Ebb n Flo 6" inch rockwool blocks without hydroton?

A local growshop told me it's possible to use 6 inch rockwool blocks w/o any hydroton ... I was explaining how I'm sick of the little buggers ... and a f**king pain when u step on them barefoot!

Does anyone have any experience with growing solely in the blocks? Seems like it could work?

I realize using hydroton has its benefits but I'm over it. I'm trying to simplify an ebb n flow system with out the rocks ... (was using drip with rockwool/hydroton)

thoughts?

yesbut your not going to like the answer

chucktownskunk said:

yesbut your not going to like the answer

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Details?

So what about those tiny rockwool cubes, the ones the size of sugar cubes? What if the 6" sit on the tray & around them I fill a 2inch layer with tiny cubes? Will it grow tons of alge and not even benefit anything? Or will roots take advantage of the extra room?

Help!

the six inch cubes have a circle cut on the top you have to buy the soil plugs that fit them it wont hurt anything by doing this but they say using rocwool cubes like that there will be a ph problem

I hate stepping on them too. Thats why I don't drop any on the floor. Problem solved. But to answer your question, Im no expert. But i know you could for a while. But if you want plants of any size their roots are gonna want some room.

Dragline said:

I hate stepping on them too. Thats why I don't drop any on the floor. Problem solved. But to answer your question, Im no expert. But i know you could for a while. But if you want plants of any size their roots are gonna want some room.

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The 6inch is pretty big though, and it's using the entire cube (roots are coming out of the top under the covers).

What about a different medium? Like the coco blocks? Sitting on top of a slab?

I'd rather pay more for the medium because the time involved with rinsing, cleaning, etc. the rocks is insane, especially if you're dealing 12 buckets!

JohnnyWisdom said:

The 6inch is pretty big though, and it's using the entire cube (roots are coming out of the top under the covers).

What about a different medium? Like the coco blocks? Sitting on top of a slab?

I'd rather pay more for the medium because the time involved with rinsing, cleaning, etc. the rocks is insane, especially if you're dealing 12 buckets!

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Anyone else have ideas or suggestions? I'm debating on using some type of slab under the 6x6x6 rockwool blocks but I'm not sure if I'd even need it?

I hate hydroton for the same reasons. I use the 6 inch hugo blocks, nothing else. Works just fine.

I personally would not use RW in an ebb and flow especially with out another grow medium below it. I use 100% large chunky perlite and it works great. Lots of air to the roots so I can water 6X-to-8X will in flowering. More air and nutes for better uptake in my opinion. But everyone grows there own way. This works for me!

I use rockwool and only rockwool... Been growing for little over a year now and that is my medium of choice. I produce bud that people have said is comparable to Amsterdam quality. Don't knock rockwool cubes. They are the perfect growing medium because they don't hold too much or too little water. Like I said that's all I use and I swear by them. They are the perfect grow medium for flood and drain. Start your cuttings in the small starter cubes, then plug them into the bigger cubes simple as that. Yea, algae is a problem and you will see some salt buildup, but all it's just an eye sore. Does not harm your plants at all not to mention you will be giving your plants a week flush hopefully if your doing things right anyway. If the algae and salt look bothers you, you can buy covers that go around the stem and make your garden look pretty. It's all preference, I'm just saying rockwool rocks! Hope that helped... I feel like I should be a salesmen for rockwool cubes haha. peace!

Oh and on rockwool, you only flood your plants three - four times for fifteen - twenty minutes in a 24 hour period. Seriously, people are scared of it because they've never used it. I would be the same way when looking at something else. I just wouldn't want to do it cause I know how easy and manageable rockwool is. You can even take your cubes and put them into square plastic pots with holes in the bottom for flooding so you have easier mobility to adjust your garden. Good luck whatever you decide.

I have a freind that gets great yeilds off of rw he stacks two 6 rw on top of each other and the plants get huge he uses netting because the branches get so heavy they break got to love that peace

So I'm necro'ing an old thread here in case anyone else has the same question. I run a homemade ebb n'grow system, with 5 gallon buckets. I use the 4 inch rockwool cubes with no additional medium. As long as you shield the bottom of your pot from light, the roots will grow out of the rockwool and get as long as they want. I get 3 foot long roots coming out of the cubes, and my plants are always happy and yield very well.

White Noise said:

So I'm necro'ing an old thread here in case anyone else has the same question. I run a homemade ebb n'grow system, with 5 gallon buckets. I use the 4 inch rockwool cubes with no additional medium. As long as you shield the bottom of your pot from light, the roots will grow out of the rockwool and get as long as they want. I get 3 foot long roots coming out of the cubes, and my plants are always happy and yield very well.

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They make a silica rock thats awesome.Square in shape so it doesnt roll..its called the rock that doesnt roll..lol..Also it will keep the table much cleaner because they dont move like hydroton therefore,they stay out of your channels and allow your table to dry faster,staying bug free better...

anyone used the Sunleaves Rocks? i just started a thread elsewhere about this to get some feedback!

Are you talking about the Gro Dan "HUGO" blocks?? Thats what I'll be using on dual 4'x4' ft tables, no hydroton, no slab.. Ph isn't a problem if presoaked..and of course less PH troubles with a bigger res...that's why I switched to ebb and flow to begin with.

i use 4x4 or 6x6 on top of 3'' rockwool slab i flood once a week &use gh flora nutes &drain to waste schedule these pics were taken at 2 wks& 4 wks i like the blocks & 3'' slabs

On 4x4 tables hugos are probably your best bet. With my system I grow in 5 gallon buckets, and I get away with using delta 8s. I end up using the rockwool just to hold the main stalk, and the roots just wrap around the bottom of the bucket. The main idea here is to allow for root expansion. If you plan on growing your plants taller than 3 feet, you may want to consider using slabs as well. Using just Hugos stacked side by side will limit roots to only growing within the blocks, and you'll find that they will be rootbound after 2ft. One thing you can do, if you plan on spacing them out a bit, is cover the bottom 2-3" of the table from light. Just get a big black plastic sheet, cut some squares in it for your blocks, and throw your plants in the squares. Your roots will grow out sideways and fill the whole table up.

Horibbleherk- Just thought I'd mention, I really like your setup. Really simple, easy, and efficient.

I am in a 3x3 table and i am loving the little rock wool cubes sugar cube size filled the whole tray. It is cheaper than the big cubes by far for 32 4in cubes it runs me like 180$ and for the little cubes it is just 35 to fill the tray. I flood once a day and it rocks. Growing with rock wool for 8 + years no other medium works as good for me.