FloraFlex®: Drip Irrigation Hardware and Powdered Nutrients, and Two Checks to Run Before You Buy

developer · June 11, 2024, 10:54am

This section of the forum covers FloraFlex®. The name is used for two different product lines, and you can ask about both here. Below you will find what each line is, why the watering hardware affects your results, and two checks to run before you buy. The last part lists what to include when you post your setup.

Two product lines under one name

The first line is irrigation hardware. That means the parts that carry water from the pump to each pot:

Drippers: small emitters that release water slowly at the base of the plant.
Matrix units: top-feed units that sit directly on the growing medium in the pot. Water from the tubing runs through the unit onto a pad, and the pad spreads it across the surface of the pot.
Fittings: connectors that join the tubing and lines together.

The second line is a powdered nutrient programme. It is mixed in water and dosed by EC.

In 2026 the FloraFlex website lists QuickFill coco coir bags and dry nutrients, but not the irrigation parts above. Those parts are still sold by some resellers. When you post a question, say which line it is about. A watering problem and a feeding problem can look the same on the plant, so this tells readers where to start looking.

Why the watering hardware affects your results

How water reaches the pot changes what the plant gets. Good hardware does three things:

It spreads water evenly across the pot surface, so roots on every side get wet, not just one spot.
Every emitter gives the same flow, shot after shot.
It lets you water in short, frequent shots instead of one large soak per day.

These three things are what make crop steering possible. Crop steering means changing how much and how often you water, and how dry the medium gets between waterings. Growers use it to push plants toward leafy growth or toward flowering. If your emitters give uneven amounts, each pot dries at a different rate, and you cannot steer the crop as a group.

For this reason, this section deals with irrigation as much as with nutrition.

Translator’s note: Before you try crop steering, ask yourself what you want from it. You need to know the water volume per shot and the timing for every pot. Start with one line or a small group of plants. Keep the rest of the room on your usual schedule. Record shots per day, volume per shot and plant response for the whole run. You then compare the two groups under the same Thai room conditions before you change the whole crop.

Check 1: Measure the first and last pot on each line

Choose drip emitters by two figures: flow rate (usually in litres per hour) and the pressure range they are rated for. You will find both on the packaging or the maker’s specification sheet.

A line that is too long, or a pump that is too small, loses pressure along the way. The last pot on the line then gets less water than the first. The plants in those pots look underfed. Growers often change the nutrient mix, but the real problem is the water supply.

How to test it:

Pull the first dripper on a line out of its pot and put it in a measuring cup.
Do the same with the last dripper on that line.
Run one normal watering shot.
Compare the two volumes in millilitres. Repeat on each line.

The test shows whether every pot gets the same water. If the last cup holds clearly less, fix the pump size or the line length first. Change the nutrient mix only after that.

Translator’s note: Thai conditions add three common causes of uneven watering.

Blocked drippers. Tap water and well water can carry minerals, especially hard water, and sediment. These build up inside small emitters and partly block them. A partly blocked dripper looks exactly like a long line: one pot gets less. Fit a filter before the water reaches the drip line. Repeat the cup test at the start of every run, so you find blocked emitters before plants show symptoms.
Power cuts. Short outages are common in many areas, especially in the rainy season. A system that waters in short, frequent shots depends on the pump and controller running on time. Some timers reset their clock after a power cut. After any outage, check the controller time and when the last shot ran. That way you know whether plants missed water and can water them before they wilt. If outages are frequent where you grow, consider a battery backup unit (UPS, uninterruptible power supply), at least for the controller.
Hot solution. In rooms or greenhouses at 30–35 °C, the tank and tubing heat the nutrient solution. Warm solution holds less oxygen and favours root rot. Shade the tank and keep tubing out of direct sun. Measure the solution temperature at a dripper around midday. That tells you how warm the water really is when it reaches the roots. For options when the tank stays hot, see running hydroponics at 31 °C reservoir temperature.

Check 2: Get a reliable scale and a calibrated EC meter before using powdered nutrients

You mix powdered nutrients by weight into a known volume of water. You then check the strength against a target conductivity. Conductivity is shown as EC (electrical conductivity). It measures how much dissolved fertiliser salt is in the water.

That means you need two tools before your first mix: a scale that weighs small amounts reliably, and a calibrated EC meter. Without them, you cannot know if a mix is too strong or too weak.

What to do:

Check your scale with an object of known weight before each mixing session. This confirms the powder dose you weigh is the dose you meant.
Measure the water volume in the tank. Do not estimate it. The same powder dose gives a different strength in a different volume.
Calibrate the EC meter with calibration solution of a known value, following the meter’s instructions. This makes sure the number you read is the real strength. An uncalibrated meter can lead you to overfeed or underfeed the whole room.
Write down the powder weight, water volume and final EC of every batch. If plants react, you can trace the cause back to a specific batch.

Translator’s note: EC readings change with water temperature. Check that your meter has automatic temperature compensation, because Thai tank water is often warm. To buy FloraFlex products in Thailand, ask the official distributor in Thailand (see the shops listed in GrowShops in Thailand), or ask other members in Equipment and Supplies. If the products are hard to find, the two checks above work for any drip system and any powdered nutrient, including standard agricultural drip parts. Before you use any imported fertiliser, read how to verify a fertiliser is legally in Thailand.

What this section needs first: your setups and questions

This section has no reference articles yet. It needs setup photos and irrigation questions from growers first.

When you post, include these details so others can find the cause quickly:

A photo of the whole line, from the pump to the last pot.
Pump model and its rated flow, line length, and number of pots per line.
Emitter type and its rated flow.
Pot size and growing medium.
Shots per day and volume per shot.
EC of the solution going in, and EC of the runoff if you measure it.
Water source (tap, well, rain, filtered) and solution temperature.
Your cup-test results from Check 1.

Post your setup or question as a reply below this topic. If you are new to posting, read how to ask a growing question first.