2x600 hps ebb & flow. Chronic, Grapegod, and Bluecheese. Single cola SOG.

Slivers said:
I see allot of people complaining about rockwool, yes it grows algae... However it can be easily avoided if you block the algae's light source, which for you would be less expensive(some type of plastic lining above the rockwool, but below the plants) and less time consuming vs things like hydroton.
Click to expand...
1 hour to wash a 50L bag is something I'm willing to sacrifice for the results. Yes RW can work, but it needs per-conditioning as well which is also work. Use what works best not what's easiest. Your always rewarded for your efforts come harvest time.
 
Someguy15 said:
1 hour to wash a 50L bag is something I'm willing to sacrifice for the results. Yes RW can work, but it needs per-conditioning as well which is also work. Use what works best not what's easiest. Your always rewarded for your efforts come harvest time.
Click to expand...

I don't see how rockwool is more work than hydroton...

Rockwool:

Place in 5.5 ph water for 12hs(takes about 3 minutes to fill something, adjust it, and then drop them in)
Keep the covered (5 minutes if you have allot).
Toss when done .

Hydroton:

Lug a huge bag of rocks from the store, to your car, from your car, to your grow op(extra effort)
Clean the rocks, if done correctly I could see this taking 30 minutes or longer for just cleaning the whole bag.
Place them into net pots uncovered

So how is that more work? Also how will something in hydroton yield more than something in rockwool that is properly treated, assuming the hydroton is too?

I didn't even touch on disposal of hydroton, or re-use.
 
Slivers said:
I don't see how rockwool is more work than hydroton...

Rockwool:

Place in 5.5 ph water for 12hs(takes about 3 minutes to fill something, adjust it, and then drop them in)
Keep the covered (5 minutes if you have allot).
Toss when done .

Hydroton:

Lug a huge bag of rocks from the store, to your car, from your car, to your grow op(extra effort)
Clean the rocks, if done correctly I could see this taking 30 minutes or longer for just cleaning the whole bag.
Place them into net pots uncovered

So how is that more work? Also how will something in hydroton yield more than something in rockwool that is properly treated, assuming the hydroton is too?

I didn't even touch on disposal of hydroton, or re-use.
Click to expand...
If u read I said hydroton is more work. I mix 50/50 so I do both. I was simply stating the extra effort may be worth it. Personally I don't waste my time trying to reuse the stuff (never get all the roots out), my medium sees the trash. Both are about the same cost, one weighs more and is more work. But can you flood a RW slab 6 to 8 times a day? of course not, you'll o2 starve your roots. It's about using what you need for your setup. I understand you like RW, I like it too in its place, different strokes for diff folks.
 
Slivers said:
I don't see how rockwool is more work than hydroton...

Rockwool:

Place in 5.5 ph water for 12hs(takes about 3 minutes to fill something, adjust it, and then drop them in)
Keep the covered (5 minutes if you have allot).
Toss when done .

Hydroton:

Lug a huge bag of rocks from the store, to your car, from your car, to your grow op(extra effort)
Clean the rocks, if done correctly I could see this taking 30 minutes or longer for just cleaning the whole bag.
Place them into net pots uncovered

So how is that more work? Also how will something in hydroton yield more than something in rockwool that is properly treated, assuming the hydroton is too?

I didn't even touch on disposal of hydroton, or re-use.
Click to expand...

And this is why rw/ growdan is key medium in my book
 
Someguy15 said:
If u read I said hydroton is more work. I mix 50/50 so I do both. I was simply stating the extra effort may be worth it. Personally I don't waste my time trying to reuse the stuff (never get all the roots out), my medium sees the trash. Both are about the same cost, one weighs more and is more work. But can you flood a RW slab 6 to 8 times a day? of course not, you'll o2 starve your roots. It's about using what you need for your setup. I understand you like RW, I like it too in its place, different strokes for diff folks.
Click to expand...

Ah now I see why... Flooding the hydro more often per day. Yea that's totally valid.

From my perspective using aero and 2" net pots I didn't really see much a difference. But from e&f perspective I can understand that. Now I'm really glad I avoided e&f... Aero is E Z.
 
