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6x6 rockwool(hugo) knowledge share

FlowerFarmer

Active member
Veteran
Having done both I feel that Hydroton is much more ideal in flood & drain. It doesn't retain salts like RW and can be fed more frequently.

PS - Grodan also prefers top feed over flood and drain.
From Grodan's site... lol as painfully as it might be for you.



Can I use a 6” block (Hugo) in an ebb & flood system?

Stonewool will have good capillary movement (ability to pull up a nutrient solution against gravity) in up to 4” tall blocks. Any block higher than this such as the Hugo will remain drier on the top, depending on how high the tray is flooded. So if your flooding is less than 2” high, then go with the 4” blocks. But you never want the Grodan to just be sitting completely in water.

The best bet is to water like Mother Nature does- from top to bottom. That’s why we recommend top watering over ebb & flood for Grodan products. Download the brochure “Watering and pH” from the brochure page to learn more on watering tips for drip irrigation.

It’s easy to convert your ebb & flood system into a top feed system. Disconnect the ½” tubing from the valve. Bend the end of the tube and tie it. Insert a piece of ¼” tubing into the ½” tubing. The ¼” tubing should then run up the outside of the pot and with a drip stake be secured to the blocks at the top of the pot.
 

LyryC

Active member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
touche with the hugo part.

Ever try growstones? opposed to hydroton?
 

FlowerFarmer

Active member
Veteran
Never tried them.

I see they've got a hydroponic formula, but I've only ever saw the "soil aerator" version in the local shop around here.
 
I personally like hugo's on top of croutons, and top feed/ recirculating... Like turbo said less is more and you can feed a couple times per day. I use sprayers not drip, hugo's by itself hold a ton of water. When they sit on top of the croutons, they wick the hugos and pull down the fresh air/water leaving the hugos pretty light.
 

#1cheesebuds

Well-known member
Veteran
dammm dude there looking good. how u liking the LED light. looks like a lot of people on here are switching to led lights. :)
 
R

rbt

sorry for the last return on question. I don't flush at all. I change my water R/O in res 12 days in veg, 10 days for start of flower, and third week of flower I do it every week. I will flush for a week at the time of harvest and all a little molasses
 
R

rbt

looking good

looking good

dammm dude there looking good. how u liking the LED light. looks like a lot of people on here are switching to led lights. :)

Thanks it surprises even me. As far as the LED It is working in my closet keeps temps inline but it is HOT! I don't know what others do but it does put out HEAT. But with ducting out in the summer in the attic space in the winter it is working and I haven't seen a increase in my electric bill.
(approx. est . no noticeable increase no test for current draw)
185CFM fan 4 amps
4 outlet air pump 6 watts
12" ocill fan 105 watts
200 CLW LED 165 watts
2 -13 watt UVB CFL 26 watts

Desert climate with AC. summer a few light freezing's during winter no snow. Average humidity is inside 28% temp 76deg.

temps in tent don't get above 83, avg 79/80 humidity 35% water temps on concrete res stay at 67 deg.

I started with 12 plants now down to 6 and scrogged will post pictures on Friday when my camera gets back lent out.:tumbleweed:
 
R

rbt

I have found out in my other grow I put my rock wool in the bathtub and let them soak for an hour then brought in the Dyson and on the exhaust side blown them out then soaked them again and repeated the process. There is a difference between R/W between horizontal spun as apposed to vertical spun the perk out @ different rates. and I don't put my 6" on hydro I surround them in it as I have a total of 7" in height 4" cube sitting on a split 6" cube and the table is 7" deep

I have a very good Hydroshop and the owner showed me how to pick and chose my rock wool other shops handed me pamphlets' to read:moon:
 

Ras Mason

Active member
Veteran
The trouble is they are dry... Roots aren't going to search and expand into dry medium when they can stay snug and happy in the wet portion.

Rockwool should be wet - it can dry out - but not completely that the rootball is dry... This is really stressing the plants...

You need to overwater the cubes after you soak them. half strength nutes - then plant. 1 liter is over watering imo - even tho it has 3.4 L worth of medium in the hugo - 1 liter always gave off lots of run off.

Water daily but much less 1 cup 250ml and hte roots will expand out hte cube eventually.



You are kidding right? This is the most bogus information I have read in a while on ICMag... Rockwool Cubes are thee most IDEAL Flood and Drain medium - lol its almost painful to try and explain this... a medium that is a single piece is far more clean - simple and advanced than anything else you flood and drain. no mess - super easy to prep - seriously hugos and deltas are so versatile its making me wonder why I ever went to coco!

Must of been supah stoned on that one!

You sir are a trigger happy idiot.
 

