Help me pick a set up?

Hey all,

Hoping this is the right place for my thread. I have a 5x5 Gorrila that I want to fire up again, but I want to try so new stuff. My focus is going to be on minimizing the work and I would like your opinions, I have only done a hand full of runs. All of them were successful, because I took the time to listen to others. Your help would be appreciated and valued.

1) I like the AC stuff, was eyeing the reusable filter and climate control system. Was eyeing the control, fans, carbon filter. Is this a worth while plug and play value If I am going for set and forget options? Like the reusable canister, and want a digital easy to manage control

2) I am thinking of retiring my timber grow light unit, was eyeing stuff out of the HGL line up. Something like a tomahawk, or scorpion? The cups melted on my Timber, so I want to mind the safety of it. Would this work with the AC control? I want to ditch my dial timer, it works but I would like to tidy my set up a bit.

3) To Auto pot or not? I was running an aero pot soil, with a home made drip watering system. It works well enough, fill it weekly and it’s good, even had it go 15 days on vacation, but it’s chunky. Was thinking about a 3 pot class system with air domes, shooting for once a week maintenance. Was thinking about using a store bought super soil as well. Open to other options and thoughts here, my goal is to cut the work to a minimum effort as I don’t always have a lot of time.

Hope to hear your thoughts soon, and appreciate any and all help!

I say from my research , BUY them all if you can afford to and yes AC controller will work with other companies lights

From AC's website
"Our UIS™ controllers can work with grow lights from other brands, by using our Lighting Adapters or Control Plug. Connect your lighting fixture to our controllers to automate it with light cycles, scheduling, and even dynamic responses to temperature and humidity. "

Blumats is also another popular auto water system. just depends on how you wanna go.

Climate control is key and timers on wifi are a pain in the ass.

NR613 said:

Climate control is key and timers on wifi are a pain in the ass.

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on previous runs I never managed climate control, curious to know how much of a difference it will make. Why the wifi comment? What do you use?

Fixable nightmare said:

on previous runs I never managed climate control, curious to know how much of a difference it will make. Why the wifi comment? What do you use?

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WiFi control is a cool feature, but what if you happen to have an issue with the WiFi? Now that passes down to having issues with your timer I can only assume. Mechanical timers work very well, plus they’re easier on the grow budget.

I agree, never again will I do a grow from anything controlled by wifi. What a nightmare...

HydroKid239 said:

WiFi control is a cool feature, but what if you happen to have an issue with the WiFi? Now that passes down to having issues with your timer I can only assume. Mechanical timers work very well, plus they’re easier on the grow budget.

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I use the AC system and have never had issues. If the Wi-Fi is down the system simply continues with whatever settings are current; it’s not like the system suddenly stops working. There’s also a manual override. Wi-Fi based stuff is not a necessity, but it’s nice.

HydroKid239 said:

WiFi control is a cool feature, but what if you happen to have an issue with the WiFi? Now that passes down to having issues with your timer I can only assume. Mechanical timers work very well, plus they’re easier on the grow budget.

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Thanks for helping! My mechanical timer works well enough, the pins a pain to reset or move though. (I know, I know, first world problems right?) Figured if I was going to swap it out, I could look at digital and bundle single control for lighting and air circulation upgrades.

The ability to have everything info wise in one spot outside of the tent seems like a plus, and I haven’t monitored temp or humidity, so I am curious if I might gain a bit there. Anyone have a strong opinion that I am missing out?

Can’t say as I am interested in Wifi or cell usage, probably won’t even hook that end up, lol.

DeadHeadX said:

I use the AC system and have never had issues. If the Wi-Fi is down the system simply continues with whatever settings are current; it’s not like the system suddenly stops working. There’s also a manual override. Wi-Fi based stuff is not a necessity, but it’s nice.

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Good insight, thanks! Do you have to set up the cellular and wifi options or can you run with out? Not keen on those features.

I haven't used any other systems but the AC Infinity controller with their humidifier and fans have made the environment basically hands off. All I do now days is water and refill the humidifier. I'm only running a 3'x4' room though. You can manage the controller from the controller, but the app make things super simple once you figure out the quirks. The wifi is only required if you want to access the app or view room stats remotely. For what its worth, I had a friend go Vivosun tent/fan/controller and has said in hindsight he wishes he went with AC Infinity.

