Autopot system

TomatoGrower123

TomatoGrower123

Active Member
Hey Growers, I bought an Autopot system and I was wondering how and what to feed the plants in that system. I browsed online and all the people told me that hand watering from the top wont be good for the plant in such a system. So what nutes should I buy because right now I have Bio bizz nutes and a normal hand watering setup.
 
I use Dyna Folige pro and Dyna mag pro. I use either Sunshine 4 or promix hp. I just moved and my water is only 8 ppm so I have to add some cal mag or my ph will not stabilize
 
I am using 50/50 coco/hydroton as substrate.

As nutrients I give the GH tri-part line at HALF recommended strength, plus some supplements (Fulvic, beneficial bacteria). Plant looks very happy.

The manufacturer of the autopot does not recommend organic fertlizers (such as BioBizz) because that supposedly can lead to clogging. I have no experience with that. Probably some organic ferts work better than others. Maybe it's just fine, and they're just overly cautious with their recommendations.

There is no risk in trying organic ferts. If the system actually clogs, you will find out pretty soon, and then you can simply rinse and feed a mineral fertilizer.
 
ComputerSaysNo said:
I am using 50/50 coco/hydroton as substrate.

As nutrients I give the GH tri-part line at HALF recommended strength, plus some supplements (Fulvic, beneficial bacteria). Plant looks very happy.

The manufacturer of the autopot does not recommend organic fertlizers (such as BioBizz) because that supposedly can lead to clogging. I have no experience with that. Probably some organic ferts work better than others. Maybe it's just fine, and they're just overly cautious with their recommendations.

There is no risk in trying organic ferts. If the system actually clogs, you will find out pretty soon, and then you can simply rinse and feed a mineral fertilizer.
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So I should just put the organic fert in the water tank. Does it not smell bad after some time?
 
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TomatoGrower123 said:
So I should just put the organic fert in the water tank. Does it not smell bad after some time?
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I have no experience with organic ferts, so couldn't say. It probably also depends on the fertilizer in particular that you are using.

You won't have to completely fill the tank. If you elevate the tank, it will drain just fine no matter how much water is in there.

So, simply fill the tank with as much nutrient as your plant(s) will use until the nutrient solution goes stale. You can use any tank size that you want, as long as the tank is positioned high enough, it will drain just fine until the last drop; I do not see a problem with using, e.g. a 10 litre bucket as a tank and refill that every few days.
 
ComputerSaysNo said:
I have no experience with organic ferts, so couldn't say. It probably also depends on the fertilizer in particular that you are using.

You won't have to completely fill the tank. If you elevate the tank, it will drain just fine no matter how much water is in there.

So, simply fill the tank with as much nutrient as your plant(s) will use until the nutrient solution goes stale. You can use any tank size that you want, as long as the tank is positioned high enough, it will drain just fine until the last drop; I do not see a problem with using, e.g. a 10 litre bucket as a tank and refill that every few days.
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The autopot system came with a 47 Liter tank. Right now I have it full with water(no fert added and pH at about 6.5). Also I added a oxygen supply to the tank so the water has some movement.
 
ComputerSaysNo said:
I have no experience with organic ferts, so couldn't say. It probably also depends on the fertilizer in particular that you are using.

You won't have to completely fill the tank. If you elevate the tank, it will drain just fine no matter how much water is in there.

So, simply fill the tank with as much nutrient as your plant(s) will use until the nutrient solution goes stale. You can use any tank size that you want, as long as the tank is positioned high enough, it will drain just fine until the last drop; I do not see a problem with using, e.g. a 10 litre bucket as a tank and refill that every few days.
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I think I will remove some water so that I will only have 15% of the tank full. Then I add the nutes and it should be good right?
 
You do not need an oxygen supply, unless you want the bubbles to agitate the nutrient solution so nothing will settle. This is practically hand-watering from below, O2-enriching the water does nothing.

I have the 47-litre tank as well, and I've had it drain completely empty on me while I was away and did not put enough nutrient solution in for the duration. My tank is positioned a good 30cm higher than my autopot; this will definitely allow most of the water inside to be fed to the pot.

Do some research on how long your organic nutrient solution will last, and then just size up your batch accordingly. I really have no experience with organics, so I don't want to disperse wrong information here. Probably as long as it doesn't smell, it's still fine. Just make a batch and go with as long as possible.

Alternatively, you could simply top dress your plant, and then just feed pure water from the tank. That would avoid to keep organic nutrient solution in the tank at all.
 
ComputerSaysNo said:
You do not need an oxygen supply, unless you want the bubbles to agitate the nutrient solution so nothing will settle. This is practically hand-watering from below, O2-enriching the water does nothing.

I have the 47-litre tank as well, and I've had it drain completely empty on me while I was away and did not put enough nutrient solution in for the duration. My tank is positioned a good 30cm higher than my autopot; this will definitely allow most of the water inside to be fed to the pot.

Do some research on how long your organic nutrient solution will last, and then just size up your batch accordingly. I really have no experience with organics, so I don't want to disperse wrong information here. Probably as long as it doesn't smell, it's still fine. Just make a batch and go with as long as possible.

Alternatively, you could simply top dress your plant, and then just feed pure water from the tank. That would avoid to keep organic nutrient solution in the tank at all.
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I read online that Bio Bizz nutes only last for a few hours or even 1 day in water before going bad. I think i will give the plant nutes from the top. I have no other choice. One more thing what fert should I look at that lasts a long time.
 
TomatoGrower123 said:
One more thing what fert should I look at that lasts a long time.
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I'm using GHE mineral fertilizer (General Hydroponics). The nutrient solution supposedly lasts for two weeks or longer as far as I could find out (probably a good bit longer). In any case it lasts longer than the tank supply (even a single mature plant will drain the 47l tank within about three weeks).

