Does a bottom feed watering system need to stay wet? Or can it dry out before refilling? And why? Thanks!

if it's a solid substrate in there... something that does absorb water vs perlite-type filler, you are fine as long as that doesn't dry out too much... how high is the saturation level in the pot? it might be best to keep it filled, but in some context it might be okay to allow more of a wet-dry cycle. MAybe, early on that would be beneficial, but in flower you'd want to gas it in this regard. should have a well-developed root system by then. moisture sensors might help flesh it out if you want to go down that rabbit hole.

Sorry, one more thing. About nutrients in the bottom. You can keep nutrients in the bottom once you have a solid capillary action established, but as long as you have to top water, i suggest that you feed nutrients, let your pots get light, then water with calmag, then let pots get light, then nutrients, then calmag, then nutrients.....you get the idea. Always making sure the pH is in range. Thats what i do.

Hey brother, i have the AC Infinity auto watering bases as well. I have 8 of them. I'm a fan of bottom watering capillary action systems. They work extremely well. Anyways, this is my first grow with them so i am learning their subtleties as i go. Here's what i know from my experience with them so far.... These bases are a pain in the ass to fill from the bottom. You spill a lot of solution on your tent floor and it's annoying. Especially since i have 8 in a 4x4 tent, 9 plats total. (1 is not in a auto water base) They come in 4 packs and i got 2, so i have 8 but i had 9 plats....blah blah. Anyways, the say in their literature that they will not work unless you have roots coming out the bottom of your fabric pots. The roots weave themselves into the wick rope and the connection is established and then they will work. But without a root mass connecting with the wick rope, it's a hit and miss situation. Some will wick through the fabric and into the soil, and some won't make that connection. But in any situation, you will need to top water the first time and wet your soil completely. If the soil at the bottom of the pot is wet, and the fabric is moist, when the water moves through the wick it will contact the moist bottom of the fabric pot and the connection is established and it will work. If the connection doesn't take effect (which sometimes it won't) you'll come in and find your float level reading full, yet your pot is light and in need of water. So here's what i do, i say fuck filling the bases with solution. Top water your plants. Let the runoff go into the base and then have the wick suck it up. I know they say not to do that but i don't think it's a big deal unless you are far along your grow and have some salt build up that runs off into your base. Then your gonna have an imbalance of hot nutrients that can burn your stuff and throw your pH out of wack. Check occasionally for roots growing out the bottoms of your pots. When you see that, then you can start to attempt bottom watering with capillary action (wicking). Be warned though, when you lift and move your pots you can screw up the wick ropes so they are not aligned properly. Also, if you lift your pots to check for roots and the roots have grown out and wrapped themselves in your wick ropes, you're gonna pull those ropes out of the base and then you'll have to rip them away from the roots and re-position them in the base, so be fore warned. I hope this helps you out.

This is the reason I am scared to use this. I was always told to let the pot dry out to allow roots to push to find water. Although I've been told coco is like hyrdo and you can't over water. So the point of these is to maintain a perfect moisture level for the plant. Many people do feed every watering, some do a feed feed water. There is many different ways to feed and water. You will need to see which works best for you. I personally feed every watering other then once a week, but I check my runoff. Once it starts rising I will do a water only with recharge to bring down ppms. With this method you can't check runoff unless removing the pot from the base, which defeats the purpose. So I would be scared to feed every watering. As I mentioned your not watering until runoff, so old nutes could build up. So I would be weary. If it was me I would water only atleast once weekly if not every other feeding. Just to ensure no build up of nutes. Goodluck.

Mcflow cut the AI answers out for fucks sake

You answered your own question. It is hydroponic. So it never dries out. I think they use coco in those set ups.

Hahaha! Unfortunately 8 don't work for AC Infinity. I'm just consistent. Wouldn't mind having that job though. No idea how to contact them to pick their brains. I'll figure it out someday. Anyway, after some time using the system, I have discovered that the wicks get really gummed up. So rinsing every couple weeks is a good idea. I also clean them out completely every 2 weeks with hot water because the nutes and water is stagnant, but goes really fast in flowering. I've never let the reservoir stay dry for more than a few hours. And I know that soil can be dried out for a bit, but this never gets saturated. Moisture content throughout goes to about 35% in the upper half and around 50% in the lower half. So that's where I'm at with knowledge of this system. I think I have my answer now, but I'm also going to wait for AC Infinity to respond with their recommendation. I will update after they respond.

You've been using it for 8 months based on all your diaries... you tell us. LOL, do you work for this company? Ethically, they have little retraint. I know from experience with AC Infinity. because you don't get runoff in this system, there is a possbility of buildup in the substrate -- especially where it dries. you've probably learned any cyclical maintenance at this point to avoid any issues you've encounted over a minimum 8 months of use.

I only know Systems with a big water/ feedingtank and diverse hoses And they are doing it automaticslly Means from big Tank to small Reservoirs and its connected that way it refills the Reservoirs under the growpot automatically

What dies ac Infinity say? Quite courious. I