New RDWC setup

[rjgrowbig]

Hello fellow growers

We started a DWC hydro grow and around week 2 of bloom/flower phase we switched to a RDWC setup. In the DWC setup we had, the grow wasn’t going great anyway (suspected root rot) so we thought we’d gamble with transferring it to the new setup; if it died - at least we tried, and if it flourished- yay!

We discovered that the root rot was likely from inside the clay pebbles - probably a cheap kind we got with the DWC kit we purchased. We boiled those and rinsed the roots before putting them in the new setup. It’s been almost 48 hours since the transfer and we’re seeing slimy stuff -not roots - come through the net pots (see attached photo). What is it??

The branches of the plants have not sprung back up yet; it was a very stressful day for them when we did the transfer. I don’t really expect them to make it, but I hope I’m wrong and will see them turn around in a couple days. How long do we wait before we call it a total loss?

Anyone seen a good success story from a problem similar to ours?

What is the best rockwool to use for RDWC/hydro?

How high should the water level be? Middle of net pot or just at the bottom of the pot?


Thank you so much for your time!

 

[Delps8]

I do DWC using a large res (28 gallons of nutes) in a 2' x 4' tent. Check my grow journals - the earlier ones are more informative, the older ones lesser so.

Net pots should be slightly above the water level according to conventional wisdom. That was also the advice in the DVD's that I got with my grow kit in 2017 and it has worked well for me (one grow in 2017 that crapped out at harvest; 5 grows since 2021 with good results).

Root rot is typically a result of elevated water temps + lack of using "beneficial bacteria" ("bennies) such as Hydrogaurd, or not "running sterile", meaning using a chemical like commercial strength hydrogen peroxide. I use a water chiller set to 68° and I use Hydroguard.

If you've truly got root rot in your net pots, I'd say that there's little hope unless you discard the rock wool and clean the roots thoroughly. I think regular strength H202 will take care of that.

I don't use rock wool. It holds far too much water, which might have lead to this condition. I germinate in water until a root protrudes then into RapidRooters which go in a net pot. That set up has worked very well.

 

[bluter]

@Delps8 has given you some great advice.

i used to start seed in tiny rockwool cubes and transfer to hydroton. i'd never grow the plant out in rockwool. we ran sterile with a chiller and used h202.