New Grower Root Riot Cubes question......

[horton711]

I've started my seeds using the Ronin method and planned on placing the cubes directly into clay pellets. I got to wondering / worrying if the cubes might cause any stem / root rot once placed in the clay pellets due to their ability to hold water so well. The pellets are in mesh pots in 5 gal buckets with air stones in the water / nute sol'n bubbling away. Am I OK placing the root riot cubes right into the pellets or is there something else I should do?
Also, when putting the seedlings in the pellets can I place them low so as to leave ~1" of the stem showing for support? I seem remember doing this years ago with rockwool but want to make sure I'm barking up the right tree. Thanks for your help......

 

[A-Train]

I have seen a good bit of folks go straight with germ in root riot and straight into hydroton. I have seen a thread or 2 about the possibility of stem rot but seen it done enough times that I wouldn't hesitate to if I were using that method

 

[horton711]

Thanks, @A-Train..... I'll not fret about rot problems. I was amazed to see how many beautiful pristine white roots are coming out the bottom of the cubes. The seeds were put in the cubes late last Wed. and I wasn't expecting such fast growth.
Will it be OK to put the cubes in the pellets so I only have roughly an inch of the stem showing about the pellets?
I truly appreciate your quick answer......

 

[A-Train]

No problem brother I'm not a hydro man but I would place it as level as possible with maybe 1 layer of pebbles only covering the cube. If she needs a little help standing up later we can improvise just don't let her stretch you'll be ok I believe

 

[briman]

I use the Ronin method and have gotten a bit of mold on seedlings, but I went to soil withthem and water around the cube and that helps. In dwc, I dont think you would have a problem. If you need to top water for the first week, I would only hit the cube with just a small amount of water. Mine recover just fine after a few days of drying out.

 

[horton711]

Thanks for the help, @A-Train and @briman. As I mentioned before I'm worrying about my "babies" like a first time parent .....lol. I'm going to try and get the couple of seedlings into the pellets today and if I can figure out how to take pics I'll post them. I need to go read the sticky on pics and get up to speed.
I can't get over how fast the seeds germinated and how quickly the seedlings grow. Amazing how the technology has changed since my last growing experience > 10 yrs ago.....

 

[horton711]

Well, a few more questions if I may..... I wasn't sure if I should start a new thread for every question.
Today I'm musing about air stones for the DWC buckets. I tested some 4" stones from Petco and a few that are like about 2" in diameter but neither of them don't seem to put out fine enough bubbles. Is there a recommended brand or type of air stone? I'm using a 4 outlet air pump I picked up on Amazon (my new favorite store) recommended for hydro use.
The other question concerns placing the seedlings into the Hydroton pellets. I don't want to damage the fine roots coming out of the Root Riot cubes but trying to make a hole in the pellets and getting the cubes "settled in" is proving to be a daunting task. Is there a no fuss or even minor fuss method for placing the cubes in the pellets?
Thanks in advance for advice and help......