so when I said take the filter off the pump side....what I was refering to was actually the bulkhead inside the newly built tray.....there is an overflow bulkhead and then the pump .....take the bulkhead off so that the fitting is flush with the bottom of the tray
as for the nutrients sweetspots....
I use
botanicare CNS17.....I have figured out the "sweet spot" for every step of the grow.....ph comes out to 5.5-5.8 every time....and holds for about a week...(exactly like Advanced)
but I have found that by running enzymes it makes my res wacky and run up to like 6.3.....I just leave it until I reload the res
as for your auto grows...I would watch the flowering cycle....as soon as the plant actually starts to form true bud sites....that is when you start to count a standard flower cycle minus about 2 weeks
I say that because in photo plants you start the bloom cycle as soon as you flip and the first 1-3 weeks are transition stretch
with auto you get that but it is all one cycle
autos will still bloom a standard bloom cycle
ask
@Midwestjay about this but seed to finish on autos is really a guesstimate
I would say more like 12 weeks minimum....unless the plant was flowering right out of the dirt
so you can pretty much watch the cycles and know where you need to be with the flushing/tapering off....