Rapid Rooters in a Drip System?!

[GDS StonerBoy]

let me ask u this where did u get the rr's at?? were they that size or are they the ones from home depot/walmart type where there compressed and u have to soak them in water?? if there the compressed ones then i know what ur talking about there junk and i don't like them i use the real peat moss rr from gh but i've noticed the compressed ones stays to wet or too dry u can't seem to get them just right.other than that ur set up looks fine i was thinking u had the 5inch net pots but the drip line looks fine where they are to me

No there the GH RR's! They just look smaller because i flipped them upside down and cut a new slit in the bottom of it to start my seeds in. After doing this i had like a 90% germ rate. The white stuff on them is the Perlite that the RR's was in when i started the seeds. I didnt clean them good because i figured it wouldnt hurt the seedling. I think the problem may have been that they were too wet though. I dont know if you could really tell but i'll get pics from different angles tomorrow so you could see if the RR was over saturated. But i have recently began to drop my pumps on time dramatically. Due to the over saturation i only keep the pump on for like 5 hours a day total until the seedlings start absorbing more water from the RR's.

[TMusic]

you might want to cut the water even more than that. Once they're wet, you don't need to water them until the top starts turning light and doesn't show water when you squeeze it or push on the top. Are you pre-soaking them in anything before you put the seeds in?

In the pic of the dead C99 seedling, it looks a little shallow in the plug. Make sure it is in there at least 3/8 - 1/2 and inch. If the seed is too close to the top of the plug, the root system will not grow properly. I lost 1 to this recently. This is an easy mistake if you flip them upside down and cut a whole, it has to be as deep as the hole in the other side.

You should really hold off on putting them in the drip system until the tap root shows through the bottom of the plug (at the very least). The plastic starter trays with the 6" clear dome works great. Once they have they're 1st or 2nd true leaf set, then into the system, but same concept, keep the plug moist, not wet. Once the roots grow away from the plug, increase the water, but don't get the plug wet anymore. Be especially careful that the top of the RR plug is not getting water directly, the water will pool in the hole and around the stem, and your plant will fall over...and die...

You can learn alot if you pull open the plug of the dead seedlings, you can see what was going on in there and if it was a root system problem, this will help you eliminate problems in the future, and put your mind at ease (relative).

[GDS StonerBoy]

Thanks Tmusic that was a very informative post and i think just about everything you stated was most of the causes of my problems. Although i did transplant after i saw the taproots showing throught the RR's.

It's been about 2 weeks that the survivers have been in the drip system and i havent given them any nutes until last night. I just want to know should i hold off even longer on the nutes? I gave them a little amount but the pics will tell you why i did. Is this problem because of no nutes? Or is it something else? I use Spa Ph downer and its made for pools!, do you think this could be part of the problem? My last grow though, i used it all the way through and had no problems.

The 1st pic is of the C99 seedling, the rest are pics of PPP.

[TMusic]

I think you need to get rid of that ph down for pools. I'm sure someone will pop their head in here and tell you why really soon. But get some ph down made for hydroponics.

I started mine out (2nd set of true leaves) at 150ppm, Technaflora basic 3 part (Boost/Grow/B1 Red) and burned one of them, so, just like everyone else said, take it easy with the nutes.

Just so you know, your setup is almost identical to mine, althought I'm using 5"square pots, the concept is the same. I'm about a month ahead of you, check my thread out http://boards.cannabis.com/hydroponi...ttle-help.html, it may be helpful. Some problems I ran in to with the RR plugs, hydroton, and top feed drip system are well discussed.

Good Luck

...these are 2 weeks+??? Are you sure.

[TMusic]

Maybe its not the rapid rooter...you know, we kinda jumped the gun with this rapid rooter thing and failed to ask you about all the other variables that could possibly cause you problems.

Have you decreased the water yet? A few posts/days ago you said that you run the water for a total of 5 hours. I'm flowering my 12"-15" plants right now and the pump is on for a total of 5 hours. If you have roots into the hydroton, you should be at about 5 minutes, every 4 hours of light for that little seedling. You're on 18/6 right?

[Big len]

I like to germinate my seeds in a paper towel then I slit the side of rr and place seedling in than put in my hydro system, never had a problem with them so far also do the same for dirt this is what works best for me.