Im doing a similar grow on a 4x4 table, blue cheese is one of my strains i planted a few days ago. Im doing soil but i think its gonna be a pain im thinking about switching to a setup like this. What size pots are you using?
 
hellraizer30 said:
And this is why rw/ growdan is key medium in my book
Click to expand...
do you use a flood and drain system?
I use a recycle timer to maximize root zone oxygen levels flooding only long enough for water to reach desired level. You can't do this with rockwool....if i WERE USING 15 MINUTE INTERVAL CLICK TIMERS...THEN YEAH R/W IS FINE. I've used both and have stronger thicker plants using hydroton. Do I rinse them? yes....pain in the ass? yes...better results? YES.
 
Nice set up bro , i want to do something similar next grow. Im subbed for this one , sure i'll learn a lot thru ur pix and experiences and with all the Master Chef's i see chimming in in on this one.

Happy Growing!
 
Springtucky said:
do you use a flood and drain system?
I use a recycle timer to maximize root zone oxygen levels flooding only long enough for water to reach desired level. You can't do this with rockwool....if i WERE USING 15 MINUTE INTERVAL CLICK TIMERS...THEN YEAH R/W IS FINE. I've used both and have stronger thicker plants using hydroton. Do I rinse them? yes....pain in the ass? yes...better results? YES.
Click to expand...

I am with this. Rw is a pain in the ass. Drove me to coco. When I was using hydroton I had way better results than rw. I hate that shit.
 
johny1212 said:
I am with this. Rw is a pain in the ass. Drove me to coco. When I was using hydroton I had way better results than rw. I hate that shit.
Click to expand...


Hmm. Glad I'm hearing all these responses. I'm gonna have to do more research on it.


I just switched the light to 600 watts. I had it dimmed to 400 watts to let them adjust. I'll probably lower the light in the next day or two also.
 
Stick with the hydroton. If you are looking to flood less look into coco. RW works fine in e&f but I always ended up waterlogged. May just me but look at my current grow. Top drip to waste in coco and no issues yet. I can water a lot or a little and never get waterlogged. I am sure there are a million opinions though;)
 
I've looked into coco, only thing I'm worried about is it clogging the filters. As cheap as it is maybe I shouldn't worry about that.
 
hornedfrog2000 said:
I've looked into coco, only thing I'm worried about is it clogging the filters. As cheap as it is maybe I shouldn't worry about that.
Click to expand...

People are doing it but unless you need to change stick with what is working for you. I don't see any reason to change from the hydroton;)
 
Well, I just get tired of "working" on the weekends. I work all week, and whatever makes my life easier on the two days I get off is great. Even if I have to pay a little extra for convenience.
 
hornedfrog2000 said:
Well, I just get tired of "working" on the weekends. I work all week, and whatever makes my life easier on the two days I get off is great. Even if I have to pay a little extra for convenience.
Click to expand...

Have you considered going to soil? I did dwc and aero for the last year tnen the bad run in rockwool. The top drip I have now is super simple compared to either of those setups. I am experimenting with doing an coco mix with everything mixed in. Basically a custom soil. I am just hand watering every 2-3 days. I know hydro shows faster growth but I am pretty excited to go this way after all these fucking pumps and chillers and shit running all the time. Seems like that would be best time wise and I am seeing some bomb shit come from organics these days.
 
ive been setting up a wash rack for RW, the basis is you soak RW to set the internal ph of the medium to 5.5 but this dont wash out
all the grime and particals that is in RW and from all the RW ive soak I see no reason to even soak it!

so I got a rack and put a 5 gal bucket of ph 5.5 water in it and bellow is another 5 gal bucket with a dwc insert the basket type,
theres a pump in the upper bucket feeding a line down to the lower one. I fill the basket with RW and blast it with the above water.
the lower bucket drains to a floor drain.

this all seems complicated but once setup there 0 soaking just wash then use :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Shaded420
8yrs MIA - Blue Cheese SF-4000 4x4 grow
2
Replies
20
Views
1K
Shaded420
Shaded420
C
Any DIY grow light setups that could replace a 1000w HPS grow light?
Replies
8
Views
4K
habert
H
L
Getting back in the game after 10 years
Replies
0
Views
545
liquidcooled
L
DesertHydro
2000W SOG Chem D Cookies
3 4 5
Replies
96
Views
9K
Blk_Elvis
Blk_Elvis
Thronez
3-4lbs off of one 1000w
3 4 5
Replies
91
Views
8K
bdt1981
bdt1981
Back
Top