AC Infinity Self Watering Base Review
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- Опубліковано 21 кві 2024
- The AC Infinity Self Watering Bases work! But they're not for everybody. These bases are great for those who frequently go on vacation, office plants, or any other plant that drinks synthetic nutrients or plain water. Experiences haven't been great when using large fabric bags and organic nutrients. Read on!
Products shown in this video:
AC Infinity Self Watering Base on Amazon: amzn.to/4aGQxpq
AC Infinity 5 Gal Fabric Grow Bags on Amazon: amzn.to/3xKrD9P
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you so much for your support! - Joe
I would recommend using dry amendments with these you’ll get a salt build up eventually if you don’t flush. Than once a week top feed a tea or your liquid organics for a boost. Also I don’t use the gauge, I use it as a water filling hole because you can pour water faster in there and doesn’t splash everywhere. Also I would only fill the bottom with water and not a lot I only do half a gallon every day or other day because if you have stagnant water it’ll cause ph problems or get algae growth. And sometimes the wicks just stop working I’m 8 weeks into flower and they just stopped yesterday, either my plants are done drinking or they aren’t working but the bottom of the pots aren’t wet and water levels aren’t lowering so idk🤷🏻♂️
Turn those bases into self draining or re circulating bases✌🏼😈
I never cleaned these for the whole grow. I left the roots alone, and grew monsters. After the roots attached to the lines, I only fed by filling the trays on the bottom. I didn't top feed once the roots were attached. Worked great but they don't buy you that much time. After a few grows with these, I switched to autopots and never looked back.
This man went into detail and measured that length props to him
I just made something out of buckets based off of this design. so I'm glad you told me about the buildup I hadn't thought of that.
Lol I went crazy trying to concoct my own self-watering bucket. I drew up designs and everything LOL. It turned out the cost was pretty much the same as these but I wouldn't have that cool gauge. 🤷♂️ I had no idea about the buildup. Didn't even think of that before I bought them. Glad it helped someone else out 👍
I just got 2 boxes of the smaller bases for growing cannabis indoors. After setting up 1 box I bought extra rope for setting up the second set, and I'm going to make sure all 8 bases have 2 pieces of rope. I was thinking about trying some cloth hanging down the middle hole in the top to wick up water instead of rope, or maybe with rope too. When I went to buy the extra rope I looked on Google and found that the best rope for wicking is nylon so I got nylon clothes line to try. I haven't tried it yet because my seedlings aren't ready. I have a couple seedlings in 1 gallon fabric pots, sitting on the bases. So far so good.
@@comfortablynumb9342 nylon interesting. You could also try cutting strips of old cotton shirts too.
Nice advice on that review 👍
Gaia green dry amendments FTW! I’ve used them for a while now with these bases
I checked out the nutes that Canuck uses but they aren't available in the states. What do you use?
I'm having good results with Build a soil 3.0 and Nature's Living Soil, especially using on autos
These seem perfect to start using in week 6 of flower till harvest. The thinking here is, as plant senescence, the plants start drinking less in this stage. These would give them the correct amount of water as they want it.
We park our cars in the same garage. All my plants are sitting on my custom risers (my newest video). I took the string from the ac bases and threaded them through the bottom of my plastic pots and they dangle in the saucers. This wicks up excess fert runoff and I try to keep a little water in the base for exactly what you said. 👍👍👍
@@86peppers nice…I’ll check it out !
That’s an interesting idea. I was thinking the opposite, start with the base, then remove for flowering. It may not work that way because of root growth, it may also be ok with root pruning by air 🤷🏻♂️
@@TopsriteYou're right, in the beginning I don't think the roots will be down that low. I also think there's more of a risk of root rot in the beginning when the plants really aren't drinking that much and water tends to sit.
Springtails love this!! I had to put mine up, the amout of water just sitting in there you cant avoid but to breed life in the base.. and I just cant go for that. Maybe if i run salts i will switch back but for a living soil idk seems much more important to keep the top soil moist then have the bottom saturated 100 of the time again.
