[SergeantGod]

I top/handwater 80 plants in 3 gal pots in 3x6 grow trays and grow in pure biobizz coco.

What category am i in? Hydro or Soil?

If i set up a res and flood and drain, then I'm Hydro, right?

If I use organics (Iguana Juice) how do i keep my neighborhood from smelling like an old fish tank? I'm exaggerating since it is well ventilated and CanFan Scrubbed but if I don't clean out my res after every top feeding then the res smells pretty funky.

I've got an identity crisis!!!

Its considered soilless.

Must have crossed my wires somehow, i always thought coco was hydro...

Originally Posted by Magic Man

Must have crossed my wires somehow, i always thought coco was hydro...

It can be used in hydro such as tables, but it would still be classified as a soilless mix. Being as there isn't actually any soil in it.

[bendoslendo]

I'd say you were a coco grower.

[Daffy]

If you in the soil forum then your soil. If you're in the hydro then your hydro. LOL. Seriously why do you care? Most soil growers use a soilless then add organic or commercial fertilizers and conditioners(cottonseed meal, alfalfa, kelp, guano, etc). IMO culturally not technically what distinguishes soil from hydro soilless is the texture of the soil/soilless medium and how soilless it is. Because coco peat is different than coco coir/croutons. If its coir I say hydro, if its peat then its soil. I also judge by how often it can be irrigated. Frequent being hydro, infrequent being soil. But as these guys said since its soilless its technically hydro.

[Daffy]

Therefore since soil growers are mostly hybrid between recycled soil and soilless media hydro grower I think you will find they have lots of expertise with media based hydro container gardening for that reason. They can help you with the Ph, nute lockout, root zone temp problems, etc while water based hydro people are either real experts or simply nute mixers. I dabble back and forth through the forums since each one has its perks.

[SuperConductor]

Coco is hydro no matter what method you use to irrigate it's hydro. Hand feeding? then it's passive hydro. Auto-feeding method? Then it's active hydro. Don't matter wether you feed from top or bottom.

It's not a soilless mix if it's pure coco, a soilless mix has nutes in it and coco doesn't which is why it's a hydro medium.

[Grat3fulh3ad]

you're growing hydroponically using coco as your medium.

soil 1 |soil|
noun
the upper layer of earth in which plants grow, a black or dark brown material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles

Originally Posted by SuperConductor

Coco is hydro no matter what method you use to irrigate it's hydro. Hand feeding? then it's passive hydro. Auto-feeding method? Then it's active hydro. Don't matter wether you feed from top or bottom.

It's not a soilless mix if it's pure coco, a soilless mix has nutes in it and coco doesn't which is why it's a hydro medium.

Dr. Howard Resh says

https://www.howardresh.com/Articles-news.html

Hydroponics vs. Soilless Culture:

There are really two forms of hydroponics, soilless culture and true hydroponics. Because we include in hydroponic systems those that use substrates, we must make it clear that while correctly they are termed “soilless culture,” principles of hydroponics apply. Therefore, we generally speak of hydroponics to include not only the true hydroponics (water culture) but all systems using substrates (soilless culture). Pure hydroponics by definition means “water working.” The word comes from the Greek words hydro (“water”) and ponos (“labor”) – literally “water working.” These include water (solution) culture, nutrient film technique (NFT), floating or raft culture, and aeroponics. Aeroponics is a form of hydroponics whereby the nutrient solution is provided to bare roots suspended in a growing chamber or channel (photo 1). The solution is sprayed from below the roots in a fine mist. These aeroponic systems in general are more complex than soilless methods. When we design and set up hobby hydroponic systems we should lean toward simplicity to avoid technical challenges within the system. Such simple systems include soilless and some water culture systems.

*****

Now getting back to the original poster's question, technically speaking, if you're asking about pH management, than coco coir drain to waste falls into the soilless culture category.