Rockwool Cube At Bottom Of Net Pot? Mine Is 2 1/2" Above Net Pot

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scottonfire

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Hi, sorry if elementary q, but can't remember. My water level was 2" above net pot so I stacked 2 and a half inches of rockwool at bottom of net pot and then dropped my rockwool cube in. Now I'm thinking maybe the roots can't grow down through all the hydroton??? I should mention the net pots are flat at the bottom, unlike the cch2 net pots that are elevated in the middle.
 
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4plant

4plant

466
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Do you mean you filled the bottom of the net pot with 2.5” of hydroton? I guess you could use rockwool but it will be soaked 24/7. Either way you should lower your water level so it barely touches the bottom of the net pot. If your bubbling properly water will gently splash up into the pot as not to drown the roots.
 
Aktommy

Aktommy

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imo constant saturation of rockwool will cause crown rot at the base of your stock resulting in rapid death of your plants. I have first hand experience with this due to water levels rising in my RDWC systems and saturating the lower part of my rock wool cubes when this happens death of the plant usually happens very rapidly.
 
RoeBuck

RoeBuck

152
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I like the raised centers on the UC net pots. I usually work from clones which I leave in the cloner until the roots are at least 12" long, or about 3 weeks. I lay the roots along the bottom of the pot and set the stem on top of the raised center and fill the pot with hydrocorn. I set my water level 1/2" above the bottom of the pot so most of the roots are in solution. I also pour a couple cups of solution over the hydrocorn every day for a couple weeks so those roots on top of the centers get some. When I've grown from seed I use rock wood cubes, set them on to the centers and fill the pot with hydrocorn. Again I set the water level about 1/2 above the bottom of the pot. In both situations once the roots become established and are well down into the solution I lover the water level to about 1/2" below the bottom of the pots. So far this has worked out very well.

The roots will seek out the water so there is now issue with them finding their way through the hydroton and into the solution. By the time your grow is finished roots will be entwined throughout the hydroton.
 
RoeBuck

RoeBuck

152
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imo constant saturation of rockwool will cause crown rot at the base of your stock resulting in rapid death of your plants. I have first hand experience with this due to water levels rising in my RDWC systems and saturating the lower part of my rock wool cubes when this happens death of the plant usually happens very rapidly.


I've tried using those 1/2" rock wood cubes in place of hydroton with descent results. I did keep my water level about 1/2" below the net pots and for the first few days, poured solution over the cubes to keep them moist. I like that I could just dispose of them after the grow instead of soaking and washing hydrocorn, but found that they didn't support the plants like the hydrocorn does so I switched back.
 
rosco23

rosco23

70
18
I like the raised centers on the UC net pots. I usually work from clones which I leave in the cloner until the roots are at least 12" long, or about 3 weeks. I lay the roots along the bottom of the pot and set the stem on top of the raised center and fill the pot with hydrocorn. I set my water level 1/2" above the bottom of the pot so most of the roots are in solution. I also pour a couple cups of solution over the hydrocorn every day for a couple weeks so those roots on top of the centers get some. When I've grown from seed I use rock wood cubes, set them on to the centers and fill the pot with hydrocorn. Again I set the water level about 1/2 above the bottom of the pot. In both situations once the roots become established and are well down into the solution I lover the water level to about 1/2" below the bottom of the pots. So far this has worked out very well.

The roots will seek out the water so there is now issue with them finding their way through the hydroton and into the solution. By the time your grow is finished roots will be entwined throughout the hydroton.

damn now this is the knowledge ive been looking for lol. i am having trouble making the transition from the cloner to my current culture system because im not sure where i should be keeping my water level at during this first 1-2 weeks of veg.

so you wait until your roots are nice and long out of the cloner, wrap it around that raised netpot part and then raise the water about 1/2 inch above the bottom of the net pot? my first grow took a while to root but ended up rooting well. this second grow im currently in my roots are really underwhelming
 
RoeBuck

RoeBuck

152
43
damn now this is the knowledge ive been looking for lol. i am having trouble making the transition from the cloner to my current culture system because im not sure where i should be keeping my water level at during this first 1-2 weeks of veg.

so you wait until your roots are nice and long out of the cloner, wrap it around that raised netpot part and then raise the water about 1/2 inch above the bottom of the net pot? my first grow took a while to root but ended up rooting well. this second grow im currently in my roots are really underwhelming

I had the same issue. It seemed my clones were taking forever to kick in and they were suffering for it.

Yes, I wait until the roots are nice and long, which is usually about 20-22 days after starting the clones. I start them with 2ml per gallon of DynaBloom and once the roots are established, usually after 10 days or so, increase it to 4 ml per gallon plus 2ml per gallon of UC Roots. When I transfer them to the net pots I lay the roots on the bottom of the net pot and set the stem on top of the raised center. Then, with the water 1/2" above the bottom, the majority of the roots are in solution. From there it's usually about 3 more weeks until they are big enough to flower.

I'm also seeing benefits from trimming my roots. I was waiting until I moved them to bloom but with my current batch of clones I'm going to trim a little earlier, maybe a week or so before flowering. Just like topping a plant, trimming makes the roots bush out more. I only trim the main tap root, usually to the same length of the other roots. This has also stopped the tap root from becoming so long it gets into the piping.
 

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