Why is he talking about water shooting out of the sides?It's a self watering trey or did I miss something here?
I made mine into recirculating/ drain to waste bases connected to small Rainpoint indoor water pumps and don’t ever have to worry about watering like you do by hand until veg or flower I never have to 🙏🏼 you can use it for synthetic or organic aswell!
Nice!
I'd like to know more about how you did that. I am.new to growing and bought these to make watering easy. I keep hearing about over watering and under watering issue , si figure this takes guess work out of it.
I have the xl and use the xl bags . Compared to same bags with just top water . Hands down the self watter plants are at least 1/4 larger . Both bud and tomato's. I only top feed and all outdoor
Water does not drip down the sides with the rain science grow bags you’re just using the wrong kind of bags
Interesting! I've never heard of these before so I looked them up. Expensive! But I guess if they have a lifetime warranty it's worth it. I read a lot of info about how they promote drying better than fabric bags but I didn't see anything about the material restricting water pouring out of the side. This doesn't happen with you?
I mean, you can make it for out the side if you just dump a gallon on it but no for the most part nothing they’re awesome
And if Sam does go out the side because you poured on way too fast, it just sucks up right on its way down right through the bagLol
I have 8 of these and I've used them indoors and out with great results! What he said about positioning them to facilitate accessibility of the water inlet and the level gage in a tent is kind of a struggle but you pick up the usage rhythm easy enough. Look at the root systems of a top watered plant after you harvest and make your own judgment...as far as how 5gal bags sit on the bases, sit the bag on there right and don't worry about it. 🤷
I was actually going to use these bases outside this season. You've used them outside? They hold up well indirect sunlight?
@86peppers under the plant is mostly shaded so no worries.
What I'm I looking for that you say is wrong with my top watering root system?
@stangcobra592 the roots never really grow nearly as much and tend to be close to the surface because they never had to develop beyond that. A good thick mulch of grass clippings supports bacterial growth and can help keep the upper soil moist too.
@@jeffloats5930 with photoperiod by the time of final transplant, cup/1 gal plastic/ 5-7 gal fabric I've got a solid root system established, especially using Mykos and Azos. I'm salt based Coco medium so frequent top watering by hand.
i use a 7 gallon ac infinity fabric pot with these with no issues. use gaia green dry ammendments. if you water properly it shouldn't drip from the sides. water away from the sides
So appreciative for this video I’m glad I didn’t get this. I’m now looking at aircube
I'm glad I did. I don't have any issues. I don't scrog my tent with photos. Nothing is maintenance free and these are cheap way to get away a couple nights. The ladies love them too!
Would an air stone keep the reservoir from getting funky? I just use mine with water, my soil has organic nutrients. Seems like the reservoir would be better with air bubbling the water.
I'm not sure that oxygenating the res would work, and I think it would get clogged very easily. I think it's just a buildup of digested animal waste that's gone rancid.
Try usin H2o2 (peroxide)30ml per gallon in reservoir..
They are definitely available in the states, I’m in Cali. If I can get it here, you can get it anywhere most likey.
I went on their website and a lot of their stuff is clearly divided by what's available in the US and outside. The ones that Canuck grows uses are not available in the states through their website. Maybe other means?
Yeah, I hate so say it but Amazon will probably get it to you tomorrow 😢
Thanks for the video
@@Santacruzpete420 thank you!
Yup. Amazon.
I use 4 regular sized bases in my 3x3, 3 gallon grow bags, autoflowers only. My ladies like the elevation. The gauge indicator 👎doesn't go down with the water level. I only use grow bags, soil mixes and I don't water that fast, my bags don't get salty. I never fill the base, 1000 ml at a time. I don't need feed until flower. I top and base water using a liquid bloom, sugar cane and cal mag as needed. My wicks never see a root, they air trim as I spin the bags reguarily bag for light distribution. Scrogging a 4x4 or 5x5 with photos might be rough.
