Inert Medium vs. no medium...??

Anyone have some input if medium ( clay pebbles, coco, perlite, vermiculite, etc. ) effects growth vs. DWC?

If you're doing a top feed ( DRIP stake or RING ), is there any reason just having media would slow the growth down vs DWC?
My experimental DWC is giving me some fits right now. I also have a couple in Media (hydroton), but they are still recovering from the root ass kicking they got from DWC going wrong. I can't quite use them as examples yet.
My brain is going crazy trying to set a course on how I want to do my next setup.
When you see DWC growth rates, it blows your mind.

I prefer using the smallest net pots I can get away with. Sometimes to the point I crack them in half with huge stalks. You can grow monsters in 3" pots, especially with trellis net supports. The medium is only really for stability, so not much is needed at all for bare root systems like DWC. Unlike some other systems, which do need the hydtroton to hold onto some of the solution between cycles.

Large pots stick down further into the containers, thereby reducing the maximum amount of solution you can hold, which should be around an inch below the bottom of it. More solution = more overall stability, and less chance of wild fluctuations, etc. A 3 or 4" netpot is way shorter than a large 6-10 inch one, and all those inches add up big time the bigger you go, lowering the max amount you can hold.

@Drop That Sound I certainly get what you're saying. I'm wondering if a system like the GH Waterfarm, where the roots aren't in the water like a DWC, but the water is pumped up top and dribbles down over the roots that are anchored in Hydroton. I'm wondering if that system is any slower than a real DWC system.

Here is my Wilma systems from day 1.

Day 1


13 days veg


Day 60 flower.

Tomatoesonly said:

@Drop That Sound I certainly get what you're saying. I'm wondering if a system like the GH Waterfarm, where the roots aren't in the water like a DWC, but the water is pumped up top and dribbles down over the roots that are anchored in Hydroton. I'm wondering if that system is any slower than a real DWC system.

Click to expand...

I can't really say I've ever seen a faster or better grow system than being dialed in with a proper R/DWC setup. The rates are incredible, as are most forms of hydro. Not even HP aeroponics, which is mostly just more economical on water/nutes. Im not biased either, I love every kind of hydro setup, including waterfarms and all that. I haven't hooked mine up in over a decade though. I prefer sexy bare roots. The bigger the ball you can fit in a container the better. Medium takes up space and sucks to clean large amounts all the time.. They all have their pros and cons.