Growing Systems — System Parts

Two kinds of need meet here: something has broken or gone missing, or your setup has to get bigger. The same thing applies to both, and it is why this group is one of the largest in the category: you rarely have to buy a whole system again.

Expanding rather than doubling

From AutoPot there are the expansion sets for 1Pot, 1Pot XL, the Smartpot version and Easy2Grow. These grow an existing setup by a few pots, instead of leaving a second system standing beside the first with its own tank and its own level. Going from four plants to eight is a box of parts here, not a new system. So when buying, check whose parts are available separately: that decides whether your setup can grow later.

The Blumat spares stock

Most of this page is Blumat: 8 mm supply hose in white and black, by the metre and on rolls, 3 mm drip hose, T-pieces in both diameters plus the 8-3-8 for branching from thick to thin, connectors, elbows, end fittings, closing caps and distribution drippers. With those you extend or branch a line without starting over. How to lay such a line out, and what each part does, is under Drip Systems.

The parts most often missing

Three parts are rarely ordered with the rest and are exactly what leaves a setup leaking or stalled. The tank feed-through takes hose watertight through the wall of your own reservoir. The pressure reducer at 1 bar belongs in the line as soon as you run off a tap rather than out of a tank. And the locking clip secures a joint so the hose cannot blow off, a cheap part standing between you and an expensive floor. A ground support holds the dripper in place in the substrate.

Net pots and the float valve

The Terra Aquatica Netcups come in 2 and 3 inch, and choosing between them is not about root room: roots simply grow through the mesh. It is about stability above the pot. The 3/4 inch plastic float valve keeps the water level in a tank where it should be, and is worth having a spare of on the shelf, because nearly every gravity system depends on it.

Frequently asked questions

Do Blumat parts fit another brand's hose?
Work within one sizing rather than between two. The 8 mm and 3 mm fittings are matched to each other, and an adapter that almost fits is where your system will leak.

Can I put an expansion set on any AutoPot system?
The sets are per line: 1Pot, 1Pot XL, Smartpot and Easy2Grow are not interchangeable. Check which line you have before ordering, because the pot size and the valve differ.

What do I replace first when something stops working?
Start at the float valve or the sensor, then the hose. A system giving too much or too little is usually a valve that no longer closes, rather than a leak you have not spotted.