Grow Mediums Autopot review after semi final grow result, no hydroton, no air dome.

[Olderfart]

Hey @briefbriefs, glad to help. It is nice actually to connect with a new grower who actually considers advice with an open inquiring mind. My suggestions are just that, to be considered as you wish in the context of other information. Growing weed can be done very well a lot of different ways, so there are no best answers, just useful ones.

Re. the inline valve, the tap on your reservoir will do that job nicely if you go for one of the setups I suggest, or the inline valve will work fine if you go that way. The choice is not important in my opinion, either will work. The filter OTOH is another matter. The pleated household filters are far higher capacity and much finer filtration than the little ones provided by autopots - a much better idea in my books.

These are the ones I bought, but any of the similar pleated elements will work fine. Even the cheapest out there will be an improvement over the tiny coarse ones provided by Autopot.

Amazon product

 

[briefbriefs]

Hey @briefbriefs, glad to help. It is nice actually to connect with a new grower who actually considers advice with an open inquiring mind. My suggestions are just that, to be considered as you wish in the context of other information. Growing weed can be done very well a lot of different ways, so there are no best answers, just useful ones.

Re. the inline valve, the tap on your reservoir will do that job nicely if you go for one of the setups I suggest, or the inline valve will work fine if you go that way. The choice is not important in my opinion, either will work. The filter OTOH is another matter. The pleated household filters are far higher capacity and much finer filtration than the little ones provided by autopots - a much better idea in my books.

These are the ones I bought, but any of the similar pleated elements will work fine. Even the cheapest out there will be an improvement over the tiny coarse ones provided by Autopot.

Amazon product

I totally understand -- and again, i do thank you for your guidance and suggestions. I value experience and expertise and know that theres always something we can learn from others -- and no matter how good you get, there will ALWAYS be someone better. In fact, i think tomorrow im going to start a journal (already in progress at growdiaries) so people can follow along or chime in if they have any advice. I'll be sure to tag you in it if you're interested! Im a total beginner so i honestly have very low hopes that ill have a successful harvest -- but i dont care, i love these plants and im having so much fun learning. Its helping my anxiety and ptsd tremendously.

 

[Olderfart]

I totally understand -- and again, i do thank you for your guidance and suggestions. I value experience and expertise and know that theres always something we can learn from others -- and no matter how good you get, there will ALWAYS be someone better. In fact, i think tomorrow im going to start a journal (already in progress at growdiaries) so people can follow along or chime in if they have any advice. I'll be sure to tag you in it if you're interested! Im a total beginner so i honestly have very low hopes that ill have a successful harvest -- but i dont care, i love these plants and im having so much fun learning. Its helping my anxiety and ptsd tremendously.

I am subbed, so no tags required, I will be watching. You are nicely set up, using good genetics and supplies, so you have an excellent chance of a fine harvest, noob or not. I got over 300 grams from my first indoor grow, largely thanks to the generous help available here. Just keep the questions coming, and you will get all the help you need.

Good luck with the grow, and with the PTSD. And of course, the bugger of a virus. Avoid it if you can, it is a nasty SOB, and it kills young peeps too.

 

[briefbriefs]

I am subbed, so no tags required, I will be watching. You are nicely set up, using good genetics and supplies, so you have an excellent chance of a fine harvest, noob or not. I got over 300 grams from my first indoor grow, largely thanks to the generous help available here. Just keep the questions coming, and you will get all the help you need.

Good luck with the grow, and with the PTSD. And of course, the bugger of a virus. Avoid it if you can, it is a nasty SOB, and it kills young peeps too.

You too! This virus isn’t no joke and we gotta take care of each other and ourselves as best we can. Thank you

 

[Olderfart]

You too! This virus isn’t no joke and we gotta take care of each other and ourselves as best we can. Thank you

Hello again @briefbriefs. Just an update on the tap and filter arrangements - since I posted the pics of my tank setup, another member here noted elsewhere that the brass tap fitting I used may not be a good idea. He had serious problems with young plants which were eliminated once the brass fitting he was using was replaced with plastic. I didn't have any identifiable problems, but I will nonetheless be ditching the current valve setup and replacing it with a plastic bulkhead fitting like the black one in my pics, and a plastic tap screwed into it. I will likely have to ditch the compression fitting hose as well, but that will not be difficult - I'll just replace with a piece of half inch garden hose.

