Is it possible to make an automated watering system using a fountain pump?

[mook1178]

How many trees?

I think the easiest way to set it up would be to use an under bed storage box, boxes, to put the trees in, and a larger one as your water reservoir with the pump.
Set it up as a flood and drain hydroponic system.
Small holes in the tree containers, that drain slower than the pump fills them, could be routed back to the reservoir.
Then all you need is to set the timer on the pump to not overfill the boxes.

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Sorce

I like this idea. Not sure why I missed it the first read through.

It would be an ebb and flow hydroponic system and once setup, all you would have to do is change the water every now and then. I would probably just leave it setup. I have so many orchids and now adding bonsai, I might do this for myself...

 

[sorce]

TEST IT THOROUGHLY BEFORE DEPENDING ON IT.

Worth repeating.

Sorce

 

[Wood]

considering I live on the 17th floor, an intruder coming through the balcony door isn’t super high on my list of worries.

I'd be more concerned about offering pigeons a wind-free and insulated home that high up

 

[Maiden69]

You can use a utility or sump pump that has a manual/automatic switch with a hose end timer. A regular water fountain pump could be used without a hose end time by adding a power supply timer instead to turn the pump on/off, like you would turn a light fixture on/off. I don't know if a water fountain pump would have enough flow (GPM) to run a watering system, but I guess it depends on the amount of trees that you have.

As mentioned before, a flood/drain system would work as well, but you still need a timer for it, and you could get creative instead of flooding, you could use mini sprinklers/drippers/spitters to deliver the water and have big trays below your trees to collect the water and dump back into the reservoir.

 

[IndianaVX]

If you are not visualizing what is being said here, this is a decent video showing the concept. Pay attention around the 7:30 mark of the video for the actual flood and drain, or ebb and flow. I didn't look to see where he got his parts for this, bot don't over complicate it! All of this could be made with a trip to the hardware store.
Another example to help you would be to take the lid off of your toilet..... if you held the plunger down to start the water coming into the tank, it won't flood over because there is the overflow tube that takes the excess water down into your toilet (think reservoir) . So imagine your trees sitting in the toilet tank. Your timer goes off, starts filling your tank to the height you set the overflow (think top of your bonsai pot). So the pump runs for 5 or 10 minutes (set by the timer) pump shuts off, and water runs into the toilet (reservoir)
You will have to play around with drilling holes somewhere to drain all the water out of your tub that has your trees in it. Going back to the toilet, imagine drilling a couple of small holes at the base of the overflow tube. When the water supply stops, those holes would let the water drain into the toilet so the tank would Ave very little water in it. You will also need to figure out a filter of some sort around those holes so they don't get clogged with moss or other debris that may come loose from the pots during the flood process, like a couple Brillo pads wrapped around the tube. I say brillo pad....you know those stainless or copper scratchy pads for washing dishes.

I've made all kinds of these days systems, and if I were closer, we could knock one out pretty quickly. Just get some stuff, put it together and test it. If it doesn't do what you want, think about why it's not, and fix it so it does! it's not a hard concept, don't over think it, and if you do start over thinking, go back and look at the toilet.
Hope this helps! I'll keep an eye on this thread for any other questions

 

[RJG2]

So far I think @sorce has the best idea for a beginner friendly setup, and you would need to worry about running out of water either.

If repeated flooding is an issue for any of your tree species, you could split the difference with the same general setup but the top part for the trees drains freely, and use the rotating sprayer heads for the drip type system you originally thought of. As a bonus there, if the trees are enclosed in a plastic bin, you'll only need a few or just one larger sprinkler to water every tree.

I'd start with the big plastic storage tubs, no lids necessary but you might get them anyway in case you have need of them in the future. Get 2 stackable ones of the same dimensions, except one two or three times as deep to be the reservoir. Cut/drill your drain holes in the shallow one, set it on top of your reservoir. A small pond pump would do it for moving the water. Get one rated for a pond the size of your reservoir, or something with an adjustable rate. Ask at your local garden or hydroponic shop, and they'll be able to help you. If you want to try the drip line sprayers, find one already made for a 1/4 inch line. Any decent plugin timer will do for turning your water on and off.
TEST IT THOROUGHLY BEFORE DEPENDING ON IT.

You could cut just a few drain holes and use some PVC to make fittings that allow for adjustable drain rates, but that'd take you a bit further down the diy rabbit hole. As would skipping the timer and in stead using a float valve.
I only mention these to point out how far you can go fairly easily. Projects like these can become an obsession of their own once you get going.
Enjoy!

And if you need the name of fittings to connect the two, I would use a "bulkhead fitting" for the holes in the tub and screw on a "barb fitting" to attach the drain hose to the reservoir.

 

[IndianaVX]

A little clarification on the holes that are covered by the brillo pads at the base of the overflow. A little experiment will have to take place. The pump you get should have enough GPM (Gallons per minute) to get to the top of the overflow even with the couple of small holes at the base of the overflow.
You might also consider sitting the pots on some lava rock like in the video, or something, so that if there IS any standing water that doesn't get drained, your pots/root won't be constantly be in contact with that standing water for 2 weeks

 

[jradics]

Go to Ewing irrigation or Site One. Maybe there will be someone there who will help you design a system. They have the materials just whether or not they have the motivation to help is the question

Hey everyone! I will be going in and out of town for varying amounts of time over the next few months, so I’m trying to put together an automated irrigation system, but the caveat is that I live in an apartment and do not have access to a hose faucet.

I have honestly been losing my mind because I had no idea how I was gonna pull this off until I remembered that water pumps exist. I don’t have a crazy amount of trees at the moment but all are in (mostly) aggregate soil, so a drip system is pretty much out of the question. I would need to use those little sprinkler heads that you stake into the soil.

I am just about the least handy person on the planet, so while I can conceptualize this in my head, I have no idea how to actually execute. I don’t even really know what most of the parts that I need in order to put this together are called, so I have a few questions:

1) how powerful of a pump would I need to pull this off? My balcony is about 12 feet long and 10 feet wide. There are shelves lining the entirety of the front and sides.

2) there will be a few instances where I’ll be gone for up to 2 week periods at a time, so for the sake of not running out of water and needing to buy a super powerful pump, I assume it would be a better, more budget friendly idea to buy 2 or 3 smaller, less powerful pumps/water reservoirs than just one giant reservoir and a beast of a pump (?)

3) can someone provide a list of the names of the parts I’ll need for this and maybe give me a rough idea of how to actually execute this and/or point me to a reliable resource?

I feel like I remember seeing a post on here where someone detailed their step-by-step process of creating an irrigation system with the small staked in sprinklers and tubing like I’m trying to do, but I can’t find it and I’m pretty sure they had access to a hose faucet.

Bit of a long post, so thanks for reading through. Any and all advice/help would be greatly appreciated!