@matty777 i found an autopot post ive been reading up on from 2021. Hoping those people i tagged above will chime in shortly. They were all in that post and actively use autopot setups. Thats where im looking now to just double check on anything. Only other thing i found out so far are about the potsocks and root penetration
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If you get the air base you dont need the balls. They are a hassel I hear.
I dislike the potsock. I feel like the space between the pot and the sock is a haven for fungus gnats. Id wrather have one of the disks inside the fabric pot then the potsock. Suppose it would have to be large enough to cover the bottom and up the sides as tall as the rim of the tray to work correctly.
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Yeah i was just thinking about running my 5 gal rain science bags with clay pebbles in the bottom 1-2 inches and straight coco in the rest with no pot sock. Thought about the air base but its just cheaper right now to get the clay pebbles
Tell me more about this airbase. Iām gonna get one. I did t even know about them .
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I just found them on the auto pot website. Iām gonna order some for next run.
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Pretty simple really. Its a plastic insert that creates the drainage zone. No dealing with hydroton or sand. It even has a spot in the base for the airdome, and has an removable insert incase you dont use the airdome.
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I was gonna get without the airdrome but now Iām wondering if it might be worth getting.
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Just turned mine in cple days ago. They seem to like it. I think any addtl oxygen in the root zone is welcome.
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Iāve done both airdromes and expanded clay (hydroton). Now I just use coarse perlite as a base. The airdromes get clogged with roots and the clay needs to be thoroughly rinsed before using. I usually dump the used coco in a garden or use as a top dress for my lawn so the clay balls become an issue where the perlite just mixes with the soil. I havenāt noticed any difference between any of them as far as a benefit for the grow.
The push connects sound like a good idea. The connecters the system comes with are fairly fragile and tend to break when trying to disassemble for cleaning.
I donāt have any agitation for my reservoir and donāt really see a need for it unless youāre using organic products in your res.
Using Jackās, everything seems to stay fairly clean compared to other nutrient lines and also very stable as far as PH is concerned.
The top hat grommet is for your reservoir where the feed line comes out. The filter goes on inside and connects to the feed line.
Not sure what you mean by aqua valve. Each tray has its own aqua valve, do you mean the inline on/off valves? If so I have a shutoff valve about a foot after the feed line comes out of the reservoir and one for each tray for maintenance purposes. The 12gal reservoir should be enough for four pots but you could always add another 12 gal res or go for a single larger one. I personally would go with two because it would give you the ability to switch between nutrient needs throughout the grow. I will say once you get the Autopots set up and dialed for your grow itās almost like cheating, Autopots have really been a big upgrade for me the plants and myself are both happier and Iām getting much better grows than hand watering.
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Thanks for the reply @registereduser. I thought about chunky perilite but when hellraiser was still here he said inhaling that perilite dust really sucks and thats why he quit mixing it in his soil but on the flip side of the coin i also dump all my old coco out in the garden or backyard to fill holes around big exposed tree roots. I was wondering about the aqua valves because they have some setups with 1 aquavalve powering multiple pots in a commercial like setup so i was wondering if there was any difference between using 1 or multiple but if it comes with 4 for the 4 pot system i plan to use them all
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This is an aquavalve. It is the beating heart of the autopot watering system.
They make a few options for setup. One is a tray that is like 2x2 or something. A single aquavalve can run any size tray or ebb and flow table, really. Their modular system is built on same principles.
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I know what an Aqua valve is I just wasnāt sure on what OP was referring to. I thought he was referring to the inline valves on the hoses.
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I just got back from a long road trip so my brain is a bit friedā¦ it looks like most of your questions were answered.
Iāve tried large perlite, plastic golfballs and the airbases. So far I like the air base the best. When I use perlite I puncture a bunch of holes in the bottom of the bag then stick the garden hose in the top, it rinses it out pretty well.
Iāve tried to find some different lines/fittings but can never seem to get the right sizes so now I just stick with ap stuff and keep spare parts on hand.
Iāve had decent luck with the drawstring potsocks.
Iāll be firing a new grow up real soon and will run canna coco with perlite, airbase with air domes. Iāve also been using jacks with ro and my lines stay clean and ph is stable
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Can you define ph stable? Like does it stay whatever you set it at or just drifts slowly?
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My bad growmie.
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Using Jackās also. Like @Pinboy mentioned the PH with Jackās stays very stable for days. The drift is much slower than other brands Iāve used.
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@registereduser got ya.
I typically mix 3 gallons at a time because with my messed up back thatās about all I can comfortably carry upstairs. So what Iāll do is mix 3 gallons each day until the rez is almost full,then Iāll take 4 or 5 days off. The ph almost never drifts out of range and I think a bit of drift is a good thing anywayā¦ Another thing I forgot to mention is that I start adding silica about 3 weeks into veg and my ph comes out nearly perfect every time.
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I use silica also. Gives the plant strong branches.
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Thanks for answering my questions everyone! Iām hoping to make enough to last 3 days at a time. Iāll probably fill it with 5 gal the first time and see where it takes me with 4 plants. Still wondering how many times i should transplant if going to a 5 gal. Before when i used 5 gals i would start in a solo cup then go to 1 gal and then 5 gal. But im wondering if i dont just go from solo cup to 5 gal if it would be better? Also Iām going to try and use my rain science bags and see how that works for me. Im not sure if anyone has documented trying that yet on here?
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Iāll definitely be watching! Iām trying to decide between a custom small setup or the auto pots. I like the halos and top feeding but the thought of no pumps and no runoff is so hard to pass up
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