How many people use rapid rooters in hydroton?

Just wondering if I should flood up to the rapid rooter, or just under it?

i started one of mine in hydroton and had it below the rooter and it still got too wet. never sprouted. id make a small dome or something to put the rooter in until the seed sprouts and a root starts out of the plug then transfer into hydroton. i had alot better results this way

You didn't sprot the seed before you started it in the hydroton?

i started 2 of them in the dome from seed and 2 seeds that were germd. either way works. i noticed faster root growth out of the bottom of the rooter on the one i started from seed then i transplanted 3 that had sprouted and one that hadnt sprouted into the hydroton. the one that didnt sprout before transplant didnt sprout cuz it got too watered. my suggestion. start from seed or from germed seed put in dome and leave it for a week at least til you see some roots coming from the bottom big enough to drink water then transplant. dont let light get into the water on the roots. it wont kill them but just try to avoid itonce u hae a sprout and root then transplant and u should be fine. dont overwater the rooter. moist not soaked is better

Did you just hand water until the roots went down into the hydroton? Thanks.

Germ a seed, get something to set the rooter in that will hold it in place and fill with water til 1/4 up on the rooter, insert germ'd seed or ungerm'd (either way will work the same), tear piece of the rooter plug off and lightly plug the hole in the top (to prevent light from hitting the seed directly), put something to block light from getting in the water, put something clear and plastic over it to raise humidity, wait couple days and you will see a sprout, wait another few days and you will see roots coming out of the rooter, wait til they are an inch or so long, take empty net pot, put layer of hydroton in pot I put a layer of hydroton in the bottom of the net pot then carefully held the rooter in my hand at the level I wanted it to sit in the pot with the root on the hydroton and carefully poured the hydroton into the pot. Not letting the hydroton fall onto the roots. If your roots are long enough you can hang them out of the bottom of the pot and pour hydroton around the rooter but be very careful as to not let the balls and net pot damage the root. I had one root damaged because I hung it out of the bottom and poured the hydroton and one fell and damaged the root against the pot. Its not hard so don't over think it. Just be careful not to damage the root during the transplant. As long as you have a decent root you should only have to hand water for about 2-3 days at the most. Don't overwater it. Moist not soaked. 1/4 inch on rooter and they will be fine

when the roots aren't long enough to reach the res, i simply use a "wick" that makes contact with the rooter or rockwool cube and the water... this way i never have to top feed or flood the plugs, which you should never do...

I was thinking about a whick, but wouldn't that make it too wet?

If ya have a big enough air stone with the proper pump for your resevoir and your fill line is close to the bottom of the pot,the bubbles should be sufficient to keep the 2/3's of the hydroton moist enough.Once the roots touch the water your in....just keep and eye on your levels and watch for root rot.Add microbeneficials and keep res temp moderate.Dwc sometimes run hot so use frozen water bottles to control temp in res helps keep things in check.Or by and expensive cooler.

hornedfrog2000 said:

I was thinking about a whick, but wouldn't that make it too wet?

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It shouldn't be, as long as your not top feeding, it should stay at the right moisture... the only time I did have problems (stem rot), which was corrected, was when I top fed and kept the rooter to wet...

Lacon13 said:

If ya have a big enough air stone with the proper pump for your resevoir and your fill line is close to the bottom of the pot,the bubbles should be sufficient to keep the 2/3's of the hydroton moist enough.Once the roots touch the water your in....just keep and eye on your levels and watch for root rot.Add microbeneficials and keep res temp moderate.Dwc sometimes run hot so use frozen water bottles to control temp in res helps keep things in check.Or by and expensive cooler.

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This is true, with a good pump and the bottom of the net cup barely touching the water should be enough, just make sure to keep an eye on it, beacuse if the water level drops, which it can evaporate, your small roots could dry out quick if your away from your grow longer then you should be... it happened to me recently, but the clones recovered overnight when the water level was fixed, but they were badly wilted...

Depending on how many plants and temps they will soak up a gallon of water a day..so you have to stay on top of it that's for sure.