My first hydroponic grow

[TVWoLfMaN]

Ok so i just about have my first DWC hydro G planned out. There is one thing that im still not completely understanding. I am going to germinate from seeds that i have on the way. Im assuming that i am going to use a 1.5 1.5 1.5 rockwool starter cube. I have a large tote that i put 10 5 inch net pots in. I am planning on filling them with medium size hydroton. What im not sure about is after the seeds germinate in the rockwool cubes, do i just put hydroton in the pots and then put the rockwool cubes in and fill in around them and leave the starter cube in for good? Also if the net pots are 1 inch into the nutrient solution, will the solution wick its way up to the hydroton and rockwool cube when the roots havent made it that far down yet? Or do i have to use some kind of a drip system until the roots make thier way down into the solution?
Thanks for any help guys.

[TVWoLfMaN]

Also i had another question. Anyone got any good ideas on what i can use to keep bubble stones in place or attach to the bottom of the tote reservoir that wont affect or contaminate the nutrient solution?

[tinytoon]

I'll give it a shot ......
1) first off I would use a Rapid rooter instead of RW but if thats what you have it will work.

2) yes put Hydrotron in basket then RW cube and fill in around

3) yes starter cube stays in for good

4) If the basket is 1" into the water the splashing effect from the bubbles created by the airstones will travel up the Hydrotron further. Depending how "deep" you plant your cube you might have to hand water for a bit then again maybe you wont. When you get to the point where you start using the bucket you will have to brush back the tron to see if cube is dry,wet or moist then you will know if it needs handwatering :thumbsup:

5) not really a need for a drip system since if you do end up needing to hand water it wont be for very long unless you have like 100 buckets or just lazy (not saying you are)

6) the Airstones I use just sit at the bottom and I use the same stones in 5 gal buckets, 7 gal rez and 55 gal drum. just remember the more bubbles the happier the plant will be and you will see the happiness by how fast it grows :jointsmile:

[SheCutEmDown]

One method to keep the stone down is to get a 1 foot length of PVC pip and drill a hole just big enough for the air pump hose on the side of one end of the pipe. Then run the hose down the pipe and pass it through the hole you made at the bottom/side of the pipe. The pipes weight will help keep it at the bottom of your res and the air stone can't pass through the hole so it stays at the bottom of the pipe. You can also attach as Stainless steel weight to the air stone with some Stainless steel wire, or a plastic zip tie or any plastic tie. Maybe you could use a plastic hunk as a weight too.

I also did set up a drip system until my roots hit the water, and I ended up running the drip on a timer, it would allow me to use more of the hydroton cause it kept more wetter:stoned:, I also put these little pieces of plastic made to cover rock wool cubes to keep the roots darker.

Good luck and happy growing.