I just remove the water level gauge whenever im watering.. stick an oil funnel that you can buy for like $3 in the hole and water then remove and put your gauge right back in the hole when done ..
Good idea! Wish we didn't have to do these workarounds but it doesn't sound like a deal breaker.
@86peppers I agree 👍
@86peppers now I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to feed from the top with dry amendments while using my self watering pots .. I've been doing my research.. any suggestions?
@@HanAbr do people just top dress? Sprinkle on top and water it in. I've also scraped soil from the top with my hands, put granules on top, then cover with the dirt I removed. I still think it's fine (and recommended) to water from the top occasionally. But, your res is going to collect residue and require weekly/monthly cleaning. Be careful of compounding fert buildup.
Unless your dry amendment can completely dissolve into water then perhaps you could put it in the base, or maybe make a compost tea. It needs to be liquid enough so the string absorbs it.
I have these things & I personally hate them. I thought they would be awesome but they get funky really quick & the roots still grow into the wicks even when I rotate them daily. They also over water my plants somehow so I just use them to collect runoff now. I'm going to try autopots next.
Interesting. I stopped using them too. Well, I sort of run a modified version. I run 2 pieces of string through the bottom of my plastic buckets and leave them dangling in the saucer. This way it sucks up the overflow after watering. No waste. Let me know how you like the Auto pots!
I just started using these ac infinity self watering bases and also ran into over-watering issues, even though the ac infinity rep claimed that you could NOT over-water your plants using these bases. Part of it is my own fault as I followed blindly what I was told about keeping the bases full, three days after pouring 1 gallon into each bases I refilled the bases once noticing that the gauge showed empty and I did NOT remember to lift the pot to feel if it was heavy/still wet, three days later when I went to refill the bases again I remembered to feel the weight of the pots and realized they were saturated with water and weighed over 20lbs .......... It ended up taking over 14 days before the pots were dried out enough to start feeding them again, this time I made sure to only put 1/2 gallon into each base and to check by feel as to how heavy they are before refilling them. Come this Friday the autoflowers will start week 8 since sprouting, I'm filling the bases with approx 1/2 gallon about every 3 days now.
@@losttofollowup420 see this is the thing, you shouldn't have to do all that. The whole point of this product is to throw water into the base and the plants will take what it needs, when it needs it. What kind of medium are you using? That's crazy that your plants are just absorbing all of that. What about just using one string? Or a thinner gauge string? Or putting the string in the inner holes. Or maybe a combination of all three?
@@86peppers I'm growing in 5 Gallon fabric pots using a soil mixture, essentially 1lb of super soil concentrate mixed with "Bio365 BioBlend" with some coco fiber. This mixture fills up approx 50% of the pot while the top 50% portion is a mixture of Bio365 BioBlend mixed with Coast of Maine Stonington Blend and perlite. When it comes to the bases I was using two of the wick lines but 4 days ago I removed one of the lines as I figured it would slow down how fast the reservoir is used up, but I was wrong about this as even with only one wick line in place each reservoir was empty within 24 hrs, the wick lines I'm using are the ones that came with the package directly from ac infinity. Weird thing is that I read a lot of threads/posts online where people were having issues with the opposite problem where the water in their reservoirs was not being sucked up. I simply assumed this was how the bases worked with regards to them sucking up the water as even when I put in a gallon within 24hrs it was gone and sucked up into the soil
@@86peppers I just did a quick search and noticed something in the fine details where it discusses their products and the terms they use are listed here: bioCORE™ biochar, our patented high-temperature, super low-ash biochar. Its unique structure allows it to hold water in very small pores, and this water becomes available to the plant as needed, rather than evaporating to the surrounding environment. This makes our soils more forgiving at the wilting point- an important benefit to growers who like to dry stress their plants between feeding.
With its very high surface area, super high porosity, low ash and carbon stability, bioCORE™ provides the optimal physical environment for beneficial soil microorganisms. It also creates a unique ability to holds nutrients, which are then released to the plant over time, on-demand as the plant's roots draw it out. This makes bioCORE™ the perfect medium to host our potent bioCHARGE™ nutrient base" ...................................... So I'm thinking that this "bioCORE" they put in their product is the reason why I'm having this experience where the water in my bases is absolutely gone in just under 24 hrs even with just one wicking line being used, any thoughts on this ???
