Perlite in Hydro

[PuraVida305]

Any1 using straight perlite? I was going to try out Perlite in #7 smart pots in a drip system. All advice welcome. Thanks

 

[Rushoe]

That will need lots of attention lots of water ect....I would advise not to do that. Better in some coco or shunshine mix rockwool anything buy st8 perlite.even with that dripper I just dont see it coming out better then in something else.good luck

 

[motherlode]

it could be done but

biggest factor I see is weight - perlite weights next to nothing and it doesnt abosrb water - why gimp the plant by putting it in a media that couldnt possibly support the weight of the plant

I bet 33% coco 33% hydroton and 33% perlite would rock a dip system

you can pretty much use anything inert to grow hydro - you can grind up old cd's and run a drip through cd mulch and grow pot

 

[PuraVida305]

Thanks... I have always used hydroton but my back is tired of carrying those bags in and out:sweating so i was looking for a light weight alternative that was inert like the rocks... that 33% mix sounds good i might try that in a few bags and see what happens... Thanks again for the help.

 

[spinkus]

I've run straight perlite as a hydro medium before in my waterfarms and in netpots before

It works just fine, but as said it doesnt support the plants weight worth a shit compared to coco/pro-mix. Definitely need a main support stake or yo-yo's, a trellis, something, anything for support

Also you will have algae growth on the top of your perlite if you do not have adaquate shade cover from your plant. Turning your beautiful white perlite algae green, yay!

As a medium it works great, there is just better mediums out there for hydro IMO. If you cant lift all that hydroton though due to some medical reason you could make do with perlite. Janus, a member here, seems to do real well with JUST perlite as a medium

I'm currently back to hydroton, IMO hard to beat for these netpots

And btw you will be suprised how much water perlite will hold, l was. Take 2 - 5 gal buckets with holes, fill them with perlite, leave one bucket dry and light, wet the other down till water runs out the bottom, let it all drain out, now FEEL the weight difference, the perlite does hold quite a bit of water actually!

 

[Rushoe]

Hugo Blocks no mess. Well not as messy as coco or soil I want to try those one day but right now just trying to master this coco.They now also make Hugo Blocks made outa coco been out for a while haven't seen anyone use those yet that would be interesting to see the outcome of that.

 

[PuraVida305]

I tried the coco rushoe and never got to master it so i went back to hydroton... I do stake my girls and twist tie them so they have plenty of support.... Thanks for the advice

 

[spinkus]

Yeah Vida, with center tie supports like that you should have no problem with the weight of the plant, no matter what medium you use

Nice plants too btw

 

[Jalisco Kid]

Janus no longer uses perlite. I tried it too because of my back. plants grew fine just not the same growth rate. I'll stick to chow which is lighter then my fav, lava. JK

 

[green punk]

you can pretty much use anything inert to grow hydro - you can grind up old cd's and run a drip through cd mulch and grow pot[/QUOTE]

Good one Mother!

I have been using perlite for awhile. Switched from hydroton because it too even gets exhausted. The perlite comes in 4 cu ft bags for 10 bucks for propagation grade, and 26 for the #4 chunky. Nice cheap, clean, disposable media. I take 4" square pond baskets and veg under T5's then take those and place them in a 9" square pond basket. The roots grow through the 4's then graduate them to the 9's. Leaving them in the 4's and centering them in the 9's. Fill the 9's about half way with the big and chunky. I run these on 4x4 and 4x8 tables. The roots grow out and fill the whole entire table with a white mat. The entwined roots help support the plant as well. I have trellis over the tables, so... some what of a modified screen.

Good Luck, Grow Hard

 

[PuraVida305]

Thanks GP... I got #4 its big... How many times do you feed with the perlite and for how long?? I am using #7 smart pots.

 

[green punk]

I feed by flooding 4 times during on of 12/12. And 1 feeding during the dark.
Not sure what a #7 smartpot is? 7 gallon? The plants tend to on average consume about 1/2 gallon per day depending the strain. Some of its evaporation too.

 

[smokestack23]

I've used pearlite with great results. Like other dude said..it isnt really the medium that holds anything in my rdwc. I use 6" netpots. For them to actually support and hold a tree down they would have to be filled with lead.
My roots explode out of the wee netpots and hang in the solution. When harvested, I can't pull the plant out of the netpot..no WAY. in fact, for the price it isnt even worth trying to cut the netpots out. If you can even just hold (weigh or click) the lid down on the bucket or tub, your plant aint goin nowhere!

