New to AUTOPOT! Halp! <3

[Varkhond]

Hello, I got a baby Auto Lemon Kix by Dutch Passion going, so far top watering but i think i might want to add the resevoir and tray/aquavalve asap..
My question is how do you guys do with water change? Or can I say fill it up, and just regulate with ph up and down and add nutes as it is consumed?
Or is it a matter of balancing so that water does not get "old"?

Should have done more research i think! Hope to get this important step sorted asap.

 

[Ace12]

If you looked through the forum subsections theres a whole forum for autopots. Its got tons of useful information. I'm getting mine going this weekend as well. As far as what I've read I thibk you'd want to let your rez run out before refilling so its all new nutrient mix. I've also heard differing opinions on whether to circulate the water every now and then. I think I might set a timer to mix the res water 2 times an hour. Just seems logical. I believe it under vendors in the forum. Good luck!!

 

[blue]

Hello, I got a baby Auto Lemon Kix by Dutch Passion going, so far top watering but i think i might want to add the resevoir and tray/aquavalve asap..
My question is how do you guys do with water change? Or can I say fill it up, and just regulate with ph up and down and add nutes as it is consumed?
Or is it a matter of balancing so that water does not get "old"?

Should have done more research i think! Hope to get this important step sorted asap.

It depends how you're growing. If you have a buffering soil (like biobizz) and your water is somewhere close to nute takeup range, you shouldn't need to change it at all (or use PH up or down)

I've been using autopots for around a few years and will generally fill the rez only 5 or 10 litres at a time (depending on the stage of growth - more during flower as they drink more).

I will wait until the rez is nearly emply and then decide (based on the condition of the plant) the next feeding strength and quantity.

You "could" add an airpump to the rez ... it will certainly oxygenate the water. But i've never felt the need to "re-mix" the nutes once i've put them in
(For clarity, i mix my nutes in a five litre water bottle (with the water) and then pour into the rez - because mixing nutes in a bottle is as easy as putting them in (one at a time) and giveing the bottle a bloody good shake (with the lid on lol))

I will typically wair for the fan leaves to have reached each side of the pot, before i switch from top feeding to the Rez and autopot feeding.

That is about all there is to it! ^_^

Hope it helped
Blue

 

[Ace12]

Blue im using coco in my autopots the new xl fabric ones. I've been trying to find info on if I can use vermiculite and perlite or should I just with perlite. I know you can water coco several times per day which leads me to believe vermiculite would be ok. Have any insight into it?

 

[blue]

Blue im using coco in my autopots the new xl fabric ones. I've been trying to find info on if I can use vermiculite and perlite or should I just with perlite. I know you can water coco several times per day which leads me to believe vermiculite would be ok. Have any insight into it?

Yeah sure, hang un buddy, i've got a couple of firends that have used coco and autopots and I may have a guide by one of them stashed! Lemme take a quick look!

 

[blue]

It's quite old - but here it is. If it doesn't cover what you need, gimme a shout, and maybe @St. Tom could have some insight for you (he's a long time coco user)
----------

Hope you don't mind hans - I've condensed your feeding routine for my own (and others if you like) reference.

From here: https://www.autoflower.org/threads/hans-autopot-grow-and-show-gorilla-glue-red-poison.55181/

HANSBRICKS RED POISON & GORILLA GLUE AUTO POT WITH COCO GROW

ALL PHOTOS ON SHOW ARE GORILLA GLUE

These Autopots work well with pretty much any medium but for best results I’d definitely recommend using them with Coco. I’ve been mixing in around 20-30% perlite my previous grows but trying out straight coco this time around since I don’t think it’s really necessary with this medium.

INITIAL WATERING - SEED NOT UP

I watered both pots initially with about 1.5L of 5.8 pH water with Voodoo Juice and Cal-Mag at 1ml/l. Both are currently just under my Apollo LED running 24/0 for first few days then will switch to 20/4.

Seed Up For Three Days Picture

Day 6
Gave them their first feeding yesterday with 0.5ml/l Sensi Grow and 2ml/l Voodoo Juice (plus cal-mag as usual). Each pot got about 750ml of water.

Day 10
Things seem to be moving along just fine with these... Will be giving them their next feeding tomorrow and will bump it up to 1ml/l on the Sensi Grow.

