My hydro setup + ?'s

Sup everyone,

Although soil has been good to me, my curiosity is forcing me to try a hydroponic setup. I just have a small tub with two baskets, 8 inch airstone, and a beast of a water pump. I've done the research, and my ladies are fine but I still have a question I can't find the answer to: what is the best way to keep the rockwool cube and stones wet with the water pump? Right now i have tubes going from my water pump, through the basket, pushing water into the side of each rockwool cube. Does this method over saturate the rockwool and drown the roots? Should a put the pump on a timer so it gives the roots a break to absorb oxygen? Any answers or advice is greatly appreciated, how do you do it?

Pign
 

Phillip J Fry

Active Member
i say go aero and use plastic screw together pipes and make a T up out of pump and drill small holes to insert 10 or so ez-cloner 360 sprayer heads (they are the same thread as a#10 wood screw). buy a timer and run pump 5mins on and 10mins off. Put the air stone by the intake of the pump, it may make the sprayers spit a bit but its better than roots clogging them up. This is pretty cheap and works great.
Note your container needs to be 100% water proof around the edges. If it is in a tote that leaks around the lid I would cover the lid with a trash bag thats split open. Make holes for your pots and drape the edges inside the tote, works for me. Check out my grow in my signature.
Peace
Fry
 

warfey

Active Member
i use dwc and the first time i used pumps to distribute nutes to top of rockwool.this pump is not needed. I now dont use the pumps,except to empty resevoir.fill your tub so that your 2 net pots are submerged in the water about an inch or so.This will keep your rockwool wet and eliminate using the feeding tubes.If u do still want to use it,you can run the pump continuously.No timer needed.keep airstones running all the time to feed roots.
 

purpdaddy

Well-Known Member
The pump is designed as an auto feeder so when its just a seedling it can get food.We take the pump out and tubes once the roots are long enough to touch the nutrients...The tubes clog up anyway so we remove them.
 
nice, thanks- got one tub with the pvc frame w/ 360 sprayers for clones, and a larger tub to transplant to. Fry- I had some rubber tubing so I lined the edge of the cloner, the solid contact of the top and tubing stopped the leaks, my tub is all warped so it was leaking bad. All questions answered thanks
 

BeaverHuntr

Well-Known Member
In DWC you dont need a pump in about 8 days you should have roots drinking water. Also if you go DWC go with the rapid rooter plugs they are easier than rockwool in my opinion.
 

Earlymorninghigh

Well-Known Member
Rockwool sucks in DWC. It stays too wet, especially if you submerge it in water. It's like a sponge. Use hydroton, or just some rocks. In my experience, I ended up getting nute lockout because it was always wet. Severe PK deficiency later in flowering.
 

Weedler

Well-Known Member
You can use rockwool if you germinate in 1" rockwool cubes, I would not go bigger... Place rockwool once germinated and roots poking out above hydrotron rocks in a net cup you should be okay. But make sure the medium whatever it is stays covered either by a cover or good layer of rocks
 
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