DWC average time for roots to drop

fruits of labor

fruits of labor

Active Member
So i germed an auto paper towel method and it popped. I had a bag of hydroton on the way so i planted in soil until it came. Three days later my package arrived..i dug up the seedling which was about 1.5 inches long. The codyledons had broke the surface of the soil and turned up. Pretty much codyledons with TINY true leaves coming and a tap root.. I decided to go straight hydroton and no other medium. So i rinsed the dirt off of the seedling, layered about and inch of hydroton ( maybe 2 rocks high) in my 6 inch net pot and placed it on top. I surrounded her until she was standing and supported in a 5gal... It has been 5 days and no roots yet. I figured id at least see them creeping to the edge of the net pot but nothing. I have a big boy air stone with a big boy pump...so plenty of airation...had water lvl touching the botton of pot (which easily bubbled an inch higher as the water looked like it was boiling)..room temp stays around 70 degrees f...have a lightweight t5 48w light on it. Ppm about 180 using GH 3 part... Ph is kept around 5.5 to 6..although its been rising daily and i have to drop it everyday. I believe it has started to stabilize. The plant has no new growth on leaves but has stretched in height. I have since added maybe 2 more inches in hydroton to support it. I got frustrated today and started pulling out the hydroton to check on root growth. When i got to the bottom i did notice there was a small handful of roots growing out sides of the stem so i placed hydroton back. I know it hasnt been that long but i believe roots shoot be at least hitting the net pot by now...shit the main taproot i would imagine should of dropped in air by now...does dwc usually take this long for roots to start?...i have some seedlings in dirt germed same time that are doing better..i know ima get barked at regarding its only been 5 days but i've read plenty of dwc stories where plant just sits kind of and dont actually ever really root...and this is supposed to be an auto from the singleseedcentre...thanks in advance for the input
 
neckpod

neckpod

Well-Known Member
Its only small so it will take a little longer for roots to show outside the net pot, they usually take anything up to a couple weeks depending on size.
as above said be patient!
If its growing then its happy and wont be long before the roots show!
 
fruits of labor

fruits of labor

Active Member
Hmm i thought water woulld be cooler than the surrounding air...my tds/temp reader showing res water round 75f with room temp @ 70f. Has me lil concerned just due to the fact im only using a t5 and some cfls in a cooler basement
 
Bareback

Bareback

Well-Known Member
Tell us more about your setup . Is your pump in the res under the plant . ( Pump is a heat source )
 
fruits of labor

fruits of labor

Active Member
No the pump is near the 5 gal but on the floor outside...maybe the tds/temp reader is off...it was a cheap one....have an aquarium thermometer with probe on the way...average room temp is 70 degrees...nothing in res but air stones....and this is for all thos wondering about the water lvl of dwc for a seedling with almost no roots (hydroton being only medium)....keep it above bottom of net pot..NOT BELOW....I had it touching the pot and i pulled some hydroton out and saw healthy roots starting so i covered them back and left alone....next day i decided to lower w inches and let bubbles pop and "do their magic". Well the bubbles magic was on a harry potter level and not merlins..they were not enough...checked on roots today and they were smaller than before...looks like some had started drying a lil..dying off...i believe that may have been the cause all along...there were some small roots still developing and some weak and shrivled a lil but still alive....needless to say i raised the water to about an inch above the pot....i think i may see some action now as they are bathing in bubbles....guess ill know in a few more days....ugggh just had to be an auto too :( the girl scout cookies in soil doing great...once and if this auto starts some action ill start posting pics ( lights off anyhow)...doing a mix of mh..hps...and leds for lighting...see how this works out lol
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
Water has peculiar properties. It is a super good heatsink and will retain that heat longer than virtually any other element.
 
neckpod

neckpod

Well-Known Member
fruits of labor said:
Or maybe i just shoulda been top feeding...yeah that prolly wlda did it....dowhhh
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Top/drip feeding isn't needed but you can raise the water level until roots show, i found that air injection produced better bubbles for keeping the net pot wet but blocked much quicker than the air stones.

your water temps should be the same or very close to ambient without a chiller, maybe pop a frozen bottle in there every now and then to reduce water temps.
i tried this method with a 6 site system and it did work but the amount of bottles i was freezing was just too many so bought a chiller.
i keep my nutes between 17c and 18c. above 21 and oxygen levels drop too low.
 