Day 15
Good looking start to these so far... The GG is already looking promising, quite a bit bigger than the RP at this point. Just gave them another feeding after taking these pics, still same feed as last time. Another 5 days and I'll get the Autopots turned on.

Day 19
Good growth last few days, also both have showed sex already... Gave them another feeding last night, now at 1.5ml/l Sensi Grow and Cal/mag. I've also started adding the Silicate as well, starting at the minimum dosage which is just 1.5ml per 4L. I plan on getting the Autopots going tomorrow and will also add in the Mars LED.

Day 21 TURN ON THE AUTOPOTS

Filled up the res with about 15L to start, current feed is 1.5ml/l Sensi Grow and Cal-Mag plus the Silicate at 1.5ml/4L. I've also started adding the Terpinator at 2ml/l and the Drip-Clean (1ml/10L).

Day 28
These are really starting to take off now... always amazes me how quickly these plants can grow.
Filled up the res with another 20L today, bumped up the base nutes to 2ml/l, everything else same as last feed.

Day 32
Really picking up the pace now... only been 4 days since last update but there's been substantial growth so time to update again
Res was empty this morning so they're definitely increasing their uptake (20L in 3.5 days).
Filled up about 25L this time, still 2ml/l Sensi Grow, probably switch over to Bloom next feed. Increased Cal/Mag slightly to 1.75ml/l and Silicate now at 2ml/4L.

Day 36
Had to fill up the res again today... Made up a 30L batch and switched over to Sensi Bloom Coco now (still 2ml/l), bumped up the Terpinator to 2.5ml/l and also started adding Bud Candy at 1ml/l.

Day 40
I filled up the res and have starting adding Big Bud as well at 1ml/L as per usual, everything else is the same... These girls are quite thirsty going through about 6-7L a day now.

Day 49
Things are looking good and the buds are filling out nicely now. I'll be away for a few days so I filled up the res with about 35L yesterday, feed is the same as last update.

Day 54
Well both plants looking okay today... I had to tie up several of the GG branches though cause they were still falling over. Also did a big defoliation on her today, removed probably two dozen leaves to really open her up and get some good light penetration to the lower half.

I switched out Big Bud with Overdrive a couple days ago... It's looking like the RP will get another week of feeding then I'll start the 10 day flush, the GG will likely get at least 2 more weeks before flushing.

Day 61
Alright bit of an overdue update been really busy lately... ended up chopping the RP on Monday, not overly happy with how that one turned out... I'll get the final harvest and bud pics of that up later this week though.

RedPoison got a good few ounces despite not being up to Hans usual monsters.
GorIlla Glue chopped nine days later - huge harvest

plus more - check out the journal!! https://www.autoflower.org/threads/hans-autopot-grow-and-show-gorilla-glue-red-poison.55181/page-26

----

Thanks Hans!! You Rock

 

[Varkhond]

Wow what great answers! Of course this vault of info that is AFN got other threads! Thanks alot! My plant is like 1cm in diameter so I will wait a few weeks yet. Biobizz80% 20% perlite with 5 cm of leca in the buttom... I am also using biobizz up and down for the first time and compared to my old ph down i need to use alot more liquid... As i has never used up before, is there any danger of adding to much if i go say 5.4 then add up to 6.5 then i add down to 5.5 then i add few drops to 5.8? I also got an bluelab ph pen, what a difference from my old one in speed and precision(never calibrated the old ebay one)... i was measuring about 0.5 to little on the old one thus have been watering alot with 6.8 ish ph on my flowering stages... I get really autistic with my waterings... i could spend 2 hours mixing up a can of 5 liters... hopefully i figure it out with dosages of ph up down and save some time with the faster ph pen.

EDIT; Got a job and a good life now. Not that much time for daily care. But I still want to shower my weed with love. Weed saved my life. Weed made me lose weight and get a job after 13 years of misery working with the danish psychiatrics healthcare systems... pills that didnt help.. cause wierd restless leg syndrome and finger twitching... stopped cold turkey and went my own way with my own weed and my own programming... Long story short, weed made it possible for me to go my own way and lose 60 kg, my depression and most of my anxiety AND get hired fully for the first time in my life. Weed ftw! (I am actually writing an book, been 6 months and nowhere close to finishing).

