Flood and Drain in 6"x6" Hugo Rockwool HELP!!! Hydro Setup

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geneticmeds

New member

• Aug 16, 2015

• #1

I am running an ebb and flow 3'x3' tray with a 20 gallon reservoir in a 4'x4' gorilla grow tent under a spectrum king led 400+

I am wanting to plant my rockwool plugs directly into 6"x6" hugo rockwool cubes for the rest of it's life cycle. I know that the roots will eventually come bursting out the bottom of the hugo block being that is only about the equivalent of a gallon pot.

MY QUESTION: Once the roots come out of the hugos and onto the table, how can i block the light from getting to the roots? I don't want to use any rockwool slabs because then I can't move around the plants at all and I'll have one more thing to worry about with the extra slab of rockwool. I also don't necessarily want to stack cubes because it's difficult to stabilize the plants once they start to flower and become top heavy.

Or any other solutions to the problem of roots coming out the hugos and prevention of light exposure is welcome!!!

 

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Madlabscientist

• Aug 16, 2015

• #2

you could use a layer of hydroton on the table and roots could grow under it...or cover the table with black and white film ?...sorry i cant help more av just subbed for the show

 

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GratefulOne

Member

• Aug 16, 2015

• #3

If you use nothing the roots will still grow together (unless you keep lots of room). Moving the plants will damage the root extending out of the cube if they are tangled alot.

As Madlab says hydroton is a great thing to use as lower layer. Better than rockwool underslabs imo. Moving roots in hydroton will also damage the roots.

Why do you want to move the plants around after they are rooted on the table?

 

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Madlabscientist

• Aug 16, 2015

• #4

i agree with gratefulone

space them out add a layer of hydroton too table then flower...

best of luck with your grow..

 

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geneticmeds

New member

• Aug 16, 2015

• #5

GratefulOne said:

If you use nothing the roots will still grow together (unless you keep lots of room). Moving the plants will damage the root extending out of the cube if they are tangled alot.

As Madlab says hydroton is a great thing to use as lower layer. Better than rockwool underslabs imo. Moving roots in hydroton will also damage the roots.

Why do you want to move the plants around after they are rooted on the table?

Click to expand...

Small grow area and i wouldn't want anything locked in place. Not a fan of hydroton at all. The reasoning behind just letting the roots grow into the table is so that they wont be stuck and damaged if moved.

I've seen several grows with nothing but rockwool cubes on flood and drain and they just let the roots grow into the tray. Just wondering how i could cover the tray so the roots growing out won't be exposed to light. I've only seen them in veg when the roots aren't busting out the bottom.

I don't like the idea of multiple mediums. I'd rather use a rockwool slab under the cubes than hydroton but would prefer to use nothing but the cubes. Maybe if I used the 8x8 cubes i wouldn't see as much root growth out the bottom?

 

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geneticmeds

New member

• Aug 16, 2015

• #6

There will only be 6 plants on this 3x3 tray so they will have plenty of room being that the cubes are only 6"

 

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geneticmeds

New member

• Aug 16, 2015

• #7

If I only veg them for 2-3 weeks, I don't know how much root mass will be bursting out the bottoms. What do you think? Maybe I should just go with the 8x8 rockwool cubes

 

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raphenilweed

Member

• Aug 17, 2015

• #8

I knew someone that would cut the roots if they got too long. You can use panda film, cardboard or a small tarp. just cut a small "X" to get the plant through.

 

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Matt8800

Member

• Nov 8, 2015

• #9

I have gotten monster plants out of just 6" rockwool cubes. They are equivalent to 5 gal soil pots so you don't need to put anything under them. Just the 6" cube is more than enough. Unless you are growing plants that would be too big for a 5 gal pot, you are good.

 

sdd420

Well-known member

Veteran

• Nov 8, 2015

• #10

You can buy plastic covers for rockwool cubes check out Amazon

 

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Matt8800

Member

• Dec 5, 2015

• #11

also, the ph in the cubes is high so when you first use them, load the cubes with nute solution with cal mag at 5.5. Despite what people say, you can overwater cubes. I top water in the beginning and may only water every few days. Avoid touching the stem with nute solution or you will get stem rot.
If you are flooding and not drip feeding from the top, watch out for salt buildup.

 

Last edited: Dec 5, 2015

Ganoderma

Hydronaut

Mentor

Veteran

• Dec 6, 2015

• #12

You could put them into a growing container/pot and then fill with hydroton. The block could set in the very bottom with hydroton filled in around it, or you could put a layer of hydroton in the pot first with the rockwool block sitting on top and then fill in with hydroton.

 

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BadRabbit

Active member

• Dec 6, 2015

• #13

Matt8800 said:

also, the ph in the cubes is high so when you first use them, load the cubes with nute solution with cal mag at 5.5. Despite what people say, you can overwater cubes. I top water in the beginning and may only water every few days. Avoid touching the stem with nute solution or you will get stem rot.
If you are flooding and not drip feeding from the top, watch out for salt buildup.

Click to expand...

No, RW cubes/material used to be high ph, they are now ph balanced (and have been for years) and don't require aggressive soaking for ph like that. I think a light rinse is a good idea, but there's no big ph issue with RW.

http://grodan101.com/faq/soaking-grodan-proper-ph-growing


And I've used a mountain of every form of RW for over a decade now Matt and no, you can't overwater them (other than leaving the water on full time I suppose) .. RW drains and equalizes to an ideal moisture/ox level very quickly, matter of minutes.

And only watering RW every few days is a prescription for dead plants ... flood systems a few times per day at least ... no idea what
are you talking about.

Salt build up can happen on the upper part of the RW that doesn't get flooded, but it's not a big problem and can be quickly fixed by adjusting your flood height or an occasional rinse with a cup of water.

Honestly, I see more misinformation about RW on this site, it's contagious I guess.