I'd be just as happy with NO medium and just maybe a foam-ish collar that's built into the lid that keeps the plant centered and vertical until roots get established.
I have to tie and cage my trees so the actual weight of the medium in the netpot is irrelevant.
I use hydroton. The netpot filled with hydroton probably weighs less than a pound. Pearlite would weigh probably an ounce. The 15 ounce difference is not helping hold up my 50lb tree. I say 50lbs..that's wet. It might only be 20 or 30lbs but ...still..the hydroton isnt "supporting" it any better than pearlite would.

IMO...knock yourself out and save your back and some cash.

Oh and...always keep your medium covered if you can. Algae will grow on exposed rockwool or hydroton just as easily as it will on pearlite. It sure stands out against the white pearlite though. Yeah..PLUS...pearlite is WHITE!! It looks so clean.

PEACE

 

[PuraVida305]

Thanks SS23... the weight alone is the main reason and the cheaper price is a nice extra... never tried the cages i like the center stake and twist ties... Thanks for all the help farmers perlite it is on the next round :banana1sv6:

 

[gudkarma]

with four ebb tables, i have been rocking hydroton steady for two years.

i do love the medium as its easy to clean & reuse.

as well, i have been hanging out on a very legit & popular dutch grow forum ...and have seen a new light.

do you know what dutch farmers use and use again and use again?

do you know what will give you superior results (as in root development which = great flowers) to hydroton or perlite (which ive used & sucks imo)?

the dutch call it "mapito".
we would call it mini rockwool cubes.

i know (like talk to every day) several popular & very accessable seedmanking dutch farmers.

these guys have been using "mapito" for years and years and years... never ever throwing it away ...& with proper genetics and grow techniques never averaging less than 1.3g per watt in ebb set ups.

with hydroton my average is stuck on .9g per watt.

& i know dudes top drip it too.

not trying to sell anybody as much as i wanted to lay out some food for thought.

 

[PuraVida305]

I tried the rockwool mini cubes for a while GK... the only thing i didn't like was the water retention in my buckets the top dries out good but the bottom half stays soaked... i also don't like to reuse my medium... b4 i used 2 5gal buckets one inside of the other... the inside bucket had the bottom drilled so all the water would drain out completely in-between feedings and the outside bucket was piped with pvc to drain the water bake to the resi... i set my rooms up with 2 plants per light(1k) on 3ft centers and average 1g per watt... depending on the strain i have gotten 1.2gpw with some sativas that like to get out of control... Thanks for the tip's and nice pic's.

 

[kushtrees]

Janus no longer uses perlite. I tried it too because of my back. plants grew fine just not the same growth rate. I'll stick to chow which is lighter then my fav, lava. JK

Really? Janus seemed to kill it in perlite. any idea what he is using now?

 

[VolcanoVapin]

Are you guys serious? Have you not heard of hempy buckets? Perlite works great..... MUCH better than Pro-Mix. I've never used coco, so can't compare there, but I like light, airy inert mediums (definitely not rockwool) for strong, healthy, white roots, and perlite does the job very well. 100% perlite in hempy buckets for me.

About the growth rate, it's not as fast as a DWC/aeroponic setup, but it's faster than just about anything else, IMO... It's also much simpler and you don't have to worry about your pump failing or being off for long periods of time due to the power going out. I love the growth rate of DWC/aeroponic style setups... I use an aeroponic cloner and love the rapid root growth.... but for working with many plants and going by the K.I.S.S. philosophy, 100% perlite with a small reservoir at the bottom for the long taproots to soak up works great.

The reason roots are so healthy in perlite is because of all the air it holds... roots hate compact mediums.... the more air you can deliver to the roots along with your nutrients, the better.

 

[motherlode]

I still dont see why you wouldnt add some lava rock or some kind of grow rock to the mix to give the medium some weight and to be able to support the plant

my first hydro (long time ago) I did 33% perlite 33% lava rock and 33% vermiculite and the growth was amazing

had 6 ouncers in 5 gal buckets no support needed

If I ever revisted that setup I would use the big chunky perlite mixed with about 40% of the silica rock

 

[PuraVida305]

I don't think the weight will be an issue. The plant's normally average about 6' and the #7 smart pots are nice and wide.