Lighting Bigsm0 and the cob addiction

[BigSm0]

Sad to say goodbye to my blumat setup

 

[Ivean]

I absolutely love the blumats watering system but I have had a few issues with them and have heard nothing but great stuff about autopots.
The blumats weren’t really cheap first off. All the fittings and extras. I don’t like the adjusting and how you can ocassionally get a pot that over flows or how the smaller 3mm lines can get clogged if not cleaned properly every cycle. This upgrade to autopots seems to be the best of both worlds. Automated which is manditory. Larger lines that will clog less and really no way to flood the pot.

I am keeping the blumat lines in place. My hand watering line across the back wall is already ready to go and connected to my double reserviour so it makes the setup easier.

Anyone have an opinion on the air domes? Not expensive but with the pumps and 20+ pots it does add up.
View attachment 990635

I love my autopots. When I started changing over I started with a 4 pot kit and brought the airdomes etc and they worked great. Now I have 8 set up I haven't bothered with the airdomes.
I ran my 2nd grow with the airdomes in 2 pots and not in 2 and tbh I didn't really notice a difference.
It was only 1 grow so not scientific but for me the amount of extra tubing etc in the grow room wasn't worth a few more grams per plant.

 

[pop22]

I love my auto pots! Three years now and they have served me well!

Sad to say goodbye to my blumat setupView attachment 990743

 

[lunarman]

I absolutely love the blumats watering system but I have had a few issues with them and have heard nothing but great stuff about autopots.
The blumats weren’t really cheap first off. All the fittings and extras. I don’t like the adjusting and how you can ocassionally get a pot that over flows or how the smaller 3mm lines can get clogged if not cleaned properly every cycle. This upgrade to autopots seems to be the best of both worlds. Automated which is manditory. Larger lines that will clog less and really no way to flood the pot.

I am keeping the blumat lines in place. My hand watering line across the back wall is already ready to go and connected to my double reserviour so it makes the setup easier.

Anyone have an opinion on the air domes? Not expensive but with the pumps and 20+ pots it does add up.
View attachment 990635

I have compared airdomes to no airdomes and I can't see a difference. With coco. But @slowandeasy loves them.

Autopots should fit the bill for what you want but they can clog which wont' flood but you want to catch it early and fix it. I leave the lids off the trays now so I can easily visually confirm the valves are ok and there is liquid in the trays. Don't use any thick gooey nutes in the autopot system. The materials and products and customer support are quality Bigsm0. And doesn't autocobs and autopots have a nice ring to it?

 

[Mizzo81]

Sad to say goodbye to my blumat setupView attachment 990743

Congrats on the move. I see even bigger plants in your future.

 

[slowandeasy]

I have compared airdomes to no airdomes and I can't see a difference. With coco. But @slowandeasy loves them.

Autopots should fit the bill for what you want but they can clog which wont' flood but you want to catch it early and fix it. I leave the lids off the trays now so I can easily visually confirm the valves are ok and there is liquid in the trays. Don't use any thick gooey nutes in the autopot system. The materials and products and customer support are quality Bigsm0. And doesn't autocobs and autopots have a nice ring to it?

Airdomes work to increase veg growth, faster and they stretch a little more. The plants will flower fast in a small pot. Give any plant of mine 2gal of Coco and the plants will be big, with or without Airdomes. I have found the advantage of Airdomes to be mainly in veg, I actually think with large pots it keeps the roots growing too long.... potentially extending flowering. I personally don't like Autopots. I like top feeding. I have done plenty of experiments, Airdomes work well. @lunarman may have not seen a difference, but that is a 1 time observation on 1 grow with different strains. That being said, be careful with Airdomes. Automated feeding is highly recommended, so the roots don't dry out too much.

 

[slowandeasy]

I absolutely love the blumats watering system but I have had a few issues with them and have heard nothing but great stuff about autopots.
The blumats weren’t really cheap first off. All the fittings and extras. I don’t like the adjusting and how you can ocassionally get a pot that over flows or how the smaller 3mm lines can get clogged if not cleaned properly every cycle. This upgrade to autopots seems to be the best of both worlds. Automated which is manditory. Larger lines that will clog less and really no way to flood the pot.

I am keeping the blumat lines in place. My hand watering line across the back wall is already ready to go and connected to my double reserviour so it makes the setup easier.

Anyone have an opinion on the air domes? Not expensive but with the pumps and 20+ pots it does add up.
View attachment 990635

I have a better option. Halo rings, pump, and timer. Way cheaper than Autopots and you can adjust things individually. You can thank me later. Autopots are expensive and I like top feeding. They are known to flood as well, so be careful. Airdomes are the best part of Autopots IMO. I have a $$$ of Autopots in my basement collecting dust. My buddy is gonna buy some from me. I like the Rez shape. I have 5 of them.

 

[slowandeasy]

And BTW, the LARGE Autopots are way too big for my liking. They might be fine for people who use big containers and a different medium. But with Coco, the smaller Autopots are plenty big for any Auto flower plant. That honestly is the main downfall for me. I have to force my plants to stay smaller by using smaller pots. I hate monters, they waste too much space and time.

 

[pop22]

Drip rings? They are prone to plugging up, a pump is needed, then you have to monkey around learning to adjust flow rate, timers, ..... cheaper maybe , better? Not on your life! There are enough auto pot users on here now to prove it too. And no, they don't flood. The only user here that had a flood was op error, not the product. The only fault with auto pots is the small tubing. Yet, since switching nutrients I've not had a clog, even with Megacrop's known residue! Just for giggles I ran the system for 6 months without cleaning the lines, not one clog. IMO, auto pots are superior to all but true hydro, and hydro is a fussy pain in the ass, two grows in DWC was enough for me. Auto pots keep your plants perfectly watered and and at a consistent moister content in the medium, never too wet, never to dry, impossible with a drip system! You can top water if you like, but for me, the best thing ever was to get away from top watering and hand watering.
Also, with bottom watering, the top inch of medium dries. Sprinkle some DE on that dry medium and you have a bug barrier, and from what I've seen on here, the qaulity of bagged coco has gone to hell and people are having issues with thrips and white flies, etc from contaminated coco, that would sure help!

Airdomes... i'm thoroughly unconvinced they are worth bothering with, and why complicate such a simple system. Same goes for pumps in the res, a waste of time and money, and your adding heat to a nutrient solution, that's asking for trouble.

Personally I love organic in auto pots! Just add water! What could be simpler.

I have a better option. Halo rings, pump, and timer. Way cheaper than Autopots and you can adjust things individually. You can thank me later. Autopots are expensive and I like top feeding. They are known to flood as well, so be careful. Airdomes are the best part of Autopots IMO. I have a $$$ of Autopots in my basement collecting dust. My buddy is gonna buy some from me. I like the Rez shape. I have 5 of them.

 

[pop22]

This plant didn't need an airdome........