Do it yourself MicroOctopot Auto Fill System

Indoor Growing
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#81

Major Hat Tip to Bob @BudBusterPro for providing details on the use of Hypochlorous Acid in hydro systems, with a particular emphasis on keeping the pipes clean!

Since our autofillers are designed to use 1/4" tubing anything that reduces the chance for clogging with biofilms or other nutrient grunge is welcomed. This may be a game changer in reducing our autofiller maintenance chores.

I recently purchased a gallon of Hypochlorous Acid (500ppm) from the AZone to use for general sanitizing in between grows. I am also planning to try it as an aid to thoroughly clean the autofiller system in between grows. That approach reduces the need for precise dosing since no tender roots will be present when I flush with a diluted Hypochlorous solution. Based on the review Bob provided, the results should be fairly quick and observably beneficial.

Worth a try and I’ll report what I find here.
-Grouchy

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#82

Here’s a very useful hack to help you to keep the plumbing of your autofiller clean and clear.

If you buy one of these widgets…

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You can hook up a normal garden hose to most any section of your autofiller. That will look something like this:

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And then you could, for example, hook the hose up to your 1/4 tubing manifold and blow out each leg separately!

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Plug a length of tubing into the adaptor and insert the other end anywhere in the auto filler. Just don’t be a kook and crank your garden hose wide open or you are likely to get wet!

Best if you have a little Y valve at the end of your hose (like in the pic) and you connect the adaptor to that. It doesn’t take much water to max out a 1/4 (3mm) tube. The other side of the Y has a spray gun for pressure washing the reservoir & controller tubs.

You get the picture.
The gizmo costs less than a buck at the AZone. It’s called a “hose to 1/4 tubing adapter.”

You will end of thanking me for this one! :upside_down_face:
-Grouchy
PS, with the proper pressure reducer you could plug the adaptor directly into your Controller and have an endless supply of fresh water for your pots! I’d be scaredy to try it but no reason it wouldn’t work.

6 Likes
#83

in a month or so of my run i’ve noticed no algae, no gunk, nothing. I use tap water. you might be gilding the lilly.

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#84

Perhaps, but if those little tubes clog in the middle of a grow it would be annoying, esp. if we were out of town. The ability to leave for a couple weeks is my prime directive.

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#85

it’s not the first time I’ve accused others of unreasonable levels of hygiene…but that’s largely because I am lazy…lol

but really, have you seen any evidence of algae or gunk? you feed salts, no?

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#86

Ahem, Quite the contrary, if you haven’t yet found both nutrient slime, and particulates in building up in your reservoir I am surprised. I wish I had taken pics of the main rez. Grotty. Gross. But easily cleaned with a wipe of the sponge. Actually, the prime suspect in gack attack, is the float valve. The design we are using is the best of breed, but it doesn’t take much to jam up if, say organic mung slides through its tiny valve.

I think we’re both feeding Jacks, different but similar routines. Your plants are young and your EC is low, 1.5 ish, right? I just completed a whopper of a micro octo grow and jacked the Jacks up to 2.4 EC.

My plants literally ate it up, but my octo filler needed monthly flush and a serious scrubbing after this four month session.

Lemme know when you hit late flower with Jacks at 100% That’s where the big bud thing happens, and when the slime and gack attack!

[Sorry, stoned on some sublime Orange Grove x GG#4 from @Floyd, genius cross.] :upside_down_face:

3 Likes
#87

yep, per gallon,
jacks 20-10-20 @ 2.25gr
gypsum @ 1gr
epsom @ 0.5gr
fish shit.
nothing else. EC is 1.12 over baseline. the sides of the rez are squeeky to the dragged finger… no gunk i can see but if I do, fish shit goes away and H2o2 is coming out to play.

[cross sounds lovely. I like the GG4. vaping a 50/50 mix of purple kush and lemon shots…nice and even keel.]

:green_heart:

:dove:

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#88

Hey so I got way too comfortable with my first harvest and so haven’t started until now :laughing: Better late than never I guess! Anyway, I’ve got two sour stomper seeds I’m trying to germinate via the paper towel method. One has a sprout, hopefully the other is not far behind. From there im planting into rapid rooters and keeping them in a seed tray with a dome on a heat mat. From there they’re headed to the octopups with your auto fill system. Im super excited about this grow and will definitely be posting some updates

3 Likes
#89

I wondered what was goin on with you!

Welcome back @420Ghost, looking forward to following your grow.

We’ve learned a lot about the autofiller, @SaintAliasKnife has created a veritable CannaJungle of Autofill octos!

I’m in the middle of a complicated breeding project and I’m hand watering all the octos with customized nute soups. Alas, no autofiller helper with that. LoL

Make yourself at home here as much as you like with updates.

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#90

Just scrolling thru a bit and I’ve noticed that you and saintaliasknife are running yours without hydroton in the net cup. I was planning on using the hydroton but now am conflicted

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#91

Either medium seems to work fine in the net cup. I like the promix HP packed firm but not crushed in the cup then looser up above.

