getting set up with those trays seems like a good place to start! Thanks

Figgie

If you are are thinking about setting up a flood table style system @cmeg1 is the man to talk to about that.

 

[FiggieSmalls]

If you are are thinking about setting up a flood table style system @cmeg1 is the man to talk to about that.

I have seen several of his posts, actually! The hydroponic-style systems are intriguing, but it seems like their application to bonsai is mostly for propagation, right? And I have been dabbling with it, actually... but I think I've finally accepted that I have too many trees at the moment for constraints of time and space, and considering that I'll inevitably go out of my way to acquire more!!

But some day I'll have a yard with good exposure to sun and a sprinkler system...
That'll be the day.

 

[FiggieSmalls]

To update my current situation, I have now set up trays to catch overflow, with my trees elevated on bricks within the trays. I don't really have to worry about draining excess water now, because it's contained and will evaporate away as long as I didn't really overdo it.

I've also shifted a few of my larger trees into bigger pots (letting them grow out) and potted them into FoxFarm's Coco Loco. I know some purists won't approve because it's not bonsai soil, but now these trees can easily go a week between waterings so I don't have to worry if I go on vacation for example. But many of my trees would not fare so well without water for 1wk...

Any good threads on band-aid solutions to keep trees alive while unattended for 1-2wks?

Thanks <3
Figgie