I hate hydroton!!

[Kilo]

ez farmers...im right in the thick of building a new diy setup with hydroton.... :mad0223::mad0223:

whats the best way to clean or any tips on getting the 50kg bags clean... ive got a forearm the size of a crab now .. just using the shower head and the wife's spaghetti strainer lol 3 more bags to go!!! PPFFFF

throw em up for all to see please

thanks in advance

 

[Texas Kid]

Get a kitchen size trashcan that is like 10-15 gallons or so big, drill a bunch of holes in the bottom, fill up with hydroton, and rinse outside in the yard(the red sediment is a bitch on plumbing and will stain concrete..

5 gallon buckets with holes in the bottom work also and I have even done it right in the 50l bag, just cut slices in the bottom to drain and fill up and flush..

Put a screen or something over the shower drain and fill the entire tub up with the hydroton, fill with water and then use your speghetti strainer to scoop them out into your clean bucket..

I have done it a few more ways but they are real silly to say the least..lol

Tex

 

[Slick]

Only thing I can think of is either in the bath or sink. Close the drain a little or fit a bit of wire mesh over it so that none could be flushed away, fill it with hydroton and fire the taps on full blast while mixing it around or you could get a large bucket and drill some small holes in the bottom of it and sit that in the bath instead.

I hope that helps but no idea if it will, just an idea I had while thinking about it.

Edit: Tex you must type fast man there was nothing there when I hit reply but seems I had the right idea afterall. Woohoo!! lol

 

[hererisssh]

I have even done it right in the 50l bag, just cut slices in the bottom to drain and fill up and flush.

^^ This is how I do it and it works great. :yes

Poke a ton of holes in the bottom of the bag and run a hose through the top. Agitate well.

 

[Kilo]

thanks chaps.. Im goner go give the bag trick a go ;) jezzz my arm is fookin aching :) lol

also I've just noticed even once I've rinsed and shook them off for the first time...i still get some sediment coming out?? :( :( it appeared clean first time a round??

 

[FastForward]

I hate hydroton too...can't see me going back to them. The prob I found, is that despite cleaning thoroughly like TK recommends, when they rub together they create more red silt - which is almost inevitable until they've been in the rig for a flood or two.

I cleaned mine much the same as TK - first main wash in the bag it came in, just stick the hose in. Second wash in B&Q buckets, one inside the other...one with holes drilled in (and SIEVE written in big black letters after a major stoney fuckup indoors!). The third wash is the critical one imho..... once the pebbles are in your rig (i.e. not going to move anymore), flood it a few times with pH water, and then clean out the silt. It's a pain in the ass - for the waterfarm I poured the nute res through a 100 micron filter to get it out (another reason I'm moving to chunky coco in the WF like TK does)

One more thing: soak your hydroton for at least 2-3 days in pH water....and constantly pH down it to maintain ideal pH. Start around 4ish because it'll rise quickly...but conditioning the clay properly is essential. I didn't do this and suffered lots with my first grow....pH swings from silting and pH8 tapwater soaked clay. Clean them properly and give them a good soak and you should rock. Personally it's all too much arse for me....coco is the love :)

edit: or find lava rocks to use....that was where I was at when I gave up....I think you can get them for BBQs....they have great air holding capacity like clay, but won't silt anywhere near as much.... if you find a good UK supplier, let me know :)

 

[Kilo]

cheers FF im just discovering it now... i got until saturday before i need to put ladies on the system....better grab a big bottle of ph down ;) thanks again all

 

[keroseen]

ez bro, im in the midst of cleaning hydroton as well.

got about 200 litres left to do. the pebbles im using are on their 4th run and i was only saying today how it defies belief how the little buggers keep producing red silt.

saying that m8, ive run them with drippers and a shit load of silt in the bottom of the rez....no problems. as for ph ive never had a problem.

my tap ph is 7.4 and the Canna Hydro hard water nutes take it straight down to 6.1 with no acid needed.

drifts up to 6.4 ish but no worse.

as for cleaning them first time, i use the hosepipe in the bag tecqnique, then dump the drained bag into a big rezzy with more fresh water in it. then i scoop it out as needed with a net pot.

you'll never get all the silt so dont stress about it. same when re-using, soak the pebs in h2o2 overnight then rinse off and dump 5ml per litre cannazym in the first nute batch. tbh you could probably get away with a quick water rinse and away.

ive done both and tbh theres not much dif bro.

KS

 

[Donk Frog]

Try lava rocks instead

 

[Kilo]

ez kero you answer my second question re-using :) thanks bro ..hows your end..u up and running yet ?

cya around

 

[Texas Kid]

You'll get sediment out of them for hours...

Do the trashcan thing and head for a car wash, hot water under extreame pressure...that's the ticket.

You could fill up your 210u pyramid bubble bag and toss it into the dish washer racks

Tex

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I use 2 44g brute trash cans that I also use making hash. I put two thru hull fitting on them. Pour into the bucket add hot water swirl and rinse. Suerte JK

 

[chuckyoufarley]

pouor into a net bag ,stick in CLEAN TOILET and flush flush flush till all sediment has been flushed then rinse off in tub

 

[boxmunch9]

I bought a 32 gal trash can, put a 1" ebb n flow fitting on the side about 1 inch from the bottom, and put a square of screen over the hole on the inside of the can so the rocks dont spill out, not needed if you use lava rocks. Then cut a peice of 1" tubing long enough to reach the top of the trash can, put it on the ebb n flow fitting then clamp it to the top of the can so the water will stay in. That way you can rinse, soak, rinse, soak, rinse, soak over night, rinse. I switched to lava rocks because they are very cheap, so cheap cleaning them inbetween grows costs more than buying new ones. Someone once told me if you use something like koolbloom you can't reuse lava or hydroton? Dont know how for real that is

 

[Kilo]

thats a banging idea m8 :)

i'll second that hehe thanks for all ya input ..hopefully it will help others aswell as me

getting there slowly but surely

 

[Stackin Paper]

I use waterfarms or aquafarms to clean mine, fill up the top bit where they would go anyway and remove the blue tube from the side of the farm to let any water out, then simply spray or pour buckets of water through it.

 

[greenthumbdanny]

Either way its a pain in the ass guys.LOL I got to flush to new bags in them morning of the stuff

 

[FastForward]

It's a pain in the ass....but I know a guy who gets around 9oz a plant from 4 plants using hydroton f&d.....it's the blue cheese man (aka the guru) and I think only ukcheesehead gets near as far as I've seen....I guess what I'm saying is, it's a pain in the ass but if you get it right it can be soooo worth it....

 

[Kilo]

thats reassuring ff as this will be my first time using pebbles as a complete medium..wish me luck

its a race agaisnt time at the moment im trying to clean setup and get my ladie sin as they are perfect for the new sog system im building :rock

 

[igrohydro]

Goodluck bro,washed a load last week,I gotta say its the only part of the cycle I dread.
My pebbles had salt from previous grows,I used a lil bleach as id no hydrogen peroxide or anything else.
I gave em a good rinse in the bath,it scores the shit outa tha bath but they needed the soak,like your self I scooped them out with a kitchen strainer and rinsed.
All the clones are going well,I was freakin a bit for the first two days but they are fine.
All the best.