Rockwool users

[East Coast]

Please take a look at my photos in this thread, post #43

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/789395-what-do-you-think-my-5.html#post10172541

I placed a layer of rockwool in the bottom of my grow pot and then placed perlite on top. Flooded and let stand for 24hrs. When I squeezed out the wool there was 1/2 cup of liquid that came out.

Is that amount of water o.k - or shall I reduce the amount rockwool to a minimum to weight the pot down.

Does anyone run a similar pot - eg rockwool and perlite mix that would be keen to share their methodology?

 

[JohnDee]

EC,
I don't think anybody is responding because nobody else is doing that. The reason nobody else is doing it is because it's a dumb idea. Why do you feel it's necessary to re-invent the wheel when there are lots of good systems out there?

If anything, I would thoroughly mix the perlite and rockwool. Is this a hempy bucket or some other kind of drain-to-waste system?
JD

 

[jazzyjsd18]

E.C-
Not good, dude. The only time i've ever seen r/w at the bottom of a pot is when Al B Fuct used it to stop his perlite from falling out of the drainage holes.... It holds alot of water, and shouldn't be planted into when it is soaked like that. AL B Fuct (look him up) soaked r/w for clones, but used a salad spinner to bring them to "field capacity". NEVER SQUEEZE THE ROCKWOOL- IT DESTROYS THE AIR POCKETS INSIDE IT
I suggest you look at this link- https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/15030-batch-clones-rockwool.html
Rockwool is great for cloning, but there's so many better mediums for growth IMO.

 

[actont]

rockwool and pertile?..OH WOW!...burn burn burn.....PH levels must be going crazy!...not a good idea bro. I bet the Pertile turns the rockwool into a great big pile of mold as the rockwool will be way to wet all the time.

 

[NorthofEngland]

E.C-
Not good, dude. The only time i've ever seen r/w at the bottom of a pot is when Al B Fuct used it to stop his perlite from falling out of the drainage holes.... It holds alot of water, and shouldn't be planted into when it is soaked like that. AL B Fuct (look him up) soaked r/w for clones, but used a salad spinner to bring them to "field capacity". NEVER SQUEEZE THE ROCKWOOL- IT DESTROYS THE AIR POCKETS INSIDE IT
I suggest you look at this link- https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/15030-batch-clones-rockwool.html
Rockwool is great for cloning, but there's so many better mediums for growth IMO.

8 days ago I potted 23 cuttings (in rooting sponges) into pots for VEGGING
21 went into Clay Pebbles
2 went into 6"cubed BLOCKS OF ROCKWOOL.

I put pebbles around the edges - to keep the blocks more firm.

I have the 21 in pebbles being fed/watered with a Wilma irrigation system, on a timer
and the 2 in rockwool I hand water - when the plants start to look a little droopy and lethargic.

Up to now, the 2 clones Vegging in the Rockwool Blocks, are 2 of the best looking, best responding and most vigorous growing clones of them all.
I don't know if this will change at a later date but, as of now, they're doing superb!

 

[East Coast]

Strange - This is Al B Fuct method:

I've kinda moved on a bit from pots full of RW floc; I used it for years, but I always thought it holds water for too long, allowing dissolved O2 to dissipate before the plant can draw it up. Only when plants get larger, at about the 4th wk of flowering, are they really large enough to make an appreciable dent in 24 hours in the ~2L of water an 8" pot filled (only) with floc can absorb.

I've been seeking a better medium for a long time- came across Fytocell a few mos ago- and it really is the bizness.

These days, I only put about 25mm (1") of RW floc in the bottom of each pot and fill the remaining space with Fytocell. The layer of floc in the bottom keeps the Fytocell crumbs from escaping through the pot drain holes and once wet, also weights down the pot. Fytocell holds so much air that a pot of it will float.

Fytocell is not available here in NZ, perlite was the next best thing. What I have read - these two products are very interchangeable growing mediums.

Have I missed something, why suggestions here seem to be leaning towards bad idea?



My clones are done in RW cubes They are about 2 days old.

 

[JohnDee]

East Coast,
You've never even told us what you're going to do with these pots? Ebb and Flow or what.

And Fytocell is a foam product that has more in common with rockwool then it does perlite. I don't see how you could say it's exchangeable with perlite.

AlBFuct lives in Australia and gets Fytocell there. Can't you mail order it from there? Have you checked any local grow shops?

