Figuring ppm on nutes to add to autopot reservoir

smellthestinknuggs

smellthestinknuggs

Member
New grower here and first post! Hello to all and thanks in advance for any help that maybe provided.

I've got 2 grows under my belt which turned out surprisingly well when growing in cloth pots and soil. I am currently into my 3rd grow now, and at week 2 into flower. This however is my first time using the autopot xl system with the water reservoir. The media I have chosen with the autopots is ⅓ coco coir, ⅓ perlite, ⅓ super soil mix. The runoff from this mix is 475ppm and the rain water I'm using reads 25ppm. My question is, do I only add 500-600ppm of the nutes to bring it where it needs to be for this stage? My gut is telling me this is right but need some experienced growers advice.
 
coreywebster

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
You shouldn't of mixed a soilless medium with a soil medium, it's just made it more complicated than it needed to be.

Coco would of been the better option for autopots.

Start with quarter strength nutrients and read the plant and adjust
 
calvin.m16

calvin.m16

Well-Known Member
coreywebster said:
You shouldn't of mixed a soilless medium with a soil medium, it's just made it more complicated than it needed to be.

Coco would of been the better option for autopots.

Start with quarter strength nutrients and read the plant and adjust
Click to expand...
Agreed, also, the perlite should be added to the bottom of these pots if you want to prevent the lower roots from getting rot from being submerged in stagnant water. The problem with AutoPots is once the nutrient solution goes into the tray it just sits there. You definitely do not want any high water retention medium like soil in autopots, it will cause them to bog down and hold too much water, possibly lead to root rot.

When I used AutoPots I layered the bottom of the pots in pure perlite a few inches, then put 70/30 coco/perlite on top. I fed normal strength like 1.6 EC so 800 PPM TDS of fertilizer. I use RO water only because my well water is 400 PPMs of silt and iron and my softened tap water isn't an option due to sodium content.

I had problems with some type of biofilm clogging the old school autopots when they used 1/4" lines from the reservoir to their floats, now it looks like they use 3/8" across the board. I'd keep that in mind, don't add stuff like bacillus (beneficial bacteria) etc to your water cause it will clog the lines as its not flowing regularly.

Did you get the autopots that are plastic or fabric? A little more info on what system and what nutrients would help.
 
smellthestinknuggs

smellthestinknuggs

Member
coreywebster said:
You shouldn't of mixed a soilless medium with a soil medium, it's just made it more complicated than it needed to be.

Coco would of been the better option for autopots.

Start with quarter strength nutrients and read the plant and adjust
Click to expand...
Story of my life.....complicating shit and learning the hard way! I seem to retain more from these lessons. All looks good though! Great explosive growth happen now and I've had zero issues thus far unlike my first couple grows which left me scrambling to fix ph and lockout issues.
 
curious2garden

curious2garden

Well-Known Mod
Staff member
smellthestinknuggs said:
New grower here and first post! Hello to all and thanks in advance for any help that maybe provided.

I've got 2 grows under my belt which turned out surprisingly well when growing in cloth pots and soil. I am currently into my 3rd grow now, and at week 2 into flower. This however is my first time using the autopot xl system with the water reservoir. The media I have chosen with the autopots is ⅓ coco coir, ⅓ perlite, ⅓ super soil mix. The runoff from this mix is 475ppm and the rain water I'm using reads 25ppm. My question is, do I only add 500-600ppm of the nutes to bring it where it needs to be for this stage? My gut is telling me this is right but need some experienced growers advice.
Click to expand...
She's 2 weeks into flower, you've grown her this far so you know what her PPM tolerance is, keep it at that or bump up a little. I don't measure run off and never have. If you haven't been feeding so far then I'd start my PPM as @coreywebster suggested 1/4th manufacturers recommended.

@calvin.m16 knows his stuff too.

Welcome to RIU, we have a ton of really good growers here
 
smellthestinknuggs

smellthestinknuggs

Member
calvin.m16 said:
Agreed, also, the perlite should be added to the bottom of these pots if you want to prevent the lower roots from getting rot from being submerged in stagnant water. The problem with AutoPots is once the nutrient solution goes into the tray it just sits there. You definitely do not want any high water retention medium like soil in autopots, it will cause them to bog down and hold too much water, possibly lead to root rot.

When I used AutoPots I layered the bottom of the pots in pure perlite a few inches, then put 70/30 coco/perlite on top. I fed normal strength like 1.6 EC so 800 PPM TDS of fertilizer. I use RO water only because my well water is 400 PPMs of silt and iron and my softened tap water isn't an option due to sodium content.

I had problems with some type of biofilm clogging the old school autopots when they used 1/4" lines from the reservoir to their floats, now it looks like they use 3/8" across the board. I'd keep that in mind, don't add stuff like bacillus (beneficial bacteria) etc to your water cause it will clog the lines as its not flowing regularly.

Did you get the autopots that are plastic or fabric? A little more info on what system and what nutrients would help.
Click to expand...
I have the plastic 6.6 gal Autopot XL 4 pot system with the newer 3/8" lines and I'm using the air domes with them....12gal Reservoir. Using electric sky 300 led light in a 3x5 space.

At the bottom of the pots I do have a 2" layer of hydroton like you say you did with perlite so the soil mix is not all the way to the bottom.

For my nutes I'm using the green planet gp3 kit.

This grow is 2 Sugarcane and 2 Dirty Kush Breath started from fem seeds. They are doing really good so far!
 
calvin.m16

calvin.m16

Well-Known Member
smellthestinknuggs said:
I have the plastic 6.6 gal Autopot XL 4 pot system with the newer 3/8" lines and I'm using the air domes with them....12gal Reservoir. Using electric sky 300 led light in a 3x5 space.

At the bottom of the pots I do have a 2" layer of hydroton like you say you did with perlite so the soil mix is not all the way to the bottom.

For my nutes I'm using the green planet gp3 kit.

This grow is 2 Sugarcane and 2 Dirty Kush Breath started from fem seeds. They are doing really good so far!
Click to expand...
Should do fine then. Especially with the air added. I forgot they made those.
 
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