Hey all,
Im currently planning/researching my next setup but am slightly overwhelmed with all the different setups we have at our disposal and wanted your help.
I want to know based on your experience what the best automated systems are that you have used, or are planning to try in the future.
I am torn between ebb and flow, dripper, and aquavalve systems, favouring at this point AquaValve. This is simply because I like the way it leaves a max 20mm in the tray and only refills when the plant has consumed that, so the plant can feed as much or as little as it wants to, no over or under feeding. In the words of the 3 bears, it is juuust right lol. Plus this system is all gravity fed and so no electric or chances of error due to loss of power for any reason, or timer malfunction. Highly unlikely i know but... you never know!
The issue I have with this is firstly they require hand feeding until the roots reach the bottom of the pot. Also I wanted to opt for cloth/air pots next, can the roots come out the bottom of those, and if not, does the cloth pot have to sit saturated in 20mm of water/feed. And... does feeding only from the bottom provide effective feeding to the whole root system. Does the top soil, or coco in my case receive enough moisture.
In the explanation video they put a copper sheet in a 15ltr pot to prevent the growing medium going into the tray, 30% clay pebbles, the growing medium soil/coco, and re-pot a small plant from a 1ltr pot (i think 1ltr) with a packed root system, but in a 15ltr pot the roots are nowhere near the bottom, so how does it benefit here, does the water soak up through the copper sheet.... clay pebbles.... and the coco to the root system?
The other option I am considering is a dripper feed system as this is automated and top fed which I prefer, but this is reliant on the timer and trial and error with feed amounts. And I'm guessing requires manually altering as the plants grow and require more feed.
What would be ideal is a top fed system that feeds when the plant wants it, like the aquavalve but top fed.
I am currently hand feeding and well into the flowering stage, and they are drinking 2ltrs a day easily. Its a lot of work!
Your opinions and experience is always appreciated.
Thanks
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