Roots Growing Into Pipes?

[Bwpz]

Personally I dislike rock wool. I used Hydroton in the net pots when i ran e&f. I kept the surround "naked" because they got transferred to NFT for late veg and flower.
Do you have some sort of light cover over your e&f table? Roots tend to like it dark. cn

My table is covered with panda film. What does the seed sit in when you use hydroton? And wouldn't you have to flood more?

I've seen homebrewer use this same setup as mine but he had an uncovered table and no roots coming out the bottom

 

[cannabineer]

My table is covered with panda film. What does the seed sit in when you use hydroton? And wouldn't you have to flood more?

I've seen homebrewer use this same setup as mine but he had an uncovered table and no roots coming out the bottom

I sprouted the seeds in Oasis cubes, then emplaced the seedlings in 5" net pots filled with Hydroton. I'm trying to remember how i arranged those into my e&f tray. It's been some years, but i remember it all working quite well. The Panda film should be completely adequate imo. cn

 

[homebrewer]

Is there any way to prevent the roots from bombarding my entire container? Would hydroton or grow slabs work, and which would be better if so?

I've seen this happen before and usually the cause is a flood table that doesn't completely drain or a flood schedule that floods too frequently. Your roots should more or less be air-pruned and at the moment, I bet there is enough moisture around them allowing them to grow and travel to places they shouldn't be. Do what you gotta do to make sure your flood table fully dries in between floodings.

 

[Bwpz]

When I get a new tote tomorrow I'll have it so it completely dries. Do you think the flood table cover is necessary?

 

[Bwpz]

With my concrete mixing tub I'm finding it very hard to get it to completely dry. I've drilled 4 1/16" holes that steady drip water out (I have it on an incline so water should go towards the holes) and it's still wet as a bitch. If I lower the flood amounts I think they might dry out because they get kinda droopy before every water (it floods them 4 times a day for 15 minutes).

 

[homebrewer]

With my concrete mixing tub I'm finding it very hard to get it to completely dry. I've drilled 4 1/16" holes that steady drip water out (I have it on an incline so water should go towards the holes) and it's still wet as a bitch. If I lower the flood amounts I think they might dry out because they get kinda droopy before every water (it floods them 4 times a day for 15 minutes).

Maybe make those drain holes a little bigger so the water returns to the res faster?

 

[cannabineer]

I'm guessing the four holes are auxiliaries to a large main drain. cn

 

[oceangreen]

trim it and fit 2 drains next time

 

[oceangreen]

Maybe make those drain holes a little bigger so the water returns to the res faster?

that will work too

 

[Bwpz]

I'll try making the holes bigger.

@oceangreen The drains sit like a 1/4" above the bottom of the tub and that's why the roots are sitting in water. Adding another one wouldn't help.

 

[homebrewer]

I'll try making the holes bigger.

@oceangreen The drains sit like a 1/4" above the bottom of the tub and that's why the roots are sitting in water. Adding another one wouldn't help.

FWIW, I use 2-3 holes that are about 4 or 5mm in diameter. The table drains pretty quickly but then again, I only flood 3 times per 12 hour light cycle.