Is coco superior to rockwool?

Mr.Tortoise · Jan 28, 2011

I think the real arguement these days is more between DWC type setups and coco. I think once you have the basic understanding of what plants need and how all the different setups provide those needs you can rock any system well. I have seen phanominal growth in all systems. If rockwool works for you stick with it. Try a little run of coco and get all the bugs out and I think you will like it. If you post this question else where I think you are going to get a lot of people arguing for DWC. I would check out DHF/Heaths designs for buckets. They are pretty sweet.

REZDOG · Jan 28, 2011

rick shaw said:
Coco coir is a renewable medium,it can be reused,is compostable/recyclable,you can get it compressed so it is easier to carry,has a better water retention,is it cheaper then rock wool and it has the same cation exchange. A simple test to check for quality is to flush distilled water through the coco and measure the runoff. Tried it once didn't go back

^^^^
What he said. :jump:

sci-fi · Jan 28, 2011

OsWiZzLe said:
Coco owns rockwool

buddin_904 · Jan 28, 2011

kushbanana said:
HERES THE FACTS:

Rockwool more stable, consistent, no bugs, less prep, etc etc...

really only beenfit to coco over wool is that it is re-usable... both are HIGHLY oxygenated mediums that will end in the the same results.. There is no better currently information that is FACT than that LOL.

COCO has some antifungal properties that some say make it a better choice than wool as you can use beneficials that you can't use in wool, but you can sterilze wool which is arguably as effective as a myco laden rootzone, per the proper nutrient ratios and levels being available to the plant.

i like this answer the best.....exactly how i feel about the comparison.....

coco, the fucking fungus gnats are ANNOYING AS FUCK

and with wool....the fucking algea + mold is annoying as fuck (no caps)

sooooo its kinda a toss up to me.....

both have good O2 and both have their pros and cons when it comes to nutrient delivery.......flip a coin IMO

lol am i going with coco or wool next??? hmm....i think ill grab a quarter and find out!

turbolaser4528 · Jan 28, 2011

I usually buy the expensive stuff too ! (Canna)

We must try the bricks out though, carrying heavy bags of coco gets old. Plus its probably cheaper to buy bricks ??

Flushing them seems like a pain, but maybe the high quality bricks don't need to be flushed ?!?! AHHH !!

Regardless, COCO RULES ! :jump:

STFU · Jan 28, 2011

If anybody has more input to add I suggest you post on this thread. http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=201293 Its going for a sticky and hopes to be a solid source of coco facts for newbs.

LIFEISGOOD · Jan 29, 2011

Where is a good troll when you need one? I love the stuff, coco +1!

PoopyTeaBags · Jan 29, 2011

SOTF420 said:
The stacks of unused rockwool cubes and strips in the closet tell the story.

Coco all the way, no question about it.

i use rockwell every day i found a awsome use for it.... Its great to set my commercial air pumps that like to jump around and vibrate everywhere... thats about the best use ive found and because of this RW will probably always stay in my garden -=P

Pseudo · Jan 29, 2011

allright. ill be that guy. ive been in hydroton for years, switched to coco, for the life of me couldnt figure out what all the hype was about, to me, coco was messy, harder to re-use, plants didnt really seem any better, probably just my fault, but after a couple runs said fuck it, back to clay

sarek · Jan 29, 2011

rockwool is excellent! your fingernails stay clean, its easy to use and dispose of. Its made of rock, that natural, coco needs to be shipped across the planet using oil, so i bet their energy profiles are similar. I heard alot of tomato growers switching back to rockwool, easier to control overwatering.

GIS · Jan 29, 2011

I use both, and love both. I think they both work great. I still like rockwool because the 1.5 cloning cubes have plastic on them, so you can write strains on them, easy to keep track of without little sticks, etc. I like the 3" RW blocks because you can veg a plant very easily in it, under flouoros you don't have to water that often, and the roots love it. My main concern with RW is that it's not that environment friendly. I am kind of jumping on the whole green bandwagon, and am slowly switching to almost all coco, and hopefully organic nutrient soon. I think both coco and RW are great mediums, and like any growing medium, they are as good as you can use them. It's too hard to choose, I won't do it!

buddin_904 · Feb 1, 2011

Cheeb · Feb 4, 2011

Both have their pros.. most will find coco "easier" thus resulting in most saying its a superior medium. Coco is great. Currently using it for its ease and forgivingness.

