New grow hydroponic options for hot climate...

JohnDee said:
Good morning Justin,
I hope you don't mind but I'd like to ask you a non-growing question. RUI is an international community and I see guys comment that where they live...grow stuff is hard to obtain.

Why is that so? Shipping companies deliver manufactured goods all over the planet every day. Is it cost because of customs and shipping...government intervention or what?

I'm not prying into your personal information...just a general answer please.
Take care,
JD
Click to expand...

I live in a 3rd World country in Asia. Strict import customs officials check everything and serious penalties here for growing weed. Money is not an issue.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. I think I'm going to go flood and drain with rockwool cubes. I already have a huge tray (2304x1115x118mm) and a ton of 6" grodan cubes - so may as well use what I have already.
 
Justin Freidman said:
Thanks for the feedback guys. I think I'm going to go flood and drain with rockwool cubes. I already have a huge tray (2304x1115x118mm) and a ton of 6" grodan cubes - so may as well use what I have already.
Click to expand...
Just do NOT OVER WATER those cubes man. Don't even put them in the system til roots are bursting out everywhere from the cube/netpot.
 
I currently do flood and drain with a 32 square foot table (8×4). I have in the past used 4 in rockwool cubes, I have used the rockwool slabs, I have used the 4-inch cubes on top of the slabs, and I have used baskets filled with clay Pebbles. Regarding heat I've never had a problem needing to chill my reservoir however if it is too hot in the room your buds may be big and fat and look fine but they will likely not be very potent. I've never had root rot issues with my flood and drain setup even when growing in high heat though but I have had Bud's not be potent when the heat was too high and uncontrolled. This even when the roots are fine. You would have this problem with any growing technique if your temperatures are too high. Regarding the gentleman above with the large buds that do not have much crystals I suspect the situation will turn out similar. The rockwool will work fine as the other poster said do not get it too wet the first week or so you may only need to flood the table once. Once roots are out of the cubes you can flood it more frequently but keep an eye on it so it's not too wet. You want it to dry out mostly between feedings. The other thing is it's a good idea to just feed straight water for a flood or two in the middle of the flowering cycle to wash out excess salts. You can also do this by top feeding with water from a hose. I have a grow Journal in the journal section with a flood and drain using clay Pebbles.
 
Last edited:
Nice input, homie.
P.s. your avatar pic is so funny wow. Hahaha.
Rock wool is honestly a great media to grow in, but the problem is the complications you ultimately run in to when plants are small and roots aren't developed.
It's such a problem and is so hard to balance it. It's why everyone turns away from using the stuff.
When you're using cubes, submerge them in PH'd RO water for 5 minutes, pull them out and swing your arm around in a circle as FAST & HARD as you possibly can to centripetally pull that water out of the cube. Then before using them, let them sit in a WELL VENTILATED area over night to further dry them out.
This is the battle you take on with rock wool.
At first, so hard to evenly wet, and so easy to over do it.
Just always ALWAYS keep in the back of your mind when you're thinking of watering, DO THEY REALLY NEED IT?
Your seedlings/clones root systems will have no drive to grow and stretch out, searching for water if you keep them too wet. They literally just become content and root growth completely ceases.
Its such a delicate balance, ugh.
 
Airwalker16 said:
Nice input, homie.
P.s. your avatar pic is so funny wow. Hahaha.
Rock wool is honestly a great media to grow in, but the problem is the complications you ultimately run in to when plants are small and roots aren't developed.
It's such a problem and is so hard to balance it. It's why everyone turns away from using the stuff.
When you're using cubes, submerge them in PH'd RO water for 5 minutes, pull them out and swing your arm around in a circle as FAST & HARD as you possibly can to centripetally pull that water out of the cube. Then before using them, let them sit in a WELL VENTILATED area over night to further dry them out.
This is the battle you take on with rock wool.
At first, so hard to evenly wet, and so easy to over do it.
Just always ALWAYS keep in the back of your mind when you're thinking of watering, DO THEY REALLY NEED IT?
Your seedlings/clones root systems will have no drive to grow and stretch out, searching for water if you keep them too wet. They literally just become content and root growth completely ceases.
Its such a delicate balance, ugh.
Click to expand...

I have smartbee rockwool meter here and also a set of arduino boards with moisture probes. I bought them a long time ago especially for a rockwool grow, the idea was to set them up to monitor the rockwool, using the smartbee monitor as reference for moisture ranges. I guess I can set them up. :)
 
Justin Freidman said:
You might have missed my original point due to where I live I'm unable to source a lot of grow materials, i.e. hydroton.
Click to expand...
Could you use volcanic rocks? My growstones I used last grow were pretty much small volcanic rocks. I was concerned with the sharp edges cutting the roots but it did not seem to cause a problem. Could you get a larger, more porous stone and break it up?
 
5BY5LEC said:
Could you use volcanic rocks? My growstones I used last grow were pretty much small volcanic rocks. I was concerned with the sharp edges cutting the roots but it did not seem to cause a problem. Could you get a larger, more porous stone and break it up?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll take a look around - things are so hard to find here. :(
 
Justin Freidman said:
Thanks for the feedback guys. I think I'm going to go flood and drain with rockwool cubes. I already have a huge tray (2304x1115x118mm) and a ton of 6" grodan cubes - so may as well use what I have already.
Click to expand...

Justin...sometimes you just have to go with it. Hope the rockwool works good for you...I love the stuff for seedlings and clones but have never used it for large plants. And be safe!
Cheers,
JD
 
Guys, I'm now consdering DWC.... looks very easy to build and I have two huge chillers sat in an office doing nothing - keeping the nutes at 65F wouldn't be a problem at all.

The only issue I can think of is how to deal with condensation? If my nute temps are 65F and say my room temp is max 82F (vegging with c02) I'm guessing I'd have to use foam/polystyrene and wrap all the tanks...
 
Justin Freidman said:
Guys, I'm now consdering DWC.... looks very easy to build and I have two huge chillers sat in an office doing nothing - keeping the nutes at 65F wouldn't be a problem at all.

The only issue I can think of is how to deal with condensation? If my nute temps are 65F and say my room temp is max 82F (vegging with c02) I'm guessing I'd have to use foam/polystyrene and wrap all the tanks...
Click to expand...
Rdwc is what you're gonna want. Waterfalls to aerate it.
 
Having done both I can say for 100% that RDWC is a lot more work than ebb and flow. Also much bigger pain in the ass if one of your chillers goes down. Best of luck to you whatever you do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Blue brother
Height restricted hydroponic loft grow
Replies
13
Views
783
OneHitDone
OneHitDone
M
Whole Garden Destroyed | Septoria Outbreak?
Replies
13
Views
1K
compassionateExotic
compassionateExotic
Tha Bad Hippie
Tha Bad Hippies’ 5x5 680w LED Studio Apartment Closet Grow
Replies
4
Views
686
odysseus
O
Blue brother
Height restricted loft grow
Replies
0
Views
218
Blue brother
Blue brother
JustBlazin
Easiest way to grow quality cannabis
Replies
4
Views
608
JustBlazin
JustBlazin
Back
Top