New Grower AutoCobs/AutoPots in 4x4 Tent, Unboxing and Setup

[SPZ]

Yes check him out. Now I may be wrong that it was him who gave the tip. I have been reading ALOT of posts.

In AM we drive to CO to start another new adventure for us. We bought a home there.

I will help where I can

Hey congrats on the big move, @Nosias! I'm sure you will find lots of success in CO! You will have to keep us informed of any projects you start

All the help is appreciated, we growers gotta stick together!

 

[SPZ]

Hey anyone who is catching up on this thread, be sure to check out my first grow with this setup over here!

 

[Nosias]

Hey congrats on the big move, @Nosias! I'm sure you will find lots of success in CO! You will have to keep us informed of any projects you start

All the help is appreciated, we growers gotta stick together!

Thanks for all of your posts. Sorry others have not been able to see what a great job you do. I just love a clean grow environment. I REALLY do know it is the secret to success



One more day on the road and we will be there.

I will let you know when it starts...............

 

[SPZ]

Thanks for all of your posts. Sorry others have not been able to see what a great job you do. I just love a clean grow environment. I REALLY do know it is the secret to success

You're makin' me blush!

It's really an honor to be keeping a journal right next to so many great growers on AFN! Hope I have as much success as some of the growers I'm emulating!

One more day on the road and we will be there.

I will let you know when it starts...............

I know you'll tear it up once you get settled in!

 

[SPZ]

I'm planning on setting up my reservoir this weekend and possibly working a bit on the tent venting and light-proofing. Just sharing a few needful items I picked up on Amazon now that I started my grow!

This is a hand-held battery-operated liquid transfer pump. I got it because I had to dump some water from the autopot trays by hand and it was a real pain in the ass now that they are all connected and have heavy pots in them! I figure I can use this to empty the trays or reservoir as needed. It was only like $20 so we'll see if it lasts.

 

[SPZ]

This is a set of beakers I picked up for measuring and mixing nutes! The big one is 1 liter and they go down to the shot glass which is 5ml. I only had a regular measuring spoon set which are not terribly accurate for metric measurements plus I need those for cooking lol! Maybe the complete set of beakers is overkill but I feel like a mad scientist with 'em

 

[PapaEmeritus]

Hey @SPZ ! Loved this thread, the detail is very much appreciated as I'm starting to look at whether or not it'd be worth it to replace my hand-watered Hempy setup with a couple autopots. I'm running autocobs as well, btw and you are gonna love 'em.

I haven't checked out your grow thread yet but I just wanted to stop in and offer a bit of advice: spring for the PH pen. I used the PH drops for my first grow and sweet baby jesus, did I have all kinds of PH issues trying to use those drops. There may be some folks who can get away with using them, but from what I've heard and seen on my own the small expense for an actual PH meter is well, well worth it. FWIW, I have an Oakton EcoTestr which is half the price of the Bluelab, and works a treat.

So yeah, just my two cents. I had the exact same thought process as you - "these will tide me over til I can afford the meter." In reality, I could have had a much smoother grow and a healthier plant had I just gone ahead and picked up the meter from the start. So learn from my mistakes! Spend the bucks, get yourself a meter - you'll thank yourself later.

 

[PapaEmeritus]

Oh yeah - have a little rep for the thread. Good info!

 

[SPZ]

So yeah, just my two cents. I had the exact same thought process as you - "these will tide me over til I can afford the meter." In reality, I could have had a much smoother grow and a healthier plant had I just gone ahead and picked up the meter from the start. So learn from my mistakes! Spend the bucks, get yourself a meter - you'll thank yourself later.

Welcome, ANTiFa, and thanks for the advice! I used the test kit this weekend for the first time and I feel what you are saying. I'm not color blind, but somewhat color challenged. My wife is regularly gets a laugh when I call something green or grey that she says is blue (or vice versa)... I usually don't see it but other people always agree with her So right off the bat a system that uses color matching is not really in my wheelhouse.

That said, I called my wife in to help with the color matching chart. As an experiment I tested my plain tap water, and what she read did not match up with the lab report from a couple years ago. She read 6.0 dead on and my report says 6.5. I have no idea if it is a difference in the water or a misreading, I actually feel like I know less now! So yeah, I can see one of those digital pH meters, with their fancy unambiguous digital displays in my very near future...

Oh yeah - have a little rep for the thread. Good info!

Hey thanks for the rep! I do hope these notes help out folks out down the line, especially these discussions that let you skip a useless purchase and hone right in on the right equipment.

 

[SPZ]

Speaking of preventing useless purchases... I will also not recommend either of the beaker and pump purchase I made recently. The beakers are fussy to use for measuring such small amounts as seedlings require, and for some reason the 10ml beaker, which would be the most useful, does not have measuring lines painted on it! I will contact the company to see if they can send me a replacement, because, WTF! No lines?! I have since learned that it is much easier to use a syringe, which are sold specifically for measuring liquid fertilizers and come in a range of convenient sizes.

The pump is OK but it did not work for my intended task of draining the autopot trays. It seems that it needs an inch or two of liquid in order to work, and the trays aren't that deep. It may work for draining the reservoir (down to the last inch or two) if I need to do that in the future, time will tell.