New to autopot any help would be appreciated !!

[Gal1987]

Hi everyone I'm normally a soil grower hand fed but recently I thought I would try out an 8pot 25l autopot system..but just a few questions!!
I take it coco is best to grow in for the autopot..but from cutting do I pot straight into big pots or move up pot size if so do I use coco in the smaller pots? And what would be all the best nutes as all I have ever used is all canna range and follow there charts..any advise on the whole system would be appreciated

 

[pop22]

Root your clones in jiffy pellets or rockwool cubes. When they have good roots, transplant straight into your coco. Hand water until the canopy is almost as wide as the pot. by then, you'll have a good root system and can start feeding from the res.

You can use about any nutes. Remove the filter in the tank every couple of weeks and clean it. every 4-6 weeks, take off the lines and flush with water. If you ever notice even slight wilting in your plants, check the aqau valves to see if any are getting solution, if not, clean the lines. I use a semi-organic nutrient and only had one minor clog.

If you like bottled nutes, Canna Coco is fine. I used Grow More Sea Grow 16-16-16 and ran it the whole grow. Here's a pic of my Sweet Trainwreck:

 

[Chunky Stool]

Root your clones in jiffy pellets or rockwool cubes. When they have good roots, transplant straight into your coco. Hand water until the canopy is almost as wide as the pot. by then, you'll have a good root system and can start feeding from the res.

You can use about any nutes. Remove the filter in the tank every couple of weeks and clean it. every 4-6 weeks, take off the lines and flush with water. If you ever notice even slight wilting in your plants, check the aqau valves to see if any are getting solution, if not, clean the lines. I use a semi-organic nutrient and only had one minor clog.

If you like bottled nutes, Canna Coco is fine. I used Grow More Sea Grow 16-16-16 and ran it the whole grow. Here's a pic of my Sweet Trainwreck:

View attachment 3674018

Nice plant!
Sea grow bloom works great too. Why are you running only veg nutes?

 

[pop22]

Just to see for myself how well or not it would work....lol! I question everything and test ideas, as there are a lot of myths in the grow community.

Nice plant!
Sea grow bloom works great too. Why are you running only veg nutes?

 

[pop22]

I'm going to do soil in them next, should be a breeze with organic soil and bottom watering!

 

[Thc247]

hey there
great to hear of another auto pot grower i will try to narrow down the key points with auto's
prob some more inportant than others but il just put my 5 pence in now if it helps then great if not then not to worry but here goes
autopots are really great for us lazy ass growers but i have found that there is alot more prep work goes in to these than normal hand watering pots and i will try to list everything i can think of to help
i will list the points but not neccesarily in order of inportance ....
Inline filter - inbetween the res and your pots to catch shit and slime from blocking your valves
airstone and airpump in res constantly mixing your nutes and feed
1 1/2 inch clay pebbles in bottoms of pots what u have soacked in ph stable water to stabalise the ph of the clay balls
copper root disks facing up in trays under pots
black plain materiel disks in pots at bottom to help stop crap from falling through pots and causing blockages in trays
using a mix of 50/50 perlite with either soil or coco
hand water the pots for around 10 days to let cuttings establish roots in pots before putting the system on
also i think this was a key point that shud come with the setup ... a battery operated water timer to control when the pots are filling and a dry period i normally let the pots dry for 2 days every week and i really think this helps
last comment i can think for now was i found on first grow knatts larvae i think the moisture and soil was ideal conditions for the little cunts and 4 weeks in on first grow i lifted a pot out the tray to check roots wasnt clogging the valve to see 10000s of little white wiggly cunts in my trays after reading up i decided to add clay pebbles to the top dress my pots and i spreyed the pebbles with a 50 / 50 neem oil and water mix i also added neem oil to my res as like i said was 10000s of em and 1 week later i checked and not 1 live wiggly in pots i did have alot of dead ones but since this i always add the pebbles with neem and dont seem to get them anymore
i might of missed something but if i remember i will add but i do really love the ease of use onb these autopots and hope i might of helped someone here but if i remember anything else i will surely add

 

[Thc247]

also i jus remembered but organic feeds are not very good in these setups and chem feeds are definately alot safer due to the thickness of most organic feeds ive seen blocks the valves it is a good note to check your valves wen and where you can to make sure there isnt any funny business accumulating in ya valves

 

[Thc247]

Root your clones in jiffy pellets or rockwool cubes. When they have good roots, transplant straight into your coco. Hand water until the canopy is almost as wide as the pot. by then, you'll have a good root system and can start feeding from the res.

