Goodbye hydroton and lava, bio balls work

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OregonMeds

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If you are sick of the mess and hassle, bio balls are confirmed to work and on ebay you can find some deals in bulk, maybe somewhere else. 20 gallons $150 shipped.

Now you are mess free.

thank treefarmer at rollitup I guess for being the first to have used them.

water as usual

They not only work, they work better.

enjoy.
 
manicgrower

manicgrower

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They would have to be on a constant drip system huh? The dont hold any water...
 
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OregonMeds

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Yep

Feed more than just a couple individual drippers and you're golden. Any of the soaker hose rings or actual dripper rings folks are using that look best lately in these mixes.

Throw something over the top to block light obviously, up to you what. I'm not using hydroton or lava for that layer but treefarmer did I guess. I suggest creating a thin black hole as in outer space to suck the light away and let the air pass. :)


I guess I should have been more clear.
 
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OregonMeds

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I doubt treefarmer posts pics of his grow, maybe that part.
I can ask.
Lets see.
 
M

MedicalINFO

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Bio balls

I'm on board, I just potted up some ladies in hydroton for the last time. I have some lil' guys coming out of the cloner here in the next couple days. How do you suggest I get them in to the bio balls?
 
P

pikes peak 69

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Over at a private site about 4 years ago we discussed Bio Balls as a medium. Seemed to work good and they also have enough area to allow your herd to grow and prosper.

pp69
 
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tree farmer

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well OM asked me to post some info on my experience with the biosheres so heres a few pics. im into flower and for my HP aero they work great. sure glad cause im am so sick of the hydroton washing shit especially with my delicate system.for my application they arent made for the chamber floor as you see them in one pic but for the netpots i am more than happy with them as a replacement for lava or hydroton.

i put a thin layer of hydroton over the biosheres just to block the light from going down into the chambers. the roots you see coiled around the bottom are as i transplanted them from the lp aerocloner into the netpots with the biosphers. and then a pick of the new roots coming out the biosheres a few days after being in the HP system.
 
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OregonMeds

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boratPA1306_228x566.jpg
 
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TyKaycha

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^^Don't think those bio-balls will work there, OregonMeds..hahaha!

@tree farmer - so how easy is it to clean them after a run? Do you sterilize them before re-using, maybe in a big pot on the stove in boiling water?
 
T

tree farmer

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^^Don't think those bio-balls will work there, OregonMeds..hahaha!

@tree farmer - so how easy is it to clean them after a run? Do you sterilize them before re-using, maybe in a big pot on the stove in boiling water?

i will only be using them in the netpots from here on out so i wont try and clean them because i will be using so little of them but i dont think it would be that hard to clean them if you wanted to.maybe just rip most of the roots away and then let them dry and blast them with some compressed air to remove any small roots. you could boil them to sterilize if need be.

they come in all different shapes and sizes. also some are wieghted like the ones im using so they dont float and are almost as heavy wieght wise as a netpot full of hydroton. so they seem to give the same amount of support.

im going to try a 5 gallon bucket full with a top feed as a side project and see how they would work for that. they have alot of surface area and voids for roots to crawl into which i think would be good and since they dont hold water i think they would allow more oxygen to the root system.
 
L

legalizethis

Premium Member
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which size do u guys like. there are the 1" and 1.25-1.5" balls.

thx in advance.

ps. DD im glad your sticking around!!
 
C

crossouttheiis

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Have you had any issue with light penetration through the balls or? and I am also curious to know what size balls you are using haha? Don't throw them away recycle, oil based product though man.
 
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jack the reaper

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YO Oregon Meds! That was raw! I was totally engrossed-almost mesmerized by tfs post and pix, completely astonished at the Space Shuttle-esque quality of his gear and the efficiency of the Bio-Balls then as i scrolled down... like a kick in the cornea theres Sacha in a neon green flying V sausage sling!!!!
thanx for the pix tf. what is that contraption youre growing in called? HP aero?
 
M

MedicalINFO

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Tree Farmer,

Is there a specific brand or model of the weighted bio balls. It seems like the weighted ones would be a lot more supportive.

Thanks
 
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concretedawg

Guest
if i were to use these in pots what size just saw them on ebay and they look real good!!! i use 6 in pots!!! thanks for this post!!! i hate the hydroton!!!
 
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tree farmer

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i used the 1.5 inch sinking ones in 10 inch net pots. i havent tryed any other size. this size seems to be appropriate for larger netpots or pails as the balls kinda lock themselves together and against the netpot with the prongs that stick out. i put a thin layer of hydroton over them to block the light but you could use something else or nothing depending on the application.

i got mine at a place that sells stuff for commercial fish farming.
 
C

concretedawg

Guest
i just saw them on ebay !!!! they look insane i was gonna use net pot and neoprene top of my net pot!!!! with some rockwool grow cubes down inside!!!! gonna give it a run.....gonna order them now!!!! do you have the website where you got yours? if so thanks a million....
i am so pumped gonna make this work somehow!!! ill do a post on it!!
 
E

eyeswideopen

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Tree farmer, do you go straight from the aerocloner to the netpot with the balls, no other medium? That seems like it would work well if so. At what point do you transfer? As soon as they're rooted, or do you let them establish a bit before moving them over?
 
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