Cant find the answer! Roots question

hi, bit of a noob here but im needing to find out a few things in this setup in question, its a drip/wilma system done a little different so heres a quick mock up of the system in paint thought itd be easier to explain with a picture....



The 5gal bucket will have a lid and a big 21cm net pot will sit in the lid. Clay pebbles will be the medium in the net pot. The lid will make the bucket lightproof as its a great seal and there will be no sitting water in the bucket so no chance of going stagnent as its always circulating. The res will have a airstone and a pump to add some oxygen plus another pump to deliver the feed to the plant.

the questions i have are...

1. Will i get a rootbound plant even though my roots will grow through the net pot?
2. Because the roots arent constantly in water/oxygen will they die off? i dont think they will but i keep questioning myself.
3. Can you see any problem with this system? apart from the terrible paint mock up!

many thanks in advance!

1.no. the whole idea of netpots is to let roots grow out of them. Worry more about keeping your drain clear from the roots.
2. You should use a cycle timer to turn nute pump on and off. Roots like to breath.

thanks on the reply, glad to hear it wont get rootbound

ive never seen a system where roots hang in mid air so wasnt sure how theyd cope, abit like aeroponics i think but itl be on a drip and not a spray

when using pebbles and a drip how long do people leave the pump on each hour during the times when the plant will drink most?? so thats week 5 - 9 of flower for a indica correct?

thanks

superstoner1 said:

1.no. the whole idea of netpots is to let roots grow out of them. Worry more about keeping your drain clear from the roots.
2. You should use a cycle timer to turn nute pump on and off. Roots like to breath.

Click to expand...

You should also throw an airstone in the reservoir, if the water is oxygenated you may get away without a timer. It's an other option, plus it will make your plant healthier, as long as the water has oxygen they should grow like crazy.

Chee Zee said:

thanks on the reply, glad to hear it wont get rootbound

when using pebbles and a drip how long do people leave the pump on each hour during the times when the plant will drink most?? so thats week 5 - 9 of flower for a indica correct?

thanks

Click to expand...

I would reccomend if your not spraying the roots you should try too keep some water in the bucket all the time. Maybe put your drain for the container 4 or 5 inches above the bottom. I guess that height would be dictated by your reservoir size. Then your dripping nutrient rich solution down the plant into the bottom. so even if all the roots don't get dripped on they can still reach the bottom of the bucket for water. If you do it that way you can just let it run. If not try 15 min on, 30 off.

nice idea, hadnt thought of putting the drainage hole a few inches up but wouldnt that drown the roots if they are sitting in it? ideally id have a airstone in each bucket but im limited to one or two airstones in just the res

thanks for the input!

By leaving a pool of water in the bottom you are inviting problems like stagnant areas and rot. Either go all dwc or all drip. The drip you have will act almost like aero and should have good results. But again, roots in that setup still like breathing time. Plus by running pump full time you will battle Res temps and that can be very bad.

Thats what i thought, sitting water isnt good.

I guess its trial and error finding that perfect amount of feed for each strain but was looking for some rough estimates on how much feed to give the plant during its most thirsty stage

One more thing im having trouble with is finding what airpump il need for a 40litre (9gal) res, i can find the answer for a dwc system but nothing on how much oxygen is needed in a drip sytem res. Would a pump pushing out 180litres (40gal) per hour be enough??? its rated at 5w as ive heard ther is a way of working it out from the wattage??

thanks

It's all the same Dude. Just get a pump for a 20-30 gal fish tank. Nutes, start at 1/4 strength and go from there. I never go above 600-650.

I don't know about the whole no stag water. I know a lot of people who believe that the culture that grows in that helps. As long as you monitor your PPM and PH and nute burn I do my change every 2 weeks.

I have never heard of a grower believing anything good comes from stagnant water. It literally means dead.