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#92

both expanded clay and media (coco/vermiculite/peat whatever)in netcup work. both have positives and negatives. I notice less wetness at the bottom of the pot with hydroton. more wet with media in cup. also, media in netcup can end up in reservoir altogether.

Autofiller works a charm. next iteration I will be upgrading to a larger OD. I’m noticing some sediment accumulation from my gypsum and wollenstonite.

@GrouchyOldMan , I did check the pots/roots of the last 2 plants. full coco/media in netcup shows greater root devlp.at least in these 2. next I will mix/layer the hydroton on bottom of cup then coco or whatever.

:dove:

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#93

-circa Sept 26, 2022

I just want to thank my main “partner in octofillers” @SaintAliasKnife, who has kept me on task, stress-tested the concept with her “Octo-Jungle,” and contributed enormously to the design and fine tuning of this useful tool. :+1: :+1:

-Grouchy

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#94

Hey thanks for the reply. I’m thinking that it is ideal for the bottom portion of the pot to be wet, so I’m leaning towards the media in the net cup for mine. Especially with you noticing better roots that way. Of course there could be many factors…

I have seen someone with an octopot use 3 inch Coco coir pots in the bottom of their net cup to prevent media from going in the res. He claimed that roots grew thru it no problem

4 Likes
#95

Thank you. At the very least, I hope I have not impeded progress… But if I can get did… Remember Marcus Aurelius: impediment to progress becomes progress. What stands in the way, becomes the way.

Be a mandalorian.

<yes, the willow wedding cake is a wrecking ball>

:joy:

:dove:

Ps: @420Ghost, what is a coco coir pot? Not picturing it.

#96

If you are talking about your Net Pot physically touching the res water, then yeah, make that happen.

Otherwise, Hmmmm, not so fast…

How much of the Fabric pot, the upper root system, should be wet is an open question IMHO. It seems to be controlled mostly by how full the reservoir is throughout the plant’s life cycle. The higher the rez level, the more roots in the fabric pot. And vicy versy. YMMV, but that’s what I have observed.

OctoChris, the wizard behind OctoPots, didn’t seem to think the rez level mattered all that much. His basic guidelines were to just fill your octo whenever it got low. Watch the level and don’t let it go below level 1. Top it off whenever it’s convenient.

But, He also offered a “High Performance” rez management plan that said that keeping the rez “low” (to me that means water level barely touching the net cup) during transplant & veg would encourage root development in the pot. Ramping up the water level during flowering would build the upper root system, keeping up with bud & resin development and increasing yield. He didn’t emphasize that idea much, and I don’t think he ever did a test grow comparison.

I’ve been playing around with water level as a parameter since it is easy with the autofiller. It seems to make my plants really are bigger and happier if I vary the water level during the grow. Varying the air gap varies the O2 exposure for the roots. Simple, but how to use that to best advantage remains to be seen.

My own hypothesis is that cannabis roots just luv oxygen when they are growing rapidly and the air gap in our octos is really the secret sauce during veg & stretch.

Low level in veg == more roots in the rez. High Level in flower == more roots in the fabric pot. In flower the volume of structural growth slows down and less transpiration and fluid transfer goes on. [Speculating Wildly… I know)

What is optimal? TBD…

Anyway, @420Ghost, as you start up again you should at least consider using Tall, but skinny fabric pots. OctoChris likes them and it Can’t hurt. LoL

-Grouchy :v: :green_heart:
PS, @SaintAliasKnife, don’t forget to look at your root ball(s) when you harvest. Did your Tall Bags make a difference?

5 Likes
#97

Ya I actually just put in an order for the tall bags before reading thris :joy:

I was planning on following the high performance rez management. I remember seeing it mentioned a few times in the micro octopot thread that allowing the rez to get low in-between fillings seemed to benefit the plant. It definitely makes sense that is where it gets it’s needed oxygen. It kinda has me thinking that putting an air stone in the rez on a timer would be helpful, even tho it is not advised by Chris

Also, the Coco coir pots are just little seed starter pots. Same shape and size as a net cup but made entirely out of coco coir

4 Likes
#98

I’m almost convinced enough to try, I love the ammo box controller, and the airline splitter, a stroke of genius, but I’m stuck on the Grow bag itself. Did you just cut a hole In a grow bag for the net pot? And what, just wiggle it down? I don’t understand what is used for wicking material or how it is transferring to the bag, did I miss this?

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#99

Greetings @joheimgrohen,

Here’s the whole step-by-step tutorial on MicroOctopots:

I think that will answer all your questions, but drop a line if any of it still doesn’t make sense.

Cheers,
-Grouchy

3 Likes
#100

Wow!

amazing thread!

Wish I had found it sooner since autopots are not available in my country and prohibitively expensive to import.

I played around making my own variations to find a system that works.

Since I do not have the brow SIP pot you guys are using, I DIY’d that on my own too, I just cut a lid on a tub and hosted the plant on top. Since the tub was big enough, I could also put airstones in

SIP has given me amazing results with explosive root growth, I’ll definitely be posting my setup here once I start with my autos

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