ebb&flow to much water/help

[Chumlie]

I have 4x4x4 grodan blocks that i water three times a day for 15 mins. I thinks they are getting to much water. I went to hydroponics101.com for advice on this could find anything really, but they did recomend for a more establish root system that I should stop water and let cube dry out a little bit. Of course they are watering by hand and not with a system. Don't know if that matters.

All opions welcome

 

[seanec327]

i dont grow with rockwool..... but i heard with cubes to flood like 3x5mins a day maybe less.... there tons of threads with all different kinds of times. the plant is the only one who can tell the right schedule.IMO

 

[Someguy15]

Flooding RW cubes BLOWS. they soak up too much water...drip is the only way to do RW IMO... if your flooding for 15 mins, you probably only need 1 flood a day or less depending on plant size.

 

[jellwood007]

I have an ebb and flow with rockwool and cley pellets. I water 3x 20 min a day and my plants love it. show some pics of the problem.

 

[Chumlie]

No camera, only can water in 15 min incriments. They look sad. No they are trying to establish roots but cant cause to wet so cut back to two times a day. They are almost a week old. Im using 1/4 strength nute at .7 or .8 EC.

 

[dadio161]

flood just once a day until you get more roots.

 

[Chumlie]

thanks, in the middle of the day or the morning?

 

[genisis]

I use Rockwool and Hydroton in my Ebb + flow and have for a long time. I stack the cubes (2x2-4x4-6x6 cutting out the center circle to create a square). I do this because a friend got stem rot and lost a whole grow. I have found that stacking gives the plants a stronger base while allowing the 4x4 block to stay dryer. I flood for 30 min at the beginning of the light cycle and three more times during the cycle for 15 min.each time.
The whole purpose of rockwool and hydroton is to retain nutes and keep the roots moist during times when you are not flooding.

 

[dadio161]

thanks, in the middle of the day or the morning?

I would do it in the morning shortly after the lights come on. Then they will have the whole light cycle to drain. I am currently finishing up my first grow and I used the 6x6 blocks from start to finish in a flood tray without any hydroton. Just the blocks. I flood three times a day for 15 minutes. I pulled 7 1/2 ounces from three plants and have two more plants to harvest on Monday.

 

[Chumlie]

a change of subject, my res smells like a pond or a river. never had this problem. the whole room smells, but the cubes do not

 

[Chumlie]

how tall were they?

 

[JeffersonBud]

a change of subject, my res smells like a pond or a river. never had this problem. the whole room smells, but the cubes do not

You have a bacteria problem.

 

[Chumlie]

you think it could been from my meters? those are the only things didn't clean. should i through the plants and cubes away

 

[JeffersonBud]

you think it could been from my meters? those are the only things didn't clean. should i through the plants and cubes away

Could have very well been. I am not sure about the cubes, but I have the same problem with my res smelling like pond water. I have tried everything under the sun to help. Physan20 flush, h2o2, DM Zone, all helped but the res would start to smell again after 3 or 4 days. I was turned on to using bleach with my chemical ferts by a few members on this forum. Bleach is used by commercial greenhouses in far more of a dose then what I give them. I put 2.5 ml of bleach into my 50 gal (.5 ppm) every day when the lights are off. I usually do it a few hours after my light cycle ends so the bleach can do its work and dissipate a bit before the next cycle. Its at such a low dose that it doesn't even matter if it dissipates or not.
The first time I added the bleach it was a few days since my reservoir change and it was starting to smell. I dosed them at 2ppm to knock out the problem, and by the time the lights came on, the bleach made my reservoir smell clean and no trace of pond water smell has occurred since. I used that same reservoir throughout the weak with no hinderance. I am using just hydroton and not any cubes so I have no idea about your specific situation. All I know is its a million times better then h2o2, cheaper, and less of a hassle.

 

[horribleherk]

you can do it any way you want im on 3rd r/w grow 4x4 on r/w slab i flood 1 time a week 1 pic is last grow &the other is my current grow rockwool holds moisture a long time i have never flooded more than 2 times in 1 week thats my preference im using 100% rockwool & love it