I have been wanting to expand my grow space and this is one option I have come up with. I will claim 9’4’w x 6’4"d space from the garage. This is the layout. A lot of the space is taken up by doorways. One to the shop which where my current tent is located. Another door goes to a mechanical room. I need to have public access to this space to service a furnace that heats my shop and part of the house. Therefore, the actual grow space must be enclosed.
This might be the goofy stuff I want.
Two sgrog frames on wheels with autopot XL trays. I want to be able to take the scrogs out of the “closet” to maintain, trim and train the plants. Also to have access to the reservoir. To be able to pull the moveable part off, I will have to be able to disconnect the autopots from the reservoir. I am hoping that standard quick connect plumbing fittings should do the trick I have the res in back figuring it is easier to move a plant than 12 gallons of water. Thinking autopots because I want to give coco coir a try. Soil, like I currently use, would certainly make this less complicated.
Am I asking for problems trying to disconnect the trays and move the scrogs? Feedback welcomed
@Nicky and all other autopot users.
Thanks
Your plan sounds great.
Autopots comes with a quick connect at the reservoir. If you buy the flexi tank upgrade (recommend) although I would say spend the money and buy the flexitank pro… Leg issues with the original one.
This will be much easier with autopots and coco then soil. Actually.
Full your rez once a week walk away, just get a little WiFi temp /humidity sensor in your space so you don’t have to always look in it and can chart you highs and low’s etc.
Great idea to pull them out on rollers. This let’s you check the trays for roots. You won’t have an issue with clogs or even need to worry because you’ll have the new aquavalve 5’s. I use the originals and have still never had an issue.
Just avoid organics.
You’ll want a wave maker or a pump to go in your reservoir.
Fly at it.
If you are clever you can attach SCROG frame to pot then simply lift it off the tray. Turn off the reservoir and pull the tray out for cleaning. They are really simple to use. Most of us are going to the Jack’s 3-2-1 program as well.
Definitely get a wavemaker instead of air pump: does a great job for less electricity. I just ordered another one to aid in mixing nutes.
I would also plan for the rez to be located outside of grow space to keep cooler. It has to be 6" or so higher than autopots (gravity feed).
Interesting thought. I was thinking of using spring bags because that is what I use now. But if a hard pot provides more options, worth considering. Something to support the pot and a base with the tray that can be lowered independently.
I did one that the base tie-wrapped to the fabric pot and you could pick everything up by the frame.
Like this:
I remember that plant and frame. I will have to give it some thought.
@Nicky @Myfriendis410 I am going to given a 1 pot XL system a try. What size submersible pump should I get for the 12g reservoir. I can’t imagine it needs much to keep nutrients mixed. I am seeing Active Aqua 40 and 160 GPH models.
Thanks
It’s all gravity feed: you don’t use a pump. It’s a good idea to get a small wavemaker and put that in to the rez.
Wavemaker?
I was going to drop a submersible pump in the res to move the water
I just ordered a wavemaker for my res that @Myfriendis410 suggested, probably use a lot less electricity than a pump (which results in less heating of the water/nutes) and hopefully not as noisy as an air pump with an air stone.
Thanks I will check it out.
I was thinking of the kind of pump we use in our fountain. Enough power to move water around and put it on a manual timer to runn15 minutes an hour.
Yeah; all of the above haha. I have to really pay attention to hear it run and you can only be a couple of feet away. My rez stays at a steady 65F in the basement and the wavemaker runs for 30 minutes every couple of hours. That’s all you need. I got that from @Not2SureYet .
I just bought another one to use when mixing Jack’s.
It is on my shopping list and some Hydroton. Bought a 1 pot xl to see how it goes. The SOG will be finishing in a couple of weeks. I will set it up in that scrog frame.
One bit of advice: transplant into autopots and top feed until the plant is fully established before activating the rez and tray. You want a well developed root mass is why.
I am confused. When are you looking to remove the scrog? At the end of the grow. Or during? Once you start using it. You really can’t remove it. Looking at your room. It look like you can get the the trays. The only thing you really have to clean during the grow is the little rubber stoppers.
I want to be able to move pot and scrog as a unit. With the space being narrow (29"), I will not be able to get to the rear plant so I want to me able to roll them out of the closet. The plant will stay in the scrog until it is harvested. While thinking about the set up, I am thinking it would be better to be able to separate the tray and AquaValve from the pot rather than dragging 10-15’ of tubing around. I don’t know if this is the case so will have to play around with it. It may not be as bad as I think which would be great. It is much less complicated if I can keep everything together as one unit.
Another consideration is using quick connect fittings from the supply line to the individual pots. I don’t know if they are available in 3/8" sizes or not. When it comes to this sort of thing I am not sure what I am looking for and how to size it. O.D. I.D. etc
I’d say buy a rain water barrel and a 1/4” quick connect adapter for the spigot
Might do that for my outdoor yeah.
@beardless yea don’t use an air stone.
The guys seem to be using wave makers but I get an 80gpm pump off amazon for 12$ Canadian so that’s what I use. The idea is no airstome because you don’t want air to feed bacteria in your reservoir.
I like the pump. Because it sucks up the nutrients and chews it up then spits it out, so feel like it’s helping me. I don’t know how the wave makers would do on the soft side of the flexi tanks I run but they are probably better built then these tiny pumps lol.
Thanks. I had read not to use air stones. Waverunner or a little pump it is.
Do you know, when it says 3/8" (9mm) pipe, that this measurement refers to the outside dimension. And the i.d. is approx. 1/4" 97mm)
For my search for quick connect fittings. I would think they would be around for RO systems, RV water systems etc.
There are 3 different sizes of lines for AP’s
The original
The original trunk line
The aquavalve 5 system lines