And why don't you just go to the source and ask Al B what he thinks of your idea. He has his own ask Al thread...

https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/94811-al-b-faqt.html

JD

 

[East Coast]

East Coast,
You've never even told us what you're going to do with these pots? Ebb and Flow or what.

And Fytocell is a foam product that has more in common with rockwool then it does perlite. I don't see how you could say it's exchangeable with perlite.

AlBFuct lives in Australia and gets Fytocell there. Can't you mail order it from there? Have you checked any local grow shops?

And why don't you just go to the source and ask Al B what he thinks of your idea. He has his own ask Al thread...

https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/94811-al-b-faqt.html

JD

Ebb and Flow

Foam product or not - they have the same principals of sustaining plant life.

NZ is hard to find products other's are use to. End of the world down here.

That thread was last used in 2008 and is closed.

 

[JohnDee]

East Coast,
Sorry, I didn't realize Al's threads were closed.

I'm not saying your plan won't work. I'm sure people have done E&F with perlite. I've always used hydroton but now that that may be difficult to find, I'll use hydrolite which is naturally mined and very rich in silica.

It's best to have a medium that drains really well and the rockwool concerns me. I saw what you posted about Al B, Fuct's method, which was a surprise to me.

So just try it out and report back on how it does. I didn't mean to be so negative...sorry man and good growing.
JD

 

[jazzyjsd18]

I placed a layer of rockwool in the bottom of my grow pot and then placed perlite on top. Flooded and let stand for 24hrs. When I squeezed out the wool there was 1/2 cup of liquid that came out.

Al B used straight perlite for his flood/drain trays. He only used rockwool to stuff the drainage holes in his pots, and to clone in. He filled the pots with perlite, set the rockwool half way buried, and flooded the tray until the water was JUST BELOW the rockwool.
Rockwool can get oversaturated, which will choke out the roots.... Especially if you squeeze it, which destroys the air pockets.

What are your nutes/Ph in your water for the wilma? temp of water?
I run an all perlite bucket, clones in r/w, top feed recirculating system... I prefer feed rings over drippers big time... better dispersion.

 

[horribleherk]

there was a grower here that did good using r/w croutons in the bottoms of pots [2gal.] & then filled with coco ive done a few successful grows using r/w blocks & slabs ive never tried r/w with perlite i quit using the r/w slabs in favor of coco in smart pots continuing to use the tried & true e&f though

 

[MoJobud]

there was a grower here that did good using r/w croutons in the bottoms of pots [2gal.] & then filled with coco ive done a few successful grows using r/w blocks & slabs ive never tried r/w with perlite i quit using the r/w slabs in favor of coco in smart pots continuing to use the tried & true e&f though

Not to thread jack, but what's your medium method using coco. Rw with coco?

 

[famine]

I use a layer of rockwool croutons in the bottom of the 1 Gal pot and then fill with straight perlite. Clones are in 1.5" mini block just like Al.

Works fine. I use Heisenburgs tea for the root zone and flood 4 times during lights on.
Root balls in the pots look and smell wonderful.

PH slowly rises as the level in the reservoir drops but I top with water and reset ph every two days.
My EC runs from about 1450 to 1700. it goes up and down in that range as nutes are used and I add some back in.
I get some green Algae since increasing my plant spacing but that is harmless.

Thinking about trying a Coco run to see if it improves flavour.

 

[East Coast]

Al B used straight perlite for his flood/drain trays. He only used rockwool to stuff the drainage holes in his pots, and to clone in. He filled the pots with perlite, set the rockwool half way buried, and flooded the tray until the water was JUST BELOW the rockwool.


What are your nutes/Ph in your water for the wilma? temp of water?
I run an all perlite bucket, clones in r/w, top feed recirculating system... I prefer feed rings over drippers big time... better dispersion.

I am sure he has never used perlite. He went from Rockwool or flock pots to using Fytocell with flock in bottom as you described above.

I will be using Canna flores. Ph will be 5.8ish

East Coast,

Sorry, I didn't realize Al's threads were closed.​

​

I'm not saying your plan won't work. I'm sure people have done E&F with perlite. I've always used hydroton but now that that may be difficult to find, I'll use hydrolite which is naturally mined and very rich in silica.​

​

It's best to have a medium that drains really well and the rockwool concerns me. I saw what you posted about Al B, Fuct's method, which was a surprise to me.​

​

So just try it out and report back on how it does. I didn't mean to be so negative...sorry man and good growing.​

JD



​

It was a surprise to me that it seemed to be a bad idea - which concerned me!

I have done some more experimenting, now only tearing the RW into the bottom and not 'packing in'. Seems to drain well and no escaping perlite.



