Rockwool with drippers

I'm running quite a few plants in 6 inch rockwool cubes and I'm having trouble getting them to wet/dry consistently with each other. Some will be totally soaking wet and some are light as a feather at the same time, even if I run the system for 15 mins until my tray is pooling. Some are still extremely light.

I have noticed that they are all dry on top, no matter how heavy they are and it makes me nervous that only half the cube is getting water. Is there some technique to putting in the drippers? At an angle? Recommended depth? Should I try and squeeze some rockwool into the holes to get the water to start saturating at the top instead of at the bottom of the dropper?

I place drippers on opposing sides of the cube. If you want to saturate the cube you should be doing short interval feedings so that the cube can slowly saturate. Try giving the cube 120 ml every twenty minutes for about 2/3 of you light cycle. You shouldn’t get any runoff until about halfway through the light cycle

I watched a bunch of vids and apparently I had them way too deep. I adjusted them so the only go about an inch or so deep.

Did adjusting the depth help?

It did, and Ive also realized that one of my strains is far more thirsty than the other. I'll be glad when this round is over and I can be rid of these drippers

Glad to hear you are getting it figured out. What size pump are you running? Could that be some of your uneven water problem? are.you getting even water distribution to each dripper?

I think you will be happy without the drippers. I just use open 1/4" line without a dripper. Works good.

Yeah I've measured the water and it's even, it's just that 1 strain is having runoff while the other strains cubes are dry as a bone. Next time I'll separate them better so I can control the flow to the different strains instead of having to hand water the ones that are extra thirsty. This batch is finishing up soon, and then I'm switching to the floracaps and bubblers.

I appreciate you checking in.

When you say “dry as a bone” are the plants showing any signs of under watering stress?

Valeris said:

Yeah I've measured the water and it's even, it's just that 1 strain is having runoff while the other strains cubes are dry as a bone. Next time I'll separate them better so I can control the flow to the different strains instead of having to hand water the ones that are extra thirsty. This batch is finishing up soon, and then I'm switching to the floracaps and bubblers.

I appreciate you checking in.

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Nice I ordered two of the floraflex 6 plant set ups. They come with a pump, 6 caps, clips, hose and 6 rockwool cubes. They will be getting here Wednesday. I even got an Aroya Solus wireless 3 in 1 ec, moisture content and temperature meter. I plan on running them in a 4 x 4 tray in a tent.

Thanks for elaborating on your experience, and it sounds like you are about to reap the rewards of your work!

Valeris said:

I'm switching to the floracaps and bubblers.

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I like floracaps. Some people say they are not necessary, but I feel better about water distribution using them and they do help with growth on top of the blocks.

Im running 75 or so 6 inch Pargro quickdrains right now. 18 different strains, some bigger, some with less roots and less growth. And this is my first Hydro run ever. 35 ft table drip system, i agree that 2 lines makes a big difference. I will sometimes steal a line from a middle neighbor and use it to supplement more water to flood the cube out more. Also sometimes i will take the 2.5 gallon watering jug from the mother room and use it to flood the Pargros out. I be sure i flood them ever 2-3 days so they do not get hydrophobic. It has been a very tricky run so far.

I have an Aroya sensor I never got to use if anyone interested $300