I hope that I haven't caused you trouble by recommending the brass fitting, but given other's experience, I would use plastic instead.

Good luck with your grow setup.

 

[briefbriefs]

Hello again @briefbriefs. Just an update on the tap and filter arrangements - since I posted the pics of my tank setup, another member here noted elsewhere that the brass tap fitting I used may not be a good idea. He had serious problems with young plants which were eliminated once the brass fitting he was using was replaced with plastic. I didn't have any identifiable problems, but I will nonetheless be ditching the current valve setup and replacing it with a plastic bulkhead fitting like the black one in my pics, and a plastic tap screwed into it. I will likely have to ditch the compression fitting hose as well, but that will not be difficult - I'll just replace with a piece of half inch garden hose.

I hope that I haven't caused you trouble by recommending the brass fitting, but given other's experience, I would use plastic instead.

Good luck with your grow setup.

OF! you're so kind to think of me and my grow!! I ended up using the stock valve that comes with the tank and havent been having any problems at all! In fact, last grow i used an airdome but as per your recommendation, this current grow im doing top to bottom perlite/coco (no hydroton) and no air dome! Lets see how she grows!

 

[Olderfart]

OF! you're so kind to think of me and my grow!! I ended up using the stock valve that comes with the tank and havent been having any problems at all! In fact, last grow i used an airdome but as per your recommendation, this current grow im doing top to bottom perlite/coco (no hydroton) and no air dome! Lets see how she grows!

Oh, I think you will find that the ladies like your setup just fine. Your main problem will likely be the size of plants you have to deal with. A nice problem though...

 

[bearhair]

Any issues with gnats with the auto pot system?

 

[Olderfart]

Any issues with gnats with the auto pot system?

Not so far when indoors, except in my aborted soil attempt early last winter. Gnats killed the grow. I might have limped through with stunted plants, but I elected to start over rather than continue the battle. I turfed the infested soil and started fresh with SS#4. Didn't see a gnat during the replacement grow. The problem was the outdoor cooking of the soil. By the time it was ready to use, it was seriously infested, and the Bt treatment intended to kill them off didn't do the job. They came back gangbusters a couple weeks into the grow, by which time the little buggers had done a lot of root damage.

This summer, my outdoor autopot grow was gnat free, or close enough to it. None of my plants seemed to suffer, and I didn't see any flying around.

Anyway, the bottom line is that autopots are not immune. I have not had a problem with coco or SS#4 soil-less grows, but my one soil attempt was a mess. I think the main thing is to use well drained soil/medium, and if using soil, don't leave it exposed to being infested while cooking it. My soil for this winter is cooking indoors in a kiddie pool, with a fitted cloth cover that will allow air but not bugs. We shall see how that turns out.

 

[bearhair]

Not so far when indoors, except in my aborted soil attempt early last winter. Gnats killed the grow. I might have limped through with stunted plants, but I elected to start over rather than continue the battle. I turfed the infested soil and started fresh with SS#4. Didn't see a gnat during the replacement grow. The problem was the outdoor cooking of the soil. By the time it was ready to use, it was seriously infested, and the Bt treatment intended to kill them off didn't do the job. They came back gangbusters a couple weeks into the grow, by which time the little buggers had done a lot of root damage.

This summer, my outdoor autopot grow was gnat free, or close enough to it. None of my plants seemed to suffer, and I didn't see any flying around.

Anyway, the bottom line is that autopots are not immune. I have not had a problem with coco or SS#4 soil-less grows, but my one soil attempt was a mess. I think the main thing is to use well drained soil/medium, and if using soil, don't leave it exposed to being infested while cooking it. My soil for this winter is cooking indoors in a kiddie pool, with a fitted cloth cover that will allow air but not bugs. We shall see how that turns out.

Thanks for your reply, I work a lot of hours and sometimes have to water when I know I shouldn't. Using ffof soil and growing indoors I get gnats. Wondering if watering from the bottom up is going to make a difference. Thanks again..