DIE HYDROTON DIE!

[FRIENDinDEED]

some of you guys are going to way to much trouble with the hydroton. I bought a 50lb sack back in 2007 thinking I would need to keep replacing after each grow. Still have 40 lbs unused and stashed in the attic from 5 years ago.

I rinsed the original 10lbs, plugged into my rdwc baskets and have been using the same hydroton for the last 20 grows or so. When a grow finishes, I dump the hydroton into 5 gallon bucket, fill with tap water, fish net any remaining plant matter floating off the top, drain and start the next grow.

no washing, sterilizing etc. I haven't had one problem doing it this way and my hydroton looks just like it did 5 years ago when I first started using it.

rinse the dust off the new and get to growing.

yooooo!!! seriously had to ROFLMAO at this one,cause be damned if i aint in the same friggin boat right along with you!!! lmao

was gonna run my 3gl grow bags with dripper rings filled with hydroton, decided that DWC was a better way to go and now i have a tripled/3ml/contractor bag filled 3/4 the way of hydroton.

with the way i have my system set up now i keep a old 2gl bucket filled with hydroton off to the side to use as i need it Or when its time to transplant cuts from the cups to the cloner and i have barely began to make a dent in that 2gl bucket of hydroton.

i use sucha small amount of hydroton at a time that all i have to do is(once a grow is done) keep a 16oz cup of water close by and dump the hydroton in it and let it soak. i use 1.5" net cups so i can dump about 4-5 netcups worth of hydroton in one 16oz cup and not worry about it until im ready to use it.

ROFLMAO, i thought i was the only dick on here that had shitloads of this stuff layin around with no real use for all of it.

 

[canadasfinest]

I've been washing bag after bag of hydroton for the last 30 hours.
I'm almost halfway done.
Fuck my life.

This is about as much fun as trimming popcorn buds, if you're trimming popcorn in a mud puddle. If the catholic folks are right, this is probably what I'll be doing for all eternity.

My best idea involves a giant laundry bag, a helicopter, and the Colorado River. My next best idea was to round up a bunch of tweakers to do it, but to do it very far away from here. You can't sell clay balls at the scrap yard. I already checked.

Anyone got any brilliant labor-saving techniques they'd care to share?

 

[Mister_D]

Get a tote and drill holes or laundry basket (or similar container with drainage) pour in all your hydrotron, drive down to the local car wash, blast the shit out of it with the spray washer (plain water setting), smoke a big fat one on your way home while you laugh at how much time you used to spend cleaning that shit.

 

[FRIENDinDEED]

Get a tote and drill holes or laundry basket (or similar container with drainage) pour in all your hydrotron, drive down to the local car wash, blast the shit out of it with the spray washer (plain water setting), smoke a big fat one on your way home while you laugh at how much time you used to spend cleaning that shit.

outside of getting the proper sized laundry basket, this is a damned good idea

 

[Amanita]

Diatomite is awesome. Would use it over hydroton any day.

 

[socialist]

Read about the pool noodle idea in this thread so I picked one up at Target while I was there the other day. I also used to grow in Diatomite before the Hydroton, they both suck.

 

[Infinitesimal]

I've been washing bag after bag of hydroton for the last 30 hours.
I'm almost halfway done.
Fuck my life.

This is about as much fun as trimming popcorn buds, if you're trimming popcorn in a mud puddle. If the catholic folks are right, this is probably what I'll be doing for all eternity.

My best idea involves a giant laundry bag, a helicopter, and the Colorado River. My next best idea was to round up a bunch of tweakers to do it, but to do it very far away from here. You can't sell clay balls at the scrap yard. I already checked.

Anyone got any brilliant labor-saving techniques they'd care to share?

yeah,
but that shit works hella good ass nice layer at the bottom of the pot

i thought about using a the screen from a back porch door or something like that u know kinda fine mess but large enough for the dirt and debris and perlite to get through. that on some kind of stand and spray that shit with a hose and work the roots lose.

but I've yet to try it right now my hydrations just sitting outside in some empty pot. damn your reminding me i have to get work.... shit!

peace,
Infi

 

[zamzia]

I only had a water farms worth to do the other day, so I just emptied the rez out and blasted water through the hydroton in the top section and swirled around with my hand to rinse the worst off, then filled the rez and put the pump on. Left it on a few hours and just rinse it out. Was clean enough to re-use after that. Wouldn't want to have to do lorry loads of the stuff though!

