[gongageek]

Being fairly new to this forum this may be a topic that has been well covered, but I thought I'd test the waters to see if there is any interest. If this is a repeat of what others have done in the past please let me know as I don't care to bore anyone!

Here's the plan:
I've just started a grow of Aurora Indica from Nirvana Fem Seeds in a 2 pot AutoPot system. I'm growing using the following components:
- HomeBox S Grow Tent
- 400 Watt NextGen Digital Ballast
- 400 Watt Hortilux - Blue MH for veg
- 400 Watt Hortilux Super HPS for flower
- Sun Tube Air Cooled Reflector
- Can Fan & Filter
- Easy2Grow Brand 2 Pot AutoPot System
- Botanicare Organic Hydro Nutes

Germination of the seeds was very straight forward using the paper towel method. I transplanted the germed seeds into rockwool cubes at day three and again into larger cubes and ultimately the AutoPots at 10 days.

Setting up the AutoPots was extremely simple and is well documented on the net, so it should be a breeze for anyone. The only issue I had was that the main 1/4" tubing that runs from the reservoir to the AutoPot was way too short. This was an easy fix as this tubing is the same as is used on lawn sprinkler systems and only cost about $8.00 for 50 feet.

Once your system is completely setup you need to add the growing media. I used a combination of 1 part coco coir to 2 parts of the small granule perlite. I found that ratio listed on the web site for another AutoPot system and it seems to be pretty good at holding enough water to keep things healthy while still allowing good root aeration. After you place the media in the pots make sure to thoroughly soak the media with plenty of PH adjusted distilled water to flush out any junk and to wet the media as a means of starting the wicking action necessary to make the AutoPot work. Think of it as priming the pump!

Once everything was setup I simply transferred the rockwool cubes into the media and I was off!

The pictures attached to this post are taken at the 2 week point from the start of germination (i.e. today).

That's where I' m at this point so if there is any interest please let me know and I will post regularly through the entire grow. Thanks for looking!

[osirica420]

looks like your off to a good start!
I wll be checking your updates, good luck bro!

[gongageek]

I'm really curious if anyone else on this forum has used the AutoPot system, and if so what were the results? Thanks!

[gongageek]

OK then I will assume this is new ground. I had hoped someone else had used this system so I could avoid any issues.

[biteme]

ok, i confess, i did, and in fact had the 4 pot system! the pump died before the end of the grow. same thing happened with the free standing water farm unit i bought and ran at the same time, dead pump prior to end of flower? but you can grow huge plants with the right nutes and lighting in either of these units. they are relatively cheap in the big pic and were an excellent learning tool for me cause where i live, there are no hydro stores let alone peeps to teach so most of what i learned is online or reading some place. so these units were basically my intro to hydro and same with you i suspect? and like me, you will ditch them soon enough whether you continue with hydro or not. prior to this, i was strictly soil indoors but due to rookie ventillation issues my flower room turned into a mud hole one summer because of high humidity. once in awhile there may be a gal in a pot of soil awaiting her turn in hydro, but no more dirt indoors for me. peace-biteme

[bendoslendo]

I used the Autopots in my first grow ever, about 10 years ago now. Search for Craven_au I believe he uses them successfully.

Keep an eye out for salt buildup on the hinges of your smartvalves. I've heard they've fixed the problem since but I had a smartvalve jam in ON position and flood my closet.

[gongageek]

Thanks for the info bendoslendo, that's one I wasn't aware of. I'll be taking some more pics this Friday at the 2 week veg point, but already I've found a couple of things I find annoying about the AutoPot.

[gongageek]

So far using the AutoPot system has been pretty straight forward. This system is supposed to be pretty much set it and forget it and largely that's true. On the upside I really appreciate the fact that I don't have to monitor PH & PPM nearly as close as a conventional hydro system. However on the down side I find that the capillary action doesn't work quite as well as I'd like which at times has left the plants a bit low on moisture. At these times I have had to add a bit of additional solution to the pots. This requires great care or you will overflow the base of the system. I suspect an adjustment to the media mixture could give better results so I will review options on the next grow. Otherwise everything is progressing well. I have attached a few pics of the girls at the 2 week veg point. I'm amazed how compact this strain seems to be.

[darwinsbulldog]

looks nice buddy, i'll be watching

[jawnroot]

Subscribed. Just saw this system online and thought it might be cool for my tent. Curious to see how it comes out.

Something I noticed:

Originally Posted by Autopot

The AQUAValve™ allows the AutoPot™ Easy2Grow™ systems to mimic nature by providing growing plants with a complete wet then dry cycle which prevents root rot and allows more oxygen to reach the root systems.

It sounds like it's designed to go wet/dry, wet/dry. Instead of watering the pots by hand, you may just want to let them go and see what happens. If they begin drooping, have at it, but otherwise I'd wait and see if it takes care of it.