 

[blue]

Wow what great answers! Of course this vault of info that is AFN got other threads! Thanks alot! My plant is like 1cm in diameter so I will wait a few weeks yet. Biobizz80% 20% perlite with 5 cm of leca in the buttom... I am also using biobizz up and down for the first time and compared to my old ph down i need to use alot more liquid... As i has never used up before, is there any danger of adding to much if i go say 5.4 then add up to 6.5 then i add down to 5.5 then i add few drops to 5.8? I also got an bluelab ph pen, what a difference from my old one in speed and precision(never calibrated the old ebay one)... i was measuring about 0.5 to little on the old one thus have been watering alot with 6.8 ish ph on my flowering stages...

Hmm your tap water is 5.4?? If you are sure and trust your meter (that must be calibrated), then yeah, you'll need to raise it a little (but let the soil do the buffering, don't need to get it to 6.5 ... just a little bit higher) .

You old PH down may have been Nitric or Phosphoric (nitric is best for veg and phosphoric for flower) BUT .. the biobizz one will almost certainly be CITRIC acid (lemon juice) which is not as powerfull as the others... but IS organic and won't destroy your organic microherd that you're tring to build in the soil.

That will explain the differences in the amounts used.

You really can trust the biobuzz soil to buffer ... my water is somewhere near ish ... i never checked it and threw away the meters after findishing with coco grows.

If you're 100% sure that your plain (degassed) tap water is 5.4PH, you'll need to add a little bit of PHup .... but if it's closer to 6, i'd just add the water and let the soil do it's thing. (I've used biobizz for many many years and i started with PH down..and messing about - it never turned out well!) lol

 

[Varkhond]

Hmm your tap water is 5.4?? If you are sure and trust your meter (that must be calibrated), then yeah, you'll need to raise it a little (but let the soil do the buffering, don't need to get it to 6.5 ... just a little bit higher) .

You old PH down may have been Nitric or Phosphoric (nitric is best for veg and phosphoric for flower) BUT .. the biobizz one will almost certainly be CITRIC acid (lemon juice) which is not as powerfull as the others... but IS organic and won't destroy your organic microherd that you're tring to build in the soil.

That will explain the differences in the amounts used.

You really can trust the biobuzz soil to buffer ... my water is somewhere near ish ... i never checked it and threw away the meters after findishing with coco grows.

If you're 100% sure that your plain (degassed) tap water is 5.4PH, you'll need to add a little bit of PHup .... but if it's closer to 6, i'd just add the water and let the soil do it's thing. (I've used biobizz for many many years and i started with PH down..and messing about - it never turned out well!) lol

I just poured a glass of water from the tap and straight out the ph meter says; 8.0 and 24c. Buffering? LoL ... Does that meen it keep an stable ph as long its not to far off the normally recommended values of ph? Must admit i dont understand some of the technical stuff especially with the medium... been using different brands each time pretty much.

added a foto of my first grow in free pots with free soil from moms garden mix with nutes in the soil... was way to acidic compared to what is normally used i remember people was surpriced it worked without ph regulating.

 

[blue]

I just poured a glass of water from the tap and straight out the ph meter says; 8.0 and 24c. Buffering? LoL ... Does that meen it keep an stable ph as long its not to far off the normally recommended values of ph?

Yes mate! thats exactly what it means!! It will automatically adjust the water to the correct PH.

Although 8 is a little high i think for the buffers to work really well.
I'd put the PH Up away (firmly in the cupboard)

The PH down ... add it in small amounts .. say count 10 drops and stir well and see how it is. Soon you'll know how many drops you need.

The Organic PH down does not stabalise the PH as well as the Nitric or Phosphoric .. so it may drift back up.

If my tap water was 8 ... I'd try and get it down to 6ph-6.5ph and let it settle. I'd prepare a 5 litre bottle of water, leave the top off for 24 hours ... add 10 drops or so of PH down and stir well and check it ... then leave it for another 24 hours and check it again, adjust as needed and then use it for feeding (add the nutes you need to it first, one at a time, shaking the bottle in between)

Hope this helps