Rondon

Member
Best way to feed any rockwool is top drip to waste period. Dont know why flood and drain is the go to for everyone. I mean..it works but its not ideal. Grodan knows whats up. So do the pro greenhouse veggie growers all over the planet.
 

Rondon

Member
And uni slabs (if not real deal meter long slabs) with a 3 or 4 " block on top blows Hugos away. Sub irrigation (flood and drain) is really intended for small plants to get them to.size before placing on a slab for DRIP FERTIGATION. Like i said...flood and drain will work for rockwool but it is not ideal. Clay pebbles or LECA is the ideal substrate for flood and drain. So many American growers are so stuck with flooding amd draining trays of rockwool. Blocks..slabs or loose. And personally thats just silly. And subpar for what the medium was intended for. Top feed your rockwool drain to waste proper and observe. Even top feed recirculating is better than flood and drain. I know of what I speak.
 

argo430

Member
Veteran
I have been excited by RW top drip in hugo's and unislabs with a 1/4" coco mat under them and a square cut out of the slab bottom for the roots to explore the coco-mats.
Uni slab at 25 days veg. top drip 10% run off.


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This is a hugo over coco mat at 30 days veg.

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Here is a stem of a 30 day veg plant 10 days into flower sin city seeds REM.

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Rondon

Member
Ive grown 5 foot BUSHES before (flowered out mother plants) in nothing but a one plant Uni Slab with a 4" block.on top...one dripper per. Of course I had to use tomato cages plus a net trellis to keep em from toppling over. This was awhile ago. I keep mothers in check now with aggresive pruning for a low wide bush to give up the cuttings. And it sure looked funny with such a small amount of medium...but you can grow trees with just a little bit of rockwool. Very much like coco coir. Its definitely not how I roll now but it can be done. Now a days I keep moms in bigger pots of peat or coco now just to keep em slow and steady. With t5's up high overhead. I put mothers on that steady pace. If not..they get out of control fast. Not too many threads on mother plant upkeep. But there is a method and certain things I do now to keep em slow and low. Big pots of peat mix...low strength nutes...t5 lighting up higher than my preflowering plants. And aggresive pruning techniques to keep a low flat bush. Almost like a fully devloped scrog plant but without the net..and the buds of course.
 
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Rondon

Member
I also time my mother plant stock to be ready to put outside right around middle of May. The beginning of the planting season. I just take my final round of cuts...transplant to a big 100 or 200 gallon pot of organic soil and get a fat harvey in October. The cuts I take..some of them become moms I keep for another year. Then do it all over again.
 

DelTaco

Member
This thread was a good read. I always mention it when I read Rockwool threads but http://www.grodan101.com has the best info. And for those that are on Instagram check out @grodan101 they have a chart posted in their feed that gives guidelines on how much volume to feed. Multi feeds of about 50-100ml per watering with a total of 10% runoff per day is ideal according to them.
 
This thread was a good read. I always mention it when I read Rockwool threads but https://www.grodan101.com has the best info. And for those that are on Instagram check out @grodan101 they have a chart posted in their feed that gives guidelines on how much volume to feed. Multi feeds of about 50-100ml per watering with a total of 10% runoff per day is ideal according to them.
I love when people say it should be done this or that way. What ever works for the grower is the right way. Canna also recommends top feed dtw, well guess what fuck that!

Tried str8 coco flooding 3x per day and I'm pretty sure it was my best run.

I don't know if its necessary, but when running F&D I would pour some nutes through the top of the blocks once a week.

Just make sure to get that waterfall effect in your rez for bubbles.

Check this dude calling out Grodan!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-stCsx3O1I
 

catalyte

Active member
Veteran
i'm contemplating 6x6 HUGO's vs. 2 gallon Fabric containers filled with Grodan Grow Cubes...

Any thoughts Rockwool Growers??
 

Zeez

---------------->
ICMag Donor
Curious if anyone has knowledge of different brands of rock wool and different levels of nutrient retention. Which brand remains the most fluid. I transitioned to RW from coco to use in a RDWC. My mothers are now kept in 6x6s.
 

St. Phatty

Active member
i'm contemplating 6x6 HUGO's vs. 2 gallon Fabric containers filled with Grodan Grow Cubes...

Any thoughts Rockwool Growers??

I used to love those 6 inch cubes. Switched to organic soil in 2008.

Some of my best results with rockwool have been with one plant in about a cubic foot plastic container, full of shredded rockwool.

I had a bunch of used rockwool at the time. I pulled it apart and threw all the clean pieces in a plastic recycling bin (with holes in the bottom.) Got 1/4 pound of super nugs from that one plant, under a 430 Son Agra.
 
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