Grow Mediums Do you use fabric pots with autopots?

[Olderfart]

I was just at the hydro store and they don't carry Autopots but had some left in the back he offered to me at 25 each. They are the Reg hard ones can I use grow bags instead of the 6 gal pot?? A 3 gal bag fits the whole perfectly.

$25ea seems like a great deal.

If they are the single trays, not the doubles, and come with valves, tubing, and fittings, $25 should be good, otherwise, maybe not. If the trays are singles, and the diameter fits a 3 gallon bag, they will work great. Just make sure that you are getting the whole package before you assume that $25 is a good deal. Another issue that you may have already considered is that fabric pots have circular bottoms, the regular trays are square. It would still work, but keep in mind that this means that removing the pot from the tray and replacing it may prove impossible because pot contents would shift once the circular bottom lifts out of the square tray. And picking the entire tray up means turning off the nutes and removing the tubing or autopot valve in order to disconnect it from the reservoir and other trays. With the xl tray/fabric pot combo Autopot sells, it is easy to just lift the fabric pot out of the tray, put it on the bench for the trim, and put it back in the tray when done. You may not think you will need to trim, but my grow suggests otherwise - I had to do more than one serious haircut on my plants just to make sure that air could move through them. Autopots grow them big and dense.

Anyway, you asked earlier about tray size. The xl single trays are a hair less than 11" diameter across the top opening, and 10 3/4" across the bottom. Any fabric pot around 11" diameter at the bottom of the bag will work fine. You could even stuff a slightly larger one in there, but removing and putting it back for trimming etc. could prove tricky because as with the square trays, contents could shift, making replacing the pot into the tray difficult.

The bags provided by Autopot did not constrict water entry the way Midnightsun described. Perhaps they are thicker material, but in any case, there was no problem with nute flow into the pots in my grow.

One additional note about pot size - if your inclination is or might later be in the organic direction, you might want to go with the xl trays and 5 gallon fabric. You may find that with organics, you want the soil volume.

Finally, before I shut up, you seem to be keen to save a few bucks getting set up. FWIW, I suggest being careful about allowing your decision to be influenced too much by minor differences in cost. The xl/fabric combo works an absolute treat, and there is no downside to their size. The plants you will need room for will be a heck of a lot bigger regardless of tray size. Whichever way you go, this gear is good for a long time, so you are better doing the job right the first time round rather than doing it over again later.

Good luck with your decisions and your grow.

 

[MidnightSun]

You will need the "Root guards" or "PotSocks" that AutoPot sells that fit over the bottom of pots. ..Otherwise the Roots will consume the Aqua valve.

The bags provided by Autopot did not constrict water entry the way Midnightsun described.

Love when people speak for me. For the record the Fabric "Bags" i used where provided with the Autopots direct from autopot-usa.com
I bought 20 extra + 20 PotSocks.


Anyways -- I also made a needed modification to the AquaValve as to fix its flooding issue so it would no longer splil out the cutout where the tube enters the Autopot fill chamber. You can find the details on this site some place. I have 6 autopots and they all would flood before my fix. Its basically just shaving down the mounting location on the BACK of the AquaValve body so it would sit lower in the back by 1mm . Using a file i just shaved it down.

If the kit looks like this, Fabric pots will fit fine.

 

[MidnightSun]

You will notice in the above picture the path from the Aquavalve chamber to the pot section is a 1mm channel that then goes deeper to distribute the water across the bottom. With the PotSock on and the bag stretch it would cover this 1mm channel. My PVC pipe fix allows the water to get to the deeper cut of the water channel. Doesn't affect anything else and is only an improvement.

 

[PotDaddy]

Thanks for the replies,

I am going to go look tomorrow to see if all the parts are there.
The pots they have are the large sized Hard ones but I have plenty of 3 gal bags.
If everything is there I am going to pick 2 or 3 up. I have to go out of town for a week in June and want to figure out how I will deal with that sooner rather than later.

 

[MidnightSun]

LOL - ok my attempt to computer draw. When you get the system you will understand the pic. Only shave the back of the AquaValve as needed. DONT shave the Autopot mount. The AquaValve needs to be firmly held by the Autopot mounts.

 

[Olderfart]

I do not think sanding anything is a good idea until you carefully test the behaviour of the valves. Make sure each valve is pushed firmly and fully into place - this requires a very firm push to get the valve all the way seated. Also, as pointed out on the autopot website, very carefully make sure that the silicone valve seats are fully and squarely seated before you test. You can test the valve behaviour with plain water after your reservoir is hooked up, before you put pots in the trays. The water should stop rising at about the ~20mm level (as I recall), and should not increase again until the tray is nearly empty when you suck the water out. Very easy to test, and if something is wrong, check the silicone seats first before modifying anything. All three valve/tray combinations I purchased worked perfectly throughout the grow without modification. I gather from the Autopot website that they have modified their valves slightly at some recent point, so it is possible that mine were an older version and than those @MidnightSun used. Nonetheless, I suggest testing first. Plastic is easier removed than put back.

@MidnightSun I did not intend to speak for you, and if it appeared that I did, I apologize. I just intended to point out that I did not experience the same issue as you did. Your modification is a good solution to the problem you had, and if I had run into the problem, I would have done something similar.

 

[MidnightSun]

Here's the thread on solving problems with Autopots. The Autopot system can help you grow monsters... so get going. :smoking:

 

[Dichoti]

You will need the "Root guards" or "PotSocks" that AutoPot sells that fit over the bottom of pots. ..Otherwise the Roots will consume the Aqua valve.



Love when people speak for me. For the record the Fabric "Bags" i used where provided with the Autopots direct from autopot-usa.com
I bought 20 extra + 20 PotSocks.


Anyways -- I also made a needed modification to the AquaValve as to fix its flooding issue so it would no longer splil out the cutout where the tube enters the Autopot fill chamber. You can find the details on this site some place. I have 6 autopots and they all would flood before my fix. Its basically just shaving down the mounting location on the BACK of the AquaValve body so it would sit lower in the back by 1mm . Using a file i just shaved it down.

If the kit looks like this, Fabric pots will fit fine.

Those don’t always work...

That’s my present situation.

I’m in the middle of doing a “comparison” grow between 5 and 3 gallon fabric pots in autopots. One thing I’ve noticed so far, is that not only will they consume a ton of feed/water, they get BIG for autos. I’ve presently got one going that’s something like 4’ tall, and nearly 3’x3’ round.
It’s early as hell here right now, So I’m not going to post a direct link to it, But if you actually want to see what how well the autopot smartpots work, My journal is in the Prescription Blend section.

 

[Dichoti]

One thing I will add, is DO NOT GROW MORE THAN ONE AT A TIME IF THE VENDOR SAYS IT’S A HEAVY YIELDER. I’ve got a Fastbuds Gelato that is trying to take up my entire 4’x4’ space.

 

[the123321]

Thanks. Do you use the root control disc in your autopots on there?