Ebb & Grow and Sure to Grow inserts ? Anyone?

Is anyone here using this method?

I love the looks but worry the roots may always be soaked and worry about the STG insert holding too much of the salts etc and causing problems with the roots?

Dealing with Hydroton is really a pain in the butt!!!

I have read and heard you should just but a 1 in tall piece of PVC and place it at the bottom of the bucket (outter bucket or inside inner bucket raising the STG insert?)

Just looking for other ideas and options than dealing with the hydroton with the Ebb&Grow

Theres coco, which is getting rave reviews.. I dont know much about it, but it may be worth some research for ya..

CoCo seems quite messy.

I am trying to reduce the mess.

My "area" does not have a sink or drain (run the water in and out with a hose and pump)

The rinsing over and over with the hydroton is a pain.

I really like how the inserts are sterile and seems to be a great option from start to finish.
I know they add cost but IF they work as well as hydroton the cost would be well worth it
for me.

I would have no problem cutting a 1.5 in piece of PVC and putting it in the bottom of the reservoir
bucket IF that would be the key to it.

Also would changing the cycle on the Ebb&Grow in any particular settings improve it?
I was told the new system has a new timer???

the things suck don't waste your money.

xceptional said:

the things suck don't waste your money.

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Care to elaborate a little? Did you have some personal experience? If so what was the shortcoming you found and did you try raising the buckets? Or is that just based on things you have read?

I have heard good and bad things but it seems either way it is never from anyone whose had first hand experience

STG holds way way way to much moisture IMO. Go coco if you can. I tried STG and they wicked water really bad and never tried out between floods even when flooding once ever 16 hours...

I swear by coco croutons you still have to rinse it.

At that point why CoCo over Hydroton?

I use coco because I find hydroton chips as the roots grow and can eventually block my misters or cause premature wear on my pumps. Coco is cheap you dont have to rinse it for ever. I switched to coco croutons a while ago and I cant tell a difference in my plants other then the roots seen to drop out the net pots faster with coco.

coco vs hydroton

the whole point of this simple ebb and grow system is oxygen, with it you will notice major growth rates, as anyo0ne with the system using hydroton will tell youm, the action of the drain cycle vacuuming in fresh o2 into the rootzone is the whole point here. now when using hydroton you will need to flood more often than using coco, thus pumping fresh air into the rootzone more freqeuntly resulting in faster overall growth. i dont doubt the ability of coco to grow a great crop but with it you will end up flooding half as much. the whole reason of why there is a market for a product like STG is people hate cleaning and disposing of clay pebbles, but in my experience nothing out there can perform like it

I have used sure to grow a little bit and found the key is to have a small layer of hydroton on the bottom and set the STG on top. This fixed all of my issues.

Skunkie...
Do you think it is worth it?

What advantage do you feel you gain over using straight Hydroton?

Thanks!

JYogi said:

Skunkie...
Do you think it is worth it?

What advantage do you feel you gain over using straight Hydroton?

Thanks!

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I would stick with the hydroton. I think STG is a cool idea and all but for one hydroton is reusable and works great with a regular fill and drain schedule. STG on the other hand fluctuates too much. Some days it only needs one flood and others it needs 2-3. STG is probably the worst at supporting plants compared to anything else too. If you get decent sized plants you'll have to put them in net pots for support or use a trellis, which I hate to do. Are you using buckets or a table?

I am going with the buckets and I also plan on bending over pruning.
I rather run less plants in my space but get them bushier.

so the STG Hail doesnt work very well either? i was hoping it would act more like hydroton. i see how it wouldnt really support the plant. i heard hydroton has iron dust that comes off over time no matter how well you wash it and if your using Mag drive pump it will collect around the impeller drive. i have no prob using hydroton but i hear alot of ppl bitch. its reuseable and has good plant support and is alot less messy than coco. if the hail would work i wouldnt mind throwing it away. but i dont really wanna put a cage around all my plants either. i would do the later if i had to

double net your pots, if pieces of clay are chipping off this might help.

Too bad- I was looking into stg starters- oh well.

And about iron dust on your mag drive impeller from hydroton- I've personally never seen it, but a monthly removal and wiping of the impeller never hurts anyway.