Hydroton vs. Silica Stone
- Thread starter Dirty
- Start date
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chytil151
Dirty,
hey bro I am using the same trays as you are they work great for my needs i can get 2 trays side by side under 2- 250w MH's w/ 2 different stages of growth they look small but u can get 8 gal. of water in them no problem. Secondly I am using the 600gph pump's that u have pictured 2 of them for 8 plants each in it's own 5 gal. bucket they really work great but only if ur airstone's are clean I have been running cheapo $2 each 3 inch stones that i need to replace every month like clock work. I really would like to hear from some1 that uses the sweetwater diffusers been thinking about switching but $10+ per stone is kinda iffy but if i never have to change them out then i guess it pays for itself. Good luck in getting back into the groove and happy holidays to you and every1 in the community
hey bro I am using the same trays as you are they work great for my needs i can get 2 trays side by side under 2- 250w MH's w/ 2 different stages of growth they look small but u can get 8 gal. of water in them no problem. Secondly I am using the 600gph pump's that u have pictured 2 of them for 8 plants each in it's own 5 gal. bucket they really work great but only if ur airstone's are clean I have been running cheapo $2 each 3 inch stones that i need to replace every month like clock work. I really would like to hear from some1 that uses the sweetwater diffusers been thinking about switching but $10+ per stone is kinda iffy but if i never have to change them out then i guess it pays for itself. Good luck in getting back into the groove and happy holidays to you and every1 in the community
Maybe you just need more nutes if its to week it will bring your ph up. Ive only used hydroton my next grow will be with higromite if ya dont clean the shit right your shits gonna be all f---ed up.
Try giving it just a tad more nutes and see what happens it may just stable out but a slight drift is good.
Try giving it just a tad more nutes and see what happens it may just stable out but a slight drift is good.
Actually out of the 11 plants I only used silica stone in one of them, the other ten are all hydroton, and honostly most the plants are taking off, I've just never used this method of growing before, only other form of growing like this I've done is a home made ebb' n flo, using rockwool, so I never really had any issue with ph swings.
I think this may just be more of an issue of me not properly caring for these clones, I used DutchMaster Advanced Propogatioin Solution for the first time with these cuttings and it seemed almost like they took LONGER than usual to root. I really need to get a heat matt also and maybe try rapid rooters instead of RW plugs.
Again, out of the 11, I culled one, put in another, so back at 11, of those I'm only going to flower 6-9 of them, I may just do 6 the first go around, be switching to basically what chytill is doing, dwc 5 gals, but 6-9 buckets.
As far as PH, the reason I brought it up was because I read a few threads of others having ph climbs. I try to keep it around 5.8, I know the opt range is 5.5-5.8 Do you guys prefer to keep it towards 5.5 rather than 5.8?
There's also a good bit of soot from the hydroton on the bottom of the tray, this is a shallow tray so about 2/3 to 3/4 of the net pots are actually submerged.
I'll just run some fresh nutes and change out the water, see where it goes from there I suppose. If anything I say is wrong by all means correct me, I'm basically winging it the best I can, reading up alittle when I get time, some of the stuff is pretty new to me.
Thanks for the comments fellows,
Dirty
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EvilTwin
Dirty,
I've seen growers swear up and down that hydroton dust messes with ph. So if it's ph comparisons you're looking at...you should make sure to use well rinsed hydroton.
ET
I've seen growers swear up and down that hydroton dust messes with ph. So if it's ph comparisons you're looking at...you should make sure to use well rinsed hydroton.
ET
W
W.P.
funny cause i got three year old Hydroton and it still is dusty!!! But yes you really should rinse and rinse and rinse and....
I used UFO 90 LED for my aero grow. The main stalk was very stout- no need for additional support
I swear im not trying to come off like an ass, but it seems thats the way it is.
If your silica stone basket is sitting in the same reservoir water as the hydroton baskets, the silica is still going to fuck with the pH.
Down believe me yet? put a Gal of your nutes @5.8 in a bucket Though a piece of silica stone in a bucket, and add an airstone. Watch the pH rise. (im pretty sure ive already posted a thread on this very experiment)
That is the nature of Si
check any Si supplement, they all raise the pH
From the perspective of Si users, it seems like youre looking at a duck, hearing it quack, seeing it waddle, and expecting chicken for dinner.
Wow, I honostly didnt know that, I ended up just figuring I'd let them sit and soak for a bit and that was it.
that's embarrassing, I guess I really should've read up alot more, but was rushed to get things together.
PH seems somewhat stable, staying in the 5.6-5.8 range for 24 now, now tomorrow when the lights come on may be a different story, but yeah the whole res is getting changed (and cleaned) out when I get home tomorrow.
ShroomDr, yer not bothering me, I have thick skin...or a thick head...one of the two. Again, never worked with silica stone or hydroton, and if it's JUST the silica stone that's fine, if it's just because I was careless and didn't rinse and rinse good, the hydroton, that's fine also. Once they go to flower the plants will be in their own buckets so maybe I'll get a better idea whether it's the silica, the dirty hydroton (I'll take pics of how much soot from the hydroton collected on the bottom of the res, haha), or both.
Honostly I've been away so long I'm just happy to be having a conversation about a grow, my grow, whether I get total success or poor results. The girls ARE making progress, wondering whether to top them or let them grow bush. There's just a major difference in the growth of the ones that are taking off and the ones that are slowly taking off.
Thanks for the talk and the pointers guys, updates, ph level, and pics tomorrow, hehe.
Stay safe,
Dirty
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