It’s how you pack it it needs to be firmly packed and so does the bag
Firm but not too firm
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I think you need soil in the netpot, because you need the capillary action. I don’t think pebbles will be close enough for the capillary action to pull the water up into rest of the pot.
Pz 
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I thought wicking action would have been the fabric pot,I Need to experiment a bit then, can’t let soil become muddy in the rez
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I think only the netpot should be in the water so that it’s a hybrid between hydro and soil.
Pz
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you dont need soil in the wick as @firehead’s original grow with the micro octopots showed. i was simply just not aware of how the hydroton would do for me using them outdoors so i used soilless.
i packed them too loose the first time with a coco/perlite mix, the second time got it right though.
the second time i soaked the soilless mix first then packed it in into the wick and a very minimal amount of it has fallen into the res below.
the micro octopot netpot also has many more holes than the official octopot wick does, so the hydroton makes more sense with those basket type net pots perhaps.
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Definitely a good method. I just put 5cm of hudroton at the bottom of my bags and then put my promix on top of those stones… that way the bag can sit in 4cm og water and not become anaerobic
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Just when I was about to buy the components,I found this:
So,the Plan Is to put a mosquito mesh filter Upon the cups to stop soil going in the res,then put Hydroton in a piece of fabric tissue inside those cups to be sure It wicks but not makes the soil muddy.
Could this idea work as an earthbox substitute?
@Papalag @herojuana.tom @shade
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the mesh filter isnt going to block the roots? i dont think you need it the hydroton should be enough in the wick, even soilless in there seems fine.
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Well,I ll try without the screen then,Just Hydroton in those cups
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It works the same way
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So much fun building octos!!! I see you’re still helping with them @Papalag . I swear we should call them octobots… because we transform them in soooooo many ways lol… makes me think of transformers and the autobots and decepticons haha
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Well I actually end up with that pot above and soil,I have not yet tried Octopot style
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Oh I see… that’s very cool… how’s it all going?
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I’ll post a Pic later 
The ones yellowish and deficients are in soil,the One in Better shape Is of course in Coco,my main medium
@Terpsnpurps
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After doing salts… and hydro stuff… I want to go organic… it seems organic has more flavor and higher brix level which translates to higher resin production… I have yet to see … I’m stoked to find out… but those plants look great!! 
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What are you thinking… Mg deficiency? That’s what it appears to me lol… but it can be other culprits sometimes…
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I’ve often thought of octopots when admiring my motor oil drain pan. They’re available in a variety of capacities and should be plenty strong enough to support a ~3 gallon bag of media.
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Yes It Is a Magnesium def mainly,I already tried some calmag but didn’t fix It.I Guess The pH Is out of balance.
Greeting.
This is an attempt at a diy octopot, so if anyone has any advice before I screw something up.
Some of the solutions look ridiculous, but it’s nowhere near as ridiculous as where I live. You can’t get what you need…
But it also has its advantages. 9 such octopots cost me less then $30 and a little labor.
Plastic container. Ordinary cheap, externally repainted spray. 2/3 of the capacity is 9L
Lid. I couldn’t find a suitable plastic, so I used a thick laminate for the floor. I got the boards for free and cut them to size. I put a piece in water to see the hygroscopicity and it is really small. Anyway, I put a layer of waterproofing liquid rubber over it that I got from work. If it works, I’ll try to make a plastic ones.
I will make rubber plugs and a water level gauge
Pot. ordinary plastic pot of 7 liters. 21 cm tall. Drilling is not complete. Before I continue I would like to hear your opinion. Geotextile will go vertically on the inside. The bottom will remain uncovered. I plan to put 9 feminised plants in a 4 x 4, so I don’t need any bigger. I will train the plants to have 6 main branches each, and clean lower growth
Net pot. I ordered something and got something completely different.
Now I have two variants, one for hydroton, the other for soil.
I did the test. With a low water level in the pool, the hydroton does not wick properly, while the soil does the work. I don’t know how it will be when the level is high… I’m not sure what to use. This in the pictures is realy sloppily, and fast, made, just to see how it works. It’s easy to do better
Please if anyone has something to add, change, make me to give up…
All this seems quite practical to me. For now. Everything is rigid, You can lift the pot, you can lift the lid with the pot, change the pool, clean…
I have more ideas, but first let me do the grow and see how it works…
Thank you
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