trouble with hydro total newb to hydro Q

[doams]

Thinking about switching to hydro from coco.

In the past Ive failed badly when starting seeds in rockwool been using those smallest rockwool cubes and all the seedlings died lost like 10 seeds and got frustrated

So was the problem with using those very small rockwool blocks?
looks like thas the only explanation its impossible to grow using those smallest cubes probably.

So guys how you do it from seed what size cubes are you using which one could I use when starting seeds etc?

 

[Imsostonedagain]

Are you just starting the seeds in the little rockwool then putting those in expanded clay pellets? I used those little rockwool cubes for years. They are not made for growing all the way thru without some more grow media. The key to rockwool is keeping the moisture at the right level.
Some guys cut holes in big rockwool slabs and put the little rooted rockwool cubes in there. Others put the rooted cubes in expanded clay with DWC or ebb & flow. Others put the rooted cubes in soil or cocoa. Need a little more info to know whats going on. What grow medium are you putting the rockwell cubes in once the seeds pop through and send out some roots?
I prefer rapid rooters over rockwool but only because its harder to overwater rapid rooters.

 

[doams]

Are you just starting the seeds in the little rockwool then putting those in expanded clay pellets? I used those little rockwool cubes for years. They are not made for growing all the way thru without some more grow media. The key to rockwool is keeping the moisture at the right level.
Some guys cut holes in big rockwool slabs and put the little rooted rockwool cubes in there. Others put the rooted cubes in expanded clay with DWC or ebb & flow. Others put the rooted cubes in soil or cocoa. Need a little more info to know whats going on. What grow medium are you putting the rockwell cubes in once the seeds pop through and send out some roots?
I prefer rapid rooters over rockwool but only because its harder to overwater rapid rooters.

it was in my early days..
ive put seed in that smallest cube think it was this one:

but the problem was that it dried too fast was watering like once a day and it was bone dry at that time due to high temps.
ofc there was overwatering problem too..

all seedlings died it was kinda ok untill a week or so but after a week seedlings showed signs of overwatering then tips were shoving necrosis etc.

so the idea came that its impossible!!! to grow seedlings in those small cubes coz they dry too fast coz they are too small bigger would stay wet longer?

what I need is some guide how to start seedlings and keep em alive past first week in grodan If I manage to keep em alive longer than week I could continue to veg phase etc.

looks like biggest problem is cubes dry too fast so should I try bigger cubes?

tbh I love coco but there is always need to get rid of that coco after plants are harvested and thats inconvenience for me very much so hydro is better no waste and easy to get it rid off hope you know what I mean.

dont want to loose seedlings any more..

I get like 100perc success starting seeds in jiffy but ZERO perc succes in grodan cubes seeds germ fine seedling grow fine for a week but then they die due to overwatering and necrosis.

edit:
maybe im like overreacting or something coz those early days were like first time putting seeds into something so total extreme noob back then but those bad experiences with grodan leaves me like.. well whatever

maybe it will be fine this time back then there was no dome used and strong leds small space no ventilation at all etc

will just try putting seeds into bigger grodan cubes and use dome maybe it will be ok..
just dont want to loose expensive seed or any seeds at all

so if someone know good guide or have exp. in grodan cubes/hydro ?
and yes ill read some more meanwhile
promise

 

[doams]

this looks good info:
https://www.420magazine.com/forums/...deep-water-culture-tutorial-sh-kit-diy-7.html

 

[Phaeton]

When cloning I always used the rockwool croutons, 1 cm cubes. Started in an 8 oz cup then transferred to 2, 4, or 7 gallon containers full of rockwool.
For years this was standard and it worked very well.

Now that quality seeds are reliably available I no longer clone.

Starting seeds in rockwool with 8 oz cups had a high failure rate so I switched to 4 oz jiffy cups filled with seedling mix.
When the seedling are ready the jiffy pot is peeled off and the tiny little rootball is placed in 2, 4, or 7 gallon containers full of rockwool where the success rate approaches 100%.
A single plant last year remained rootbound and after four months of veg the plant was destroyed while still less than a foot high.

The containers used are large enough the rockwool filters the nutrient solution and none of the minimal amount of dirt gets through to the drain.
Clay pellets would not have this filter effect and dirt could get through to the pumps.

 

[doams]

When cloning I always used the rockwool croutons, 1 cm cubes. Started in an 8 oz cup then transferred to 2, 4, or 7 gallon containers full of rockwool.
For years this was standard and it worked very well.

Now that quality seeds are reliably available I no longer clone.

Starting seeds in rockwool with 8 oz cups had a high failure rate so I switched to 4 oz jiffy cups filled with seedling mix.
When the seedling are ready the jiffy pot is peeled off and the tiny little rootball is placed in 2, 4, or 7 gallon containers full of rockwool where the success rate approaches 100%.
A single plant last year remained rootbound and after four months of veg the plant was destroyed while still less than a foot high.

The containers used are large enough the rockwool filters the nutrient solution and none of the minimal amount of dirt gets through to the drain.
Clay pellets would not have this filter effect and dirt could get through to the pumps.

just two questions how to peele off that jiffy safely and in which week its safe to do it?
got this picture in head:
maybe remove that outer white netting and put the remained inside of jiffy into water to clean the rootmass?

thx for your super informative post.

 

[big teej]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php

This guide is for cloning in rockwool. Read that guys post, he is an expert in rockwool cloning. Starting from seed is almost the same. Follow the principals listed in that link and you're golden. Once those babies have 1-2inch roots poking out pop them in your dwc bubbler.

Rise the water in your dwc 2-3 inch under your rockwool roots. Never let the water soak into your rockwool cube. Another tip is get a 10 dollar general hydro farm drip kit installed. That will help keep your roots moist enough if u have trouble getting ur water levels right.

 

[big teej]

Oh and use a humidity dome and tray to start the cubes in, keep vents closed until you see leafs then slowly open em. Spraying the inside walls of ur humidity dome will keep moisture in those blocks.

Keep an eye on them every day and if they get too dry by the time you put them in ur hydro system, spray them cubes with same ph and lighttt nutrients water. Just get em wet not soaked.