 

[stonescafe]

stab the bag with the hydroton in it bung it in the bath sick the showerhead or hosepipe in the bag leave it to run till the water comes out clear bro thats how i do

 

[Mister_D]

outside of getting the proper sized laundry basket, this is a damned good idea

All credit goes to krunchbubble. He's the one that taught me, works very well though.

 

[wantaknow]

looks as if it just died ,lol love the idae with the mega blocks in the ebb an grow

 

[Keep goin]

Load up large tote (rubermaid, etc.) Fill it about 1/2 to 2/3 with Hydroton. Fill tote up with water...stick a submersible pump down into the rocks with a couple of feet of hose on it. Add hygrozyme, or similar product to "eat" any remaining roots...plug in the pump and close the lid. Go about your business...let it run for a while. Work shift, etc.

Pump water out with pump that's under the rocks...re-fill with water and add appropriate amount of H202 for volume of water...close the lid, plug in the pump and let it go again...similar time frame...drain and re-use.

My only other tip would be grab a small kitchen strainer...you know the handle type, fine mesh...by simply "swooshing" it through the solution at any time you will find that the roots stick to the strainer and can just be rolled up and removed.

All this takes into consideration the idea that we are talking about re-using hydroton...for getting the ridiculous dust off that originally comes on the product..some of the above ideas sound good.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

my first grow i used hydroton, never washed it....grew some nice frosty plants lol..

 

[avant gardener]

so apparently hydroton is in fact dead.
yipee!
any reason i can't use plain old landscaping pebbles?

 

[NeWcS]

any reason

The only thing I could think of that would keep you from using really anything would be I guess if it messed w/ your pH. Other than that I would say you could use anything thats none toxic.

Would love to do a DWC with a net pot full of Lego's.

 

[SeaMaiden]

so apparently hydroton is in fact dead.
yipee!
any reason i can't use plain old landscaping pebbles?

The oldtimers use lava rock. Pebbles don't have much surface area, especially in relation to weight.

 

[Al Botross]

Read about the pool noodle idea in this thread so I picked one up at Target while I was there the other day. I also used to grow in Diatomite before the Hydroton, they both suck.

I saw hyrofarms has the cloner neoprene collars in a rainbow of colors pink, purple, aqua, yellow, redonkulous!

But there were alternatives GardenStone is very similar just not in round balls. and then Gold Label brand outa the Netherlands has a coral product just like hydroton - its even coated in a similar red outer layer, but again in odd shapes not round balls.

 

[SeaMaiden]

As a former fish-thing, I'll ask folks to not use the coral products. Let's do our part to minimize reef destruction, not maximize it.

 

[cyat]

so apparently hydroton is in fact dead.
yipee!
any reason i can't use plain old landscaping pebbles?

Ive used gravel in aquaponics, works great...

the downside is the weight and the rinsing is a lot worse, lava is a a real bitch to rinse too, you'll be wishing you had hydroton again

 

[avant gardener]

Gold Label brand outa the Netherlands has a coral product just like hydroton - its even coated in a similar red outer layer, but again in odd shapes not round balls.

As a former fish-thing, I'll ask folks to not use the coral products. Let's do our part to minimize reef destruction, not maximize it.

breathe easy kids. gold label is NOT made of coral.
http://www.hydrofarm.com/product.php?itemid=12377
it's clay like hydroton, just not as uniform in shape
(and you can still get the stuff). the english side of the bag says hydrocorn. the dutch side of the bag says hydrokorrel, "korrel" being the dutch word for corn or grain.

thank you google translate!

anyways i'm getting a bunch of expanded shale in bulk. it's the same stuff as sunleaves rocks. a yard costs me less than $200 delivered. that's roughly the same volume as 15 of the 50 liter bags which makes it a damn sight cheaper than hydroton or any other medium i can think of. i'll let you know how it goes.