i mean coating because when y snap a hydroton, you see its black inside, so i was thinking that was a coating.
Everyone calls Hydroton clay pellets, its really a shale. From Wikipedia: "Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable.[1] Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering or bedding less than one centimeter in thickness, called fissility.[1] Mudstones, on the other hand, are similar in composition but do not show the fissility." (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shale ).
The clay is pelletized and then fired in a kiln. The kiln firing is what changes the outer color, the inside is the same material as the outside. The reason the outside half of the shell is fired, is to create extra pores and make it a solid 'piece'. The inside isnt porous as much, or heated thoroughly so its a different color and texture.
I referenced another poster in another thread here as an idiot for continuing to push using granite instead of Hydroton. I think everyone who doesnt look into it assumes its a rock, but it isnt, hence it works. Any fashion of a granite replacement has no pores. Sure, its not a smooth surface, but it aint porous at all! They are ganging up on me in there its kinda funny. They say I have attitude that if someone does it another way that I beat em up. Thats not really true, I beat em up if they do it in a way that sacrifices yield for trying to be bill nye the science guy in the grow room with no experience at it.
Let em try to hack ebb & grow, they fail, we win with Hydroton.
love this grow kitty u inspire me i have been here watching from the beggining and will follow till the end if u ever decide to end it lol dont you just love canada i know i do all i can say is wow and you and mr kitty seem like me and my wife just chilled back canadians who love natural mother natures medicine rock out with your cock out kitty RESPECT
Thanks
hey kitty, how far away do you set your lights in flowering?
As low as the heat will allow. I generally leave them a little higher when beginning flowering, for no more reason than not to give them "all" the light at once, lower em over the course of a few days.
