Ebb n grow and coca

[LEFTHAND]

Good day everyone.
Long time no post.

Just to refresh yer memories.
I grow hydro. Ebb n flow. Using the 2 gal ebb n gro system.
I am sick of bring hydroton in and out. And sick of cleaning it.

My question to y'all is is there anyone here that uses it in there ebb n flow or knows anyone that uses coco in there system. And if so. What time do you/they run. I'm worried about becoming water logged n getting root rot.
I was thinking of using either hydroton in the bottom to filter what wants to come out on drains. Or 5 gal paint strainers. They will preven 80-90% of any crap wanting to escape. Lol.
I use to grow in a homemade system totes.lava rock or hydroton. Water 1 hr on 2 off 24/7.
With the new system I water 15 on every 3-4 hrs. Generally start off every 2 hrs then up to 3 then ending on 4 lol.

LH

 

[stevetberry]

Hushpuppy is Hydro and he uses coco in totes. There is a thread on here recently, not sure which category and he is discussing keeping the coco in place.

I use Hydroton because that is all that I have ever used. I use mine 3 times, cleaning with Hydrogen Peroxide between runs and then discard. I have found that the easiest way to clean it is to pour it in a tote, fill with water and then add peroxide and let set for 30 minutes. Then I pour it on a screen and me and my wife take turns picking our end up and letting it roll down the screen and it pulls almost all the roots out of the Hydroton. Then I rinse it real good put it back in the tote and put a fan on it until it dries.

If Hushpuppy does not chime in maybe you can PM him.

 

[LEFTHAND]

Ill pm him.
After browsing the site I'm pretty caught up in current events.
Thanx though.

I use to reuse hydroton as well. Pain in my arse.
But I use to let it sit out n dry. Toss it up on a screen n shake er good till the roots n what not gone then boiled it or oven

Thanx for the reply.
LH

 

[akhockey]

I think the only thing I hate more than trimming is cleaning Hton. I grow in tubs though and just try to pull out most of the rootballs intact and toss in a tote and shake a couple of times and end up tossing alot of rocks. I rinse my tubs and pick a few roots out then drain and hit with peroxide and rinse again. The replace a little Hton that was lost. Its worth the few bucks to not have to work picking so many roots and cheaper than switching to rockwool blocks. I would think coco would be a PITA.

 

[LEFTHAND]

Yeah hydroton is a pain.
I've heard so many good things about coco.
My biggest concern is watering and how far between.

Along with I stopped doing tote style n went ebb n gro. So now I don't veg in the system n flower I veg in the inserts then put em into the system when ready.
So hydroton is a pita in that aspect as well.
I'm soon to have a new tent n if I can't get this figured by then it looks like I will be going back to my older roots n begging n flowering same room.
LH

 

[N.E.wguy]

I am loving the coco cubes and as far as mess I see not much coco in bottom of my bags when i took the net pot out. my system water is crystal clear only after 1 flush top water/flood, but i did a real good wash of the large perlite and there is no clouding from that either. will check ppm in a few my tap is 187 base so

 

[Hushpuppy]

Since I haven't done the ebb n flow with coco, being a top feeder, I can't say for sure but I suspect that Multi is correct about the possibilities of root rot because of the amount of coco holding water as it does. My pots hang suspended so that they don't soak in water, but I have my system very aerated and I run my watering for short periods 6-8x per 24hr period. This keeps my coco wet almost constantly but the level of aeration seems to work to prevent any root rot. This may prove to be a challenge for the ebb n flow setup. The coco croutons may very well be the answer to this issue rather than coco coir because it will drain batter than the coir. I use about 20% pearlite in my mix to help with drainage and aeration but in the ebb n flow I would go to a much higher mixture of say 40% pearlite, but again the croutons may still be the better choice. I suspect you may have to do some experimenting to find the best medium.

 

[N.E.wguy]

I know it looked different then hydroton I seen it at the store the guy said unlike hton it has rock shape but is maybe same type material causing the root to naturally grow around the median like in the ground. This sounds to me as if there may be less cleaning and waste of this type product. I will call and get name of stuff later.

so I could see how glass could be used

 

[Hushpuppy]

I think there are 2 modes of thought on medium here with hydro. In one mode we are looking for convenience and ease of management, but in the other mode, we look for a medium that best serves the plants. I am of the mindset that I want my plants to have access to moisture and nutrients on a continual basis. With the less pourous and better draining medias this constant access is lost when the watering system turns off. This is why I use coco coir, because of its ability to drain yet hold moisture and nutrients allows the plants constant access when the water isn't running.

I know with hydro root rot is a constant worry, so having every opportunity for the roots to get oxygen is critical. I feel like that is solved with significant continual aeration of the water/solution in the resevoir. I saw this in action with my Bro's grow where he had his flowering plants under constant watering for 9weeks. The pumps never shut off and every plant was swimming in water. He never lost a single plant to this method. He kept his resevoirs highly aerated and changed his water about every 10 days and all of his plants did great. I personally don't run mine constantly as I think it is unnecessary and a waste of electricity.

I'm not making any suggestions here, just giving some info and thoughts. I would think though that the hard material like glass pebbles would be good for drainage if used in conjunction with coco (pebble layer on bottom 2" and coco on top)

 

[LEFTHAND]

In my non plant test just pails of mixed
50/50 coco perlite once it drains n the pail drain the excess it doesn't seem to be as was when first flooded.
My guess is I'm going to have to play with times. N if plants are small n root system is small flooding times will be further between.
I was very worried when I decided to try coco that it wouldscrew me. But it's looking better n better each day.

Another note this is on the same page as them folks who use ebb for a once a day feeding in there soil containers.
As this is how I started. 20-30 min feeding once a day every day.
LH.

 

[N.E.wguy]

ostpicsworthless:


loooool


what is going on in the shed let us in

 

[LEFTHAND]

Not too much is going on in the shed.
Preparing for the new fill.
Pics are yet to come. Once I get a computer again.
LH.

 

[N.E.wguy]

i hate no pc. yes that was a interesting artical shoudl post it here. been just manually flooding mine with finger testing basically. things are thriving one is as large as my hand srpead already 2" tall+

 

[Rosebud]

Green mojo Lefthand. I should hang out on your thread and learn a thing or two about the foreign language being spoken here! Again, greenest of mojo.

 

[N.E.wguy]

yes Rose much wisdom here I must say