do i have to get all the root matter out of hydroton before reusing?
- Thread starter axl
- Start date
Buick455gs
Active Member
Hydro store, chemical supply house, some medical supply stores and of course online. But if you order online you have to pay a hazardous material transport fee thats as much or more than the h2o2. You also have to sign for it and shit. On second thought find it local.
Shanus
Active Member
I just let mine dry out, spread it thin in tubs, and pick out the dried roots. after that, a tad of controlled compressed air. Leaving too much kinda added to dirty res tanks and flies in my setup. after the precleaning, then the rinsing in plain water, then the soaking in h202, it does fine. Just dont shake out the rootball and worry about reusing so much of the hydroton, and its hardly an issue at all. If you dont have h202, I dont see why a light bleach solution wouldnt work. Just be sure to rinse them after the soak and let them dry. Chlorine disapates, and ALL my nute water has chlorine in it. Seems like my gals dont mind.
At the end of my grows I flood my ebb and flow making sure that none of the solution flows back into the Res which makes it easier to pull the rootball out of the pebbles.I then administer 2ml of Hydrogen Peroxide per litre of Res solution and flood and drain continuously for five cycles which thoroughly cleans the system.I then remove that solution and add fresh water with 125mls of Cannazym which breaks down old roots left in your system and converts it into food for the plants.Your system is now ready to take a fresh batch of plants,but do carry on using Cannazym throughout the plants life adding it every 2 weeks on Res change as it is great for keeping your roots healthy and also aides the plant in taking up nutes.
One word of caution do not use Cannazym continuously with Hydrogen Peroxide as Cannazym is organic.
One word of caution do not use Cannazym continuously with Hydrogen Peroxide as Cannazym is organic.
onehandedroller
Well-Known Member
You can clean Hydroton in the dishwasher. I use a fine mesh laundry bag, fill it up, spray with some bleach water and stick it in.
axl
Well-Known Member
thanks, yeah, i made the mistake of tearing down my setup in a hurry, allowing tons of the root matter to get thrown in. I am having success with the root matter floating to the top when i agitate it in my 50 gal drum. I think once i get the good h2o2 i will be good. I have also heard using floraklean or one of those products as well.
pagger
Member
axl its deffo the salt biuld up ya need rid of more than enething else mate i used to just wash em till 65% root were out but when i stuck mi last girls in some pebbs i got all sort of probs n it was all down to the newts from grow b4 wich were burning arse off mi plant mate so h202 bathtub good cupple hours change water h202 with air stone then rinse out real good ! ok good luck!
bowlfullofbliss
Well-Known Member
Throw away, and buy new. I would never reuse it. To me, it isn't worth causing nute lockout when you first transplant into the old, nute soalked hydroton. Also, bacteria can form in your resivoir as it dissolves, and root rot could set in. Screw that. JMO.
Buick455gs
Active Member
That's why you clean it. One of my main reasons for using hydroton is that I don't want bags of growing shit sitting in my trash. And just a word of advise use the h2o2 throughout your entire grow, it'll stop any bacteria from growing.
Shanus
Active Member
TSK TSK! A big reason I like hydro is the efficiency and lack of waste. Nothing stranger than watching someone dump and buy hydroton all the time. Rinse that shit in the tub and reuse it. Think GREEN my friend, this includes recycling. If you keep a decent clenliness regiment, excess buildups and lockouts are minimized. I'm redoing my nutes just every couple weeks, and eveything in the setup stays pristine. rather than h202, my tap contains chlorine. Same results....clean tanks, clean hydroton, clean roots! Organics are NOT a part of this cleanliness routine however. I find that a little elbow grease, dish soap, and attention to detail actually outperforms everything. Of course, I cant say its so easy in a HUGE setup. Happy growing to all!
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RyanTheRhino
Well-Known Member
Dam Shanus you drink alot of coffee if thats your setup hahhahaah.
HMM... i never had a problem with the roots sticking to the hydroton that bad. i would get a bucket and repeat smash the root ball against the side of the bucket. the balls would just fly off into the bucket untill i was left only holding some roots.
HMM... i never had a problem with the roots sticking to the hydroton that bad. i would get a bucket and repeat smash the root ball against the side of the bucket. the balls would just fly off into the bucket untill i was left only holding some roots.
BSIv2.0
Well-Known Member
Really nice home-made set up...Tight little continuous crop too.