This is why you must pre-wash Perlite This is proves I was packing the Rockwool or flock too tightly. Only using about 1/4 or 1/5 or that now.

Always happy when growing - indoor or out !


​

 

[East Coast]

I use a layer of rockwool croutons in the bottom of the 1 Gal pot and then fill with straight perlite. Clones are in 1.5" mini block just like Al.

Works fine. I use Heisenburgs tea for the root zone and flood 4 times during lights on.
Root balls in the pots look and smell wonderful.

PH slowly rises as the level in the reservoir drops but I top with water and reset ph every two days.
My EC runs from about 1450 to 1700. it goes up and down in that range as nutes are used and I add some back in.
I get some green Algae since increasing my plant spacing but that is harmless.

Thinking about trying a Coco run to see if it improves flavour.

Good to hear it works fine. I was starting to think 'al b fuct this wont work'

Do you add fresh nutes into half used reservoir? Would this not upset the balance of N.P.K ?

Do you use H202 to combat algae, if not, do you use any other product?

 

[famine]

I learned a lot from Al. Read all of his threads.
I have been lazy lately and stretching rez changes out to 4 weeks.
I get away with it because of the bennies.

Yes I have to add nutes in every 4-5 days to bring EC back up as the plants consume food.
NPK probably does get a little out of whack but no significant problems.
Bi-weekly rez changes would be better. Plants always seem to perk up on fresh tank, especially my moms.

I used H2O2 for quite a while but...
I found it to be expensive.
My root zones were OK but not GREAT.

Switching to bennies made a big difference. Roots are happier, plants grow and produce better.

I don't bother fighting green Algae as it is pretty harmless and my plants dont mind it.

I dont at this time reuse my perlite. I dispose of it into my raised beds for vegetables.

 

[dadio161]

I have been growing coming on 4 years now . I use rockwool blocks and nothing else. I get my clones in rockwool plugs and I insert them into 4" cubes for veg . When I am ready for flowering , I place the 4" cube on top of a 6" block. That's it. I do use the white block covers. But no other medium. Start to finish in rockwool. Lots of room for the roots to grow. I do Ebb and Flow .

 

[jazzyjsd18]

Here's an excerpt from the Al B Fact thread- page 34
How he uses Rockwool Flock-
Yep, perlite will work pretty well. It can escape the pot drain holes, so a 25-50mm layer of floc, tightly packed in the bottom of each pot, keeps the perlite (or Fytocell) in the pot while allowing water to flow in and out of the pot during flooding.

RW floc is HIGHLY absorbent, better than a sponge. It's actually too absorbent and you have to use care not to allow it to be saturated. You can only water pots of RW floc 1x/day without inducing overwatering symptoms, especially in small plants. Fytocell can be flooded more often; I'm flooding plants 3x/lights-on post wk2 now.

It's important to note that the RW & Fytocell in my pots isn't actually mixed, as such. The floc is packed in a 25-50mm thick layer, very tightly in the bottom of each pot to act as a filter. Keeps the Fytocell crumbs in the pots. Fytocell has a very high air content (40%) and tends to float. When the layer of floc is wetted, the pots won't float.

He grew in perlite at one point... when Fytocell came to the market he started using that. In his 1lb every 2wks tread he only grew in Flock, watering 1xday. I remember seeing him say he switched from flock to perlite because the roots were growing better with more feedings, and then switched to Fytocell because it was lighter/cheaper. That was yearrs ago, though. I still use straight perlite because of his recommendation. Fytocell isn't available here in the U.S. and yeah, always wash it first so you dont get buildup like that!

 

[East Coast]

Here's an excerpt from the Al B Fact thread- page 34
How he uses Rockwool Flock-
so a 25-50mm layer of floc, tightly packed in the bottom of each pot, keeps the perlite (or Fytocell) in the pot while allowing water to flow in and out of the pot during flooding.

This is the bit that concerns me - "tightly packed" - in the photo I posted with the build up, that is tightly packed and I think it does not work......I changed my method to ripping RW and placing in the bottom and it seems to work much better......?

 

[jazzyjsd18]

I would say you have alot of powder/salts buildup there because you didnt rinse your perlite.
Al used the floc pretty much just as a filter, and to weigh the pot down. Since you don't have the problem of your pots floating in the wilma, and since you're using perlite, I would look into a "pot sok". I know they sell those in your area of the world.
That'll stop perlite from falling through your buckets, and allow the powdered perlite to flow through.