Ebb n' Flow hydroton only-new grow, Net pots, rockwool, Support, watering tips?

tommyinajar

tommyinajar

Well-Known Member
I've got a DWC with hydroton in net pots and a 4x4 flood table with coco in bags. The results have not been great with the coco comparatively speaking.


I want to do 4x4 a table filled with hydrotonI, looked quite a bit and didn't see much in regards to any info-links??

- Do I need net pots at all? Size? What do you use for support if any?

- I watered twice daily with ebb n flow w coco choir filled bags, how often here, low water retention right?


- I don't want to use rockwool if possible, better to start in coco ,rapid rooters or hydroton some how?

thanks!
 
Thundercat

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
I did flood and drain for 10 years with hydroton in 6inch pots. Roughly 48 clones per 4x4 tray with about one week of veg just to let them root into the pots before going into flower at 7ish inches tall. They finished about 24-30 inches tall depending on strain and yielded an average of 20g per plant. More was easy with the right strains, but I always ran a mix of varieties and never worried about maximizing yield with a single crop. My system would flood usually 3-4 times daily.
 
tommyinajar

tommyinajar

Well-Known Member
What 6 inch pot did you use?? If round net cup, did you cut off the bottom?

Was the table filled with rocks, or just the pots?
 
Thundercat

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
tommyinajar said:
What 6 inch pot did you use?? If round net cup, did you cut off the bottom?

Was the table filled with rocks, or just the pots?
Click to expand...
Basic 6x6 square plastic pots from the hydro shop. I think they might have been about 8 inches tall. Square let’s you fit more in the tray. Put rocks in the pots then fill the tray with pots. The pots should come with several drainage holes in the bottom.
 
K

Kdotwash

Member
I played around with flood tables and clay pellets for a little while, you can use netted pots, or not. You can cut the bottoms off, or not. The vigorous root growth in a properly maintained ebb n' flow table will trump any puny plastic trying to hold it back from living its best life. With that said, I found it to be rather a waste fill entire tables. Experimented with flooding tables with just netted pots having pellets. Similar results just slightly less clay. Flood 3-4 times a day aswell. I loved the process when going, very soothing... got over the pellets though. Plagued with terrible luck in regards to motorcycles and people running me over so I try to reduce the unnecessary work loads. Results are great though. Provided regular maintenance you can expect chonky ladies. I played with alot of nute companies. AN always fun but $$. Other than a little more work and potential issues with common water no bad things to say.
 
tommyinajar

tommyinajar

Well-Known Member
Is 3 or 4 times enough for clay pebble? It's close to overkill for coco but I thought pellets hold little moisture.

I'm a Jack's dry fertilizer guy after General Hydroponics almost took my house :) Any thing needed extra? Calmag,silica, mycorrhiza.

Also fabric 1 or 2 gallon bags should be fine too, hey?
 
K

Kdotwash

Member
Responded in quote, bolded text...
tommyinajar said:
Is 3 or 4 times enough for clay pebble? It's close to overkill for coco but I thought pellets hold little moisture.
I liked quick floods and often. I tried with with alot settled at 3-4/day strain dependent
I'm a Jack's dry fertilizer guy after General Hydroponics almost took my house :) Any thing needed extra? Calmag,silica, mycorrhiza.
Yes, all of it. Hydro to me is like lab work. You come into lab and you have to replicate every single step of an SOP to attain desired results, come with everything and use what you need. Deficiencies will come out of the woodwork without a soil buffer...
Also fabric 1 or 2 gallon bags should be fine too, hey?
I have a severe bias against anything fabric in a grow facility. I don't like unknown variables in controlled environments
Click to expand...
 
DarkWeb

DarkWeb

Well-Known Member
I did the same in a 2'x4' tray and 6" square pots. Works great also lots of short but many cycles. F&D exchanges the air in the pot.....roots love oxygen. Always started in root riot or similar plugs then into the hydroton pots. You get it dialed in....your going to love it.
 
tommyinajar

tommyinajar

Well-Known Member
lol I'm still working on getting a GOOD return on the ebbnflow. 4 grows couple of joints.( well slight exaggeration....)

Did 24 in SOG and vegged waaaaaaaaaaaay to long, plants got no light.

Did SOG and fell into the $145 table made out of $4 in plastic, (thank GOD it wasn't full) , no grow shops near sooo that took 2 weeks.

