nice setup. we’ll be watching! Best of luck with your grow, Kevin.
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The one at the back is a meph auto and the one in the front is a TonyG RIL.
The plants aren’t as yellow IRL though, I guess I need to learn how to get better pics.
I did make them on my own since the pots @GrouchyOldMan is talking about aren’t available in my country.
Soldering iron and sanding paper are your friend.
Grouchy is right, didn’t cost more than $30 to set this entire thing up.
Thanks @SaintAliasKnife 
Thanks Doug
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Great start @kevinmalone
I’ll tag along for the show
@iceman he’s a good dude glad he invited you to the show
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Where’s this famous chili recipe? 
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Lol…I thought it was gonna be a favourite recipe thread.
Funny episode though…lol
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Came for the plants but was hoping to leave with some chili 
was gonna try and make my own octos actually but I couldn’t find big enough options to make 5/6’s so I’m waiting for the day I can afford 8 6g’s. Definitely down for the show, I’ve been contemplating a pi setup for a while but I’m the most computer illiterate guy I know, especially for my age 
love your style @kevinmalone 
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Came to see some famous chili 
and figured I’d pull up a chair to see your grow. Hope it is a nice and easy one.
Thanks @Papalag , Yep @iceman is a super chill dude!
Gotta scrub it from the carpet 
Thanks @Blackbeard 
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From my limited experience, the volume of the octos does not really matter, in fact I’d say, the smaller the better.
This is ofcourse assuming that you have an auto refill setup, its super easy to setup and all you need is a float valve and some RO fittings.
The smaller box would empty out faster as the plants grow bigger, this gets in air in the box giving the roots an extra o2 boost since we don’t add airstones.
The pi setup looks pretty intimidating at first but there are a lot of tutorials to guide through it and with AI, writing the code is even easier. I hope to automate the following things
- Mixing and pH of nutrients
- Measuring VPD and adjusting devices accordingly.
- Temp/RH probes in the environment as well as the rez.
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Now, That’s what I’m talkin about… some meaty topics for any Octopodler!
- The unique, efficacious, mysto Octo Air Gap! That’s a good topic for starters. This autofiller Kevin is using allows him to control the exact water level for every pot in the system. With ease. So, if the air gap is a variable, he can tweak it. @Jetdro, in your large and complex octo grows, would you intentionally vary the water level in your pots?
[A note about that Autofiller… Look, I cobbled together a cool little autofiller based on a few koi pond examples I’d seen elsewhere. So, I’m gonna shamelessly extol the advantages of the design Kevin is using because it works. And it is dirt cheap! Anyone remember “The Whole Earth Catalog?” Overgrow The World is kinda like that. Sharing ]
Hey Kevin, would you care to share your ultimate scale if this cheap and functional octo network proves out? You were talkin dozens, right? PoP Quiz: Who remembers where/why the “Octo” came into Octo-Pots?
And, by the way Kevin, what is the % mix of coco / perlite you used? Did you sow the seeds directly into the bags? Spill Dude, we are sluts for detail. Lol
Respectfully Submitted,
-Grouchy 
PS, keep those pic coming Kev…
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Can someone link me to the diy octopot write up? I been working on something of my own and I just realized I was over engineered it.
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Yeah the plan is to have 16 in a 4x4 running in the octos. The only concern I had was the slow fill up rate because of the pipe diameter but I guess that might turn out to be a good thing!
The mixture is 70/30 for coco+perlite. One thing I would definitely change from the current setup is to use hydroton in the net pot for the wicking, the coco does tend to fall out from it inside the tub.
Thanks a lot @GrouchyOldMan for all the vibes and positivity 
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Hey @Greenup,
If you were looking for a thread about the DIYmicro octopots, @firehead did a really good job here:
-Grouchy
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I’m using hydroton in my net pots for the first time in the current grow and so far I’m really pleased. After transplant the roots hit the rez in six days, a new record, and fishbone roots are pushing out on all sides.
I have come to believe that the octo system works best when the soil in the fabric bag has some bone dry area near the top. That’s probably why OctoChris offers those really tall bags in his Octopots™. I use three gallon bags and with soil in the net cup, the bag is visibly wet half way up. With the hydroton balls, only the bottom inch or two is really wet. We’ll see but I expect that to be an improvement.
Do any other Octo growers have any comments on this?
-Grouchy
PS, No pics of those hydroton roots because the Saintly Spouse and I are enjoying the Fall Colors, camping at Echo Lake in the Franconia Notch, New Hampshire at the moment. My plants are enjoying the quiet as they sip on their autofiller in my absence. Lol
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Hey @kevinmalone
I’m making a diy octopots, so I watching with great interest…
Am I wrong, or do you have plastic pots? No air pots or fabric pots?
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@Spunk Autopots are VERY similar to octos, just have more options etc. they up until recently only offered plastic pots. When I was using them that’s all they offered and it worked great. (Hope this helps) you definitely don’t NEED fabric pots.
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Several ,micro octo growers use Air Pots with good success. I think the point is additional oxygen, above and below.
I think the soil pot volume is interesting. We’ve had big octo plants spring from 1/2 gallon pots if I’m recalling right. @SaintAliasKnife?
How could pot size not matter? Do you need a pot at all?
This is one reason I love these octos, there are so many knobs to twist and no matter they just seem to work.
-Grouchy
–Hey Kevin, where’s our update? Lol
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yep. 0.5 gallon little sleeves. was weird. Surprised me tbh. problem with pot stability. plant has to be supported. 1-1.5gall pots seem ideal for my space/setup. The spiky airpots were aesthetically pleasing.
for sure tho 2 gall pot = giant plants.
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I seen this thread title a few days ago, decided to have chili tonight and searched up the famous chili thread only to find no famous chili recipe 
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