coco in the undercurrent?

  • Thread starter kritical
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K

kritical

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im tired of the mess that hydroton make and all the clay silt left in the pipes and buckets from it.

if i were to use coco would my p.h. range 5.5-6.5 still remain the same and can i still use aqua flakes from house and garden? i figure coco fibers have to be much cleaner and easier to clean up.
 
R

RMCG

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Look at the STG 'Hail' or RW 'Croutons'. I would imagine coco (even fiberous) would start to break down and clog pumps/filters, etc.

I am testing out 'Growstones' in one netpot. MUCH cleaner than hydroton.

http://www.growstone.com/
 
Aligee

Aligee

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Dont do it bro ... from personal experience
i lost a whole run ..6 weeks down the drain to be exact ...
 
motherlode

motherlode

@Rolln_J
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if/when I run the UC again it will be with hygromite rock

Im a huge hater of hydroton - but I really didnt find any issue with it in the UC - you dont use hardly any and its real easy to rinse each netpot full clean as your transplanting

I think coco will just hold too much moisture - if you feel compelled to use it I would go with the nuggets

like rmcg mentioned the non absorbent rockwool croutons would be a better option
 
MakinGoo

MakinGoo

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What ever u do I would really listen 2 Aligee.. He is correct about what he says.. Do not use CoCo Aligee tryed it & it didn't work.. Aligee no's what he is talkin' about.
 
M

Max Powers

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tried it briefly, plants seemed to be ok, but makes a HUGE mess. the silt from hydroton is nothing compared to the coco mess. (although I agree, the hydroton silt is gross and a pain)
 
H

happydude

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gotta wash it man just fill your net pot with hydroton get a big bucket of water dip it in and shake the shit out of it literally at least thats what i do?
 
K

kritical

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i clean it off real well but it still breaks down over a cycle and is just nasty brown silt at the bottom of the buckets and in the pipes.
 
C

crossouttheiis

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hey I know this isnt on topic, but I was wondering if you could share your experience with bloombastic? what else did you use and all that jazz.
 
BudGoggles

BudGoggles

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I run hydroton and dynorok II basically there both a pain in the ass to wash but the dyno gives much better support. Im running 3/4 hydroton on the bottom and 1/4 dynorok in the netpot and they seem happy. I find the roots grow very easily threw the hydroton but theres no support
They both leave shit in the system and they both raise ph
Ill know how well the mix works very soon check out my thread its all in there

BG
 
K

kritical

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i only used 2ml per gallon of bloombastic. scroll to day 40 or so

its all here

the growstones look interesting but looking at that chart im not sure if its safe to use in the undercurrent. i hope rcmg lets us know how that one test site goes.

i might try the hydroton or growstones if rcmg chimes in with positive reviews and mix in a small amount of that white rock that has natural silica in it. i forget the name. 80 to 20% ratio.
 
R

RMCG

2,050
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i only used 2ml per gallon of bloombastic. scroll to day 40 or so

its all here

the growstones look interesting but looking at that chart im not sure if its safe to use in the undercurrent. i hope rcmg lets us know how that one test site goes.


Why does it look like its not safe in the UC? The only thing I am even remotely worried about is plant stability, but that doesn't seem to be an issue with the roots that are shooting from it.

As of today, the clone in the netpot with growstones is double the size of the same clones in hydroton.
 
Green Mopho

Green Mopho

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I've heard of people mixing 50/50 hydroton with large coarse coco chips. Rinse the hell out of em first. It changes the CEC of the medium and helps with uptake and pH stability. However, in the UC, hydroton really mostly works as just an anchor for the plant, and I don't know if the coco chips would hold up enough for that.
 
K

kritical

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Because its much higher in water holding than the hydroton. I ran into a issue where my water level was too high and it water logged my plants once I dropped water level below bottom of net pot the plants responded and began growth again. If you have those kind of results ill def try it. I'm trying to keep everything simple and not make to many changes.
 
R

RMCG

2,050
48
Honestly, compared to hydroton, the growstones look 'dry'. They are more porous, like pumice rock, which may be where the increase in water retention is, but they certainly don't ~appear~ to have the wicking capabilities that hydroton does.

Even immediately after a flood cycle, the media 'looks' dry. I'll snap side by side pix of the same clones in the different media.
 
Green Mopho

Green Mopho

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I dont get any residue or silt in my systems. I rinse and pre-pH my hydroton and never had issues!
 
R

RMCG

2,050
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I dont get any residue or silt in my systems. I rinse and pre-pH my hydroton and never had issues!


I don't either, as long as its rinsed well, but I am now burning through 'well used' media.
New bags require lots of rinsing. Debating getting a mesh 'lingerie' laundry bag and taking it to a car wash / power washer first.
 
Green Mopho

Green Mopho

1,056
83
I don't either, as long as its rinsed well, but I am now burning through 'well used' media.
New bags require lots of rinsing. Debating getting a mesh 'lingerie' laundry bag and taking it to a car wash / power washer first.

I fill up a 50 gal tote with hydroton and add water till most of the rocks are afloat. Then I pH it and stir it around. 6" net pots fit perfectly on the bottom of my Flotec utility pump, and keeps the pump from chocking on hydroton while the pump drains the water. I'll do this twice if need be...
 
K

kritical

150
16
I wash my hydroton first also it still gets crunched by the huge roots. Im gonna try the growstones out. Post pics plz rmcg
 
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