Maybe that's why they tell you to clean it lmao 😂😂😂
Brilliant run down on proper use of this AC auto feed system. Well done easy to follow. You get my gold meddle Bro. Versace
Hahaha, thank you friend! 🤘
i take the gauge out and fill in that hole and then put the gauge back in
Now that's a good idea! 👍
Could i use square pots with these?
Sure, as long as they don't overlap. I just got some square Flora Flex pots that I might consider using with these.
Not with the rain science grow bags
I agree about fabric. My plants grew better with plastic. This was an excellent video, thanks.
If you have water coming out of the grow bags like that then you are watering way to fast. And I use saucers under mine to ensure I don't flush nutrients out of the pot
It's tough. I hear you, but sometimes it'll come out. Totally messes with ec checking.
Can i top feed using those bases?
Well, it depends what you're feeding with. What's your plan?
@@86peppers my plants are in veggie stage, but no roots on the bottom of cloth pot, so i probably wont use them. But i use coast of maine organic products,
@@be28ans you need to train the roots to grow out of the bottom by only feeding in the reservoir. Yes, you could still top feed from time to time, especially if your soil has nutes. But if you're constantly top feeding there wouldn't be any reason for the roots to search for water.
Im cheap ill water it myself after awhile if you buy all these gagets it would cheaper to just by the pot
Lolol I'm cheap too but I prefer to call it "frugal" 😆 indeed, there's a popular gardening expression "a million dollar tomato" lol. I do it for the hobby. I enjoy growing as much as I do consuming, sometimes more. And I love knowing 100% of what is in my product.
"they recommend cleaning it out every month but thats to much work... but i dont like how after a month i didnt clean it there was gunk under it "
lmaoooooo bro good review until that part i wonder if you watched this back
Lol, well. I kinda thought they weren't serious about the monthly cleaning part. Besides, there's a difference between synthetic gunk and organic gunk 🤢.
Build your own cheaper . Deep saucer , plant riser(stand) and wick
I use 1 5 gallon bucket cut my lid down drill my holes Boom
It's $20....
I'm all for DIY, but it about isn't worth it in this scenario
@@NO50D1 well , also the size doesn't work for me . I made my own for 1 gallon pots and some for 3 gallon. Small footprint so I'm able to fit more in tent.
Lol don't get into hydroponics if cleaning out equipment once a week is a deal breaker. Thanks for the deep dive tho
Honestly you’re lazy , clean it out on time , switch to dry amendments and call it a day
so the plant drinks 4 liters, i have to refill these 4 liters into this OR i have to refill normally the 4 liter and that for 90bucks sry but i dont see ANY logical point for that hahahaha
u have to fkn refill the water anyways .. if u refill it to that thing or to the plant from top wheres the fkn difference im not seeing it
Take my office reaper plant for example. I can put a gallon of water in the base and that would last about 2 weeks. Since only a little bit of the soil is wet at the bottom, (where the roots are) the plant can take what it needs without fear of root rot.
Before I got the base I was watering office reaper much more frequently. And there were times when I was out of the office for 3 days to a week and the thing starved. This keeps it steady.
@@86peppers in a office most likely there are more ppl working and one of them can water the plants maybe .. but ok.
when its worth 90Dollars for u totally fine, but its nice that ure being honest in somewhat agreeing with me that this doesnt work well for cannabis plants what there actually use case should be ..
for small plants yes maybe ... but a somewhat potent cannabis plants needs idk 3/4/5/6 liters every 2days .. so theres no benefit at all in using that thing. especially when ure using coco and synthentics. but thats my opinion ... alone the price on that thing is insanity 90dollars for some plastic with some rope ... absolute crazy. but thanks for making this video so everyone can see the product and come to their own conclussions :)