Quick hydroton question

[Illusion]

Got 8" Mesh containers inside of 5 gallon containers...

My question is...

Do i fill only the mesh containers with hydroton? (and the rockwool cube with my plant o' course).... or Do I (Or Can I) Fill up the *entire* bucket with hydroton?

That would seem to make sense, so the roots wont dry out when they grow out of the mesh container... right?

thanks in advance :thumbsup:

[TMusic]

i think it depends on how you're feeding them.

[Illusion]

ebb and flow

[gainesvillegreen]

To answer your question in short, I would fill only the mesh pot. The airspace left in the 5 gallon bucket will stay very humid as it is sealed off from light and most airflow. So when your solution drains, the roots will be dangling out of the mesh pot filled with hydroton, into a very humid air... which I would say sounds good to me as it will keep them moist but allow some air contact as well.

You're using ebb & flow with 5 gallon buckets and mesh pots? Interesting setup.

If you fill the whole bucket with hydroton, you do not need the mesh pots on top and can just plant your prize in the bucket with pebbles. Most people who use the mesh pot and a 5 gallon bucket are rocking the DWC setup. In that setup, they would fill only the mesh pot with pebbles and the bucket would be filled with nutrient solution up to the bottom of the mesh pot.

Since you have everything but (presumably) the air pump/stone, I would give DWC a good look-through. It's a very productive growing method and you already have most of the requisite parts.

[Illusion]

gainesvillegreen thank you for the clarification, much needed. :D
Everyone keeps saying DWC, but for some reason I really have ebb & flow embedded in my mind.

I was actually going to purchase an air pump, I have an airstone on it way- But i was using that for a 40 gallon reservoir to keep that aerated.

I do rather like the idea of having a somewhat unique setup too :) Do you think it'll yield??

Again thank you for your help gainesville, I feel a lot more comfortable with what I'm doing now :)

[Illusion]

also that would mean i would really need to fabricate lids for the tops of my 5 gallon buckets, to ensure its light and air tight, yea?

[lmdesade]

You don't need to so much fabricate a top. Since you are doing DWC, you can use styrofoam unless you just have a lid for your 5 gallon bucket. The other thing is that in order to make your buckets light tight. You can use metal tape. It's about $10 for a 50 yd by 1" roll. You can put foil over the top of the lid in order to make it accessible. As for air tight, your bucket is never going to be airtight. The mesh pot lets air out as the pump produces it and releases the gases. Yet, you do want to keep light out or you'll start growing an algae farm in your buckets. The other item about DWc is try to keep the water cool. If you can't keep the water cool enough, you may need to add hydrogen peroxide or an additive like hygrozyme or hydroguard.