mental block about rock wool cubes are drving me crazy

[Bspectral]

don't forget to give them a blooming foilage spray inside the dome

[kuri]

hey there willow. i know what you are going through. that is the reason why i jsut signed up to this forum. i also have the nft 6 tray system from EZhydro. i had the same thing happen with the water getting smelly and almost look like... spermy stuff floating in the water. YUCK. my roots were covered with this stuff. by the way i am a novice at this and am learning FAST on the go. then i learned to add 3% H2O2 and that has done wonders.

not only that but the system and you and i have is a bit different than how i have seen other nft systems are built. when you set it up, there is NO tilt to make the water run to the other side so anything in it's way (the baskets) will stop the flow until it builds up. so i placed a cd case under one side of the system to get a very slight angle to it. that has helped alot also.

ANOTHER thing i noticed about this system compared to other nft systems is that others have the baskets HANGING whereas this system we have, the baskets sit down on the gully and that smashes the roots AND lets the rockwool sit in the water that has not angle to flush out. so after just setting it up and having all this happen, i learned ALOT about TWO things that this system is a bit flawed in. i have the baskets hanging by some novice ingenuity where i used paperclips and rubberbands and i have the baskets suspended above the battom of the gully about half an inch and that has HELPED ALOT!!! the roots are very happy now and growing so fast, the plant skyrocketing and looking great, the water no longer get milky and spermy looking. OH, one more thing i added was a fish tank bubbler with airstone and that helps the water stay fresh.

also the black rubber tubing that takes the water up to the gully, with the stuff you have had, if you haven't already, i suggest you really clean out those tubes the best you can because it will clog up fast.

anyway, just wanted to give you a post and let you know i feel your pain and am somewhat relieved to know someone else is having problems with this particular system. but with combined efforts, we will all help eachother. later
kuri