I'm running a NFT system, and have my seeds sprouted in 1in rockwool cubes surrounded with clay grow-rocks. Each crop seems to have the signs of overwatering (droopy, soggy looking, leaves turning down, etc), however, everything I read says that one cannot overwater a hydro system. Third crop, and I'm having the same problems. I've thought about putting the plants on a drip cycle with a timer, however, I'm concerned that the roots hanging into my NFT trays will dry out before the next watering cycle. What can I do? Experience please.

The rockwool on this crop is completely saturated. What kind of action should I take? Should I stop watering and let the rockwool dry out then start re-watering on a drip cycle? Will that be enough water to the roots that are hanging down into the trays? I've lifted the plants so that the rockwool is no longer sitting in the water, and have turned to the drip cycle in hopes that this will lessen the amount of water absorbed by the rockwool. Will this help my situation? Experienced advice please!

Yes you can overwater hydro - simply meaning you deny the roots oxygen. Not sure how your system works, i like to have an air stone in my resivor to make sure plenty of oxygen gets to my roots. then i flow/flood multiple times a day with that oxygenated water. i'm not sure how this works with nft, i'm not sure how yours is setup but i would imagine the cubes are just soaking up a thin layer of water, maybe a flow system would be good for you. I hear alot based on feed schdules, and feeding like 10 times a day with a flow system in veg has brought my outstanding result's and i'd like to blame it on the fact that my girls got fresh oxygen all that time.

You'll need to run the flow 24/7. Once the roots stick out of the cubes, the cubes should not be in the flow any more, only the roots. If the roots are not white and healthy, then you have a res maintenance problem. Since the res is everything in NFT, you need to correct it quickly. What's pH, ppm and how often do you top off? What's the res temp?

HTH

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dude, im having the same exact problems and have the same questions. im not sure if its overwatering or nute burn. they seem to have the same symptoms. my feed chart (van de zwaan aqua flakes) says not to use an oxygen pump. the bottom of my cubes are just below the serface of the water. the water is constantly being cycled, but the level is always the same. is that bad? should i flood and drain it? shit!!!

good post. let us know what happens.

I'm running an Aero/NFT system right now. I have my cycle timer set to 1 minute on and 5 minutes off. I'm running 2900 PPM straight organic nuts. Check out the pics and you can see how healthy my girls are.

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Sounds like to me the only thing you are missing is oxygen. I have two 12" airstones in my rez and the roots will literally wrap themselfs around the airstones.....they love it.

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Wow, Stinkbud,NICE!!!!! Looked at your gallery nice work. What kind of light are you using for all those girls? Nice going.

I was having the same problem, my rockwool cubes were falling apart, turning green, etc. Heres what I did. I sprouted the seeds, then put them in soil. Let them grow outside during the day, then bring them in before lights out time. I fed nutes through the soil and gave them bat guano and CO2 sprays, and then when I felt ready to start flowering, I would very gently remove them from the soil, break up the root ball VERY GENTLY, and rinse away all the dirt until roots were clean and white. Get your net pots and medium, and set your plant up in it. Put her where ever you want in whatever system you want, theyre ready for it. Just take it easy on nutes cuz its a new home for them, let em get comfy. Bottom line, I say fuck rock wool. It raises the ph of the water too, I would measure the water dripping off a cube (pre soaked in 6.5 water for 24hr) and it was coming off at almost 8!!! Cant tell me distilled water comes very alkaline stock.

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Yes, rockwool does suck if you don't know how to use it correctly.

Yes, it's made from rock. Some of the rock is limestone. Lime is alkaline so you pre-treat with low 5's pH solution to offset the possible alkaline effect of any residual limestone.

Now cleaning soil completely off of roots really sucks.

HTH

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I did this my last grow, I got the ideal from a youtube video. The difference between what is grown straight thru hydro to what was grown in soil thru veg is about 3 OZ a plant.....i will know for sure when i pull them in 2 weeks. The hydro has four monster heads while the soil is one cola with a few nice side branchs.....altho that one cola does look damn good.

I think ima keep my soil grows to Lowryder from now on....may give it another try sometime in the future tho.

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