Hydroton alternatives dwc
- Thread starter Namo
- Start date
lava rocks
dirtWeevil
Well-Known Member
currently perlite and verm, I have also used fullers earth, jiffy mix, and a perlite/peat mix. I've never used hydroton but I might get a bag at some point
Lava rocks like the red ones you can buy at home depot?
yeh, try to get small size, works great
farmasensist
Well-Known Member
If you use smaller net pots like 2" size you won't need to fill it with anything.
I have 6 inch net pots attached to lids. If i put a 6 inch neoprene collar in the pot, will the roots attach itself to the net to support itself?
verticalgrow
Well-Known Member
VG
farmasensist
Well-Known Member
That might work. Thats what i did with clones and it worked in the 2" cups. You might just need something to hold the plant up straight and keep it from falling over after it gets bigger. I was using tomato cages.
ThegrowerMOJO
Well-Known Member
I just started using coco basically cause what i had on hand at the time,but I will continue to use it for cost reasons and it can be reused ,.But so far seems to work as good as anything else i've used in the past
If your looking to reuse, or even prolonged use... coco isn't what u want... coco is an organic medium and will eventually break down and release P or K... I've answered this before but still haven't looked up which it releases as it breaks down, P or K... but it's an awesome medium if that's what your planing on using but it's not an inert medium like hydroton or grow stones... even perlite; even though it's inert n ph neutral, if your using pumps or anything where your solution is flowing through small hoses (even 1/2" isn't that hard to clog) like flood and drain systems...basically any kind of automated system, perlite isn't the one either... I literally planned my whole grow using f&d tables around using perlite and even stocked up on it...just to find out I couldn't use it...
Suck it up (for lack of a better term...) and just rinse the shit out of your hydroton or grow stones... I stab a bunch of holes in the bottom 1/4 of the bag, cut the top open and put the bag in my tub and get the tub spout or somewhere else you can put a hose in the bag and just let er' rip for 10-15minutes so the majority of dust comes off, pull it out, shake the bag around...throw it under the faucet/hose again until u don't see any more... fill a Rubbermaid with 5.0 ph'ed water (enough so you aren't gonna over fill it when u dump the hydroton in) and dump the hydroton in and let it soak for 24 hours...
I use an old submersible pump to keep the water moving... then I use a strainer with a handle and take a scoop at a time and give each scoop a little shake and dump it into a clean container without beating it up to bad (the more u beat it up the more dust you'll end up with)...
But there's not much else that works as well and is as reusable as hydroton... I use a mix of hydroton and the larger grow stones... no complaints other than the one you made, the dust sucks balls but there isn't too many other things that work as well and don't decompose like coco or any other organic medium...
Suck it up (for lack of a better term...) and just rinse the shit out of your hydroton or grow stones... I stab a bunch of holes in the bottom 1/4 of the bag, cut the top open and put the bag in my tub and get the tub spout or somewhere else you can put a hose in the bag and just let er' rip for 10-15minutes so the majority of dust comes off, pull it out, shake the bag around...throw it under the faucet/hose again until u don't see any more... fill a Rubbermaid with 5.0 ph'ed water (enough so you aren't gonna over fill it when u dump the hydroton in) and dump the hydroton in and let it soak for 24 hours...
I use an old submersible pump to keep the water moving... then I use a strainer with a handle and take a scoop at a time and give each scoop a little shake and dump it into a clean container without beating it up to bad (the more u beat it up the more dust you'll end up with)...
But there's not much else that works as well and is as reusable as hydroton... I use a mix of hydroton and the larger grow stones... no complaints other than the one you made, the dust sucks balls but there isn't too many other things that work as well and don't decompose like coco or any other organic medium...
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
lava rocks are extremely high in Mercury. would advise against them as a medium.
Growstones!
If you don't eat them you'll be ok
When it comes down to it.... for hydroponics, aside from the few methods or "standards" of whatever method has what basically what should be used as a best result, ease of use....whatever reason but you can literally use anything the plant will throw down roots in and stabilize itself.... blue stone, decorative stone, mj will pretty much grow in anything as long as it provides enough oxygen and doesn't suffocate the plant via the roots like mud or something would do... but the only reason I said not to use coco was because he (or someone) wanted reusability as a quality, so being coco is organic, shit that decomposes sooner or later is gonna be a problem aside from clogging shit as a secondary maybe issue, my bad for not explaining all the way there... but coco is the shit in all it's forms if that's what u wanna do but a rock type product or rockwool croutons are the best bet for most hydro applications where it's a non passive method of hydro...
If I was going to run a drain to waste setup and wasn't reusing my medium...coco would be where I'm at... what other medium can u grow massive buds in tiny pots with no ill effects and still get away with watering once a day by hand...
If I was going to run a drain to waste setup and wasn't reusing my medium...coco would be where I'm at... what other medium can u grow massive buds in tiny pots with no ill effects and still get away with watering once a day by hand...
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
as long as you don't ingest anything grown in them, you'll be fine too.
Yeah I don't get how people don't put together that just because your smoking/making concentrates etc... by growing something, using something harmful to do so isn't gonna get passed on just as it would if you were growing fruits or veggies...
I make butter (that I ingest/eat), rick Simpson oil (that I ingest/eat) tinctures (that I ingest/eat) with my trim and sometimes bud when I wanna make something a extra tastey....AND I get crazy sometimes and even ingest my buds via smoking them so I like to grow my herb as if I was growing food... I think everyone should but that's just me... I also grow for the most part for people that are sick, like on their way to their death bed sick and I'm trying to keep them outta that bed as long as I can...
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
and i think the dangers of mercury poisoning are quite well known by now.
plants are good filters for the enviro just like oysters. and as much as i love oysters, i try not to eat them by the bushel like i used to when i was younger and the waters were a bit cleaner than now.
I've heard that it's not especially wise to eat more than 2 meals a week out of the ocean in one form or another due to the mercury levels in the ocean life we make into food... technically I don't eat it at all which is why I don't know for certain but I live in a coastal state and I've heard Ive heard it more than once, maybe it's a local thing but I was pretty sure the ocean was connected or something right? lol...
it's like the road and highway system, you're never lost seeing all roads connect....
it's like the road and highway system, you're never lost seeing all roads connect....