Did a smaller SOG and blew electricity in the whole upstairs and can't exactly call electrician, fixed 12 days later- plants just about all died.

Did smaller SOG and started plants outside for a month....big mistake!! First time I ever got bugs, and I mean alot. Aphids, mites, those suction bugs, I sprayed but yuck what a mess ate and killed about 75%. They were in bags with coco on a 2 story roof. Never dream that would happen.

Going ok now almost done, but there are still bugs. Going to toss the coco and bleach and dry everything to hospital standards next time.

Lucky my 125 gallon 3" pipe DWC Waterfall grows monsters or I'd be hurtn' :)
 
Thundercat

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
tommyinajar said:
Is 3 or 4 times enough for clay pebble? It's close to overkill for coco but I thought pellets hold little moisture.

I'm a Jack's dry fertilizer guy after General Hydroponics almost took my house :) Any thing needed extra? Calmag,silica, mycorrhiza.

Also fabric 1 or 2 gallon bags should be fine too, hey?
Click to expand...
Those are the watering times I used for many years with great results. Hydroton still holds moisture, just not as much as coco or soil. There was multiple times I forgot to plug my pump back in over the years and they might not get watered for 24-48 hours. They might get a little wilty, but always popped right back once watered.

You can use whatever size pot you want. The larger the pot the less you can fit into a flood tray. The idea behind this style of growing is lots of small plants with very little veg time. So in the end you are growing a tray full of colas, instead of bushes.
 
K

Kdotwash

Member
tommyinajar said:
lol I'm still working on getting a GOOD return on the ebbnflow. 4 grows couple of joints.( well slight exaggeration....)

Did 24 in SOG and vegged waaaaaaaaaaaay to long, plants got no light.

Did SOG and fell into the $145 table made out of $4 in plastic, (thank GOD it wasn't full) , no grow shops near sooo that took 2 weeks.

Did a smaller SOG and blew electricity in the whole upstairs and can't exactly call electrician, fixed 12 days later- plants just about all died.

Did smaller SOG and started plants outside for a month....big mistake!! First time I ever got bugs, and I mean alot. Aphids, mites, those suction bugs, I sprayed but yuck what a mess ate and killed about 75%. They were in bags with coco on a 2 story roof. Never dream that would happen.

Going ok now almost done, but there are still bugs. Going to toss the coco and bleach and dry everything to hospital standards next time.

Lucky my 125 gallon 3" pipe DWC Waterfall grows monsters or I'd be hurtn' :)
Click to expand...
If you're getting buggies and particles from intake. Pm me. I have affordable, soltuion that is not a one time use and thow away. Azamax works well for preventing and stopping anything from manifesting, but room needs to stay in an equilibrium to reduce liability. Honestly. My first couple flood trays I was young and felt like busting my ass unnecessarily so I filled my entire 4x8 with hydroclay and stuck...... 48.. or 50 in those first two runs. You must adhere to strict SOP with hydro much more than soil.... keep everything on schedule and you'll have a bunch of mini monsters needing multiple trellising levels to keep from snapping those hollow hydro branches
 
K

Kdotwash

Member
Thundercat said:
Those are the watering times I used for many years with great results. Hydroton still holds moisture, just not as much as coco or soil. There was multiple times I forgot to plug my pump back in over the years and they might not get watered for 24-48 hours. They might get a little wilty, but always popped right back once watered.

You can use whatever size pot you want. The larger the pot the less you can fit into a flood tray. The idea behind this style of growing is lots of small plants with very little veg time. So in the end you are growing a tray full of colas, instead of bushes.
Click to expand...
Not yet worthy to like your post, this serves as my like... I like everything you said. Ice wax time wooo
 
tommyinajar

tommyinajar

Well-Known Member
One more thing do you have to stake them down or what, does a 6" pot with stones hold these mimi monsters??

Oh and did you rest the pots on the tub or a layer of rock? IDK with holes on the bottom of the pots and resting on them if they would always let water in.
 
Thundercat

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
I did use plant stakes to help support each plant so that I could move them as needed. You can also just put up trellis net to support them all at once. This just limits movement once they grow through it. Supporting the plant helps let it focus energy on growing buds instead of holding it self up.

The pots just sit in the tray. They is no issue with water filling them and draining
 
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