After having gone threw so many different set up’s I think I have finally got to where I wanna be.
The last piece to me would be auto pots. However I’ve spent a lot of money in the
Wrong places in this hobby… soooo… I’m reaching out for opinions from the people in the know.
Current set up
4x4 tent
AC infinity 6’ exhaust w/ carbon filter 4’ intake running on the same controller
HLG 350r diablo
And a Walmart fan for circulation because why not 
Thanks in advance
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It’s not really so much the brand because I believe only one company does the 6 gallon ones and that’s what I’m looking at. Opinions more on ease of use. Any issues that arise, worth the additional $$$, how long can an extended stay away be? Any negatives to this type of set up. Almost seems too good to be true for me.
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I have 4 of the XL autopots and like them. Had one float valve assembly fail and flooded the grow space so a tray ain’t a bad idea. Not going to grow trees with them but does okay and is very convenient.
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I’m a big fan of AutoPots, they make it really easy, especially if you are going to be gone a lot. I’m gone 5 days a week and without AutoPots I’d be freaking out worrying about plants dying when gone.
The only downside to AutoPots that I’ve found is you MAY need to change up your current nutrient regiment depending on how “clean” your nutrients are. Advanced nutrients line is out because the reservoir needs cleaning every change and the hoses can plug up if not flushed regularly. Fox farms is out as well, as are many other multi part nutrient lines.
I’ve never tried Jacks, but from the chatter on this forum I assume it would be cleaner and not cause sludge accumulation.
I use a 3 part line called “Ionic” from HDI (the manufacturer of Clonex). Absolutely a clean product in that I can go for months without cleaning reservoir and when I do there is no slime or sludge. It’s as if only water was had been in the reservoir.
The other downside I’ve discovered with AutoPots is if you like growing big plants outdoors. The pots aren’t heavy enough to hold up a 6 foot or taller plant when the wind blows. Even weighing it down with bricks doesn’t work, the base just isn’t wide enough.
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Is there a way to hook up a back up float valve ? Just curious if it’s something that can be done with this set up. I did aquariums for years and we always used a back up for the auto top off systems.
No. one valve is in each tray. You can certainly have extra trays and valves, I
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Hey there ask away, tha ms for the tag @Covertgrower
Autopot has 7gallom plastic XL system and in those trays spring pots /a dimension of fabric pots that are 5 gallon work (not all fabric 5 gallons but some)
The two most common problems are not setting a valve in the tray full and then it flooding, so always set your system and come back 30min later and then 1hr after that to be sure until your confident in your ability to ensure the system is safe to walk away from. Ive made this mistake before.
A flood cam also happen when a silicone button get watter logged and doesn’t set properly causing a flood (happened once in my 2 years so far)
The second most common issue is a plug, causing your plants not to get water. With the new system this happens alot less because the inlet size is larger.
However rinsing the reservoir every 2 fills is ideal and cleaning it once a mo th is ideal.
After each grow soak your tunes and fittings in a 5 gallon bucket of warm water and drip clean. That will make them like new. PH down works to.
The autopots are amazing I love them, all the nockoffs like octopots and stuff have been compared side by side and people keep coming back to the original autopot so that’s where I have stuck.
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Messed up here is the rest of what I wanted to add
No. one valve is in each tray. You can certainly have extra trays and valves, I do. But this does no good if you are not available to exchange what needs to be traded out.
I started out with one plant so kept the reservoir volume down to what is need for 2-3 days. Glad I did because I did flood over the tray. It was totally my fault because I did not reset the float properly after messing with the lines and valve. I put a 18x26x3" tray underneath the autopot tray. The next time it flooded over, no clue as to why, the tray caught every thing. This is really the only complaint. You can count on some spill incident so you need to be prepared or have them in a location where it doesn’t matter. I use the spring pots which are fabric and holds around 5 gallons of medium. I use coco & perlite.
This is my one plant autopot set up before I put in the tray
First time growing in coco and using an autopot I was happy overall - a little over 12 oz
I did have to stop using some of the advanced Nutrients supplements like big bud and nirvana. Other work fine like sensi, voodoo juice, phino skin, piranha, and bud candy.
I use Jack’s 321 as my base nutrient line with blossom booster
A new frame with catch tray for my new closet
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Thanks for all the input… I guess I will start looking at trays as well. I can’t have any flooding as this tent is in my dining room.
Mine was in an unused upstairs bathroom. My wife was in the room below it. She asked why is their water dripping from the ceiling.
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Literally 
This is what I wouldn’t want because that would not be the response.
The response would be 
Me after 
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I have had. 2 leaks, one I knew was going to happen but I risked it the other I didn’t realize my silicone bumper wasn’t set right. It’s always human error it seems.
My tents catch tray (most tents have that extra tarp like pan that comes in them after you setup the tent. It’s fully water proof on both of mine lol because I sure have tested it.