Automatic irrigation considerations
 

I'm planning to set up some sort of automatic irrigation system in my small outdoor area that doesn't have a water outlet. Since I make my own RO water I was planning to use a bucket with a water pump as my water reservoir and simply fill it up whenever it's empty.

Any considerations about storing still water? Mainly my questions are: can I leave it mixed with fertilizer or do I need to connect an injector, do I need to worry about aeration, what about microbial growths?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Roberta does this. We can anticipate her reply. You need to screen it so mosquitos can't enter.

My RO unit fills a barrel, then I pull the water out with a pump. My setup utilizes a sprinkler controller, I'm working with bigger volumes. Same concept though... the only issue with water standing in the barrel is algae growth. I keep that under control by just wrapping the (semi-translucent) barrel (plastic 55 gallon drum) in black plastic to keep light out. I fertilize separately, a lot less often than I water. I think the only problem with putting fertilizer in the reservoir is that it is likely to grow algae faster. I have never had any problem with growing pathogens. If it's an open-topped bucket you would want to have some sort of cover over it when you're not actually using it. (Again, keep light out, and also leaves, bird poop, etc.) A 5-gallon bucket with a lid would probably work just fine. I think that you will use all the water in the bucket fast enough that algae really doesn't have time to get established. anyway.

I have a 5 gallon bucket set up with the mistking system. In the summer I put a weak fertilizer solution in with the RO water, it seems to be fine as long as there is a lid on the bucket (and it's a dark colored Lowes bucket).

Do those of you using pumps in buckets have a shutoff mechanism or run-dry pumps?

My setup is in a 55 gal drum not a bucket, but I definitely have a shutoff on the pumps with the RO water and the "effluent" drums that water the front lawn. (A switch that floats, when it goes vertical - no water - it kills the power) If you're running it without being in attendance, you need something order to not damage the pump if it goes dry.

---------- Post added at 12:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 PM ----------

Oh, I have never had a mosquito problem, but the water gets used pretty fast, doesn't sit around for more than a day or so. So it's moving and getting refreshed.