ROCKWOOL,need some advice

panta

panta

Well-Known Member
i plan on making my first ebb and flow setup and now im thinking what should i use clay pellets or rockwool,can somebody tell me the advantages or disadvantages of one or the other,and also i found this rockwool at a store that sells costruction material they use it to insulate buildings it looks the same as the stuff that i buy at the hydro store but the difference in price when i buy it in plates as they sell it is enormous

heres the link if somebody can give me any advice on this

http://www.knauf-insulation.co.uk/?kp=rockwool+insulation+uk
 
panta

panta

Well-Known Member
is it better to have the rockwool harder or softer,thats the diference in density
 
I

Illegal Smile

Guest
I think the best of rockwool is poor and Rapid Rooters are far better. Since you can get them for under 25 cents each, I figure a plant is worth it. I would hesitate to use any rockwool not made for hydro because you don't know what other chemicals might have been added to it.
 
tea tree

tea tree

Well-Known Member
I ran an ebb and flow in rockwool. I had so many problems. I used 4x4 rw blocks in 6 in pots tuffed full of rockwool blocks.

the problems I had were ph swings and that after I presoaked them, which you have to do and is annoying as hell I eve let them fully dry which takes weeks so I could never get a good flood schedule down. I would flood every toher day for a while then once a day and I had good plants and everything but not much fun on an ebb table when I flood so irreguar. Not very automated. Not a common compalitn.

If I were you I would use pots on the table full fo either hydroton, a fast drying + media or whatever albfuct uses and I think that is fytocell.

The more you can feed is cool as that is more air to the roots.
 
dopedragon

dopedragon

Active Member
tea tree said:
I ran an ebb and flow in rockwool. I had so many problems. I used 4x4 rw blocks in 6 in pots tuffed full of rockwool blocks.

the problems I had were ph swings and that after I presoaked them, which you have to do and is annoying as hell I eve let them fully dry which takes weeks so I could never get a good flood schedule down. I would flood every toher day for a while then once a day and I had good plants and everything but not much fun on an ebb table when I flood so irreguar. Not very automated. Not a common compalitn.

If I were you I would use pots on the table full fo either hydroton, a fast drying + media or whatever albfuct uses and I think that is fytocell.

The more you can feed is cool as that is more air to the roots.
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There was something else wrong here. I have a similar setup and have not once had any of the issues you mention. My system is fully automated up to topping off and PH control. I never let the cubes dry completely as that's not what your supposed to do with cubes. My flood system is perfect they take in equal amounts of water and nutes and I rarely even need to touch my PH. I top off every 3 to 4 days with fresh water or a solution. So as much as you had problems, perhaps it was in the design or supplies you were using.
 
panta

panta

Well-Known Member
Illegal Smile said:
I think the best of rockwool is poor and Rapid Rooters are far better. Since you can get them for under 25 cents each, I figure a plant is worth it. I would hesitate to use any rockwool not made for hydro because you don't know what other chemicals might have been added to it.
Click to expand...
in my country theres very limited supplies of almost everything and the rockwool cubes are too expensive so i wanted to improvise,the man at the company that sells these said that its most probably not gonna harm my plants being that the material is mostly from rocks and under 3 percent some kind of varnish chemical but when i tested this rockwool compared to the hydro tipe the difference in water retention is more than double does that mean that if its not harmful to the plants il need to water it more often

tea tree said:
I ran an ebb and flow in rockwool. I had so many problems. I used 4x4 rw blocks in 6 in pots tuffed full of rockwool blocks.

the problems I had were ph swings and that after I presoaked them, which you have to do and is annoying as hell I eve let them fully dry which takes weeks so I could never get a good flood schedule down. I would flood every toher day for a while then once a day and I had good plants and everything but not much fun on an ebb table when I flood so irreguar. Not very automated. Not a common compalitn.

If I were you I would use pots on the table full fo either hydroton, a fast drying + media or whatever albfuct uses and I think that is fytocell.

The more you can feed is cool as that is more air to the roots.
Click to expand...
how do i set a watering patern is there a usual watering system for rockwool like 2 or 3 times a day for how many minutes por do i have to test it out myself
 
N

NoDrama

Well-Known Member
I would use the clay pellets ..Hydroton... that way you can flood more often, the more often you can feed the bigger and faster they will grow(To a point). With Rockwool you run the danger of getting algae growth and root rot due to the water retention. The clay pebbles are reuseable too, saves you money in the long run, they are also very cheap, less than RW . But they do float, so you will wnat to place some nylons/stocking material over the top of them so the hydroton doesn't float away when it floods.
 
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