SuggestStinkbud jr : roots growing out end of rails

They are only two weeks old, sjtarted from seed and transferred into net pots with no medium, just the neoprene collars. Everything looks great - ph 5.7, ppm 300, 24hr lights on - except that the roots from the two closest are coming out the rails and going right down into the nutrient solution in the res. I'm reluctant to cut them because they are so young. Should I just let them stay in there. I don't have an air stone in the res, which makes me worry about root rot, although I do have a couple and a pump at the ready if that seems like the right angle. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Thx

I just went ahead and put a couple of air stones into the res. now they can go in there all they want, so instead of aero/nft system, it's aero/nft/dwc. Maybe it's an accidental improvement.

I dont have much experience with running nft rails but I know some ebb and flow guys and others use copper screens to keep roots from growing into the resevoir. Any info on this problem would be interesting for me as well.
chip

chipmunkproof said:

I dont have much experience with running nft rails but I know some ebb and flow guys and others use copper screens to keep roots from growing into the resevoir. Any info on this problem would be interesting for me as well.chip

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Good idea,but I dont know about the copper part,wont it leech or whatever its called into your water.I know using copper werts are a big nono when using it with a chiller.

chunkylonin said:

Good idea,but I dont know about the copper part,wont it leech or whatever its called into your water.I know using copper werts are a big nono when using it with a chiller.

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The reason they use copper is because it causes a reaction with roots. It is this reason that products like spin out work to control root growth. I know using copper piping in a chiller is a no no but I thought that was because of the large amount of copper and that the copper wasnt in a binding agent like spin out is.That being said very few people use spin out in hydroponics afaik. I honestly dont know because I havnt done it before. As I am doing more research it seems like I could be wrong....it happens lol.

Here is a link about copper in hydroponics systems
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hydro/msg0806540322083.html
http://forum.grasscity.com/hydroponic-growing/647552-never-use-copper-anywhere-3.html

Heres a link to some threads of people using this method or using Spin out
http://boards.cannabis.com/hydroponics/168807-nft-ebb-drainage-problems.html
https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/177983-copper-hydroxide.html
https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/335732-recipe-copper-carbonate-latex-paint.html

i just trim mine every 2-3 weeks. never seen a problem, my bigget plants are usually at the ends.

I'll trim I guess after researching more, it seems like adding an air stone to the res might create more problems than it solves. Thanks for the replies

get rid of the airstone, and leave the roots alone. If your drain is big enough 1.5inch or bigger, they wont clog anything and you are good to go..