You can use about any nutes. Remove the filter in the tank every couple of weeks and clean it. every 4-6 weeks, take off the lines and flush with water. If you ever notice even slight wilting in your plants, check the aqau valves to see if any are getting solution, if not, clean the lines. I use a semi-organic nutrient and only had one minor clog.

If you like bottled nutes, Canna Coco is fine. I used Grow More Sea Grow 16-16-16 and ran it the whole grow. Here's a pic of my Sweet Trainwreck:

View attachment 3674018

imo i would trim this on the lower branches and try some training or a net as i can see alot of light gettin spunked there on that tbh looks sexy but a bit of training an trim and she will love you long time

 

[Thc247]

obviously i mean before this stage like 2-3 weeks flower trim all that shit at bottoms thats jus not gettin the light gives it more airflow an concentrate its energy on the king kong dongey dicks at top

 

[Gal1987]

Thank you pop22 so u don't need to move up in pot size from rooted I can pot straight in the 25l pots!! My mate wants to try the auto pot also but not sure on the pot size would he be ok on 15l or will there be alot of difference with the 25l? That is great help Thc427 nailed every point seems like u no what your talking about!! Appreciate your help!! on the coco do u get a certain brand like canna then add perlite to that or does it already come mixed in with there products? I am a canna fan so it's hard to get off there brand and trust another I no there probably is some better and cheaper..would u be able to tell me what u add nutes etc// and your ec readings if possible as if I go by canna chart and put there recommended dose in ec goes mad so I halfed what they have said!! But not sure bout the ec what I'm safe with as they say really high compared to other growers!! And have u ever had the problem of when u fill your res and say ec is 1.6 open valve and it goes to 1.8 I don't no why it does this and should I just take the ec reading when valve is closed...thanks everyone for your replies

 

[pop22]

I'm fine with the 18 liter ( its not a 15 ) I'm sure I can pack a 4'x4' (122cm x122cm ) full with no problem!!

 

[pop22]

I use Bontanicare coco. I get the big bricks. I would recommend the 18L pots, that I have. Unless you have a large space to grow in!
A 4 pot system with the right strain could cram a 4'x4' (122cm x 122cm ) tent full! I don't check EC/PPM once I fill the res. I only check PH after making the nutrient solution.
And no, you don't need a high EC solution! I'm not sure the conversion, but I use ppms and ran mine at a max 650 ppms ( about EC 1.0 )

Thank you pop22 so u don't need to move up in pot size from rooted I can pot straight in the 25l pots!! My mate wants to try the auto pot also but not sure on the pot size would he be ok on 15l or will there be alot of difference with the 25l? That is great help Thc427 nailed every point seems like u no what your talking about!! Appreciate your help!! on the coco do u get a certain brand like canna then add perlite to that or does it already come mixed in with there products? I am a canna fan so it's hard to get off there brand and trust another I no there probably is some better and cheaper..would u be able to tell me what u add nutes etc// and your ec readings if possible as if I go by canna chart and put there recommended dose in ec goes mad so I halfed what they have said!! But not sure bout the ec what I'm safe with as they say really high compared to other growers!! And have u ever had the problem of when u fill your res and say ec is 1.6 open valve and it goes to 1.8 I don't no why it does this and should I just take the ec reading when valve is closed...thanks everyone for your replies

 

[rollyouron]

I've been using Autopots for about a year straight without cleaning anything.
My setup is 8 of the 3.9 gal and 2 of 18 liter reservoirs.
Dyna Grow FP from start to finish with MagPro for about 3 weeks at 1212 flip.
Promix with 2 inches of pearlite in bottom of container.
I also use DM ZONE to keep rez and hoses clean.
At start I really saturate the Promix with straight water and put my clone or seedling in and I don't water anymore . I cut the Autopot valve on after about 5 days. That's it! Set back and watch them grow. This is truly the easiest system I've ever used. I check on the girls about every 3 days and move lights if I need to. The 18 L reservoir will feed 4 plants for almost 2 weeks.
If you're wondering about yield with 16 DYI 3590's cobs my yield was 1.4 gpw or 1120 grams. If it that sounds a little like bragging it's not. I'm just proud I'm getting better as a grower, or maybe it's just the Autopots!

