# Hydroton How Long Does It Hold Mosture



## tom-tom (Nov 18, 2007)

i got a watter farm and i was told last night to watter by hand for the first 10 days im wonderin how long  the hydroton holds moisture i have 2 work tommorow so how long can i go between hand waters ill be at work about 7 hours will they be ok and if not what should i do


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## AlienBait (Nov 18, 2007)

Did you plant your seed directly into the Hydroton or into a rockwool cube first?


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## tom-tom (Nov 18, 2007)

its just been in the hydroton the plant is about a inch 1/2 tall with someroots i was told last night by growdude and someone else to watter by hand for 10 days so how often do i watter by hand andalso how long does the hydroton hold mosture ,,prolly to no what im talkin about u have to no about hydro water farms the water farm only holds hydroton no rockwool


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## AlienBait (Nov 18, 2007)

I was one of the people who told you to hand-water for a week or two.  

As to the rockwool...some people start their seeds in rockwool and then put the rockwool cube into the hydroton after the roots start poking out.  That is why I asked.  

Since you did not start your seeds in rockwool, you should probably water twice per day.  Once in the morning and once in the evening.

If you had started in rockwool, you could get away with watering once per day or even every other day.

Just my opinion.

By the way, I use a system very similar to a WaterFarm.  Mine is home-made out of 2 buckets (one inside the other).


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## tom-tom (Nov 18, 2007)

should i get me rock wool and also do i hand feed it the watter with the lo amount of nutes i was told to mix our with just straight water


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## tom-tom (Nov 18, 2007)

also i water the plant in the hydroton and it looks dry an hour later is that normal and ok since u said to only water twic a day is ok when it looks dry?


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## tom-tom (Nov 18, 2007)

also the plant in the water farm is very green but the tips of the leefs are bent down?


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## AlienBait (Nov 18, 2007)

tom-tom said:
			
		

> should i get me rock wool and also do i hand feed it the watter with the lo amount of nutes i was told to mix our with just straight water


If the plant is already 1.5 inches tall, it is probably too late to put it into rockwool. Just keep doing what you are doing. Also, I would start with the 1/4 strength nutes now. Check your PH. I saw that you had a PH of 9 coming out of your tap water. Get that down to around 5.8 (between the yellow and orange)



			
				tom-tom said:
			
		

> also i water the plant in the hydroton and it looks dry an hour later is that normal and ok since u said to only water twic a day is ok when it looks dry?


How does the plant look? The surface of the pellets may look dry, but they have little holes them them that hold water. The plants roots will seek those out and pull the water when it needs to. Keep an eye on the seedling and watch for signs of drying out.



			
				tom-tom said:
			
		

> also the plant in the water farm is very green but the tips of the leefs are bent down?


Hard to tell if it is a problem or not. Is it just the tips? 

Here is a picture of one of my seedlings. It's tips are bent down as well. So it can be normal or it can be a problem. A picture would help.


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## tom-tom (Nov 18, 2007)

i got a question why not just leave the drip system on with the half strength nutes i got in the bucket all ready and also the water that is in the resavor has a ph of 6.0 i already took care of that with ur advise from yesterday ?will it kill my plant to just leave the drip goin now?


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## tom-tom (Nov 18, 2007)

and my plant looks kind of like yours but the oppsite leaves are curled like that my first set of leefs the ones that are bent down on ur plant are perfect and straight its the second set and they are very green and look very good just a little bent down on the tips


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## tom-tom (Nov 18, 2007)

ill give u a pick if u want but i got to drag the whole watter farm out of its place to get it by my computer cam do u need a pick?


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## AlienBait (Nov 18, 2007)

tom-tom said:
			
		

> i got a question why not just leave the drip system on with the half strength nutes i got in the bucket all ready and also the water that is in the resavor has a ph of 6.0 i already took care of that with ur advise from yesterday ?will it kill my plant to just leave the drip goin now?


I've seen those WaterFarms will put out too much water and drown young plants.  If you don't want to hand-water, at least put the air pump on a timer and run it for 15 minutes every couple of hours.  Watch your plant and adjust the time so it doesn't over or under water the plant.

By the way, you should be at 1/4 strenght nutes for now, not 1/2 strength.



			
				tom-tom said:
			
		

> and my plant looks kind of like yours but the oppsite leaves are curled like that my first set of leefs the ones that are bent down on ur plant are perfect and straight its the second set and they are very green and look very good just a little bent down on the tips


I wouldn't worry about it then (at least not yet  ).



			
				tom-tom said:
			
		

> ill give u a pick if u want but i got to drag the whole watter farm out of its place to get it by my computer cam do u need a pick?


No, I don't think you need to do that yet.


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## tom-tom (Nov 18, 2007)

yea i mis typed im on 1/2teaspoon of each per 2 gallons and i got to gallons in the resivor


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## tom-tom (Nov 24, 2007)

ok i got some rockawool and i trans planted some seedlings from soil into the rockawool and then sorunded it with the hydroton they seem to be doing good now i have not used any nutes yet do u think i should our can i wait for about a week so it gets a little biger ?ok on pick 4 that small one is the one i had just in the hydroton before i got the rockawool yesterday it had some new roots on it so it was takin it was just very slow so hopefully this will speed it up a little cause bolth these plants were sprouted at the same time  but tell me what u think about nutes grow dude


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## Stoney Bud (Nov 24, 2007)

You need to have that rockwool buried completly under the hydroton. No light should hit the rockwool at all.


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## Growdude (Nov 24, 2007)

Stoney Bud said:
			
		

> You need to have that rockwool buried completly under the hydroton. No light should hit the rockwool at all.


 
Yep, or you will get algae growth on the rockwool.

I would give them the 1/4 str. nutes and run the dripper about 15 min per hour. Once you think the roots are out of the rockwool you can run the dripper one hour on one hour off, ive been told you cant over water in a drip system so dont worry about that.

Keep lots of light on them now and they should take off shortly.

They look like there on a good start.


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## tom-tom (Nov 24, 2007)

ok thank u grow dude and stoney i appericate u guys help very much


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## Vegs (Nov 24, 2007)

> ok i got some rockawool and i trans planted some seedlings from soil into the rockawool and then sorunded it with the hydroton they seem to be doing good now


 
There ya' go! I germinate my seeds right in the rockwool plug, which is surrounded by L.E.C.A. I don't use paper towels, glass of water, etc. The plug kind of acts like a sponge holding some moisture in till next water cycle. But then again, I'm still on my first indoor grow anyhow =)


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## wack'd1 (Nov 24, 2007)

TT...what everone is telling you is good info.Cover the rockrool as said,use 1/4 nutes for a bit, and be patient and leave these babies be. 
Take it easy now and watch the little darlings GROW.Don't get stressed about the small stuff and ENJOY THE GROW!!
 Remember the BASICS


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