If you look at the StinkBud thread where he describes his aeroponic setup, you will find that he used only organic fertilizer, and he would change the reservoir every three weeks. So there definitely are organic ferts which last that long.
 
TomatoGrower123 said:
Hey Growers, I bought an Autopot system and I was wondering how and what to feed the plants in that system. I browsed online and all the people told me that hand watering from the top wont be good for the plant in such a system. So what nutes should I buy because right now I have Bio bizz nutes and a normal hand watering setup.
Click to expand...
I've been running auto pots for 7 years now here's what I've learnt.

You can run organics but your lines will block and your going to have to suck the lumps out.

Coco ball mix is my favourite media. But I've used. Peat, peat and perlite

You only hand water the first ten days

Put a pump or air stones in the Res. So the water doesn't go off.

Copper sided disc don't matter which way you put in In I've done both no issues

I run a 220 litre Res which can do me up to two weeks

Ive run canna Coco, gh, and now on to mega crop and love the results

Get an online filter for lumps

I use a tray and the easy2grow for veg


I love the autopots because I hate hand watering IMG_20210904_220605.jpg
 
Fishbulb said:
Put a pump or air stones in the Res. So the water doesn't go off.
Click to expand...
I'm running an autopot on a balcony now for about 2 months and didn't have any problems. The res is not in direct sunlight but definitely did warm up during the summer days. However, I haven't seen any signs of the res water going "off" or stale. Plant looks fabulous, too.

Did you have any specific problems in the past with the reservoir water? Or do you just use a pump/air stone for good measure?
I'm not convinced that a bubbler would make much difference in the reservoir, unless you run beneficial organisms which probably would need the O2 in order to proliferate and survive.

How would the pump/air stone keep the water from going off? It's not in contact with roots or medium, and it's not recycled. I don't see how oxygenating or agitating the nutrient solution in the res would avoid any potential problems.
 
ComputerSaysNo said:
I'm running an autopot on a balcony now for about 2 months and didn't have any problems. The res is not in direct sunlight but definitely did warm up during the summer days. However, I haven't seen any signs of the res water going "off" or stale. Plant looks fabulous, too.

Did you have any specific problems in the past with the reservoir water? Or do you just use a pump/air stone for good measure?
I'm not convinced that a bubbler would make much difference in the reservoir, unless you run beneficial organisms which probably would need the O2 in order to proliferate and survive.

How would the pump/air stone keep the water from going off? It's not in contact with roots or medium, and it's not recycled. I don't see how oxygenating or agitating the nutrient solution in the res would avoid any potential problems.
Click to expand...
Yeah ur right
 
ComputerSaysNo said:
I'm running an autopot on a balcony now for about 2 months and didn't have any problems. The res is not in direct sunlight but definitely did warm up during the summer days. However, I haven't seen any signs of the res water going "off" or stale. Plant looks fabulous, too.

Did you have any specific problems in the past with the reservoir water? Or do you just use a pump/air stone for good measure?
I'm not convinced that a bubbler would make much difference in the reservoir, unless you run beneficial organisms which probably would need the O2 in order to proliferate and survive.

How would the pump/air stone keep the water from going off? It's not in contact with roots or medium, and it's not recycled. I don't see how oxygenating or agitating the nutrient solution in the res would avoid any potential problems.
Click to expand...
I found keeping the water moving stops it smelling. My Res is in the room which is lights on about 28c lights off 23c

I just do what works for me and share what I do
 
ComputerSaysNo said:
I am using 50/50 coco/hydroton as substrate.

As nutrients I give the GH tri-part line at HALF recommended strength, plus some supplements (Fulvic, beneficial bacteria). Plant looks very happy.

The manufacturer of the autopot does not recommend organic fertlizers (such as BioBizz) because that supposedly can lead to clogging. I have no experience with that. Probably some organic ferts work better than others. Maybe it's just fine, and they're just overly cautious with their recommendations.

There is no risk in trying organic ferts. If the system actually clogs, you will find out pretty soon, and then you can simply rinse and feed a mineral fertilizer.
Click to expand...
You can use any medium you want as long as its light and airy with soil use a 50/50 mix of soil and perlite with clay pebbles at the bottom for drainage.
 
TomatoGrower123 said:
Hey Growers, I bought an Autopot system and I was wondering how and what to feed the plants in that system. I browsed online and all the people told me that hand watering from the top wont be good for the plant in such a system. So what nutes should I buy because right now I have Bio bizz nutes and a normal hand watering setup.
Click to expand...
You hand water for the first 10 to 14 days so the roots have a chance to stretch to the bottom or mid bottom of the pot. Then use the autopots reservoir to water automatically.
 
I used them with just coco in the pots and dynagro foliage pro mixed in the res. Results were great. Only thing for me was a little slime in the res, which I heard could be caused by the general hydroponics ph down I was using.

I suggest making sure the bottom doesn’t get waterlogged After you open the valves, in case you turned it on before your plants are ready for it, there is no air circulation at the roots so it will be wet forever if the plants can’t use it.
 
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OneMoreRip said:
I used them with just coco in the pots and dynagro foliage pro mixed in the res. Results were great. Only thing for me was a little slime in the res, which I heard could be caused by the general hydroponics ph down I was using.

I suggest making sure the bottom doesn’t get waterlogged After you open the valves, in case you turned it on before your plants are ready for it, there is no air circulation at the roots so it will be wet forever if the plants can’t use it.
Click to expand...
I have airdomes in place
 
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