TechnoMage
Well-Known Member
Nothing to do with this grow but I just did a post on a https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/494728-diy-bowl-holder.html I made. I realize we all tend to focus on the growing but the smoking is important too. 
Air-Pot vs standard pot grow from clones. 600w in a tent
- Thread starter TechnoMage
- Start date
CampUnderDog
Active Member
How has this gone? any update?
TechnoMage
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the lack of post. We've had some health issues in our family and my wife and I have been spending a lot of time at the hospital.
Saturday, December 31[SUP]st[/SUP] 2011
Total days: 109
Clone: 11
Veg: 28
Flower: 70
-------------------------------
Here's a shot of all four girls.
And here's a nice frost bud close up.
Trichs are just starting to cloud up so I figure I'll harvest next weekend. I'll give them water with nutes in it today and tomorrow and then will switch to straight water for flush.
Air-Pots Overall Impression
So I've come to a few conclusions on the Air-Pots.
The Experiments
Transplant
I transplanted two plants from smaller pots into bigger containers. One went into a 2 gal standard pot, one went into a 2 gal Air-Pot. Here the difference was very easy to see. The plant transplanted into the Air-Pot did much better than the one transplanted into a standard pot.
Veg and Flower
The other two plants did their veg and flower in the same pot. One standard pot and one Air-Pot. Here the difference isn't as dramatic. Both plants did well with the plant in the Air-Pot being a little bushier and slightly taller.
My biggest regret is that I didn't veg the two plants that started out in their final containers longer. I think another 2-3 weeks of veg time would have made a huge difference in the end.
Next Steps
At this point I pretty much consider this experiment concluded with a slight edge to the Air-Pot. I'm going to run this experiment again but it won't be for a few months. My next grow is some Barney's Farm LSD Feminized from seed. I'll be taking some cuttings for a mother so the following grow will be Barney's Farm LSD Feminized from clone. That grow I'll do two plants, one in a standard pot and one in a Air-Pot and really let them veg.
Saturday, December 31[SUP]st[/SUP] 2011
Total days: 109
Clone: 11
Veg: 28
Flower: 70
-------------------------------
Here's a shot of all four girls.
And here's a nice frost bud close up.
Trichs are just starting to cloud up so I figure I'll harvest next weekend. I'll give them water with nutes in it today and tomorrow and then will switch to straight water for flush.
Air-Pots Overall Impression
So I've come to a few conclusions on the Air-Pots.
- I don't like the smallest size container. It's to tall and narrow and hard to get water to the bottom without it draining out the sides.
- If you're going to transplant into an Air-Pot, the Air-Pot needs to be a lot bigger than the pot you're coming from. The soil needs to be packed up against the side walls so your Air-Pot needs to be big enough that you can fill with soil and then scoop out a spot for the incoming plant. No problem if you've got a clone in a Rapid Rooter but more difficult if the pots are close to the same diameter.
- You need to push the size of the plant to see a difference between the two. The Air-Pots should let you grow a bigger plant than normal in the same space but if you haven't hit the wall using a standard pot the Air-Pot isn't going to make a huge difference.
The Experiments
Transplant
I transplanted two plants from smaller pots into bigger containers. One went into a 2 gal standard pot, one went into a 2 gal Air-Pot. Here the difference was very easy to see. The plant transplanted into the Air-Pot did much better than the one transplanted into a standard pot.
Veg and Flower
The other two plants did their veg and flower in the same pot. One standard pot and one Air-Pot. Here the difference isn't as dramatic. Both plants did well with the plant in the Air-Pot being a little bushier and slightly taller.
My biggest regret is that I didn't veg the two plants that started out in their final containers longer. I think another 2-3 weeks of veg time would have made a huge difference in the end.
Next Steps
At this point I pretty much consider this experiment concluded with a slight edge to the Air-Pot. I'm going to run this experiment again but it won't be for a few months. My next grow is some Barney's Farm LSD Feminized from seed. I'll be taking some cuttings for a mother so the following grow will be Barney's Farm LSD Feminized from clone. That grow I'll do two plants, one in a standard pot and one in a Air-Pot and really let them veg.
SmeLLyTreeZ
Well-Known Member
Very nice follow up! I hope you and your family are doing well and if not getting better soon! Happy new years bro!
Trousers
Well-Known Member
I love these pots. They have paid me back 100x. I found them cheap here:
- http://www.roguehydro.com/superoots-air-pots/ (I have no connection to this site, they sell the pots cheap with free shipping)
Hi,
Haven't look at all the post but it seems that the airpots were assembled upside down : the first line without holes should be put at the top, so they avoid the water to run away when you water them (considering the medium you put in it is around this level). One other way to recognize is to check hole's size : tight at top and wider at the bottom.
Don't know if this was already noticed...
I also made the same mistake when I first mounted them
Haven't look at all the post but it seems that the airpots were assembled upside down : the first line without holes should be put at the top, so they avoid the water to run away when you water them (considering the medium you put in it is around this level). One other way to recognize is to check hole's size : tight at top and wider at the bottom.
Don't know if this was already noticed...
I also made the same mistake when I first mounted them
TechnoMage
Well-Known Member
Yeah, not sure at what I realized that. Had to go back through and re-build all the pots.
I think in the right circumstances, AirPots have a big advantage but the have their issues too. Biggest issue is how fast they dry out. With a regular pot, I could water really heavily and then be able to skip a day or two. I could never water the AirPots heavily enough where I could skip even a day without them drooping. If I ever get my automatic drip watering system setup, I'll probably use them again in the flower chamber.
I really like using AirPots for my mother plants. I keep my moms under 2x11w T5 and they can easily go a few days between waterings. I've had one mom in the same AirPot for about 2 years now without issue.
I think in the right circumstances, AirPots have a big advantage but the have their issues too. Biggest issue is how fast they dry out. With a regular pot, I could water really heavily and then be able to skip a day or two. I could never water the AirPots heavily enough where I could skip even a day without them drooping. If I ever get my automatic drip watering system setup, I'll probably use them again in the flower chamber.
I really like using AirPots for my mother plants. I keep my moms under 2x11w T5 and they can easily go a few days between waterings. I've had one mom in the same AirPot for about 2 years now without issue.
BadgerBuds
New Member
==>Would you have your automatic dripper running constantly? or turn it on/off multiple times per day? (trying to figure out the best way to use mine)
TechnoMage
Well-Known Member
It will be on some type of timer. The design I'm playing with will be a pump/gravity drip. It would run something like this:
- 5-10 gallon bucket below filled with water and a pump. I'll probably have a small 2nd circulation pump in the bucket that will run all the time to keep the organics in the water from settling out on the bottom.
- Container that sits on top of buck with some type of overflow so extra water will fall back down into bucket.
- Size of top container determines how much water goes to your plant at a time
- Timer kicks on and runs for about a minute filling the upper chamber. Extra water falls back into bucket
- Small diameter tube runs from upper chamber to plants. I expect it to take a few minutes for water to drain from upper chamber to plants
- Pump will kick on 2-4 times over a 2 hour period and then won't run again until the next day