Is There Any Better ?

[Big V]

Hey IC-Mag Dro' Growers,

I am just comming to the end of my first DWC grow and I think I am hooked. The only thing I don't care for are the red expanded clay pellets for the medium. So now, I have a quick question I want to ask.

Is there a different medium that works well in the DWC?

 

[Gilles&Cheryl]

Have you tried no medium? It works pretty good. You have to support the plants with a trellis or some other method but no more clay pellets and no more waiting for the roots to grow through the clay and into the nute solution.

 

[Big V]

No I have not considered that. Sounds like it could be a pain in the ass for me but I will contemplate how I would add a trellis to my grow or some other way to support the plant. I love a challenge.

I was kinda thinking more along the lines of maybe perelite or some other type of gravel.

 

[FoothillsFarmer]

rapid rooters fit perfectly into a 2" net pot... coincidence?

what size pots are you using?

3" net pots with hydroton are extremely easy to manage...

 

[rooted]

like gilles said, i prefer mediumless

when i grew dwc, i just drilled the bucket lids for pool noodle inserts from my cloner. pull the insert out of the cloner, drop it in the bucket, done

 

[Haps]

Lava pebbles or lava rock are good medium.

 

[OC80]

lava rock

+1. cheap too.

 

[Big V]

Lava pebbles or lava rock are good medium.

And when I am finished with them I can use them in my landscapeing outside and nobody will suspect a thing... Hmmmm. That is the biggest thing I hate about expanded clay, Somebody sees them and they know exactly what you are doing with them.

 

[TacoSusio]

I agree with Gilles and Rooted, mediumless DWC is a hassle free way to go.

 

[EvilTwin]

Higromite is a rock-like media. Heavy enough for good support and adds silica to the plant too. I mix it with hydroton in E&F, but alone in your application, it would work great...
ET

 

[slowandeasy]

Solid pool noodles are the best, but hard to find. Cut a hole in your rez lid a tad smaller than the noodle, then slice a groove in the noodle all the way around...this will make a lip for the noodle to catch your rez lid. Slice down the noodle longways, halfway and make an X for your cutting to fit in. As long as you do not grow trees, you do not need any support. By far the easiest method of DWC, nothing restricts you at all. Good luck!!

 

[RockyMountainHi]

rockwool cube

top water till roots come out the bottom - then go as before

cubes are re-useable and made from rock, so basically inert - recycles well.

 

[foaf]

my next grow, about to start, Im going medialess as mentioned above. with my other grows, the roots just went straight through the hydroton into the dwc, it seems like a waste of space. the net cup holds the roots/plant stable anyway, not the hydroton. so id vote just rockwool cube and net pot/cup.

 

[Big V]

This gives me alot to think about. Thanks for all the replies. Now I'm going to smoke a big fat bowl of Kush.