Hydroton vs. Glass Marbles

[Hash Zeppelin]

^Armstrong Brand. I recirculate it by hand once a day. lol. I run single 5 gallon double buckets systems at the moment. if you are not familiar with that it is a 5 gallon bucket with another inside it. the inside bucket is drilled full of holes. I also cut the bottom off of the inside bucket. Then inside that there is two big air stones and on top is the 10 inch net pot filled with hydroton with the plant in a 4 inch rockwool cube. I drain a gallon from the bottom each day, ph and ppm check it and then adjust add what ever water it needs then pour it all back over. I ditched the water pumps because all the stupid dust from the hydro ton muds up in the water and clogs the drip lines. they were not worth it. huge pain in the ass just to cause root issues.

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

Another non expert here but I have to agree that coco is awesome. I ran RDWC for a couple years and recently switched to coco. I have completed one run and I have two more going now. Try a couple coco hempys or hand watered smart pots to ease into it and if you like it and you decide to run everything on it I suggest checking into blumats. There is a huge thread about them here.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=111046

As far as recycling coco I do not do it personally but from what I have read people use enzymes to eat the roots. Search the Growing in coco coir forum for recycle or reuse, I know there are a few threads on it.

that is pretty cool I like these I could go for this with coco and aptus nutes. i am gonna give all this a go. I have grown soil and hyrdo for 12 years but never even tried coco.

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

first thing is i'm no expert, i've only been doing the coco hempy thing for about a year and that was interupted by a move so i've only pulled about 4 harvests, i'm 6 weeks in today on my first harvey in the new digs, ...so my experience is far from definitive.

that being said i wouldn't hesitate in recommending coco hempy's for ANYONE, those who are new to growing will love the hydro growth rates and how forgiving they are to grow in while those with more experience will love the hydro growth rates and the simplicity, AND how forgiving they are, lol, especially after a prolonged power outage.

and as far as coco brands go i know many swear by Canna coco but i personally just get whatever 5kg bales the local growshop has in stock, usually Botanicare or GH, ...one is called CocoGro and one is called CocoTek.

for further info on coco and how to work with it i'd suggest you look in the coco forum or ask gaiusmarius, he knows WAY more about coco than me, lol, ...and the hempy thread, especially the coco hempy thread by.

...and don't take me the wrong way man because i don't want to steer you wrong and i am still learning myself.

AD

btw, coco IS hydro so those hydro nutes you speak of would work just fine in a side by side, that way you'd be able to judge for yourself if the growth rates in a hempy were really similar to DWC, ...do a little research first but then the next time you pot up clones for your next DWC run, pot up a couple in 3 gallon coco hempy buckets, then you'll know for real.

I appreciate the help. gives me a starting point. thankyou

 

[Guest304546]

you're welcome man and i think you'll like the coco, it simplify's everything to the point it's almost foolproof, ...i guess i'm living testimony, lol.

...and blumats are definately in my future, lol.

AD

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

I need something with ease of care. the dwc is a pain the ass to work by myself. Just the lack of dealing with shit like air stones and hydroton will be worth it. plus I can pack more plants in the room because I dont have to have room to pull them out of the buckets.

How do you reuse coco, or do you? how do you get all the old roots out?

 

[SeaMaiden]

I just re-use it. The old roots don't harm a thing, and if you're using organic methods utilizing microbes, the roots will not only already be colonized, but will break down naturally and offer some nutrients along the way.

There are also some things you really do need to know and must consider when using coir as the media. First is this: if it's not a pre-charged brand, you'll need to at *least* pre-charge with Ca & Mg (in my world it's really the Ca that's needed) along with a low EC solution of vegging nutrients. Coir has a tendency to adsorb Ca and Mg, and if you don't fill those sites with it before planting then as you're trying to feed the plant what it needs the coir is locking it up and making it unavailable. This is one of the BIGGEST issues with coir cultivation, IME.

Second is that you must let go of the notion of overwatering. I have found it's just NOT possible using coir. And, depending on the percent of coir in your mix (most folks mix it with perlite, as discussed on the previous page, I've switched to rice hulls and will never look back), your watering may need to be more or less frequent.

Third, it's pretty flexible in terms of how you treat it. Many folks say, not incorrectly, that it's a form of hydroponic cultivation. I refer to it as soilless media, but when I tried to treat it exactly like soil it didn't quite work out. Others will say it's just like soil so just treat it like soil.

I use the expandable Botanicare bricks, the 5kg Cocogro or whatever it's called.

Oh! I will also suggest getting and using SEPARATE Ca and Mg products. Once you do that you'll have real control, and you'll see just how much Ca plants need and use, and how important it is in cultivation.

 

[DTFuqua]

Where is DWC so hard. I used to run bubblers with no or very little problem. Use a proper nutrient formula and not the high dose recommended and you hardly ever need to change water/nutrients .If you have a case of sick plants, pull the entire lid with plant(s), root ball and rinse everything good and put into a clean tote of the same size so the tops are interchangeable with new nutrient solution most root problems are solved. You get the strength of your nutrients right and all you do is top the reservoir/tote when it needs some. No dumping of old nutes or anything unless you have/get some kind of root problem.

 

[Guest304546]

Where is DWC so hard. I used to run bubblers with no or very little problem. Use a proper nutrient formula and not the high dose recommended and you hardly ever need to change water/nutrients .If you have a case of sick plants, pull the entire lid with plant(s), root ball and rinse everything good and put into a clean tote of the same size so the tops are interchangeable with new nutrient solution most root problems are solved. You get the strength of your nutrients right and all you do is top the reservoir/tote when it needs some. No dumping of old nutes or anything unless you have/get some kind of root problem.

what happens if your pump dies and you don't realize it for say, 5 hours or so?

AD

btw, no one is saying you can't run DWCs very successfully and anyone who does run them does so with familiar considerations so no big whoop, ...but you ARE subject to equipment failure and you DO have to pay a fair bit of attention to keep things in balance, ...with coco hempy's you get the same growth rates but there are NO pumps to fail and you don't need to devote anywhere near the same level of attention to do it successfully.