Hydro Fail 2 Please help

After nursing these tiny non growing plants for a month I have thrown in the towel. I pulled the cubes from the hydroton and made an observation. The rockwool plugs were nearly bone dry. I really think they may have died of thirst?! My water level was just beneath the netpot bottom. Perhaps I should position rockwool cubes at the very bottom of netpots? Raise water to perhaps touch bottom or even submerge 1/4 of netpot? When I put the plants in the netpots initially I put some hydroton on the bottom (maybe 1/4") of netpot, then my rockwool cube with plant, then filled around it. Am I doing this right?

I have my water level right below the rock wool cube, not the net pod. I have hydroton that is submerged in water due to the net pot shape (it has an elevated piece in the middle, I'm assuming it is for a rock wool cube). Hopefully this helps as your water level may be to low.

Submerge your pot up to cubes until roots are hanging in water. I'd say they were dried as well.

Smokenpassout said:

After nursing these tiny non growing plants for a month I have thrown in the towel. I pulled the cubes from the hydroton and made an observation. The rockwool plugs were nearly bone dry. I really think they may have died of thirst?! My water level was just beneath the netpot bottom. Perhaps I should position rockwool cubes at the very bottom of netpots? Raise water to perhaps touch bottom or even submerge 1/4 of netpot? When I put the plants in the netpots initially I put some hydroton on the bottom (maybe 1/4") of netpot, then my rockwool cube with plant, then filled around it. Am I doing this right?

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try it next time without the rockwool. they suck in my opinion. when i was buying clones, they were sold in rockwool. had the same problems as you: too dry or too wet. next time i cut the clone out of the rockwool, put about an inch of hydroton in bottom of netpot and then put the clone in and filled up with hydroton. when they are first starting, keep the water level right at the bottom of the netpot so the bubbles are breaking up into the hydroton. this should give teh roots enough water until they grow out and reach the water. then you can drop the water level. make sense? don't give up !!!

Ok so if I have a small plant in rockwool should it be placed on the bottom of the netpot and filled around with hydroton? Or should there be a thin layer of hydration on the netpot bottom, and then the rockwool cube? The water level should reach the bottom of the rockwool cube but not submerge it?

Here is a really shitty paint drawing I did. No hydroton on the bottom, but all around the sides. Hope this helps.

Also forgot to add, like the above member said. If roots aren't developed, and have not yet touched the water. Move the water level up, to where it nearly touches the rockwool. Basically, the roots are searching for the moisture. So if they can't detect it (water source not close enough) they will not grow and will dehydrate.

Smokenpassout said:

Ok so if I have a small plant in rockwool should it be placed on the bottom of the netpot and filled around with hydroton? Or should there be a thin layer of hydration on the netpot bottom, and then the rockwool cube? The water level should reach the bottom of the rockwool cube but not submerge it?

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just cut the plant out of the rockwool gently. just slice it down one side with a razor blade and be careful when you get to the stem. trust me. if you place it on the bottom of the netpot it can get too wet and you can "drown" the stem/plant and kill it that way. i've killed em from too wet and too dry.

do you already have a pretty nice set of roots?

Well I am trying now using a soil plant as a test subject. I have rinsed off all the soil and exposed the roots. This is a small established plant. I sort of held it in the center of the netpot, roots touching bottom, and filled all around it. I am more or less trying to get something to thrive, while I get some seeds germinated in rockwool.

Smokenpassout said:

Well I am trying now using a soil plant as a test subject. I have rinsed off all the soil and exposed the roots. This is a small established plant. I sort of held it in the center of the netpot, roots touching bottom, and filled all around it. I am more or less trying to get something to thrive, while I get some seeds germinated in rockwool.

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Are you trying to transfer a developed soil plant into hydro? That usually is messy, stressful on the plant, and takes a few days/a week set-back atleast while the roots re-adjust/grow. I know personally my soil plants have hairy like roots compared to my hydro roots that grow more like strands. I know the root zone isn't that easy to just... "transplant". But hey an experiment is an experiment if you don't care for the soil plant regardless, lemme know what happens~!

