seedlings arent growing very fast

[Richard Hard]

i have some seedlings in sure to grow inserts 1.5 inch and didnt have a tray and humidity dome to sprout them right so i placed the inserts in hydroton and in pure ph 5.7 water in a DWC. they sprouted about 15 days ago but havent grown any bigger since about 10 days ago. half the plants have one set of leaves and the other half have one set developed and one set starting to develope. i did have slime and algae problem but cleaned the buckets really good bought new airlines and added some kangaroots (somewhat of a bennie tea) and some super thrive. am i just being impatient or do i need to put the seedlings in a tray and dome til the have roots pushing out of the inserts? because my water level is about 1/4th the way up the net pot (plenty of o2 as theres 3 air stone per 5g bucket), and my soil grow seemed faster then this.

 

[Twelve12]

Do you have picture of the setup?

The slime and alae need light to grow. Check the DWC for light leak, is your container clear or thin that light can shine in? How are the lids tightly secure? The basket your seedling sits in are they completely covered?

You can leave the seedling in there or move them out on a tray with dome and let them root out more. It is up to you. I would worry more about slime and algae so check the light leak and see. Use only water to stimulate root growth and don't use super thrive, too much can cause slime. I've used it in the pass and find it is not needed.

What nutrients will you be using? Give the seedling 5ml of it can help grow. Will need to see pics to get a better idea to formulate solution...

 

[Richard Hard]

well my prob is i have white buckets and clear airlines. i was on a budget right now with a tiny bit of fox farm big bloom, kangaroots is not growing any algae or slime it was just when it was pure water. everything fits real snug and im going to line the bucket with a clean black trashbag and find some way o cover the white or the lid. if the bottom of the insert is barely sitting in the aerated water it should develop roots still right? because others say they wont take well to the aerated water until its developed a good root system.

 

[Twelve12]

Covering up the buckets will help. Replace the clear airlines with black ones. Once you get some more funds. I think that is where algae grew and invested the bucket from there with the help of air flow directly towards it. After the upgrade you shouldn't have problem with algae. Slime could be the build up of plant matter and juice, so weekly clean can help reduce that.

Continue to pour some water from the top daily and let the root grow on its own into the reservoir. You can stop the pump for now until the tubes are replaced as well as the air stone, or soak it in bleach or alcohol in the mean time and rinse it clean before using it again. Slime and algae could be growing in micro holes.

Once the seedling took roots into the bucket you can then reinstall the air stone. Hope that helps.

 

[Richard Hard]

thanks man. wouldnt the water get stagment and nasty without the airstone going? ot should i just leave the bucket empty