Another Beginner Thread!
 

Hello. I have this kit that I purchased from the local hydro outfit - it is the Emily's Garden. I plan to have an indoor herb garden to start with and then go from there later down the road. Possibly experiment with different systems and light setups etc...

I understand the general concept of hydro growing but get caught up in the little details. I am having a difficult time finding this information so I bring it to the professionals on this site.

So I have rinsed and pre-soaked my clay rocks in a nutrient solution (maybe not necessary but thought it couldn't hurt). Checked my PH and I am at roughly 6 - 6.5... closer to 6 with my cheap test kit.

I have sprouted some seedlings in the rockwool over a period of about a week. I am ready to transfer these into the hydro garden.

To make this simple - how much water do I use? As you can see by my pics below, I think I may have too much water. I am trying to determine where to place the rockwool cube. Do I fill the reservoir with water - fill the baskets half way with rocks and place the rockwool on top of the rocks just at or above the water line? Or is the rockwool cube submerged or what?

Thanks in advance!

http://www.ridgleymedia.com/Hydrofarm/Hydro1.jpg
http://www.ridgleymedia.com/Hydrofarm/Hydro2.jpg
http://www.ridgleymedia.com/Hydrofarm/Hydro3.jpg

If I remember correctly Emily's Garden is basically a DWC system. I had the same questions when I first started with a DWC system, do you want the starter cube touching the water or not?
I found that for a young seedling with small roots its best to be sure the cube is about 1cm above the water line. Especially if the water is getting fizzy from aeration. It's healthy to get the roots to work to get at the nutrients. Sometime you have to water the cubes til they get going. If the cube is submerged in the water the new roots won't get any O2.