Robert_Cohn
(stranger
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3/14/01 08:37 AM
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Will rockwool in a pan work for hydro?
[Post#: 105095
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I read in the hydro section of the growing guide that you can use rock wool slabs and cubes placed in a pan of water and nutrients. A "reservoir set-up" I think. I also saw a pic of this type of set-up in "closet cultivator" and it looks nice and clean. Although I have not read about many people here using that type of set-up, I am curious as to whether or not anyone has used this method and if it works well. I am planning to grow a few plants (2-4) and this method seems pretty easy and cheap. I plan on using a kitty litter type pan. Do you just put the slab on the bottom of the pan and fill with 1 or 2 inches of water or is the slab supposed to be raised up off the bottom? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
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sb5
(journeyman)
3/14/01 09:03 PM
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Re: Will rockwool in a pan work for hydro?
[Post#: 105286
/ re: 105095
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if your only going to be growing a few plants why dontcha just hand water 'em in the rockwool?
sb5
"trust but verify"
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HERBivore
(newbie)
3/14/01 11:02 PM
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Re: Will rockwool in a pan work for hydro?
[Post#: 105324
/ re: 105095
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If you do go for rockwool, I have read that the pH needs to be adjusted. I think you need to soak them in a solution for about 24 hours to leach them out a bit and neutralize the pH. Check into it a bit more. I think the rockwool slabs would work the way you describe it, but this is soiless, so you need pH adjusted fert solution and the water needs aeration, via an airstone and air pump. Some people use hydrogen peroxide in the water to increase oxygenation, check local listings for more details.
semper ubi sub ubi
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kloset_king
(enthusiast)
3/14/01 11:19 PM
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Re: Will rockwool in a pan work for hydro?
[Post#: 105327
/ re: 105324
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Sounds like Liz's garden. I believe Ed Rosenthal or Mel Frank have spoken of this technique in which clones are grown in RW slabs placed in kitty litter trays withabout 1-3"s of nutrient. If I remeber correctly, she claims to harvest 10oz from 9 plants every three months or so. I do bleieve she uses a Co2 tank setup and a 400w HPS light.
This was nicknamed Liz's garden because that was the name of the grower he was interviewing.
I also read somewhere that Ed Rosenthal was the original creator of Emily's Garden by Hydrofarm. It supposedly caused a few problems (probably due to patents/credits or something) so the name was changed from Liz to Emily. Not quite sure if he just modified this type of setup and named it after Liz or he used that name to protect the identity of the grower. Anyone else ever heard of this? K_K
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HERBivore
(newbie)
3/14/01 11:36 PM
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Re: Will rockwool in a pan work for hydro?
[Post#: 105330
/ re: 105095
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good points K_K. Check out www.quicktrading.com under look for affordable hydroponics and follow that link. It shows Liz's garden. I am going to use her system of lava pebbles and trays and air stones (right now my 5" plants are in pearlite in solo cups with holes in them) so far so good, but I have a small closet, so I only have 250HPS (which I can't use cuz I don't have a way to vent the heat of the damn thing, so I'm still in the fluoro stage) and a home made co2 generator(sugar water and yeast). We'll see how it works, if I have half the success Liz had, I will be happy.
semper ubi sub ubi
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kloset_king
(enthusiast)
3/14/01 11:56 PM
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Re: Will rockwool in a pan work for hydro?
[Post#: 105333
/ re: 105330
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Ohhhh I remeber what prompted the name change! Being that Ed was the creator of the unit, Hydrofarm didn't want to be classified as a pot growers supply company! Hence the name change from Liz to Emily! Silly huh!
I have grown in kitty litter pans and solo cups in the past but at the time I was a little inexperienced so I aborted that style once they became to top heavy and started falling over. You may wish to make a lid for each pan, just cut out holes for the cups to sit in. This will not only add support for the plant but will help prevent your nutrient solution from evaporating too quickly and/or from producing algae due to the light. Hope this helps, Keep us posted K_K
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