What do you clean your UC with?

SmokeStackSoCal · Feb 2, 2013

i was told by my local hydro guy that i need an non-abrasive material when cleaning the UC buckets (with h202) because the scratches are a microscopic haven for the bacteria. I suggested the soft side of a sponge but he said even that was to much, so i thought I would run it across the community and see what you all are using when it comes cleaning the buckets.

Amber · Feb 2, 2013

Shop vac out the remaining water in buckets. Fill it back up with fresh water and some CS Roots let it run a while.

All4freedumb · Feb 2, 2013

Bleach, water and a soft cloth, like an old soft shirt works just fine.. scratches on your buckets are not good...

PrefersHam · Feb 2, 2013

throw out the stones, nets, air stones, air line, water line. i hand wash the cc lids and the stainless filter in the kitchen sink. then i pour in bleach lots of it. fill it to the brim and run it for a day. seems to do the trick every time so far (knock on wood). One time i left too strong of a concentration in for to long and my uni's blistered. they still work no leaks. i pump out then i use an old tee to wipe any residual schmegma suck out the little bit left over with a shop vac. fill her up and let her rip with some h202. been rewarded thus far. takes almost no effort and little time.

Peace,

Ham

dankstang · Feb 3, 2013

PrefersHam said:
throw out the stones, nets, air stones, air line, water line. i hand wash the cc lids and the stainless filter in the kitchen sink. then i pour in bleach lots of it. fill it to the brim and run it for a day. seems to do the trick every time so far (knock on wood). One time i left too strong of a concentration in for to long and my uni's blistered. they still work no leaks. i pump out then i use an old tee to wipe any residual schmegma suck out the little bit left over with a shop vac. fill her up and let her rip with some h202. been rewarded thus far. takes almost no effort and little time.

Peace,

Ham

You throw out everything?
I can see tossing the stone.... but all the lines including water?
What about the pump & chiller?

I'm finishing up my second run with my 16 site 8gal uc and am hoping a quick and easy recipe like yours will work!

I hate the idea of tearing everything apart and making it lab spec clean again!:eek:

SmokeStackSoCal · Feb 3, 2013

that UC roots looks like good stuff. I was trying to see what it was specifically but can't seem to find much info on it. I will have to check out the label at my local growstore to find out more possibly.

Amber said:
Shop vac out the remaining water in buckets. Fill it back up with fresh water and some CS Roots let it run a while.

SmokeStackSoCal · Feb 3, 2013

All4freedumb said:
Bleach, water and a soft cloth, like an old soft shirt works just fine.. scratches on your buckets are not good...

I'll definitely go that route, I was originally thinking maybe an old sock or sumn but a T-shirt does seem less intrusive

SmokeStackSoCal · Feb 3, 2013

PrefersHam said:
throw out the stones, nets, air stones, air line, water line. i hand wash the cc lids and the stainless filter in the kitchen sink. then i pour in bleach lots of it. fill it to the brim and run it for a day. seems to do the trick every time so far (knock on wood). One time i left too strong of a concentration in for to long and my uni's blistered. they still work no leaks. i pump out then i use an old tee to wipe any residual schmegma suck out the little bit left over with a shop vac. fill her up and let her rip with some h202. been rewarded thus far. takes almost no effort and little time.

Peace,

Ham

Yea i've heard a few times on here that air stones are prone to bacteria n all kinds of unwanted stuff. Nobody wants schmegma in their setup. I love that word by the way hah, cracks me up. Good lookin out on the uniseal's blistering tip, I can definitely see myself learning that one the hard way.

babyhughie586 · Feb 3, 2013

1-shop vac every bit of water out
2-fill up with water/physan20 let run 24 hrs
3-scrub buckets/pipes with NEW toilet cleaner brush
4-drain system again
5-shop vac all remaining water out
6-turn lights on with no AC and "bake" any remaining water out

Amber · Feb 3, 2013

SmokeStackSoCal said:
that UC roots looks like good stuff. I was trying to see what it was specifically but can't seem to find much info on it. I will have to check out the label at my local growstore to find out more possibly.

redwhiteblue · Feb 3, 2013

Amber said:
View attachment 287271 View attachment 287272 View attachment 287273

Don't bathe yourself in UC roots...

PrefersHam · Feb 3, 2013

You throw out everything?
I can see tossing the stone.... but all the lines including water?
What about the pump & chiller?

Yes everything cheap i toss. the pump and chiller take part in the bleach flush. For the record i agree with pretty much all of the above methods of cleaning. they all work and i have tried a couple different chemicals my self.

my biggest mistake was not properly rinsing i feel residual bleach at one point hurt me. ohh well wont do that again.

