[cola-chron]

Basically as the title says !

Sick of these autopots had nothing but trouble with them so far and I don't like the amount of water that's constantly present

Soooo ... I'm gonna DIY a system using drip rings

Amongst other problems I've experienced with the autopots it's near impossible to flush the pots through if needed ( I grow kinda like a scrog but not, using pea netting) had such a ball ache tring to reposition my buds into the netting My design I've come to in my head would to build a raised plinth type sink if ya like under the whole area my plants will be seated on. It will fall from one end and have a plug into a fall pipe that will flow into a drain in the room below. On top of this will be a metal mesh for my pots to sit on so the run off can flow into the sink below meaning I can flush the whole grow at the turn of a tap !

I intend on building it out of ply but don't know the best thing to then waterproof it with ? Does anybody know of a product that would be ideal ? Like mybe a resin or roofing product

Secondly is the watering system

I want to use some sort of driper or drip rings from my 400l tank to top feed but it needs to be automated ! Will I be able to mybe get a flow timer (like the irrigation products in garden centres) and fix it on to the feed pipe I currently have for my autopots ? (Leaving it gravity fed) or will I need a pump to up the pressure ? If so can anyone advise a good timer that I can possibly set to alternate days ( for when plants are young and not needing watering as much)

This idea works in my head but if u think its toss haha please let me know

Cheers Chron

[Saddam]

Buy a maxijet pump and a set of drippers + lines, manually switch or use a segmented timer to run your pump and put your pots in a Garland tray to catch the run off? Remove the run off from Garland tray with another pump running to a waste container for you to empty after each feed. simples

[cola-chron]

It's a very good idea mate and thanks for ur input, but as I have enough ply to build an ark an plenty of plumbing bits n bob that will do the job I'd rather build something myself also I won't have to mess about with emptying containers and everything will flow to waste with no effort at all shouldn't have a problem building it as I'm a joiner

[budderz]

same idea as me i hate auto pots so many people use coco when it is a run to waste medium what medium are you using cola-chron ?my idea was the same as yours just raise the pots on saucers a couple of layers of good grade black and white glued to the ply with floor tile spray glue did the trick for me the waste then ran to a piece of guttering into a waste tank with a pump for when it needed emptying worked fine good luck with it

[cola-chron]

Hey budders

I also use coco .. I'm fairly new to growing myself but my current room has been a DIY masterpiece think building it has been as much fun as growing (wish I'd kept a diary of the build ) one thing I am scared of is my tank emptying on the floor ! Haha I knocked it over with only 50l or so in one and had a catastrophic tsunami in my room :/ oops ! Hopefully ill be able to run straight to the drain. Should I ever need to empty my tank I'd be able to use it like a sink, I've emptied it once by hand ( dropped an open bottle of Ph Down in it by accident) ... Yeah I know fuckin idiot or what haha but it nearly killed me luggin all that water down stairs in buckets! Also it's not in my house as I'm currently bunkin with ma parents and as much as I'd like to spent qualitatiy time with my ladies it's just not possible !

It won't be for a month or so till my room frees up n I can get to work but when I do I'll post it

How's this system workin for u ? I think I've got root rot in a couple of min at the min with the autopots gutted need to go n sort it tomorra could just be Ph out of wak or at leat I hope

[budderz]

cola-chron, on 28 February 2013 - 11:44 PM, said:

Hey budders

I also use coco .. I'm fairly new to growing myself but my current room has been a DIY masterpiece think building it has been as much fun as growing (wish I'd kept a diary of the build ) one thing I am scared of is my tank emptying on the floor ! Haha I knocked it over with only 50l or so in one and had a catastrophic tsunami in my room :/ oops ! Hopefully ill be able to run straight to the drain. Should I ever need to empty my tank I'd be able to use it like a sink, I've emptied it once by hand ( dropped an open bottle of Ph Down in it by accident) ... Yeah I know fuckin idiot or what haha but it nearly killed me luggin all that water down stairs in buckets! Also it's not in my house as I'm currently bunkin with ma parents and as much as I'd like to spent qualitatiy time with my ladies it's just not possible !

It won't be for a month or so till my room frees up n I can get to work but when I do I'll post it

How's this system workin for u ? I think I've got root rot in a couple of min at the min with the autopots gutted need to go n sort it tomorra could just be Ph out of wak or at leat I hope

holy shit 50l on the floor i bet that was a sight the table that i built is gone now and im back to just feeding in the bath as the plant number is managable autopots i wont entertaine anymore to combat the root rot/pythium id recommend not turning the system on till the plants have totally rooted into the pots also the airdomes and a couple of inch of clay pebbles in the bottom of the pots really does help also turn the tap off and let them dry out once a week if poss but as for flushing id sit them in the bath or on a bucket and flush with ph adjusted water till the run off e.c measures the same as the tap water then let them dry out again fill the tank with ph adjusted water then turn the tap back on this was the best method i could find with them but basically if you cant move the plants your fucked hope this helps

[cola-chron]

Hahaha "if u can't move the plants ur fucked .. Hope this helps" propa tickled me think I'll have to engineer a tray I can slide under n flush into. Gonna get some of that microbial Shiz what ever its called that abliterates everything living in the pots .. Not an ideal solution but its gotta be better than leaving them ! Only 3 weeks left n all

[budderz]

cola-chron, on 01 March 2013 - 03:07 PM, said:

Hahaha "if u can't move the plants ur fucked .. Hope this helps" propa tickled me think I'll have to engineer a tray I can slide under n flush into. Gonna get some of that microbial Shiz what ever its called that abliterates everything living in the pots .. Not an ideal solution but its gotta be better than leaving them ! Only 3 weeks left n all

good luck with them bud