Yes it is an experiment indeed. Its a pepper plant from a 1 gallon pot. I placed it in a bucket and got most of the soil off the roots. I more or less want to see of I can get it to thrive with the proper PH and PPM. I do attribute my failure to incorrect water level. The rockwool plugs were dry as dust except a slight moistness near the bottom. Plants seemed to just not grow, some leaves shriveled up. I think its best to start some new seedlings in rockwool and play with this experiment, before some of my other beans.

I don't try to put rockwool clones into rdwc right away; they don't have the roots for it yet. Instead, I put the cube on top of hydroton in my ebb n flood table, the levels of water and media carefully set so as the table fills, it wets one corner of the rockwool cube. This encourages them to send roots into the hydroton and in a week or two it can go into a netpot bucket lid... and on into my RDWC.

Truth to tell, the clones in my aerocloner do just as well with the same treatment, with no rockwool cube at all.

ttystikk said:

I don't try to put rockwool clones into rdwc right away; they don't have the roots for it yet. Instead, I put the cube on top of hydroton in my ebb n flood table, the levels of water and media carefully set so as the table fills, it wets one corner of the rockwool cube. This encourages them to send roots into the hydroton and in a week or two it can go into a netpot bucket lid... and on into my RDWC.

Truth to tell, the clones in my aerocloner do just as well with the same treatment, with no rockwool cube at all.

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I don't have a problem going from an aerocloner directly into hydroton either. If its in a cube than it just needs hydroton underneath it and maybe a top feed once a day for a week with R/O water and a little root enhancer. I don't remove my cubes from the black plastic tray until I can see roots anyways.

Vumar said:

I don't have a problem going from an aerocloner directly into hydroton either. If its in a cube than it just needs hydroton underneath it and maybe a top feed once a day for a week with R/O water and a little root enhancer. I don't remove my cubes from the black plastic tray until I can see roots anyways.

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Yep yep, keep it simple. My success rate is over ninety percent.

The experiment seems to be working. The plant looks like it is a bit larger. It has adapted from soil to hydro well. I believe my root system needed more development, and the rockwool cube maybe top watered until roots were more established.

I'd say use Rapid Rooters instead of Rockwool, for being new with DWC this will be golden. Just keep your Rapid Rooter moist(not soaked) until the root makes it's way to the water. I keep my Rapid Rooter on an inch or two of Hydroton with more Hydroton surrounding it as it keep light from getting thru the netpot into the res, water level right below the net pot so that the bubble splash keeps the Hydroton moist, the roots will find their way to the water. My roots traveled at least a good 2 inches to the res with no problem. I think the roots sense the moisture in the Hydroton below so they make their way there just fine.

i just fill my res so its about an inch or so above the net pot soaking the bottom inch or so until the root pop through into the water. usually takes a week or so. I germ in a paper towel then straight to rockwool in my dwc buckets. May not be the best method out there but it saves a lot of headache for me. Hasnt failed me yet

Smok3yMcChok3y said:

i just fill my res so its about an inch or so above the net pot soaking the bottom inch or so until the root pop through into the water. usually takes a week or so. I germ in a paper towel then straight to rockwool in my dwc buckets. May not be the best method out there but it saves a lot of headache for me. Hasnt failed me yet

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Looking fantastic

thanks that wasfrom last friday. today puts them at 30days from the paper towel and i had to swap em over to the hps and flip times. Im a little worried the bubblicious is going to have to get tied down after stretch sets in. the white rhino is doing fine tho.

Smokenpassout said:

Yes it is an experiment indeed. Its a pepper plant from a 1 gallon pot. I placed it in a bucket and got most of the soil off the roots. I more or less want to see of I can get it to thrive with the proper PH and PPM. I do attribute my failure to incorrect water level. The rockwool plugs were dry as dust except a slight moistness near the bottom. Plants seemed to just not grow, some leaves shriveled up. I think its best to start some new seedlings in rockwool and play with this experiment, before some of my other beans.

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When transplanting, if you experience leaves shrivel in feed it some nutrient or calmag ro water, in a few hours it'll come back to life just feed it 3 times a day until you see roots poking out after a week.