firsttimeARE
Well-Known Member
That is how i do it. Growstones come,in paper bags though.
Hydroton alternatives dwc
- Thread starter Namo
- Start date
WeedFreak78
Well-Known Member
I use these to hold 2" netpots stable in aero rails. They are clips to hold screens in a window frame. Just screw them in next to your netpot site, I use 2, 180deg apart. As long as your netpots have a decent lip, they hold tight. They just pivot out of the way if you need to pull a plant. 3 per netpot would be ideal, mine still rock a little, but have never fallen over.
@Yesdog, added pics.derr.
@Yesdog, added pics.derr.
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Yesdog
Well-Known Member
heh, shit so they just kinda lock into place?
PetFlora
Well-Known Member
Lava rocks irregular shape is awesome, BUT, they do break down. Not sure whether it affects stability of the DWC
I switched to ornamental rocks from Dollar Store. They work great and are easy to remove from roots, clean and reuse
The pic is 3" net pots. I prefer them as I can simply transfer into my DIY Mini Me F & D. IMHO, F & D is so much better than DWC
I switched to ornamental rocks from Dollar Store. They work great and are easy to remove from roots, clean and reuse
The pic is 3" net pots. I prefer them as I can simply transfer into my DIY Mini Me F & D. IMHO, F & D is so much better than DWC
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WeedFreak78
Well-Known Member
Yeah, pretty much. There's a bump on the front edge that will pinch the netpot lip to the lid/rail/etc. I mounted mine on center so it just catches the edge. Next time I think I'll make it overlap 1/4" at center. This way it can act as just a loose guide, or still pinch on the edge in the arc it swings.
Yesdog
Well-Known Member
I think I'm still wary of the generic 'rocks'- most of those are alumina heavy and that's just something i want to keep out of the system if possible.
I may have to steal your idea lol
Are we talking about the same thing?? The ones I get are packed in the same manner and plastic bag type as hydroton...
http://growershouse.com/mother-earth-growstone-chunky-growing-media-1-5-cu-ft
My bad man I think i been getting different "growstones" rather than "gro-stones gs-??" I just realized yours come in like a potatoes bag kinda right? My bad man... but fuck it dude if it's your lungs or figuring out how to easily clean up a melted bag, save your lungs dude...
firsttimeARE
Well-Known Member
Yeah those paper potato bags.
I aint worried about it. When I first got them I opened up a bag and poured it into a rubbermaid container and a big dust cloud came up and my fans were on and pushed it all over my plants. Luckily they were in veg.
Learned my lesson after that.
firsttimeARE
Well-Known Member
I've never used perlite or vermiculite, but it seems they are a lot smaller in size and would go through the holes on my netpot lids.
This is where growstones large, irregular shape come in handy. Often times my roots break the netpot in spots where they exit. Rather than buying a new lid, a strategically placed growstone solves that. And they retain more water than hydroton. I ran out of hydroton and used the growstones i had left over from years ago as filler. See how the mix works.
This is where growstones large, irregular shape come in handy. Often times my roots break the netpot in spots where they exit. Rather than buying a new lid, a strategically placed growstone solves that. And they retain more water than hydroton. I ran out of hydroton and used the growstones i had left over from years ago as filler. See how the mix works.
Believe it or not perlite holds a whole lot of water... but your 100% right... if you aren't using it for Hempys or top feed something (not mesh pots) you'll end up with chunks everywhere....
but a more there isn't a medium that's more inert, has better water retention, breaths as well as you can get aside from flooding hydroton or grow stones, and can be used like coir in a sense u can use a tiny pot and grow a monster plant in it with no ill effects..... but as I said, flood and drain, dwc, aero.... perlite just was not made for that application.. I used perlite for years as a soil amendment and not until with the past 6 months did I realize it holds massive amounts of water as well as it breaths...
Right now I basically took this guys method of hempy buckets with perlite & 2liter soda bottles and converted it into a flood and drain system with square pots but bottom fed by a typical flood and drain pump, res and table...and had to switch up to hydroton and grow stones because obviously flooding perlite filled containers isn't gonna work... but I gotta say I got some kinks to work out and fine tune but it's working as I'd hoped... the only major change I might make once I see it's holding me back is pot size...I'm running 5"x5"x7"tall squares... if I don't get the yields I like I'll jump to 6x6x8's I believe the next jump but so far all issues are of my lack of knowledge in the hydro feeding department and dealing with new strains where finishing times are different...even with known strains finishing times are different... sooner in most of the cases so far....
but a more there isn't a medium that's more inert, has better water retention, breaths as well as you can get aside from flooding hydroton or grow stones, and can be used like coir in a sense u can use a tiny pot and grow a monster plant in it with no ill effects..... but as I said, flood and drain, dwc, aero.... perlite just was not made for that application.. I used perlite for years as a soil amendment and not until with the past 6 months did I realize it holds massive amounts of water as well as it breaths...
Right now I basically took this guys method of hempy buckets with perlite & 2liter soda bottles and converted it into a flood and drain system with square pots but bottom fed by a typical flood and drain pump, res and table...and had to switch up to hydroton and grow stones because obviously flooding perlite filled containers isn't gonna work... but I gotta say I got some kinks to work out and fine tune but it's working as I'd hoped... the only major change I might make once I see it's holding me back is pot size...I'm running 5"x5"x7"tall squares... if I don't get the yields I like I'll jump to 6x6x8's I believe the next jump but so far all issues are of my lack of knowledge in the hydro feeding department and dealing with new strains where finishing times are different...even with known strains finishing times are different... sooner in most of the cases so far....
70's natureboy
Well-Known Member
Sunleaves sells the best rocks. They aren't dusty, don't float and don't break down.
dbkick
Well-Known Member
I agree with that as long as it isn't the sunleaves "Roks" which don't seem to be available anymore, probably a good thing since they were priced at over 60 dollars a 1.5 cf sack. My hydro shop boy tells me that the sunleaves "rocks" (which I use nothing but) are nothing but old crushed bricks but I don't know. At a little over 20 bux a 65 pound bag and they work so I don't really care what they are. One rinse and done, try that with the hydroton that seems to be making it back to the market.