Always overwatering seeds in hydro

[ҖҗlegilizeitҗҖ]

I mean... as long as the rockwool isn't actually fully submerged in the water, if the bottom just barely touches the water, it will "wick up". But rockwool is extreamly porous, and it shouldn't be able to wick up enough water to drown your plants.
I've always just started my seeds in a dome, add a 1/4" of water to the tray for now. Once they break the surface i give 24 hours of light untill some roots break out of the bottom of the cubes. Once they do, I move to the system, add hydroton, then the cube so the cotyledons are just above the net cups rim. Then I fill the water level to just barely touch the cubes, they are like that about a week before the roots are long enough where I can lower the water level 1" or so below the net cup.
No problem with over water since the rockwool naturally holds so much air, and my rez water is well oxygenated.

 

[SamWE19]

I mean... as long as the rockwool isn't actually fully submerged in the water, if the bottom just barely touches the water, it will "wick up". But rockwool is extreamly porous, and it shouldn't be able to wick up enough water to drown your plants.
I've always just started my seeds in a dome, add a 1/4" of water to the tray for now. Once they break the surface i give 24 hours of light untill some roots break out of the bottom of the cubes. Once they do, I move to the system, add hydroton, then the cube so the cotyledons are just above the net cups rim. Then I fill the water level to just barely touch the cubes, they are like that about a week before the roots are long enough where I can lower the water level 1" or so below the net cup.
No problem with over water since the rockwool naturally holds so much air, and my rez water is well oxygenated.

That’s strange as I’ve always had the exact opposite experience. Rockwool, rapid rooter, root riot, tried all these and they seem to wick up so much water if water is available to wick up that causes the drooping leaves from over watering. Simply having water splashing the bottom of The net pot seems to do it.

 

[ҖҗlegilizeitҗҖ]

That’s strange as I’ve always had the exact opposite experience. Rockwool, rapid rooter, root riot, tried all these and they seem to wick up so much water if water is available to wick up that causes the drooping leaves from over watering. Simply having water splashing the bottom of The net pot seems to do it.

Yeah I got some seedlings right now about a week old in rockwool, just sitting in about 1/4" of standing water and doing great.

 

[Gemtree]

I always started in 50/50 perlite/verm or 100 perlite in cups. It all brushes off pretty good when you go to transplant just put it in a bucket of water and gently break it all away

 

[SamWE19]

Yeah I got some seedlings right now about a week old in rockwool, just sitting in about 1/4" of standing water and doing great.

That’s nuts have you always had them in standing water? So your telling me the cube is saturated with water?

 

[ҖҗlegilizeitҗҖ]

That’s nuts have you always had them in standing water? So your telling me the cube is saturated with water?

Yes I suppose its "saturated", but the rockwool is so porus it naturally holds enough oxygen where the plants are doing great.
Again, the cubes are sitting in only about 1/4" of water.
If they were completly submerged it would obviously force all the oxygen out of the cube.

DWC roots grow directly in water with bubbles, a wet rockwool cube shouldn't drown a plant.

 

[SamWE19]

Yes I suppose its "saturated", but the rockwool is so porus it naturally holds enough oxygen where the plants are doing great.
Again, the cubes are sitting in only about 1/4" of water.
If they were completly submerged it would obviously force all the oxygen out of the cube.

DWC roots grow directly in water with bubbles, a wet rockwool cube shouldn't drown a plant.

In dwc you are physically adding oxygen to the water with the air pump. Standing water wouldn’t have any.
doesn’t make sense to me...

I’m gonna pop a seed in a rapid rooter today and put it in 1/4 inch of standing water and I’ll take a pic in a week or two showing the drooping leaves

 

[SamWE19]

Here for example is a seedling started in a rapid rooter. Approx 4 weeks ago now.

it spent 2 weeks in a rooter tray before being moved to my main hydro system.

I’ve messed with timbers from splashing the hydroton 24/7 to on 15 mins off an hour to being on 15 mins every 8 hours they just constantly seem to show overwatering as the rapid rooter stays soaking but the hydroton dries out in the 6 hours off so the roots growing out of the RR dry out and die back to the rooter

 

[SamWE19]

Ideally I want to grow from seed more often but need to figure out wtf is going on here with seedlings so I don’t waste 2 -3 weeks waiting for drowning seedlings to push out enough roots to grow

 

[ComfortCreator]

#Renfro

My brother this looks like an easy one for you I see how hydro has its challenges just like soil. Can you help?

 

[SamWE19]

#Renfro

My brother this looks like an easy one for you I see how hydro has its challenges just like soil. Can you help?

Doesn’t seem like it’s an easy one since others seem to not have the issue. @Renfro may have experience with plugs though

 

[ComfortCreator]

Doesn’t seem like it’s an easy one since others seem to not have the issue. @Renfro may have experience with plugs though

I have never seen a challenege related to hydro that he can't fix. Just my experience. Hopefully he stops by.

 

[Renfro]

If you are getting root rot then it's most likely the DO levels are too low, maybe warm nutes?

 

[SamWE19]

If you are getting root rot then it's most likely the DO levels are too low, maybe warm nutes?

There’s no rot, just overwatered leaves. Straight stem droopy leaves.

nutes will be around room temp

 

[Renfro]

Well the condition sure looks like a lack of oxygen at the roots. If the water is above 70F then it is unable to hold much O2. Overwatering in DWC is just a lack of dissolved oxygen, usually caused by warm nutes.

 

[SamWE19]

Well the condition sure looks like a lack of oxygen at the roots. If the water is above 70F then it is unable to hold much O2. Overwatering in DWC is just a lack of dissolved oxygen, usually caused by warm nutes.

Yeah it’s definitely lack of o2. But it’s not dwc it’s an nft /aero system atm. But this even happens in just rapid rooters for me. Clones are fine... but seeds always seem to take 2 weeks of overwatering waiting for enough roots to grow through hydroton so they don’t get overwatered.

What stumps me is people here saying they soak their rapid rooters and saturate them and don’t get overwatering symptoms.

i try hard to not overwater and I get droopy seedlings

 

[Renfro]

i try hard to not overwater and I get droopy seedlings

Hmm I keep mine wet as fuck too. Never had issues. The plant pictured above, it's a clone right?

 

[Renfro]

Maybe the problem is something else, is the lighting too intense?

 

[SamWE19]

Yeah it’s definitely lack of o2. But it’s not dwc it’s an nft /aero system atm. But this even happens in just rapid rooters for me. Clones are fine... but seeds always seem to take 2 weeks of overwatering waiting for enough roots to grow through hydroton so they don’t get overwatered.

What stumps me is people here saying they soak their rapid rooters and saturate them and don’t get overwatering symptoms.

i try hard to not overwater and I get droopy seedlings

Hmm I keep mine wet as fuck too. Never had issues. The plant pictured above, it's a clone right?

no that’s a seed... my clones have always been fine.
I want to start from seed more often to change the strains up but this issue always sets me back 3 weeks with seed grows... havnt been able to figure out wtf it is

 

[SamWE19]

Maybe the problem is something else, is the lighting too intense?

What would you say is too intense? I have around 1000ppfd in the Center but only 350ppfd in my far bottom corner so if it was lighting I would expect the plants in the corners to not have the issue