How to deal with runoff water in 10 gallon smart pot

[Sawyerbomb33]

Hey guys can i get a few ideas on how to deal with runoff?
like is there a do it yourself solution to raising the plant above my saucer or should i try a small shop vac?
i dont have a shop vac yet id have to buy one and trying to spend as little money as possible, im regretting using a pot this big, the plant is very heavy after watering and i have just been letting it reabsorb the waste water within a day or

Hey guys can i get a few ideas on how to deal with runoff?
like is there a do it yourself solution to raising the plant above my saucer or should i try a small shop vac?
i dont have a shop vac yet id have to buy one and trying to spend as little money as possible, im regretting using a pot this big, the plant is very heavy after watering and i have just been letting it reabsorb the waste water within a day or two

I have 4 plants in 7 gallon pots with a scrog net. The the saucers I use are about an inch larger in diameter than the smart pots . The best option for me was a shop vac with a long extension. 10 % runoff with 7 gallon pots is a lot of water and weight so it really helped speed up the time and energy used.

 

[Hdinkleman]

didnt realize how cheap they were, i thought thwy were 100+ like a house vacuum, and being they do water i was thinking it would be 200+ ! lol
just going to get a small one, wont be too big to store and i can find a spot for it in my apartment.
yes i have been giving this girl 4 gallons at a time. i think i may cut it down to just 3.5 next watering and see how much run off i get, maybe i can get away with a little less

 

[Sawyerbomb33]

I get a good runoff from putting 2 gallons through the 7 gallon pot. Depends a lot on soil quality tho.

 

[thebigearl]

I made square frames with square rack on top to place the pots on. Which sit in trays. Any runoff for now I'll probably just leave to help with humidity in veg.

 

[Barney86]

Spoke to you before buddy and was about to jump in with my 50pence.
then had a quick check what you're growing in. Canna terra pro.
First couple lines of the description it says. "Purest possible potting mix"
Even though it's got multiple ingredients and pH buffering additives that will ultimately cause nothing but drama.
Nothing pure about it.
In a pure media you don't really need to remove the run off. providing you know how to feed, the pH and ppm of the run off will be the same as what goes in. Just make sure light isn't hitting it and you can flood feed no worries. Hempy style kinda thing.

 

[Hdinkleman]

Spoke to you before buddy and was about to jump in with my 50pence.
then had a quick check what you're growing in. Canna terra pro.
First couple lines of the description it says. "Purest possible potting mix"
Even though it's got multiple ingredients and pH buffering additives that will ultimately cause nothing but drama.
Nothing pure about it.
In a pure media you don't really need to remove the run off. providing you know how to feed, the pH and ppm of the run off will be the same as what goes in. Just make sure light isn't hitting it and you can flood feed no worries. Hempy style kinda thing.

i was originally thinking along those lines. i had some thought a while ago that my roots would start to grow out of the smart pot itself.
all in all though i can buy the shop vac and im going to elevate it a tad, just for good practice if anything.
the fungus gnats probably love the dampness, and even though it probably was in the mix, my bottom roots sitting in that runoff water probably didnt help the problem.
im getting the same leaf issues i was writing about before so getting out of the runoff wont hurt anyways.
but thanks for the responses everyone

 

[pontiacman]

You could place two or three bricks between the pot and drainage saucer. This will make absorbing/cleaning the runoff a bit easier.

I did the same thing when I started out. Then plastic risers and now, 2x4 trays on carts. Risers are pretty cheap. I'd give you some if I could.

 

[Old Salt]

Another thing that makes "sucking" the water out easily is, elevate the back of the tent a couple of inches higher than the front. Use old scrap plywood, and put it under the tent. This way, the water will run to one area, and you have an easier/quicker time removing it.

Elevating the back of the tent won't work, as the bottom is flexible enough to stay flush with the floor. I use shingles to tilt the plant trays a little.

 

[Captain Cannabis]

Elevating the back of the tent won't work, as the bottom is flexible enough to stay flush with the floor. I use shingles to tilt the plant trays a little.

It's not flexible, if you put plywood under the tent, as I suggested.

 

[MickFoster]

 

[George Mc]

yep there is one in the next town over, sweet if its that cheap it will solve the entire problem right there, awesome

Bucket Head 5 Gallon 1.75 Peak HP Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum Powerhead with Filter Bag and Hose (compatible with 5 Gal. Homer Bucket) BH0100 - The Home Depot

The Bucket Head Wet/Dry Vac Powerhead can be used to turn a The Home Depot brand 5 gal. multi-use bucket (sold separately) into a powerful wet dry vacuum. The powerhead features a 1.75 peak horsepower

www.homedepot.com

 

[bluenoserjoe]

A flood tray is sure the safe way to go, no worries, especially for apartment dwellers.

 

[John Wick]

If you want to go lo budget,and have the time,a turkey baster or 2 will work to suck the water out.

I second the turkey baster. Spend the money you save on seeds and lights!

 

[John Wick]

I use a four gallon milk crates, sturdy as heck.

 

[Hdinkleman]

i purchased a 1 gallon wetdry vac from walmart for 20$ !!!
and a couple bricks from the hardware store, should be all set now!
im psyched, i am 10000% doing scrog next grow now, now that i am able to deal with the waste water issue, that was my main hang up not doing scrog because i didnt know wtf to do lol

 

[Sawyerbomb33]

Good luck. Post pics.

 

[Hdinkleman]

 

[Nunyabiz]

They make pot elevators for this reason.
I am assuming I cant link anything here so just Google pot elevator and you will see various sizes of round black plastic grids that are perfect for raising the pots up.

I grow in 25 gallon fabric pots and have them on pot elevators and I grow in a bathtub so all excess drains right out and straight down the drain.
If you're not in a real bathtub then the next best is a tub floor the same size as your tent which I believe someone mentioned above.

And fabric pots are way WAY better than any plastic pot, the only plastic pots that are remotely close IMO are airpots.
Anyone not using fabric pots are handicapping their grow substantially.

 

[Hdinkleman]

They make pot elevators for this reason.
I am assuming I cant link anything here so just Google pot elevator and you will see various sizes of round black plastic grids that are perfect for raising the pots up.

I grow in 25 gallon fabric pots and have them on pot elevators and I grow in a bathtub so all excess drains right out and straight down the drain.
If you're not in a real bathtub then the next best is a tub floor the same size as your tent which I believe someone mentioned above.

And fabric pots are way WAY better than any plastic pot, the only plastic pots that are remotely close IMO are airpots

i watered the other day with the smartpot in bricks and used the wet vac

it worked great, it might just be me but i feel like the bottom of the pot being elevated allows the bottom to dry out as well and get more surface area for the roots.
im definitely going to scrog next grow one plant scrog and completely fill my tent, right now its only probably 50% full with no scrog

 

[Nunyabiz]

i watered the other day with the smartpot in bricks and used the wet vac

it worked great, it might just be me but i feel like the bottom of the pot being elevated allows the bottom to dry out as well and get more surface area for the roots.
im definitely going to scrog next grow one plant scrog and completely fill my tent, right now its only probably 50% full with no scrog

Anything to raise it is better than not raising it at all, however you want to use something that's as free flowing as possible like a grate, rack, so that as much air as possible reaches the surface of the pot bottom.
I grow two plants and fill up a SCROG in a 2.5' x 5' space.