Had a million questions, but after reading posts (especially @Nicky ) just have a couple.
So I’ve had three grows in coco/perlite (50/50) in 3 gal air pots (to limit plant size) using GH liquid nutes and these have been wonderful grows. Except I don’t have an automatic watering system and fertigating 3-4 times a day when the plants get big is a pain.
About to start a new grow but will have 2-3 times where I’ll be away. So I can either get a watering system (about $100) or drop $200+ on autopots for one of my tents. I’m wondering if people have a strong opinion either way.
To me, with fertigation, I can control runoff/root zone EC better and I can easily flush before harvest or if I have EC issues. Pain is even if I get a watering system I need to be around every 2-3 days to get rid of runoff (or create some kind of collection system besides cut-off gallon jugs). You can see my set-up below from last grow where I drain into the jug, lol.
Autopots intrigue me because it seems like I have a bit less every day maintenance and I don’t worry about the runoff. Plus they will give me about a foot more vertical space in the tent.
I love my auto pots and coco, for me it is way worth the money especially if using coco,. Im using jacks 321 and 100% coco with a few inches of hydroton at the bottom. Mix nutes every 4 or 5 days and check water in level daily and they have always been right on.
I would highly recommend happy hydro auto pots to anyone that grows in coco. Great customer service, great product.
I would also advise to have some extra 3/8 tubing if you go with happy hydro and a couple of extra valves, i recieved one valve and about 5’ of tubing wich wasnt enough, needed a few extra feet of tubing and bought a couple of valves from home depot. Also added some emergency drip trays in case of leakage at res and each autopot.
Tips w/autopots. #1 fabric pots allow for alot of moisture to be released into the air. If you have a tent full of buds this can be alot. I wish I had gone plastic vs fabric for indoor use.
#2 a small aquarium wave maker works very well to agitate and keep res moving. Cheaper (to buy and to run) and cooler running then a water pump. Highly recommend one.
#3 follow autopots reccomendations for use. Specificly on substrate consistancy and giving time for roots to develop inside pot before turning system on. 3 weeks from seed and two weeks from transplant.
#4 look to autopotamus on instagram for inspiration! Guy knows how to use his system! He doesnt do free advice often however. Tried to get me to pay him 1800.00 to teach me… Hard pass.
#5 push your plants during flower. I was able to push into 1200+ ppm when feeding my plants during flower. Slowly ramped it up from onset of flower. At work we drip feed at 3.1 EC (1500+ ppm) on avg. Lots room for experimentation.
#6 water only last 1 to 2 weeks for best results. (IMO)
Prolly got more but thats the top of my head right there. Happy growing!
@Docnraq on tip #2. You obviously have way more experience with these and would absolutely agree to not use an aquarium pump, i tried it, caused my res to heat up and made it cloudy, now i’ve been just stirring the res up daily with a measuring stick, ill have to look into one of these wavemakers, not exactly sure what it is, i assumed it just meant like a power head i used in salt water tanks!
I agree with the tips mentioned. I have the cloth pots and my humidity in tent is slightly higher than last year as @Docnraq mentioned, but manageable. I do use a wave maker on a timer in the reservoir and keep a fan blowing on the reservoir. I previously did 3 soil grows. The time savings from hand watering and removing runoff to just mixing a bucket of nutes and dumping in reservoir is what I appreciate. My current autoflower run. These are in 60/40 coco perlite.
Appreciate the input, suggestions & pictures. Watched a bunch more videos including autopotamus and I really don’t see any downside, aside from parting with about $259 for complete setup. Got one more coco/perlite/airpot grow and thinking I’ll switch to airpot system if my gracious employer (LOL) comes through with bonus money this fall.
This will at least help me break the chain of having to be home all the time during grows that is pissing off the wife. Think I’ll try the crystal meth that’s been curing to celebrate!
