Why is rockwool so complicated? Top feeding and root rot

mrgreen2015

mrgreen2015

Well-Known Member
Why is this so hard?

I'm running a drip feed system to some rockwool cubs. 4x4 cubes.
I have the pump set to 3 times a day for 1 minute.
The cubes are really dry the next day. Like no water at all.
My problem is, if I increase the watering then water stays in the cubes. This leads to root rot.
How do I keep the cubes moist and stay away from root rot?
The cubes are directly on my plastic table.
Right now I increased the first watering to 2 minutes.

Does this sound like I am on the right track? I am thinking if the cubes are still dry tomorrow, then I will increase the second watering 1 minute as well. Like I said, I have been having problems because the second I give it too much water, like magic root rot sets in. I have been using Hydroguard. But that won't help if I over water.

If you know anything about top feeding and rockwool please comment. And do I get the cubes off the plastic table?

p.s. Am I suppose to have run off with rockwool? Because to my knowledge you only get run off with a bunch of water.

Thanks
 
P

PerfectGrower

Well-Known Member
Mrgreen.

Root rot will never show it's face if you:

1. Pump enough oxygen into your solution

2. Keep your water temps and root zone under 75F...preferably 68F.


If you do these 2 things, you can ditch that expensive Hydroguard :)
 
mrgreen2015

mrgreen2015

Well-Known Member
PerfectGrower said:
Mrgreen.

Root rot will never show it's face if you:
1. Pump enough oxygen into your solution
2. Keep your water temps and root zone under 75F...preferably 68F.
If you do these 2 things, you can ditch that expensive Hydroguard :)
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info. I do have that in check. So maybe its not root rot? hmmm

Gregor Eisenhorn said:
Maybe you should wipe out any organisms in the system and then add some beneficial bacteria.
Click to expand...
I scrubbed the #@$^$#^ out of everything lol.
I am using beneficial bacteria as well.

I am trying to figure this out....

Thank you everyone!
 
ChuckNice

ChuckNice

Well-Known Member
You can also space out those waterings. Might be better to give the plants 30 seconds of water 6 times day then 1min 3 times a day.
 
mrgreen2015

mrgreen2015

Well-Known Member
ChuckNice said:
You can also space out those waterings. Might be better to give the plants 30 seconds of water 6 times day then 1min 3 times a day.
Click to expand...
Thanks Chuck. Yeah, its one big experiment. "trial and error"
I've switched it up so many times the plants probably don't know whats what lol.
I checked them today and they did have a little moisture in them, so that was a good sign. It wasn't bone dry this time.

2min x 1min x 1 min

That is what its set for now. Maybe bump one more "1" to 2

thanks
 
P

PerfectGrower

Well-Known Member
Is your root zone getting warm after you are done drip feeding? If your room is on the warm side and your roots zones are exposed (not in promix or coco) I would make sure the root area isn't getting warm after the feeding is done.
 
mrgreen2015

mrgreen2015

Well-Known Member
PerfectGrower said:
Is your root zone getting warm after you are done drip feeding? If your room is on the warm side and your roots zones are exposed (not in promix or coco) I would make sure the root area isn't getting warm after the feeding is done.
Click to expand...
Its actually quite cool.
 
P

PerfectGrower

Well-Known Member
If increasing your watering frequency is causing the issue, then of course lets do it less :)

Bleach in low doeses does a good job of controlling the issue. There are other options as well but bleach is effective and inexpensive. Some guys run a drop or two per 5 gallons every feeding. We prefer to drench the roots and rockwool with a light solution every so often and rinse rather than using it in the nutrient solution :)
 
Jimdamick

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
Increase you drip time to twice a day, for 10 minutes at least, until roots emerge I run a drip on Rockwool constant, but only until the roots emerge, once they are out of the cube, water the shit out of them. Your not watering enough, There is air in Rockwool, so don't underwater, because once Rockwool gets dry, you are going to run into a big problem, because it will drain your plant of all available moisture. Easy fix
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top