Help for a Dwc Newbie?

Hey all, after doing a few grows outdoors in soil I've decided to give hydro a go. I chose the dwc system cus I havnt got much room or $$ to work with. So being a newbie to this I have some typical newbie questions that I havnt seen many answers to.

So what I was planning on doing was placing a clone in a pot poking it out the bottom so the stem will be in the nutrient solution. What I was wondering was how far should I poke the stem through the pot? And Once roots start to develope how far do I drop the water level? I've heard to keep an inch of 'air roots' is this correct??

Also wen is it best to introduce nutes into the reservoir??

Thanx in advance guys +rep to those who can help, peace

you need to root your clone first. In say a organic starter plug, rock wool is a nightmare when it comes to PH control. Then put into your net/pot with hydroton and put the water line around an inch inch and a half above the bottom of the net pot. and hand water daily with the water from the bucket through the net pot to kind of jump start the roots. Id start for the first few days with 0-50ppm of veg nutes, and say a cannazym or similar roots accelerator, and some super-thrive. Then feed as needed and follow some sort of feeding schedule.

why is rockwool so bad?doesnt everyone use it?mabee need to soak it for 24hrs first.and mabee when handwatering it only water it enough so that its wet and not running into the nute water.

Thanx For the rely guys but my plan was to root my clones in the bubbler, I've tried cloning so many different ways and the only way I've had any success was just placing them in water for a week so I thought if I could just place them straight into my bubbler than they would for sure take root. I don't plan on using rockwool just hydroton to hold the plant in place, I've heard a few people say rockwool is a pain in the ass but than there people who swear by it so I guess it's a personal choice.

I use rockwool for my DWC and have no p.h. problems. Not sure if the brand matters, I use Grodan. I soak the cubes in P.H adjusted R.O. water with NutriStart Plus for root development. I Then place my germinated seeds or clones into the rockwool and put under a dome for humidity. After roots develop, I place them in a net pot with pea gravel for sub and the roots take off. If you have a really good aeration setup then the bubbles themselves will splash on your net pots watering your rockwool or what have you, and you would not need "air root space" if you have that good aeration because it supply's the "air" the plants need. (For example, Floating bed DWC setups have no "air root space") Eventually your roots will grow into your reservoir, which makes the water level question kinda opinionated, more water holds more nutes for longer periods without spikes in parameters, and less water holds less nutes with a higher risk of changes in your nutrients/PH etc.... So its up to the grower to find there comfort spot, what works for their particular set up. I use nutes throughout the WHOLE grow, the thing is administering the nutes, I start in 50-100 ppm range for seedlings, and up it the older they get. I personally use a top drip system in my DWC setup and there are constant nutes flowing through the rockwool 24/7, no p.h. problems.

You'll eventually have a "feel" for your setup and understand how it best functions. Good luck dude.

My experience with DWC is that provided you have a properly rooted clone (cloning machine to DWC bucket is supper easy and allows you to control root length) there is no need to have the water line at the bottom of the netted pot. The most successful method I came up with was rooting the clones for maybe 15-17 days (changing their drink to include some light nutes after 7 days or when roots are all over an inch). The longer roots allow you to place the clone in the netted pot and have the roots contact the nutrient solutions right away, then fill the upper root zone and stem in the clay for support. Even if the roots don't have a tremendous amount of contact, I always found that they will successfully seek the nutrient reservoir. If you're finding otherwise I suggest testing the air diffuser you are using. I found a SIGNIFICANT difference between using a $3 air stone and a $8-10 disk or ceramic diffuser. Also increasing your air pump pressure to ensure every bucket has vigorous agitation will create a make shift airoponic environment between the top of the nutes and the lid of the bucket. The spit and spray from a well aerated DWC bucket really assists in "pulling" the plants roots right to wear you want them, while providing a highly oxygenated environment below AND above the water line. Hope that helps, good luck!!!

Got some great info from all of use so far so thanx, my main question/problem is getting the clone rooted. If I was to hand water at first to establish a good root structure than how many times a day should I water them? And with hand watering can I still use hydroton only?? I'm guessing i would just have to water more frequently than if I was to use rockwool

lukey boii said:

Got some great info from all of use so far so thanx, my main question/problem is getting the clone rooted. If I was to hand water at first to establish a good root structure than how many times a day should I water them? And with hand watering can I still use hydroton only?? I'm guessing i would just have to water more frequently than if I was to use rockwool

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You should water until you see a little drainage, I personally use rockwool, so I pre-soak then lightly squeeze. Like I said tho, you have to have a "feel" for it, not everyone has a green thumb. And yes, if your sub that your using gets too dry, lightly water, if anything they can survive a LITTLE drought, but not a drowning. Good luck dude. Happy Growing.

Get yourself some Rapid Rooter starter plugs from eBay for like $10. No need to pH them.
Keep them moist and they will promote faster and healthier root growth than Rockwool.
You can clone with them, start from seed, and use them in hydro or soil.
Get yourself some meters and you will get a feel for it before you know it.