 

[rollyouron]

I forgot I keep my ph at 5.8 at start, but I never check it after that, so I don't know it ends up.

 

[Thc247]

I'm going to do soil in them next, should be a breeze with organic soil and bottom watering!

as long as you dont add organic nutrients into the tank as this causes blockages

 

[Thc247]

I've been using Autopots for about a year straight without cleaning anything.
My setup is 8 of the 3.9 gal and 2 of 18 liter reservoirs.
Dyna Grow FP from start to finish with MagPro for about 3 weeks at 1212 flip.
Promix with 2 inches of pearlite in bottom of container.
I also use DM ZONE to keep rez and hoses clean.
At start I really saturate the Promix with straight water and put my clone or seedling in and I don't water anymore . I cut the Autopot valve on after about 5 days. That's it! Set back and watch them grow. This is truly the easiest system I've ever used. I check on the girls about every 3 days and move lights if I need to. The 18 L reservoir will feed 4 plants for almost 2 weeks.
If you're wondering about yield with 16 DYI 3590's cobs my yield was 1.4 gpw or 1120 grams. If it that sounds a little like bragging it's not. I'm just proud I'm getting better as a grower, or maybe it's just the Autopots!

a whole year without cleaning anything now that is lazy dude i know the auto pots are for lazy growers lol but a whole year without cleaning anything why would you do that i clean everything fully in between every grow and clean res and tubes and trays out half way through
each to there own but i wouldnt recomend not cleaning your system for a whole year.

 

[rollyouron]

a whole year without cleaning anything now that is lazy dude i know the auto pots are for lazy growers lol but a whole year without cleaning anything why would you do that i clean everything fully in between every grow and clean res and tubes and trays out half way through
each to there own but i wouldnt recomend not cleaning your system for a whole year.

LOL I guess I'm just lazy. It might be the DM Zone, but I just didn't see the need to clean them. I don't see me ever switching back to a hydro system with timers and recirculating water.

 

[rollyouron]

I'm going to do soil in them next, should be a breeze with organic soil and bottom watering!

Keep us informed how this works out.

 

[Thc247]

Thank you pop22 so u don't need to move up in pot size from rooted I can pot straight in the 25l pots!! My mate wants to try the auto pot also but not sure on the pot size would he be ok on 15l or will there be alot of difference with the 25l? That is great help Thc427 nailed every point seems like u no what your talking about!! Appreciate your help!! on the coco do u get a certain brand like canna then add perlite to that or does it already come mixed in with there products? I am a canna fan so it's hard to get off there brand and trust another I no there probably is some better and cheaper..would u be able to tell me what u add nutes etc// and your ec readings if possible as if I go by canna chart and put there recommended dose in ec goes mad so I halfed what they have said!! But not sure bout the ec what I'm safe with as they say really high compared to other growers!! And have u ever had the problem of when u fill your res and say ec is 1.6 open valve and it goes to 1.8 I don't no why it does this and should I just take the ec reading when valve is closed...thanks everyone for your replies

i would use canna at50/50 here mixed with chunky clean washed perlite

 

[pop22]

That's why I'm testing soil shortly. organic soil, my simple mix, water only in the res!

I haven't used an airdome, or air in the res, and for this first grow in coco, everything worked fine. no issues at all. I clean the lines and filter once a month. In fact, i just bought some hose and fittings and made up extra harnesses. I will just switch them out every couple of weeks as soak/clean the other.I'll empty and clen the res as needed.
Yes, thick goopy organic nutes are not recommended in the res, due to the small size of the waterlines, they can plug easily.

I also don't use any clay pebbles, etc in the bottom. The concept of needing a "drainage" material in the bottom of pots is a false one. water resists transitioning from one medium to another, and will pool at the junction of mediums until overcome by gravity. This leads to just what you don't want, a stagnant pool of water with roots in it...

i used bontanicare coco. one large brick made enough coco for four pots and some left over!

As to EC, i only check it when i make the solution. I'm not into fussing with my systems, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

also i jus remembered but organic feeds are not very good in these setups and chem feeds are definately alot safer due to the thickness of most organic feeds ive seen blocks the valves it is a good note to check your valves wen and where you can to make sure there isnt any funny business accumulating in ya valves