Is Hydroton nessary? (DWC)

Well is my first time trying to grow anything, and definitely new to DWC to say the least I have plans to grow two Ak-47 plants in this setup (possibly larger bucket and a second light but other then that same rig)

So before I kill off a good batch of seeds I wanted to make sure I was doing it right so I planted scarlet runner (bean plant) and trans-potted in into the setup you see here.

Specs ----
1- 23 watt 6500k CFL
micro 10 gallon pump & tubing
standard 6 inch air stone
Hydroponic net pot(s)
17.4L rubber maid
Lights run in a standard timer 12 hour shifts (thinking about switching to 24 I dunno)
SuperNatural nuts (Aqua grow, SUPER BOOST, and Aqua Bloom.) (starting with boost for first week)

Its a cheap system I know but I hope it will work.

I also have pepper seeds and tomato which I could grow in my trial run before the AK. Which of those do you think would be closer to weed?

(ie if I grew large tomatoes or peppers would they represent bud size?)

All this brings me back to my main question I have studied all the builds and I see everyone using hydroton I want to know if I can get by without it???(currently Im using ground up organic fiber pots) And also if you think my system is viable???

the point of hydroton in DWC
is to block light and help hold the plant in place

you could ues any thing for this

perlite is easy

What is perlite and where can I find/buy it ? Also Thanks that 5hit +rep man! That saves me some worry. Are we trying to prevent light getting to the roots or the water? In which case I may need to make tighter holes on the top :S

Also does any one know wither tomatoes or peppers (green or jalapeno) would be similar to growing weed I heard from a grower that peppers might be but would like a second opinion. Also does anyone spot any problems in my setup? Thx in advance!

I have used black fish rocks from walmart with great success now I use gardening style lava rocks

Check out my Videos on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/Bauks420

Wow! Bauks I had used your videos when I was designing my trial system! Its cool that I'm on the same forum as you! What happens when light gets to the roots?

neoprene inserts are a new tech
basicly it is how i discribed
they fit right into the netpots
it blocks light form getting to the rez
and holds the stem of the plant in place
and is soft enuff to allows the plant too grow in place
and this stuff is reusable
if you think about it you can diy this stuff ezly

BRpotter said:

What is perlite and where can I find/buy it ? Also Thanks that 5hit +rep man! That saves me some worry. Are we trying to prevent light getting to the roots or the water? In which case I may need to make tighter holes on the top :S

Also does any one know wither tomatoes or peppers (green or jalapeno) would be similar to growing weed I heard from a grower that peppers might be but would like a second opinion. Also does anyone spot any problems in my setup? Thx in advance!

Click to expand...

light can cause algea (and molds and fungus and nats )to grow in the rez and cause the roots to die

tomatoes

Thanks! I have tomatoes germinating on some paper towel as we speak! Also will do I will have her light proof in no time!

perlite home depot walmart

That 5hit said:

neoprene inserts are a new tech
basicly it is how i discribed
they fit right into the netpots
it blocks light form getting to the rez
and holds the stem of the plant in place
and is soft enuff to allows the plant too grow in place
and this stuff is reusable
if you think about it you can diy this stuff ezly

Click to expand...

cut up foam plate works reall nice

BRpotter said:

What is perlite and where can I find/buy it ? Also Thanks that 5hit +rep man! That saves me some worry. Are we trying to prevent light getting to the roots or the water? In which case I may need to make tighter holes on the top :S

Also does any one know wither tomatoes or peppers (green or jalapeno) would be similar to growing weed I heard from a grower that peppers might be but would like a second opinion. Also does anyone spot any problems in my setup? Thx in advance!

Click to expand...

I believe tomatoes are closer to weed than peppers. I doubt that the size of your tomatoes will be any indication of the size of your buds. That said, growing healthy tomatoes will be an indication that you're doing things right. I personally wouldn't waste time on tomatoes, I'd go straight to the WEED, what've you got to loose? A couple of seeds?

Oh yeah, the ground up peat you have in the picture will not hold your plants up, they will fall over the way you have it there. I've had that trouble with hydroton but in a waterfarm which has a much larger pot.

I Will check out the foam plate! looks like a great idea! Also I have modified the peat (using more of it and cut into much finer pieces so as to support the plant better but its not a long term solution. I plan to do something like That 5hit suggested. As for why I'm not going straight to weed. I don't know of anywhere to get seeds yet I was hoping to find some bag seed in the next few months. Secondly Im still in a university residence for two more months then once summer hits I plan to start planting so a 2 month trial run seemed to make sense to me especially considering how hard it has been to find seed, when I do I don't want to waste them.

Sounds like a good plan.
Another way to do it would be to get a large GROTON rockwool cube and carve a plug the size of your top pot.

That light you have is good for starting plants but you will need more than that as the plant matures. I use rockwool and hydraton. It works great for me. I would also recommend using a 6" net pot not the 4". I have had problems with the 4". If your plant gets to big and starts to lean it will pull that 4" out of the res. The only thing left to hold your plant up will be the root mass in the res and your branches, well unless you scrog them.

crackerboy said:

That light you have is good for starting plants but you will need more than that as the plant matures. I use rockwool and hydraton. It works great for me. I would also recommend using a 6" net pot not the 4". I have had problems with the 4". If your plant gets to big and starts to lean it will pull that 4" out of the res. The only thing left to hold your plant up will be the root mass in the res and your branches, well unless you scrog them.

Click to expand...

Later on I plan on getting a 40Watt 2700k for after they sprout up the lamp I'm using there is max 75 watt so it should be fine.
Any other recommendations for lighting?

Also I will consider that or possibly weighting down the pots (the store I went to those were the only net pots they had.)