Hey guys so never done hydro and starting a self contained top drip system for a new Mother. I got some Pant It! Clay Pebbles and did some reading and did the washing/rinsing thing in a big ol net pot and they are now soaking in 6.8 pH water.. ive read some posts of people saying they add some hydrogen perox? should i do this? will it change the pH of the soaking water? (i only have pH down at the moment because i only prepared to bring the pH down of my tap water). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.. the only things the guy at the hydro store told me is that my challenge is guna be keeping the temp of the water down since the pump will be running 24/7.. THANKS!
Advice on Preparing Clay Pebbles please
- Thread starter Jyles
- Start date
hellraizer30
Rebel From The North
Keep it simple and give them a good rinse! To wash out all the dust and shit the
go ahead and use
go ahead and use
I'll put a 50l bag in the shower and run the water through it for about an hour making sure the water drains out the bottom of the bag. then if you still want to soak the media i would use a lower ph water to soak in because hydroton, hydrocorn... are high ph to start with. And if soaking scoop out the pebbles from the bag, don't just pour the bag into a bucket because any debris you missed while rinsing and any smashed up pebbles should now be at the bottom of the bag and these are useless to you.
Mithrandir420
Well-Known Member
I put the hydroton in a big mesh bottom pot. Rinse till dust is gone. Use. Takes about 10 minutes.
You don't have to "prep" hydroton. Hydroton does not have a high ph to start with.
You don't have to "prep" hydroton. Hydroton does not have a high ph to start with.
mytwhyt
Well-Known Member
I use one of those mesh laundry bags. I found one with holes smaller than the smallest clay pebbels... You can handle the bag as the water runs through it and move the pebbles around. Silt and other.shit washes right through... Rubbing the pebbles together [Hydroton in my case] in the bag quickly removes the loose stuff........... Don't do this in your tub, be a bitch if the bag broke.. I use a small ABS cement mixing tub I got at HD..
dtowndabber
Well-Known Member
No matter how many times you clean them the will always get dusty again when they dry. I like to put the exact amount I'll be using in each net pot. Then I rinse them under the faucet in my bathtub using hot water til the water coming out runs clear. Afterwards I soak them all in 5.5 pH adjusted water for 12-24hrs then let them dry before I use them. Any type of soaps or chemicals takes FOREVER to rinse
Mithrandir420
Well-Known Member
They think it's rockwool.
hellraizer30
Rebel From The North
There is no reason to soak the rocks lol just wash em off and use
I just started a DWC grow using Mother Earth clay pebbles and am having PH problems. I've done a small experiment to find out what is causing my PH to drop from 6.0 to 4.5 every 24 hours for seven consecutive days. The experiment consisted of three food grade plastic buckets: 1) with no air stone 2) with air stone 3) with air stone and 10" net-pot full of clay pebbles. The starting PH of the RO water was 6.8. After 36 hours only the bucket with the clay pebbles had a changed PH and is down to 4.5.
I think I may have try another brand of hydroton/clay pebbles or learn how to stabilize my clay pebbles.
I think I may have try another brand of hydroton/clay pebbles or learn how to stabilize my clay pebbles.
Mithrandir420
Well-Known Member
You shouldn't have to stabilize hydroton/expanded clay. It's supposed to be inert. Very odd. Maybe try washing it really well. Is it used?
churchhaze
Well-Known Member
How much P are you using? Is white powder precipitating and falling to the bottom of your tank?
churchhaze
Well-Known Member
Mithrandir420
Well-Known Member
Well, you asked him to ask. 