Auto-Pot Set Up Help Needed

jimbobdaz said:
@Buds Buddy , seems like you are doing something similar to me... i can't advise you on washing the coco as i bought a ready mix bag myself (tropic bat mix) i will advise doing what i do when adding to the res though.
Don't fill the thing up unless you are going away for a few days, i usualy add no more than 15 ltrs at a time so i if i need to adjust anything I'm not emptying and wasting expensive nutes.
One other thing... take a look at the airdomes for the autopot
Cheers and good luck
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I was checking out the Air Domes & it sounds like something I'll be ordering in the next few days. How does it work ? Do you use an aquarium pump to give it air ? Will 1 aquarium pump be enough for 2 - 6.6 gal. Auto-Pots or do I need 1 for each pot ? I ordered 2 sets of the 2 Bucket XL's so I'd get 2 Reservoirs. Where does the air line come out ... Top or Bottom of the Pot ? This grow might just get exciting once it's all together.
 
jodyhighrollr said:
Co2 doesn’t seem necessary until you have really maximized your lighting... I don’t use Co2 and yield 5-8 ounces a plant and plan on getting a better yield in this grow. You are going to keep your exhaust fan off so you can run Co2?
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Yes, Exhaust Fan would be off during 18 hour Lights on when Co2 is Running. Exhaust Fan would come on 1 hour after Lights off & then turn off 1 hour before the lights come on again. Run the Exhaust 4 hours to get fresh air re-circulating.
I'm looking to get 12 - 16 oz. per plant by time I finish this set up. My lighting is currently above PAR for Co2 even though it's not the top of the line. I'll use it for 1 grow without using Co2 to see how it does. By then I'll have enough Cash to buy better lights.
I just thought of something that made me laugh. This is kind of like "A.A." in reverse. 1 Step at a Time !!! LOL
 
Buds Buddy said:
I was checking out the Air Domes & it sounds like something I'll be ordering in the next few days. How does it work ? Do you use an aquarium pump to give it air ? Will 1 aquarium pump be enough for 2 - 6.6 gal. Auto-Pots or do I need 1 for each pot ? I ordered 2 sets of the 2 Bucket XL's so I'd get 2 Reservoirs. Where does the air line come out ... Top or Bottom of the Pot ? This grow might just get exciting once it's all together.
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I have one pump (no idea if it's an aquarium pump) with four outlets which are feeding two 19ltr pots, the dome sits in the bottom of the pot and the air line comes out the top.
I'll take a pic later for you
 
It looks like an aquarium pump. I have a brand new one I never used that I was going to make a Co2 Bucket with & changed my mind.
Someone had mentioned I should use an aquarium heater in my reservoir. Is that true ? I have a new one of those also if needed.
So how do you go about germinating your seeds for this ? I have a new bag of Botanicare Ready Grow Plugs. I've never used plugs before so not sure how to use them. I'm guessing I just put the plug in a cup til I see roots & then transplant it. These plugs seem to have like a net or something around them to hold them together. Do you cut the net off before transplanting ? Not sure how to use these things.
 
Never used a heater in the res and had no problems, my water sits in the grow room before going into the res so it's not cold though.
As for germinating seeds... i just put mine straight into the tropicbat mix in a small pot and stick them under a t5
 
The t5 is in a propagation tent, i like to use the same substrate to germinate seeds as i`m going to be using after to make the transition into the big pots less stressful

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LOL .... I just sold my small T-5 Tent yesterday. It was a complete tent set up that was pretty much plug n play. It sold about 2 hours after posting it for $200. Guess it was a good deal as I got like 5 text in 2 hours on it.
 
Buds Buddy said:
LOL .... I just sold my small T-5 Tent yesterday. It was a complete tent set up that was pretty much plug n play. It sold about 2 hours after posting it for $200. Guess it was a good deal as I got like 5 text in 2 hours on it.
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lol oh well... i have two tents like that but i cant fit both in the room, this one will double for drying/curing when the main grow is on
 
Barney86 said:
Regards the questions though.

Yes, wash the Coco again. Always wash everything first. You can tell if it's clean by soaking some in a tub of water. Check the ppm and pH of the water first. If it rises when you put the Coco in then it needs cleaned.

Yes you want to precharge the Coco. Basically just saturate it with a really weak solution. 200- 300ppm . Just a little bit base nutes and some root boost.
Set the Res to 300ppm at pH 5.8. that strength will get you through the first couple weeks with no chance of toxicities.
If the bottoms start going yellow you up the base nutes.
Tops go yellow you up the micro nutes. Mids lose colour and go blotchy or you get rusty spots then you up the calmag . Some need calmag, some don't. Not sure why really. My tap water is only 50ppm and I only use it a few times during bloom.
You'll have to hand water for a week or 2 untill the roots hit the bottom and start drinking from the Res. You'll see it when they hit cos the plant will start growing like buggery.
Don't need to ever feed a Coco plant just water. In the event a flush is needed youd use a week solution. Not just water.
Think that covered all the questions there, if I missed any just ask mate. Always happy to help out :)
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Sure wish I understood the PPM thing. I have the pen but don't know how to use it & adjust PPM. What do you do ? Stick the pen in the water to see what the PPM is & then add nutrients till you hit your desired PPM ? What about the additives ? Do you check PPM with those in the water also ? I haven't found any discussions on any site telling you how to use a PPM Pen or how to adjust PPM. Everybody seems to mention PPM but nobody explains it so I have no idea how it works.
 
Air domes go in the base of your pot and you connect them to an air pump via standard tubing. They just provide a source of air to the root zone. Make sure you order the root control discs or squares for the bottom of your AP as well.

Put the control square in, thin layer of something porous like perlite, growstones, or pebbles above that, then coco mix on top of that. Also recommend you put a small recirculating pump in the base of your res connected to a timer to run for 30 mins a couple times a day to mix the nutes. Feed light, keep your pH in check, and you’ll have healthy plants. My recommendation is get dialed in with your nutes and process first, see how your environment changes with plants inside, then worry about CO2.

Once roots are at base and wicking nutes, don’t ever top feed or water unless it’s to flush. Salt builds up in the medium and top watering pushes it all down in the tray and will cause issues. Barney knows AP, I know AP, think a few others do too. Definitely leverage the search bar for some basic questions, but if you can’t find something specific, give me a shout. You’ll like the ease of AP for sure.
 
Yeah, I already ordered everything. Actually, I already received everything except the Auto-Pots. Even got the Air Domes.
I bought all Advanced Nutrients : Sensi Coco Grow & Bloom A & B, Big Bud Coco, B-52, Bud Candy, Sensi CalMag, VooDoo Juice, Piranha, Over Drive, Rhino Skin & Final Phase. These are the Nutes & Additives AN says to use in their expert line up. Not claiming to be an expert but it's just the 2nd step up out of 4 in their line up. Already got the Coco & Perlite, Air Pump & other stuff. All I need is the pots to get here. But I still have to wait till the 1 plant I have in my tent finishes. It was suppose to be an Auto-Flower. When all my other Auto's were done this one was still just Vegging so had to put it on 12/12. So I moved all my lights to the center of the tent over the plant, put it on 12/12 2 weeks ago & it's currently starting to flower. I have other tents I can put up if I get too impatient.
 
Aroxol said:
Hey buds, may have an easy button for you.

If you’re not too deep into having already purchased a bunch of stuff... maybe consider SoHum living soil - I actually just placed an order after a long convo with AP. Just put that in your pots and add RO water to your res. Done. Food for thought.
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did you try this?
 
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