Hope you are successful,

Ham

AMG63 · Mar 4, 2013

I drain re fill and run for 3 to 4 days with Peroxide in the system (3~5%) minus the rocks which get their own bath in water/peroxide for same time & air stones get separate bath as well Might use a bit of TKO on anything that looks like it needs some extra attention. I only re-use media three times then i pitch it out as it breaks down too much and its cheap to replace.

One last flush and re-fill with RO then i am GTG, can not use bleach as i am on a septic system where i grow.

Texas Kid · Mar 4, 2013

I use one those car wash mits and a bleach wash down and then I fill with water and 29% h2o2 for a day or so and drain again, refill and ph and run for a day, then add nutes and roll.....I don't change all the other stuff and don't even really clean the pvc tubes or connecting lines...

woodsmaneh · Mar 6, 2013

^^^^ I drain, pressure wash, yup right there in the room, and vac, fill with water hit with 12% H2O2 run 24, drain fill with water, 5% H2O2 and food run for 24 hr and plant. the 24 hr reduces the H2O2 content to 2.5% and sets Ph.

PS I look at all the un-seals before putting any plants in, I have found if I don't do a good job on cleaning that's where it shows fast. If the seal is not bright and shiny when full of water you did a shitty job(after running for 24H). It will show as dull spots on the seal and even some times be discolored.

Fractalman · Mar 14, 2013

Texas Kid said:
I use one those car wash mits and a bleach wash down and then I fill with water and 29% h2o2 for a day or so and drain again, refill and ph and run for a day, then add nutes and roll.....I don't change all the other stuff and don't even really clean the pvc tubes or connecting lines...

How much bleach/h2o2 per gallon for cleaning?

ttystikk · Mar 14, 2013

You guys love to spend money, don't you? I clean my RDWC systems as follows; fill and flush with tap water twice, use a toilet brush to get any buildup, fill'er back up with fresh water, nutes and aerated compost tea. The secret is keeping your water temps at or below 65 F. I don't toss or even disassemble anything, not tubing, not pipes, and for Damn sure not airstones.

NO BLEACH!! EVER!! Straight up, the residues from bleach create some of the deadliest chemical compounds known to man, like dioxin. Seriously, do you drink your hot tub water?! I haven't cracked the cap open on my H2O2 in 6 months. Plants prefer a living medium, so give it to them.

So I bet you're already thinking wtf? Why don't I have the world's nastiest case of Pythium rot?! It's the beneficial bacteria; they will, given the appropriate environmental conditions, EAT all the pathogens, help out your roots and keep the water sparkling. Think of it as a probiotic treatment for your Hydro system, lol

Texas Kid · Mar 14, 2013

Bust open your Cultured Solutions UC Roots bottle...smells like strait bleach or hot tub water to me

No bennis in CS nutes to kill, all chem all day....I haven't had as good a luck runnin organic based nutes programs in the UC, way more problems than benifits for me

Im using it to clean only and would never try and use during the grow process or when plants are in there....Ive been using some Clorox spray disinfectant stuff that works great in the UC or on the flood tables...I wash down all the buckets and epicenter and then drain again...then I add water back to the top of the UC-8 site, 13 gallon and pour about 4oz-6oz of 29% h2o2 and run the system over night or at least 12 hours, then I drain it completely again. Refill and then nute the system and ph, run for a day. Then I toss the plants in there and I'm off to the races....I like to run the system with the peroxide in it so it can run thru the pumps and stones and all that crap

mmmmmzzzzzz · Mar 17, 2013

Im with Tex, Clean my systems exact same way... Tried physan 20 but it foamed too much and left a nasty smell lingering in my room, gave me a headache ...

Gonna stick to h202 29% .....

redwhiteblue · Mar 23, 2013

suck it out - uc roots +fill it up, lids off under hps - cook it good - suck it out - fill it up, grow.

What do you clean your UC with?

What do you clean your UC with?

SmokeStackSoCal

Amber

All4freedumb

PrefersHam

dankstang

SmokeStackSoCal

SmokeStackSoCal

SmokeStackSoCal

babyhughie586

Amber

redwhiteblue

PrefersHam

AMG63

Texas Kid

Some guy with a light

woodsmaneh

Fractalman

ttystikk

Texas Kid

Some guy with a light

mmmmmzzzzzz

redwhiteblue

What do you clean your UC with?

What do you clean your UC with?

SmokeStackSoCal

Amber

All4freedumb

PrefersHam

dankstang

SmokeStackSoCal

SmokeStackSoCal

SmokeStackSoCal

babyhughie586

Amber

redwhiteblue

PrefersHam

AMG63

Texas Kid

Some guy with a light

woodsmaneh

Fractalman

ttystikk

Texas Kid

Some guy with a light

mmmmmzzzzzz

redwhiteblue

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