Hydroton and Ebb/Flow method?

Hi, i was wondering if Hydroton is a good medium to use with an ebb and flow tray?
Thanks for the input

It works for me. Some fill the whole tray with them, while others put plants in net baskets will with them to aid in moving them around. If you do the later, you need to cover your tray so only the net buckets are exposed to light to prevent algae growth.

Dirty Harry said:

It works for me. Some fill the whole tray with them, while others put plants in net baskets will with them to aid in moving them around. If you do the later, you need to cover your tray so only the net buckets are exposed to light to prevent algae growth.

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thanks dirty harry, thats what we r using. Just curious if its worked for others before +rep

bud7144 said:

thanks dirty harry, thats what we r using. Just curious if its worked for others before +rep

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...works great. These are straight from an ezcloner into hydroton. No rockwool, no rapid rooters, just roots in hydroton. I bury the whole netted basket when I transplant into bloom (bigger)pots.

I would recommend SOLID POTS.. not netpots...

And I would also recommend AGAINST media in the tray...

Netpots will work, but the roots will escape and get tangled... the beauty of ebb/flow with pots is exactly the ability to move the plants around for cleaning/removing runts/re-arranging for better light spread...

Other than that I use hydroton and I LOVE IT.. but I would NEVER use netpots... cause I like to clean and be able to move my plants...

Cheers...

Ps. Click on the leaf if you want to see what I do with hydroton, ebb/flow and SOLID pots...

Thanks Gypsy, yea we have solid pots using hydroton and the clones are rooted in a mix of rapid rooters and some are rock wool. Its a 3x3 tray and 15 gal rez, so when it fills the tray its about 1-2 inches from the top. How often should they be watered?

RR plugs do not mind being soaked...

But RW cubes SHOULD NEVER BE SOAKING WET.. it will invite all kinds of problems...

So if you are using the cubes for cloning and STRAIGHT HYDROTON in the pots.. I recommend you follow Al B. Fuct's illustration on flooding hydroton pots with RW cubes...

bud7144 said:

Thanks Gypsy, yea we have solid pots using hydroton and the clones are rooted in a mix of rapid rooters and some are rock wool. Its a 3x3 tray and 15 gal rez, so when it fills the tray its about 1-2 inches from the top. How often should they be watered?

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To start just twice a day and then you want to step up as they get good roots. I end up with 4 times a day in flower when lights are on and nothing during night cycle. Hope that helps.

I f I was more awake, I would have said what HE ^^^ said..

ya bran thanks. Thats probably wat we plan on doing, yesturday they were watered 3 times but 2 were only filled with 10 gallons and only flooded the try about a quarter the way.
Gypsy, they 2 in rapid rooters are chem dawgs and they are 3 times as tall as our other plants, so i planted them really low in the hydroton only leaving about 2-3 inches at the bottom of the pots. Any ideas on wat i should do with the xtra taller plants?

bud7144 said:

ya bran thanks. Thats probably wat we plan on doing, yesturday they were watered 3 times but 2 were only filled with 10 gallons and only flooded the try about a quarter the way.

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One thing to remember when using hydroton is that it does not wick... at all...

So whatever roots are above the flood line are not getting ANY water... and that can be a problem....

Make sure you ALWAYS flood as HIGH as you can... remembering that USUALLY (depends on the fittings used) the water level goes ABOVE the low point on the overflow... make sure you watch your tray flood a few times... and set your overflow tube accordingly..

By flooding to 1/4 level... when using hydroton by itself in the pot... you are only doing harm, by allowing the other 3/4 of the rootmass to dry out...

Gypsy, they 2 in rapid rooters are chem dawgs and they are 3 times as tall as our other plants, so i planted them really low in the hydroton only leaving about 2-3 inches at the bottom of the pots. Any ideas on wat i should do with the xtra taller plants?

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If they are in RR plugs they are fine to be at the bottom...

RR plugs do not mind being soaked a few times a day...

The RockWool cubes (when used strictictly for cloning and set in HYDROTON pots) are the ones that should ALWAYS BE ABOVE THE FLOOD LINE.. as per Fuct's illustration...

RW retains a LOT of water, and can cause stem and root issues...

Did that make sense?

Ok, that that makes perfect sense Gypsy.. Thanks
Yea the wicking issue was wat i was worried about since the roots havent quite formed past their original rooting mediums. But if the tray floods completely, the RW clones wont be overly submerged and the RR clones are doing fine too.

what do you mean by "the RW clones wont be overly submerged"???

The flood should never touch the cube...

remember Al's illustration...

I recently switched to feeding them 8 times a day. In Hydroton. And my plants love it.

It was explained to me that as long as you are in Hydroton and you have good r.h and air flow you can drain and flow as much as you want. Just watch for wilting and back off as needed.

Rockwool holds the water and does not allow the roots to breath. So, you must be MUCH more careful with that.

Best of luck.

I used to feed lots too... but I backed off when I realized that I was having to clean algae off of the tray, because it never dried off...

I am now flooding every 4 hours and never see algae...

Remember... water + light = LIFE

But if you have no issues.. then.. well...

Gypsy, yea there is space between the water flood lvl and the rockwool cubes so not too worried bout that. But my 2 chemdawgs do seem to be a lil wilty I think, any opinions? Its the 2 up front, lol

bud7144 said:

Gypsy, yea there is space between the water flood lvl and the rockwool cubes so not too worried bout that. But my 2 chemdawgs do seem to be a lil wilty I think, any opinions? Its the 2 up front, lol

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Nice setup...

You have to remember that because we set the cube ABOVE the flood level... some hand watering of the cube may still be required for a few days until the roots can reach down to the flood level...

But other than that , there are a million and a half things that could cause a plant to wilt... what did you just change?

Also.. plants move around quite a bit... some hours they droop some hours they perk up... what is your light schedule?

How long ago did you put them in the pots as well? They may just be a little stressed do to transplanting them.

Light schedule is 24hr right now, and they were transplanted into the hydroton pots on thursday. Nothing else has been changed really, but we do plan on adding neuts tomorrow.

Neuts have been added at full strength and everything seems to be good except now the rez temp seems to be becoming an issue. We have a 20 gal rez and temps are in the high 70's...