Will this work!? (Bubbleponics)

well things arent lookin good around here, i dont understand whats going on here.....I've always germinated seeds in peat pellets obviously cuz i am use to growing in soil. well i've got this rockwool shit now and straight water, i soaked the seeds for like a day and a half. All but two seeds that i dropped in the rockwool were already split. i pushed them in roottail down about to the middle of the cubes, dropped them into the system and turned the lights on for more heat and so that as soon as they popped up the light would be there. well now its been 48hrs since then and nothing is coming up. i looked in all the little holes in the rockwool and i can see the seeds but for the most part i see very little to no progress....I didnt even want to address this as its is so embarassing, but I always have sprouts by now!!!!! what could possibly be going wrong? is it the light shining down the holes of the rockwool bad?... i never remember reading anywhere that your suppose to squeeze the holes shut.....?
 
It might be staying a little too wet due to the water pump
Try disconnecting that and just using the bubbling water underneath to keep the rockwool and net cups moist
Rockwool shouldn't be soaking wet at all times
 
Yeah but if it is fully soaked the roots aren't going to search for more water thus taking extra time for the roots to hit the rez
That is something you don't want to delay, the sooner the roots are in the rez the sooner you will get explosive growth
 
well i didn't think excess water was a problem at this stage, shit i've left seeds in a cup of water too long and practically had a little sprout growing completely submerged in water, the first to leaves were white obviously but still...idk i guess i'll give it a shot I'll shut down the pumps for a day to see if that helps, but i do have a few back up seeds sitting in roockwool alone on a shelf with hyroton around them, nothing there either..maybe its the seeds....but idk if thats the case either cuz they all split so they must be good
 
Yeah if they crack then they should sprout
Are you using 1.5" x 1.5" cubes? Do you have a digital scale?
I like to weight my 1.5" cubes out to 30 grams for seedlings and clones
That is what I have found to be the best moisture level for the rockwool
 
the back up cubes on the shelf weigh just over 29grams as for the ones in the net pots well i dont feel liike digging em back up but i unplugged one of the pumps to see what happens...thanks for the tip. so the light being on and being able to see the see the seed down in the cube is not bad then? i can see one seed for sure appears to be working its way up but its tough to tell for sure on the others....
 
Turning the pumps on is just going to make it take longer for the roots to hit the reservoir...
If the cube is wet all the time due to the pump pumping water on it constantly why would it need to search for more water?
The roots will be in the rez much faster without the water pump and that is what you want....
This is the reason I said the water pumps are pointless
If the cube is wet the roots will not grow as quickly as a cube that is only damp.
Do a side by side test. Turn the pump on one plant and just keep the other cube damp and see which ones roots hit the water first
I can tell you the answer already ;-)
 
I had similar issues when I first set up my BP system. The key, should you decide to try again, is regulate the flow of water to the rockwool cube. If you flood the cube with water it could certainly get too wet, tom makes a good point, and to be honest, I find the feeder tubes are most valuable once the sprout is established and less before (I usually adjust my water flow accordingly, very slow at first, then increase slightly till their feet get wet, then I remove pump). My reasoning being that once your sprouts start to get bigger (but before the roots hit the water) the cubes will start to dry out faster, now you can adjust a plain DWC system by making sure there is a good level of water agitation in your res, or you can let the feeder tubes do the work, both ways will work. IMHO. Good Luck!!
 
If the roots are in the water why would you want to keep the cube wet?
My rockwool stays dry as a bone with my DWC your saying that adding a dripper would make the growth better?
I don't see how keep the main stem wet will lead to more growth
 
He said "until they get their feet wet, then I remove the pump." Everyone that uses the pump and feeder tubes removes it when the roots are established, and in the water.
 
tom__420 said:
If the roots are in the water why would you want to keep the cube wet?
My rockwool stays dry as a bone with my DWC your saying that adding a dripper would make the growth better?
I don't see how keep the main stem wet will lead to more growth
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You're right, I wouldn't. and I mentioned this in my post. Specifically, what I'm referring to is, the time from when your see the first true set of leaves, to when the roots get into deep water (usually 3 weeks in for me) at which point I remove the pump and feeder tubes. After that, they'd be more hassle than good.IMO. I also mentioned moisture levels in the rootzone can be maintained in regular DWC through good water agitation (i.e. bubbles) but in my experience, which is limited, the feeder tubes can assist in that respect.
 
Yeah the only reason I would see to use the feeder tubes and water pump is if you have a crappy non powerful pump
I have nice air pumps so there is enough bubbles to keep the hydroton and rockwool cube at the perfect moisture level
 
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