Grow Mediums Autopot User new to the forum / Diary

[HemiSync]

Hello All,
I just signed up particularly for the autopot section as i have used the system on and off for around 3 years, i had been lurking beforehand though watching a few grows and its defiently the most active autopot forum i have came across which is good!

I am currently doing a autopot grow and will get some pics up shortly..its going well.
I wanted to ask some of you guys some questions and your experiences,

Has anybody here used Rockwool Croutons with the system? Do you think it would work with AP?
Has anybody used hydro nutes with the system?
Has anybody tried using a water pump in their Res?
Whats with the res smelling after a few days?

I currently have a 6 pot system (using 5 with res due to misplacing valve float ),coco with clay pebbles at the bottom. Adv Nutrients Sensi Coco formula,Big Bud and overdrive i used carboload for 1 week but seems messy with the AP system and had to clean out the trays to avoid blockages. 3 of my plants are handfed in normal 15l pots

Strains - 4 Sunset Sherbet, 3 Strawberry Crusha, 1 Dreamweaver , 1 Predator (All clones)

thats all for now folks

Into the light. Glad to have another autopot fan aboard.

As for your questions:
“Has anybody here used Rockwool Croutons with the system? Do you think it would work with AP?”
I have not seen it used with rockwool croutons but have seen it with vermiculite croutons and also with coarse perlite. Personally I prefer a 70/30 mix of soil and perlite. It helps with buffering your nutes and having less cal/mag issues.

Has anybody used hydro nutes with the system?
Not sure what you mean here. NPK is NPK and they can call it what they want but is still just macro-nutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). I personally have used Technaflora, Advanced Nutrients, a BioTabs, and now GreenLeaf Nutrients MegaCrop in autopots. After over 3 years, I will purchase MegaCrop from now one. Easiest nutrient lineup I have ever used and it works perfectly with the autopots.

Has anybody tried using a water pump in their Res?
Yes I have and an air stone and I highly recommend you don’t. In addition you really don’t need to stir it up nor inject air into it as both will screw up your pH royally. When I check my levels in the rez twice a day, I stir it up with a big stick and my rez pH doesn’t fluctuate more than 0.10 a day.

Whats with the res smelling after a few days?
That is more than likely something in your mix that is causing bacterial growth and that is what you are smelling. Of GLN’s MegaCrop line up I use MegaCrop, Cal/Mag, Sweet Candy, and Bud Explosion with no bad smells or clogging of the system.

with your grow.

 

[darkknight1]

Into the light. Glad to have another autopot fan aboard.

As for your questions:
“Has anybody here used Rockwool Croutons with the system? Do you think it would work with AP?”
I have not seen it used with rockwool croutons but have seen it with vermiculite croutons and also with coarse perlite. Personally I prefer a 70/30 mix of soil and perlite. It helps with buffering your nutes and having less cal/mag issues.

Has anybody used hydro nutes with the system?
Not sure what you mean here. NPK is NPK and they can call it what they want but is still just macro-nutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). I personally have used Technaflora, Advanced Nutrients, a BioTabs, and now GreenLeaf Nutrients MegaCrop in autopots. After over 3 years, I will purchase MegaCrop from now one. Easiest nutrient lineup I have ever used and it works perfectly with the autopots.

Has anybody tried using a water pump in their Res?
Yes I have and an air stone and I highly recommend you don’t. In addition you really don’t need to stir it up nor inject air into it as both will screw up your pH royally. When I check my levels in the rez twice a day, I stir it up with a big stick and my rez pH doesn’t fluctuate more than 0.10 a day.

Whats with the res smelling after a few days?
That is more than likely something in your mix that is causing bacterial growth and that is what you are smelling. Of GLN’s MegaCrop line up I use MegaCrop, Cal/Mag, Sweet Candy, and Bud Explosion with no bad smells or clogging of the system.

with your grow.

Thanks man, ahh the light it burns!

Interesting i have used coco and per lite in the 70/30 ratio but not soil and it worked pretty well, maybe i will have a test run.

I see i did i little more research and now come to the understanding hydro formula is just less in Ca & Ma than coco nutes.

I have used Dutch Pro, Growers Ark, Greenhouse Powder Feed and now Adv Nutes. powder feed is the easiest but i did get good results with GH mainly because i believe i brought the wrong formula as i have been growing hybrids(grow shops fault) lol i am defiantly willing to try a proper powder feed again though and Megacrop looks pretty dope i like the additional nutes they have in their formula so i will be looking into it possibly for my next grow. thanks for the suggestion

As you know my first post was in your diary so you know i gotta stayed tuned in lol

 

[HemiSync]

Interesting i have used coco and per lite in the 70/30 ratio but not soil and it worked pretty well, maybe i will have a test run.

I have also and had lots of deficiencies, knowing what I know now I could probably overcome those and go back to it. But I purchased autopots because I travel a lot for work and family issues and I’m gone for up to two weeks at a time and I need something I can trust to leave. If I’m chasing deficiencies, it’s not serving it’s purpose. lol One of my mentors here, @pop22 opened my eyes to soil and autopots a few months ago and so far, I’m not going back. I also do DWC once in a while when the winter temps are available to keep my basement cool enough for the water temps.

Megacrop looks pretty dope i like the additional nutes they have in their formula so i will be looking into it possibly for my next grow. thanks for the suggestion

Many here are having great results with their base and additives with a little tweaking in bloom. I started with a free sample bag and after just that one 230g bag I decided the rest of my AN and Technaflora nutes were going to the outside plants. It’s just too easy and so far works great in the system. Some worry about the little bit of silt that accumulates in the rez but it has caused me no problems with clogging and when the level is down below the filter, I will just dump the remaining liter or so on my houseplants and rinse it out. To be honest, this grow I have been home the whole time and have done zero maintenance on the lines and autovalve and so far no clogging. Of course it is just one plant and tray, when I look at it I tend to forget that.

As you know my first post was in your diary so you know i gotta stayed tuned in lol

It’s feel it’s coming to an end in the next week or so. Not going to be a big yield but with what I have learned about a scrog this time, I will double it next time. SCROG and DWC, I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to do that one and the possible monster that will result. :smoking: