suretogrow to replace hydroton + rockwool

[aleYarok]

anyone using suretogrow dot com ?? seems like it would be great for the mpb.... they have replacements for rockwool and hydroton

(our room is sooo close to being complete, just have to rework some ducting, and finish plumbing the mpbs, i fired up all the lights yesterday (8k) and holy shit its so bright, looking at my phone in there looks so dim and blue, then once you step outside everything is so damn dark and blue, looks like an alien world)

 

[lifecycle]

damm son taking shit to whole new level with the thread name....

 

[dond3030]

Crap crap crap! The stuff is expensive pillow stuffing, you'd have better luck growin in a sponge. Seemed like a cool idea untill you try the stuff. I know washing hydroton is a pain but man its wayyyy better and soo much cheaper. Sure to grow is expensive stuff and its not reuseable + it just plain sucks to grow in.

 

[squarepusher]

lol, im kind of interested in them, i heard they get soggy and do weird things once they get soaked. also a bit pricey, what advantage do they have over rockwool? i think they are pH neutral is what.

 

[Trend]

They suck...stays too wet down low too dry up top

 

[fido]

damm son taking shit to whole new level with the thread name....

hahahahaha!
fido

 

[Xceptional]

nope nothing but bad reviews. i will tell you what can repalce hydroton. Sunleafs "rocks that dont roll"

Sunleaves Rocks are a reusable growing medium with serious H20-holding power for use in any kind of garden. They're made by superheating shale to temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, rendering them pH-neutral and chemically inert. Make your life a little easier while you take care of your plants and the planet: grow with the rock that doesn't roll! Mined and manufactured in the United States.


not listed in the description is that it also provides a natural source of silica i was told although im not sure how to confirm this....

 

[Xceptional]

i'm running a full grow with them now and i have a friend that just finished a 50/50 rocks/hydroton grow and they grew the same. the rocks seem heavier (hold plants upright), much easier to clean, dont crumble, dont roll all around your floor, are less dirty from the start and odd shaped which are all good things when compared to hydroton.

they are made from Shale which when doing a google search shows that it's got a high silica content. now if this is in a form the plant can utilize i have no idea.

 

[TrichromeFan]

Good Info there, Xceptional. I checked out the site, and they look pretty sweet.
It runs a bit more than the hydroton. 10 liter for $25 for rocks compared to $40 for 50 liter of hydroton. Although with any of the RDWC systems it takes so little, that it is not that big of a deal. I'll have to check it out nest time I go by the hydro shop. If it looks good, I will give it a go. Cleaner is always better.

 

[aleYarok]

thanks for the info, ill stay far away from this stuff... too bad, their videos made it look sooo good.

ill check out Sunleaves Rocks
thanks

 

[antimatter]

lol its funny because the guy promoting the product on youtube does a really nice job with his videos to bad they messed up on the product. :winking0067:

 

[DrFeelGood]

The Sure to Grow cubes are horrible we had to rip the cubes apart and put the plants into soil to save them LOL.

 

[squarepusher]

who Mark the grower?

 

[t7rln]

The Sure to Grow cubes are horrible we had to rip the cubes apart and put the plants into soil to save them LOL.

Shit!

DrFeelGood, what was it that was threatening your plants? Root rot?

I have 18 clones 10 days into the smaller STG cubes, with roots thru and thru. So the recommendation is to tear the cubes away and transplant into something else?

I also know that LOST wouldn't recommend using RTG (I just read it), and I respect the senior farmers here a lot. I only read the unfavorable opinions after I started using them.

The STG cube that I have is about 4X4 round. I was going to place it in 10" netpots filled with hydroton. Does anyone with experience using the STG cubes have a recommendation at this point?

I have noticed that in a day the water in the bottom of the cube never drains. It just stays logged.

Any suggestions as to what to transplant into? Going into MPB's. Maybe the only thing reasonable is mrdizz's set up at this point...coco?

Glad this thread came up before I got further into root development, and thanks for any helpful opinions.


t7rln

 

[noone88]

I've used them before. They work, but it requires some cycles to get it tuned right when it comes to watering time. As stated before, bottom 1/3rd retains too much water, top 1/3 is dry.

Algae is a problem.

You can spend time time (and money) trying to get it tuned correctly, or go with hydroton and skip the hassle. I doubt there is a difference in yield.

 

[l0g1c4l]

look like cotton balls to me!

 

[Xceptional]

Good Info there, Xceptional. I checked out the site, and they look pretty sweet.
It runs a bit more than the hydroton. 10 liter for $25 for rocks compared to $40 for 50 liter of hydroton. Although with any of the RDWC systems it takes so little, that it is not that big of a deal. I'll have to check it out nest time I go by the hydro shop. If it looks good, I will give it a go. Cleaner is always better.

i dont know about your local store but for me they are CHEAPER! a 65lbs bag is $20 of rocks and the big bag of hydroton is more expensive like $28 locally. i only need 4 big bags of hydroton to fill up 30 ebb and grow pots (2 gal buckets).

 

[t7rln]

I've used them before. They work, but it requires some cycles to get it tuned right when it comes to watering time. As stated before, bottom 1/3rd retains too much water, top 1/3 is dry.

Algae is a problem.

You can spend time time (and money) trying to get it tuned correctly, or go with hydroton and skip the hassle. I doubt there is a difference in yield.

Are you suggesting straight hydroton, as in tear away the cubes, and place roots directly into htdroton inside the 10" netpot?

t7rln

 

[Texas Kid]

In an Ebb & Gro setup on the drain cycle, the big cubes let the bucket pull a vacuum and it will collapse the cube into a pancake in the bottom of the pot.

The small ones root nice though, I had a bunch of samples form the manufacturer and as far as rooters they worked good.

Tex

 

[TrichromeFan]

Hey Tex,
you working on any new grows that you can share with us?
You have more experience than most of us on this site. Big respect!

-TF