Rockwool definitely wins in setup/reload factor though. Nothing easier then just pushing a rooter in a block and setting it on a table. Can be trickier trying not to over-water at 1st. Once you dial any setup/method they are all great.

Dont like the fact that rockwool doesnt ever go anywhere if you just pitch it. I know it makes great insulation however. Does anyone have any info on recycling old used rockwool for home insulation? Is it possible to shred/dice, then dissolve roots and dry to be used to insulate the garage or something?

Rockwool gets a bad rep for not being earth friendly, but it does recycle. Its rock. The problem is that its typically not recycled because of whats been growing in it, but rather pitched elsewhere. Do med friendly states have rockwool recycling spots? I can only imagine there is a ton of rockwool being used - only to be pitched into dumpsters.

Coco is great. Its easy and is renewable. Having to transplant a lot of clones is more time consuming then rockwool. Sucks it has to imported in by boat/container.

rockwool = convenient
coco = easy to grow in

I vote neither. Mediumless makes it all look like a waste of time/$$/stuff.

Go mediumless!

domtown · Feb 4, 2011

Is coco superior to rockwool?

I like both mediums for growing but both have pros and cons. The biggest question is what method is easier for the grower. If you are growing somewhere where supplying and draining high volumes of water to waste is inconvenient, I would not choose coco! I have a sump pump in my basement and I drain everything to that, a necessity if you consider how much water you're going to pump through when flushing.

Also, you really can't use coco for ebb/flow applications which I would've preferred using instead of hydroton. Hydroton is a pita to reuse and very expensive AND I hate the red powder shit that gets everywhere.

Oddly enough, my most prized possesion is one of my mother plants that was given to me in a rockwool cube. I dropped it into a 3 gallon pot of coco and she grew into a monster. You can still kinda see the rockwool to the left of the small green stake. I know she needs to be transplanted into a bigger pot but I just love looking at that surface root

growcodile · Feb 4, 2011

coco is the shit!

fungus gnats can be controlled well with BTI and nematodes

MtnLivin · Feb 8, 2011

Coco all the way baby... I water with low dosages of Azatrol throughout veg and early flower to prevent gnats and other bugs.. Works brilliantly.

domtown · Feb 9, 2011

Is coco superior to rockwool?

MtnLivin said:
Coco all the way baby... I water with low dosages of Azatrol throughout veg and early flower to prevent gnats and other bugs.. Works brilliantly.

I just bought some Azamax and started spraying foliar. I read that it can be fed systemically but I was a bit nervous. Do you mix right into nutrient tank or do you mix and feed Azatrol separately? Also, how long have you used it this way?

I hate the coco gnats but the mites are driving me insane. Temps and humidity are nothing that mites enjoy and i still have them here and there.

_Dude · Nov 14, 2011

I was all excited about rockwool but now I'm reading threads about people seeing 50% reduction in growth after switching from hydroton to rockwool, ph problems, etc. Hell with that. And yeah you get all the answers telling him to do this or do that, look, the whole point of switching to rockwool is less work. I don't want a system redesign, I want to get rid of hydroton, sorting roots out from ANYTHING, transplanting, etc. The idea of just moving one block and setting it on top of another block and calling that transplanting is very appealing.

The there's the gnats and the algae. Well, I got algae now. And gnats. But I don't want a bigger algae/gnat problem.

Coco? Yeah well, I was really liking that "put the block on the other block, done" thing. Now I don't know. I'm going to have to run a side-by-side with a few in rockwool and see how it goes. Maybe I'll do a few in coco too. But I could give a shit about all this hippy green recyclable stuff. I want easy. Easier than clay balls. All this "soak, flush, expand, process" crap sounds like the opposite direction from easy. But at least I don't have to recycle it, like I have to recycle hydroton. That stuff's way too expensive to throw out. So we'll see. Hell I'm considering dirt at this point. Anything where I can just TOSS the rootballs.

darkhorse · Nov 14, 2011

i prefer using rockwool for seeds and clones, then switch to coco.
never had much luck with starting seeds and clones in coco.

Warped1 · Nov 14, 2011

I run hempy's..but I couldn't find any vermiculite locally so I went with coco and hydroton. So far I like it, it holds moisture well, and no gnats after a month. I bought 3 bricks for $9 and I'll get 3 grows from that. It's ok

Is coco superior to rockwool?

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