burny downz
Member
Was wondering what y'all do to clean and re-use your hydroton grow rocks? I've had some probs with root aphids and fungus gnats and I wanna clean it right the first time.
Best way to clean hydroton?
- Thread starter burny downz
- Start date
Str8Dank
Member
personally the best/quickest way i know is to take it to a car wash! what i do is the following.
poke holes in the bottom of the bag. if its the real hydroton the hydroton brand then the bag will have a hole in the top already. the tip of the high pressure wand at a self serve car wash will fit into this opening. put it on high pressure rinse and hold on! the pressure is so high it will create enough pressure in the bag to seal the bag around the opening the wand is in. i keep moving it around inside until the water coming out the holes in the bottom is clear. make sure to take some trash bags with you to the car wash to put the bags in now that they have been wet and have holes in the bottom of them. make sure you use it before it dries out or it will just start rubbing against eachother and creating more dust.
this is the fastest way to clean the big bags ive found. this works for new bags.
for reusing it i would get a 55 gal drum and put a spicot on the bottom and fill and drain it multiple times. id also add some sort of strong enzyme like cannazyme, hygrozyme or even the pond stuff which is cheaper and been tested by some trusted members for cleaning (and they are plant safe as they are made for ponds).
personally i never took the time to clean it i just threw it away every time. if i was even thinking of reusing it i would have two sets so while your using one set you have a second set being cleaned properly.
poke holes in the bottom of the bag. if its the real hydroton the hydroton brand then the bag will have a hole in the top already. the tip of the high pressure wand at a self serve car wash will fit into this opening. put it on high pressure rinse and hold on! the pressure is so high it will create enough pressure in the bag to seal the bag around the opening the wand is in. i keep moving it around inside until the water coming out the holes in the bottom is clear. make sure to take some trash bags with you to the car wash to put the bags in now that they have been wet and have holes in the bottom of them. make sure you use it before it dries out or it will just start rubbing against eachother and creating more dust.
this is the fastest way to clean the big bags ive found. this works for new bags.
for reusing it i would get a 55 gal drum and put a spicot on the bottom and fill and drain it multiple times. id also add some sort of strong enzyme like cannazyme, hygrozyme or even the pond stuff which is cheaper and been tested by some trusted members for cleaning (and they are plant safe as they are made for ponds).
personally i never took the time to clean it i just threw it away every time. if i was even thinking of reusing it i would have two sets so while your using one set you have a second set being cleaned properly.
muddywaters
Member
i put them in a huge bin with holes drilled all over the bottom, then just pour them in with the water running in my bath tub and shake them all around in till the water runs clear.
JAY LENWEED
Member
First I bought 2 rubbermaid 30 gallon contain and drilled holes in the bottom of 1 to make a huge strainer. After the plants are harvested itake a large trashbag and remove as much of the root debris as I can, then I place the hydroton in the undrilled 30 gallon container and fill with cold water. Next using a collander i scoop out the hydoton and place in the container with holes.I then pour out the dirty water in the other container and clean it.Next i place the container with the hydroton inside the clean container.I fill the container with just enough water to cover the hydroton,then i pour about 2 cups of 30% hydrogen peroxidon the hydroton. I let this soak over night. I then remove the container with hydroton and place inthe bathtub and use a handheld showerhead to spray clean untill all debris is removed.[this can take a couple hours]Last step is drying with dehumidifier. I using 4 year old or older hydroton so this seems to work well ,hope this help PEACE OUT!
fuzzymuffin
Active member
If you're reusing hydroton, should you do anything like give the pebbles a diluted h2o2 soak as well as a good rinse? I don't think it would hurt, would it?
burny downz
Member
Ok so I havent heard anything here too different from what I am doing now, but why does some of the rinsed/cleaned hydroton seem to have salt build-up or residue of some kind left on it?? Should i pick out infected pieces and throw away??
Muriatic Acid works perfect and is safe to use with a good rinse. I use this to clean my Reef Tank and that ecosystem is so sensitive things I use to clean it must be SAFE!!!
Let it sit in a bucket for 24 hrs and rinse extremely well. Nothing will be left on them. I use a 25% solution.
Let it sit in a bucket for 24 hrs and rinse extremely well. Nothing will be left on them. I use a 25% solution.
fuzzymuffin
Active member
The acid doesn't degrade the clay?
not that I can tell at some point you will need to replace them they wont last forever. I used it on all my plastic and pump parts as well. Drip emitter tubing all that stuff.
burny downz
Member
wow I used that stuff when I was employed as a stone mason....we used it to clean concrete stains off finished stonework. never thought of using it in the garden hobbies tho. Its def super strong, not sure if I dare yet.
works great in environments that are much more sensitive then growing plants. Make sure to rinse well no problems and make sure to dilute it.
empty 12 10" net pots worth of hydroton into a 27 gallon tote
cover with water and add 150ml bleach then let sit overnight
scoop out onto screen and blast out any remaining organic matter with hose and nozzle.
dump into another tote and flush
rinse with hose one last time as you load back into cleaned net pots for storage and reuse.
cover with water and add 150ml bleach then let sit overnight
scoop out onto screen and blast out any remaining organic matter with hose and nozzle.
dump into another tote and flush
rinse with hose one last time as you load back into cleaned net pots for storage and reuse.
JAY LENWEED
Member
Oggy this has to be one of the best ideas I've heared yet!
One again I share the one thing most households have and use to clean any way is the washing machine. You throw it in put a doseage of Hydrogen peroxide, put the machine to its longest agitation cycle. Sit back and share a bowl wait till its done spinning and scoop out the pellets. Good as new and not too labor intensive. You will have to give the tub a rinse before another load of clothes. By the way I use a top load washing machine not sure if the new front loaders would work. Good luck, peace.
burny downz
Member
45 minutes at 15lbs??? Hunh???
