hydroton salt build

[pimpin]

does anyone know how you can clean hydroton im trying to clean it and get the salt built up out i know there was some info on this but cant find it any info thanx

 

[pimpin]

sorry if i didnt explain it correctly ive cropped already and im trying to clean them

 

[johnnyballbag]

Do what ripz said. And if you wanna know how good it's working, when you first start to rinse them, test the runoff with a ppm or EC or CF meter. Then continue to test until you get the desired number. You don't have to get terribly anal about it. I used the same 80l of hydroton for about 3 years with no problems.

 

[Swerve]

hydrogen peroxide works well as well as florakleen or clearex to rinse your hydrotn. kinda like johnny i have used my hydroton for the last 3 years as well. with no ill effects..

 

[mace]

Or get rid of them and use coco core.
I've used hydroton, sucks to clean, sucks to move, sucks to keep free of clay dust.

Next time around im switch to coco core, everyone swears by it.

Not trying to be a downer, just thought i'd give other options.

 

[Green81]

coco coir, how many times can you re-use that and would it work with aqua pots? Would you have to use some sort of membrane to keep the coir from escaping? Thanks in advance.

 

[The Joker]

I drilled many 1/8th inch holes in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. Fill it 3/4 with hydroton, and run a hose through it. You can clean out the roots and rinse it that way.
Once I put it back in for the next run I use clearex. If I bleach the hydroton, I then use a dilute Vinegar solution to neutralize the bleach.

Soaking in vinegar also gets rid of salts.

 

[jadins_journey]

I am a rock Farmer and I love the stuff. The #1 reason for running hydroton for me is stealth. I recover a minimum of 99+% from every grow, I live in an ultra urban enviroment and waste most be measured in ounces not in lbs.

I picked up 4 buckets from the dollar store, drilled holes in the bottom of all but one. Fill a bucket w/ holes 2/3 full and sit inside bucket wo/holes. Fill with hot water and H2O2 at a rate of 15 ml per gallon until rocks are covered. Soak and agitate frequently for 15 mintues. Remove bucket w/ holes from solid bucket, rinse with more hot water, done. Sit aside and drain while working next bucket w/ holes.

I wash a bunch of rocks every 30 days (about 250L) and it's not that complicated or even that hard to be honest. I time my rock washing for the same night I am sitting down there trimming (which realy sucks), gives me a reason to put the scissors down and move about.

jj

 

[The Joker]

That's a good system. Once you get the routine down, power through it and get it over with.

 

[Blaner123Doobie]

If you do not mind all the work I just rinse mine in a spaghetti strainer till roots are gone and the water runs thru clean :-) The rocks are almost clean from my final flush anyways, but must remove all the root material so it gives no PH problems on next grow :-)

 

[lime6161]

some my say its over the top but i rinse in water then boil the rock.

 

[puff puff]

Salty rocks

I learned a hard lesson from last grow. When I finished up my first gro in hyro with hydroton I cleaned the rocks with just water while sorting out all the root debris. I never thought about all the salt left in the rocks. Now that I started my new grow (3wks) and I'm having constant pH problems. Every feed cycle my pH jumps from 5.5 to 7.1 then I have to knock it down again. :sweating
The girls look pretty good but what a pain. This is my second hydro gro but I been doing dirt for years...just got tired of hauling all that weight. I used to grow 30-40 plants so u understand the problem there. PP