Struggling with phase between rockwool and DWC

Wait till the seedling has more roots poking out of the cube. You don't need to rush it right into the dwc. 
They should show vigor while still just in the cube. Get that happening and you'll be much more successful. 

 

Yes, hand water the Hydroton, barely dampen the cube. 
Or, raise the water level so that the roots are getting some. 
In the future, don't be in such a rush to get em into the pots. 

 

I used to have the exact same issues with transferring starters (rooted clones and newly sprouted seed plants) in rockwool cubes to an E&F table. If the cubes were to high in the pots they dried out too much and if they were too low they stayed to wet and hindered root growth. It was like a tightrope balancing act.
 
Things really started clicking for me when I stopped inviting rockwool to the party and started rooting seeds and clones 50/50 perlite/vermiculite, and then transferring straight into clay pellets after they root.

 

Sooooo... Was the root mass enough to hold the perl/verm together when you places them in the net pots or did you put the roots into the hydroton "loose?"


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I start my seeds in paper towels and once they get to about 3" long I put them in to clay balls and have the waterline a  couple of inches above the bottom of the net pot so the root tip in in the water. Growth takes off straight away and there's no worries of the seedling becoming too wet or too dry 

 

When I started growing I was going to put the germinated seed straight in clay pebbles like goldgrower does, but I was worried of it falling through (it won't, I was high and thinking too much...Blue Dream ☺️) so I got those rapid root plugs instead of rockwool because I read its finicky and needs to be ph'd. I germ in that and leave them alone until the taproot pokes out and then it goes in the netpot on top of 2-3" of clay pebbles. Then I set my waterline to 1" above the bottom of the netpot (giving 1-2" between waterline and bottom of plug). I tried to get it to dry out by lowering the light as close as I dared but it refused...those little balls wick up just enough moisture and as soon as the root finds the soup its off to the races


http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1329219-My-2Nd-Real-Grow-Attempt%2C-W--Pics%21-Bubble-Cloner-clone-Machine%2C-Dwc

 

 
Forgive my ignorance. They go from the paper towel into clay balls. What goes in between your seedling and the clay balls? 

 

 
The roots go into the hydrotron loose
 
I let the v/p dry out fairly well so I can get rid of as much of the perlite/vermiculite as I can by tapping the root ball against the side of the tray and flicking the stem. Some still clings to the roots. An aero cloner would probably be better for rooting clones, but I've been doing it this way for so many years I just about do it in my sleep.

 

 
I've done germinated seeds the same way a few times. I don't start seeds very often though, so I just do them the same as the clones.
 
One question, can you use an aero cloner for germinated seeds to build up the root system a little?

 

my seedlings go straight into aerocloner when I get first true leaves. 3 inch net pots. Hydroton on bottom, rockwool with seedling, and backfill with hydroton. Its fairly tight in a 3 inch net pot so I don't have to use much hydroton

 

 
That's the whole idea, that there is nothing in there to dry out or become saturated and suffocate the roots. Clay balls are the best medium for aerating the roots, so why put something in between the roots and them? 

 

 
I don't see why not, I have never tried though

 

Before I even entered the thread, I knew this was most likely a PH issue,
 
Remember, if you're a hydro grower PH monitoring and accuracy are crucial

 

That makes sense I'm just having trouble visualizing how this is done. You have a seed with a 3" long root or so. I assume the seed itself is not snugly sitting anywhere or it would be crushed, so I am imagining a seed settingatop home hydroton rocks with the root below sitting in a layer or two of rocks. Then the plant grows and you add layers of hydroton as needed? Sorry if I'm complicating this I've just never heard of this method in all my research.

 

 
I honestly have no idea what you are saying lol. I set up the DWC as normal. The waterline should be above the bottom of the net pot so some of the clay balls are submerged. Anything up to about half way up is fine. 
 
I germinate the seed in very lightly dampened paper towels inserted in a plastic bag, sealed, and hung up in my veg tent at 25℃. The bright light causes the plantlet to start photosynthising straight away and the moderate heat speeds things along. It's hung up so the tap roots grows straight.
 
after 3 or 4 days the seedlet will be a few inches long. I then take something like a pencil or something similar and push a channel in the clay balls. I insert the root down in to it until the point where the root meets the stem is just below the surface of the clay balls, but not under water.
 
A light tap on the side or slowly submerge some of the net pot in the water will settle the clay balls around the root. If the root is long enough to reach the bottom of the net pot and show through its great because you can keep an eye on it and see that it's growthing 

 

I'm going to take your word on this, i have two plants that are going into dwc buckets and to be honest i've been wanting to avoid rockwool or rotwool as some call it and just use hydroton as my final medium.
 
i hope this works,
cheers

 

 
Rotwool! Amazing. I'm calling it that from now on 
 
They will be fine straight in to clay balls man, just let them stay in lightly dampened paper towels until they are a few inches long first. Don't forget to hand it up so the roots grow straight. Some people leave it flat and the tap root can't grow down and ends up being all curled up.