I don't know anything about LEDs, I'm still running philips 315s.

tree beard said:

I agree, never again will I do a grow from anything controlled by wifi. What a nightmare...

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AGREE. I do like a wifi ac unit tho. Nice to be able to make sure ac came back on if power went out or something while you were at work.

fanya said:

I haven't used any other systems but the AC Infinity controller with their humidifier and fans have made the environment basically hands off. All I do now days is water and refill the humidifier. I'm only running a 3'x4' room though. You can manage the controller from the controller, but the app make things super simple once you figure out the quirks. The wifi is only required if you want to access the app or view room stats remotely. For what its worth, I had a friend go Vivosun tent/fan/controller and has said in hindsight he wishes he went with AC Infinity.

I don't know anything about LEDs, I'm still running philips 315s.

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So I am not managing humidity currently, do people get that much of a bump

Fixable nightmare said:

So I am not managing humidity currently, do people get that much of a bump

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I am mostly a lucky/lazy grow… might be time to figure out how to shore up the luck part with tech, hence the questions….

Fixable nightmare said:

So I am not managing humidity currently, do people get that much of a bump

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Managing humidity is really important and pretty easy. Early veg likes high humidity, dense buds like low humidity. Helps avoid mold late in budding also.

-Humidity and temperature control are huge
-then adding automated watering is very consistent when you have hum+temp in check
-nutrients go hand in hand with all of this
-when you get all this taken care of your plants are thriving, it doesn't hurt to look at co2 levels. Some grow rooms need extra air from the rest of the house, or outside. This can be tricky with temperature coming in. Adding co2 can be difficult so this is where it can be good to just add circulation from the rest of the house. Also having lights on while you are inside the house can help, because we breathe out co2. If the tent is where you sleep that is great
-on another note these automated fan controllers do not compensate for co2. So when they slow down because the temp and humidity are good, you could still lack co2. This is where I would have a co2 monitor and turn up the minimum fan speed to keep it at a good level
-after that controlling light amount is very important. this can be achieved thru a good spread light and using a measuring tool or checking the specs on the light

Fixable nightmare said:

So I am not managing humidity currently, do people get that much of a bump

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I can't comment, this is my first run attempting to keep temps and humidity at optimal levels instead of just being like eh good enough.

DeadHeadX said:

Managing humidity is really important and pretty easy. Early veg likes high humidity, dense buds like low humidity. Helps avoid mold late in budding also.

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Thanks, would have given this a like but I don’t have access yet. Appreciate the comments here and in the recipe info. My best run was just over a 1/2 lb out of 3 plants, felt like I could do more on the density front.

Nizza said:

-Humidity and temperature control are huge
-then adding automated watering is very consistent when you have hum+temp in check
-nutrients go hand in hand with all of this
-when you get all this taken care of your plants are thriving, it doesn't hurt to look at co2 levels. Some grow rooms need extra air from the rest of the house, or outside. This can be tricky with temperature coming in. Adding co2 can be difficult so this is where it can be good to just add circulation from the rest of the house. Also having lights on while you are inside the house can help, because we breathe out co2. If the tent is where you sleep that is great
-on another note these automated fan controllers do not compensate for co2. So when they slow down because the temp and humidity are good, you could still lack co2. This is where I would have a co2 monitor and turn up the minimum fan speed to keep it at a good level
-after that controlling light amount is very important. this can be achieved thru a good spread light and using a measuring tool or checking the specs on the light

Click to expand...

Thanks Nizza, I have been running canaster filter up top and circulating air pulls from the bottom in an open air basement. Temp seems stable, was running 24 hour lighting in veg. Humidity seems pretty key, will build it into the plan. No CO2 as of yet.

Fixable nightmare said:

Thanks Nizza, I have been running canaster filter up top and circulating air pulls from the bottom in an open air basement. Temp seems stable, was running 24 hour lighting in veg. Humidity seems pretty key, will build it into the plan. No CO2 as of yet.

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happy to chime in. spending money on equipment is alot, so you are smart to give it some time before investing

my point is that if using the temp/humidity controller on your exhaust /intake and also peaking on production in your tent, it is good to monitor co2 in a tent because there is not minimum co2 limit on these fan controllers.

temp+humidity isn't all the vectors of the grow i guess is what i'm trying to get at. If you're going to invest in more equipment I'd get a co2 monitor, and an automated watering setup, and that will help you dial in what you already have bought. Light intensity will just increase all the other stuff as long as the plant can take it