Setting up the Auto Fill Controller
As long as we’re on the subject, here’s another refinement that may be helpful.
The Octo system relies on an airgap between the plant and the local reservoir. It seems that varying that airgap by controlling the water level at various stages of transplant, veg and flower can help maximizing growth.
Since all the plants connected to the Auto Fill system will have the same water level as the Controller, you can easily set the water level where you want by just physically raising the height of the Controller itself.
I set the float valve on my controller to set the water level in the pots so that it just touches the net pots in each octopup. That is as low as I ever want it to be.
With that done, I can raise the level in the Controller and all the pots by just slipping a board under the Controller to elevate it. Since the difference between “Low” and “High” in the octopups is only about two inches, a couple of different thickness boards will give you good control.
Here’s a few pics to illustrate:
Setting the Controller float valve. This is the “Low” level for the system, the controller is at the same level as the pots.
Here’s “Mid-Level” using a one inch board. The pots haven’t moved so the Controller water level is one inch higher relative to the pots.
Here’s “High-Level” using a 2x4 board.
The highest level still doesn’t hit the Octopup lid and the lowest level is still touching the bottom of the net pot.