Gquebed
Well-Known Member
What i dont get is that it was one of the 2 owners and they both have been growing for decades. But obviously didnt know anything about em... so ya, prolly just trying to get that stuff off the shelf...
Res aeration... how much?
- Thread starter Gquebed
- Start date
klx
Well-Known Member
You shouldnt need to use air pumps if you are flooding a few times per day but more oxygen is always good.
However, with rockwool you wont be able to flood that often as it holds a lot of moisture. If you are committed to rockwool, think about top feed, drain to waste feeding small amounts multiple times per day.
If you are committed to F&D use a medium that you can flood often (clay works) or no medium at all!
However, with rockwool you wont be able to flood that often as it holds a lot of moisture. If you are committed to rockwool, think about top feed, drain to waste feeding small amounts multiple times per day.
If you are committed to F&D use a medium that you can flood often (clay works) or no medium at all!
Renfro
Well-Known Member
Gquebed
Well-Known Member
Was just thinking... 1 gal pots full of clay pellets right on the table or pellets in the 6 in net pots hanging through a lid on the table...
Thundercat
Well-Known Member
I do 6 inch pots right on the table, with roughly 40 plants in my 4x4 tray.
Gquebed
Well-Known Member
So clones straight to flower i guess?
Thatd be good for me because i have limited headspace...maybe 32ish inches, but i have plant count limit of 24... so need to maximize that.
How big can they grow in a 6 inch pot before they start tipping over?
Thundercat
Well-Known Member
My clones usually get rooted, and then put into the pots and given 1-2 weeks of veg to establish some roots in the pot. They go into flower about 6-8 inches tall and end up about 25ish depending on strain. I always use something to support the plants. I used to use stakes, recently I made custom wire cages. They are the same size as my pots and about 20 inches tall. They've been awesome, the plants are totally supported from all sides now.
klx
Well-Known Member
Clay pellets are easy and you can flood them a lot which is good. I use them to pheno hunt from seed. At the end of a run I just shake the root ball and most of them fall away and the ones that are really buried deep in the root ball I toss - too much hassle to get them out. But I have been using the same few bags for years now.
Just make sure you rinse them really well before you use them the first time to get all the dust off.
5BY5LEC
Well-Known Member
You mentioned that your plugged your other outlets on the pump. Run each outlet to a stone and forget, move on to next issue.
I don't run FD but it seems like your oxygen would be fine. Not like your roots are sitting in water. Whenever water is moved in the presence of air, it absorbs oxygen. Water disturbed in the presence of air.
Consider FD a constant disturbance. In the best way.
I don't run FD but it seems like your oxygen would be fine. Not like your roots are sitting in water. Whenever water is moved in the presence of air, it absorbs oxygen. Water disturbed in the presence of air.
Consider FD a constant disturbance. In the best way.
klx
Well-Known Member
You just need to make sure that the pots at the back of the tray get enough water. You look like you are flooding super high so that wont be an issue.
JohnDee
Well-Known Member
I beg to differ on this point. I once did a hempy bucket with straight hydroton and got plenty of wicking upward.
Back to Ebb&flow...hydroton is the standard media for this, for a reason. It works perfectly. Did 23 plants in 3x3 tray for 3 years. Never a glitch...
For aeration I used an air pump on a T connector pumping air into nutrients as they were on their way to the tray. Hooked it up to nutrient pump timer so it was only on during floods. No root rot ever.
JD
Thundercat
Well-Known Member
I flood between 3-4 inches deep usually. I will also add I actually greatly prefer "grow rocks". They are an expanded slate pellet that works awesome. Same exact idea as hydroton, but they aren't round so they won't roll around, and I think they are much more durable. I'll use whatever my grow shop has in stock the day I go though 
, which means lots of times I have a mixture of both.
, which means lots of times I have a mixture of both.
5BY5LEC
Well-Known Member
Agreed. I used grow rocks the last grow and they seemed to wick quite well. The aeration splashes water onto the bottom layer of rocks and up it goes.
Gquebed
Well-Known Member
I havent seen anything like that in the shops here. So i googled it... not sure if i found what you meant or not.I flood between 3-4 inches deep usually. I will also add I actually greatly prefer "grow rocks". They are an expanded slate pellet that works awesome. Same exact idea as hydroton, but they aren't round so they won't roll around, and I think they are much more durable. I'll use whatever my grow shop has in stock the day I go though
I did find that some people actually use gravel. Lol
HydroRed
Well-Known Member
For most of the F&D bulkhead kits you can run 1 collar and a screen on the drain, & just the screen on the fill. Usually equals out to about 3.5" or so flood depth. Your tray doesnt have to be totally free of any water in between floods either so a lean on the table shouldnt be too necessary. Hydroton has been the easiest medium by far of all the mediums I've used. Rinse it on initial use, then shake it out of the rootballs -rinse, and use it again. Its virtually impossible to over flood hydroton unless you have too many flood cycles since hydroton retains almost nothing. Rockwool on the other hand holds large amounts of water, and most who arent familiar with it often experience overwater issues/dampening off.
Thundercat
Well-Known Member
These are the ones I've used the most but I know there are other brands too https://www.horizenhydroponics.com/sunleaves-rocks-65lb-50l?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1dXjxdjx3wIVjq_ICh318AffEAQYEyABEgITmfD_BwE