Cubes15128

Cubes15128

Well-Known Member
fruits of labor said:
No the pump is near the 5 gal but on the floor outside...maybe the tds/temp reader is off...it was a cheap one....have an aquarium thermometer with probe on the way...average room temp is 70 degrees...nothing in res but air stones....and this is for all thos wondering about the water lvl of dwc for a seedling with almost no roots (hydroton being only medium)....keep it above bottom of net pot..NOT BELOW....I had it touching the pot and i pulled some hydroton out and saw healthy roots starting so i covered them back and left alone....next day i decided to lower w inches and let bubbles pop and "do their magic". Well the bubbles magic was on a harry potter level and not merlins..they were not enough...checked on roots today and they were smaller than before...looks like some had started drying a lil..dying off...i believe that may have been the cause all along...there were some small roots still developing and some weak and shrivled a lil but still alive....needless to say i raised the water to about an inch above the pot....i think i may see some action now as they are bathing in bubbles....guess ill know in a few more days....ugggh just had to be an auto too :( the girl scout cookies in soil doing great...once and if this auto starts some action ill start posting pics ( lights off anyhow)...doing a mix of mh..hps...and leds for lighting...see how this works out lol
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Just reading along man, I'm on my first dwc right now xD but I did notice you said your air pump is on the floor? Get the pump above your water level, on a table or stand, and save yourself a headache later lol I read a bunch of ppl were having problems with their pumps going out way early cuz they had em below their water level and it got water in it slowly.one of my pumps even says to do that in the instructions.I've got 2 pumps on my bucket one is suspended in the air to help with heat and noise and my other is just on a stand lol happy growin man and good luck, cheers
 
Cubes15128

Cubes15128

Well-Known Member
IMG_0932.JPG IMG_0946.JPG IMG_0947.JPG
Bareback said:
I wouldn't feed a plant that small very much. Be very careful with seedlings .

Root development is more important at this stage , I like a little super thrive .
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Don't wait too long tho, I accidentally starved mine cuz I wasn't used to how fast dwc goes lol here's mine recovering now. Anybody ever used b-52 in their dwc? I used it and it's coloring my roots. Rez or roots doesn't smell bad and it's not slimy, just smells like the b-52. IMG_0927.JPG I read a couple other threads on onother site where they had the same thing happen. What are your thoughts?
 
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Bareback

Bareback

Well-Known Member
Cubes15128 said:
View attachment 3996911 View attachment 3996904 View attachment 3996905
Don't wait too long tho, I accidentally starved mine cuz I wasn't used to how fast dwc goes lol here's mine recovering now. Anybody ever used b-52 in their dwc? I used it and it's coloring my roots. Rez or roots doesn't smell bad and it's not slimy, just smells like the b-52. View attachment 3996906 I read a couple other threads on onother site where they had the same thing happen. What are your thoughts?
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I think the B-52 and super thrive are similar ( as far as b vitamin goes ) but the st is clear .
How long have your leaves been tacoing like that ? Could be under oxygenated or something simple but probably something off in the root zone.

I usually run dirt and I don't claim any expertise on hydro. But I have run dwc with a lot of success , the problem I have is I don't have a chiller , so I run six buckets two or three times a winter from clone . But I really like the easiness of soil , hydro is a lot quicker. Plus I like to do organic grows , and I ain't got the skill or time or whatever to go down that road yet.

I have some kelp me kelp you by Fox farms that turns my water black and I just can't stand to see that shit in my res , I like the water clear ( well pretty close ) .
 
Jypsy Dog

Jypsy Dog

Well-Known Member
Cubes15128 said:
Just reading along man, I'm on my first dwc right now xD but I did notice you said your air pump is on the floor? Get the pump above your water level, on a table or stand, and save yourself a headache later lol I read a bunch of ppl were having problems with their pumps going out way early cuz they had em below their water level and it got water in it slowly.one of my pumps even says to do that in the instructions.I've got 2 pumps on my bucket one is suspended in the air to help with heat and noise and my other is just on a stand lol happy growin man and good luck, cheers
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Hey... Some good info for your first DWC. Good Luck. http://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/hydroponic-growing-schedule/
 
Cubes15128

Cubes15128

Well-Known Member
About a week now or longer than that :/ I just had one airstone in it and just put another pump with 2 more air stones in it. Some other members think I was starving it. My ppms were 53 till a few days ago lol
 
Bareback

Bareback

Well-Known Member
Cubes15128 said:
About a week now or longer than that :/ I just had one airstone in it and just put another pump with 2 more air stones in it. Some other members think I was starving it. My ppms were 53 till a few days ago lol
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Hahaha 53 ppm is pretty low . My tap water is higher than that . Now I have RO at about 12 ppm .
 
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