AC INFINITY WATERING BASE

[whitlow]

So on my next grow in going to use the AC Infinity watering base. My grow now I'm in 3gal fabric pots and never watered them with enough to have run off. The next I'm thinking of watering every time to get run off then empty the pan. Have the watering base full with fresh pH water to wick in-between watering. I'll keep a close watch with my moisture meter. And when I feed do the same and always keep an eye on the EC and PPM in run off which I never did this grow. I'm not sure just how much water they will get from wicking from the bottom. But I'll find out if it's just the bottom few inches it should help bring more roots to the bottom. I don't ever plan on wicking any run off. What do y'all think and who had tried them out use them now?
Thanks

 

[2budz]

So on my next grow in going to use the AC Infinity watering base. My grow now I'm in 3gal fabric pots and never watered them with enough to have run off. The next I'm thinking of watering every time to get run off then empty the pan. Have the watering base full with fresh pH water to wick in-between watering. I'll keep a close watch with my moisture meter. And when I feed do the same and always keep an eye on the EC and PPM in run off which I never did this grow. I'm not sure just how much water they will get from wicking from the bottom. But I'll find out if it's just the bottom few inches it should help bring more roots to the bottom. I don't ever plan on wicking any run off. What do y'all think and who had tried them out use them now?
Thanks

Is this a water to waste system? lemme google it real quick.

 

[2budz]

Are you talking about these?

Self-Watering Fabric Pot Base, 4-Pack

Your source to create smart growing systems with components including advance grow tents, inline fans, clip-on fans, LED grow lights, and UIS™ controllers.

acinfinity.com

 

[Hog_M@Gundy]

I was planning on trying these once they get them back in stock. They will (should) water your whole pot except for the top inch maybe. At least once your plants roots are developed enough to reach down to the bottom of the pot, they'll draw the water up as they need it. Basically a nicely designed stand for bottom feeding, pretty simple. Not exactly a SIP container, not exactly the same as autopots but uses the same principles. At least that's how I understand it.

 

[2budz]

Got my wheels spinning for sure, I'm running 4 5 gallon pots in my current grow.

 

[whitlow]

Are you talking about these?

Self-Watering Fabric Pot Base, 4-Pack

Your source to create smart growing systems with components including advance grow tents, inline fans, clip-on fans, LED grow lights, and UIS™ controllers.

acinfinity.com

YES...

 

[Dankerson]

The self watering bases like this and autopots sound great. Definitely looking into them myself as well. One thing I was mainly worried about is if you pH your water and put it in the base to be wicked that waters pH will constantly drift while it sits there so you'll either be constantly checking/emptying it or it could even mess your plants up.

Doing this with a water only organic grow or living soil seems like it would work but unless the water pH is extremely stable I am very hesitant on systems like this. I prefer just putting a dish under the pots and bottom feeding them then removing the extra water after about 20 mins. Although I realize this kinda defeats the purpose of having a res to draw from.

 

[Hog_M@Gundy]

The self watering bases like this and autopots sound great. Definitely looking into them myself as well. One thing I was mainly worried about is if you pH your water and put it in the base to be wicked that waters pH will constantly drift while it sits there so you'll either be constantly checking/emptying it or it could even mess your plants up.

Doing this with a water only organic grow or living soil seems like it would work but unless the water pH is extremely stable I am very hesitant on systems like this. I prefer just putting a dish under the pots and bottom feeding them then removing the extra water after about 20 mins

I've wondered that too. Thought maybe i could just fill them up enough to get the plant through the day and only use the full capacity if I'm going out of town for 2-3 days. Trying to find the article I just read where Full Duplex explains how he stabilizes his water by running an air pump in it for 24hrs. That could be a solution. Mostly i like that it would eliminate the task of pulling up the pots and removing the excess water. And the airflow underneath seems helpful.

 

[Dankerson]

I've wondered that too. Thought maybe i could just fill them up enough to get the plant through the day and only use the full capacity if I'm going out of town for 2-3 days. Trying to find the article I just read where Full Duplex explains how he stabilizes his water by running an air pump in it for 24hrs. That could be a solution. Mostly i like that it would eliminate the task of pulling up the pots and removing the excess water. And the airflow underneath seems helpful.

It really depends on your input water. If you're using RO then I'd say that's out. My RO starts to creep within a few hours usually, even with 90ppm of calimagic in it. Although it also takes to pH changes in the soil much easier. I've heard that RO will just match the pH in your medium but I've never been brave enough to trust it or try it out. It might work but it could also cause a lot of issues. I like to work in certainties and that just leaves too much to chance for my liking. Someone who has done it successfully might be able to share.

If you're using tap water it stabilizes much easier and I was able to get my tap water to remain at a stable pH within a day or two of it being bubbled in my res. So if you prepped a res like that prior to using it like a day or two that would probably work out much better. My tap water is about 250ppms though so I stopped using it cause it was causing problems.

If you do prep a res get a black black container with a black lid to make it light proof. Blue air hoses work best as they don't let light in light the clear ones they stay cleaner than the black ones, plus you check them since they are clearish. Get a decent air pump with a good stone and you'll be good to go. If you want it to last awhile hydroguard works amazingly, my res can last 2+ weeks with the stuff.

 

[MIAutomatic]

It really depends on your input water. If you're using RO then I'd say that's out. My RO starts to creep within a few hours usually, even with 90ppm of calimagic in it. Although it also takes to pH changes in the soil much easier. I've heard that RO will just match the pH in your medium but I've never been brave enough to trust it or try it out. It might work but it could also cause a lot of issues. I like to work in certainties and that just leaves too much to chance for my liking. Someone who has done it successfully might be able to share.

If you're using tap water it stabilizes much easier and I was able to get my tap water to remain at a stable pH within a day or two of it being bubbled in my res. So if you prepped a res like that prior to using it like a day or two that would probably work out much better. My tap water is about 250ppms though so I stopped using it cause it was causing problems.

If you do prep a res get a black black container with a black lid to make it light proof. Blue air hoses work best as they don't let light in light the clear ones they stay cleaner than the black ones, plus you check them since they are clearish. Get a decent air pump with a good stone and you'll be good to go. If you want it to last awhile hydroguard works amazingly, my res can last 2+ weeks with the stuff.

When RO is exposed to air the ph will drop because unbuffered RO absorbs co2, mine usually stabilizes at around 5.5. Adding around 100 ppm of calmag will buffer the water and begin to bring the ph close to 7 as the water sheds some of the co2 and begins to get oxygenated, but this takes time 24hours+. Adding some air stones attached to a pump greatly accelerate the ph stabilization and re-oxygenation.

Ph adjusting water before the ph is stable or adjusting it when it’s unbuffered can cause huge swings in ph. The easiest way to account for this swing is to mix your water 24 hours+ before use and only ph adjust it then IF your ph is out of range.