DIE HYDROTON DIE!

avant gardener · Apr 3, 2012

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?

high life 45 · Apr 3, 2012

Get large diatomite like http://www.dyna-gro.com/dynarok2.htm. Its way better. I will never use Hydroton again. Even if its free. You dont have to wash the diatomite as its silica and micronutrients. Just dont breath in the dust when your filling your containers, or even wet it first.

avant gardener · Apr 3, 2012

thanks for the suggestion.
here's the thing:
it's more than a couple bags.
and that shit costs three times as much as hydroton.
i could get a crew of union laborers to polish it to a high luster for less than that.

anybody ever just NOT wash their hydroton?
my buckets have inch and a quarter schedule 40.
i don't think it's gonna clog 'em.

petemoss · Apr 3, 2012

Have you tried this? Take the plastic bag that the balls came in and stab the bottom a dozen times with a screwdriver. Open the top of the bag and run some water through with a garden hose or shower. Takes only a half hour or so.

WelderDan · Apr 3, 2012

You said buckets, are you running a RDWC? If so, fuck the hydrotron and go meduimless. I got sick of little fucking clay balls in my DWC setups and replaced the net pots with a hunk of pool noodle. Best thing I ever did.

Herbophile · Apr 3, 2012

petemoss said:
Have you tried this? Take the plastic bag that the balls came in and stab the bottom a dozen times with a screwdriver. Open the top of the bag and run some water through with a garden hose or shower. Takes only a half hour or so.

This is exactly how I wash my balls. They don't come out perfect but it's good enough. What I typically do though is run a rinse through the bag and then scoop out about a quarter of the bag into another container. Then I rinse again and repeat until the bag is empty.

Cannabis_Cowboy · Apr 3, 2012

i hate that shit i just got done with that

i clean and rinse the bathtub then dump 3-4 bags in there. keep filling and draining the tub every 10 mins or so while swooshing the rocks around. i do this until the water is no longer pink when i drain the tub

TLoft13 · Apr 4, 2012

Use Coco?

FoCo(No.Co) · Apr 4, 2012

Herbophile said:
This is exactly how I wash my balls. They don't come out perfect but it's good enough.

haha. hahahaha. hahahahahahahahaha.

cyat · Apr 4, 2012

I been thinkin bout runnin 80/20 rocks/coco in my new diy farms... doin one now and it works great, on 24/7 feed too!

anyway....special mix will make a custom coco hydroton blend for you and the rocks are washed too... paint strainers cost $ too tho( to hold in the coco)

or try washing and sifting lava rocks... then hydroton will seem easy

high life 45 · Apr 4, 2012

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=NOD8822_0006414227
super cheap from the auto parts store probably half or 1/4 the cost of hydroton

ILoveit · Apr 4, 2012

We need to create a thread with the most funny members debating about anything.
avant gardener makes me laugh with his humorous posts.

Its the constant friction with clay pebbles that loosens the dust particles so youll never be able to rid of that silt.
What I do is give it a rinse in net pots & thats it, it doesnt affect my system or plants at all.

avant gardener · Apr 4, 2012

cyat said:
I been thinkin bout runnin 80/20 rocks/coco in my new diy farms... doin one now and it works great, on 24/7 feed too!

anyway....special mix will make a custom coco hydroton blend for you and the rocks are washed too... paint strainers cost $ too tho( to hold in the coco)

or try washing and sifting lava rocks... then hydroton will seem easy

yes, but paint strainers don't need to be re-bought every 2 or 3 months. don't mind buying durable shit, but it's vital to keep recurring costs down. for me anyway. i'm not balling like that. not today, not in this part of the world.

anyway what's the benefit of throwing coco in with your hydroton? it'd drain a little slower and retain more salt, but apart from that i'm drawing a blank.

petemoss said:
Have you tried this? Take the plastic bag that the balls came in and stab the bottom a dozen times with a screwdriver. Open the top of the bag and run some water through with a garden hose or shower. Takes only a half hour or so.

you're on point sir. wish i could give you more rep.

here's the other thing that occurred to me:

i use halos instead of airstones on the buckets (and a whole grip of stones in the rez) so i can top feed if i like, though i rarely do. i'm just going to fill my net pots and top feed em clean water til it runs clear in the rez and then go back and shopvac the buckets. i put little pieces of pantyhose over the bottoms of the halos, so clogging shouldn't be a problem.

LittleAmsterdam · Apr 4, 2012

Hydroton is dirty stuff ! So is dirt and soil !! You never really get the stuff clean. Doesn't cause any problems.

I initially cleaned all the hydroton in 5gal buckets with holes in the bottom, but now leave them in the tray. Clean, rinse, sterilize, and rinse again all in the tray. Way to go ! Soo much easier

usda101 · Apr 4, 2012

high life 45 said:
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=NOD8822_0006414227
super cheap from the auto parts store probably half or 1/4 the cost of hydroton

Highlife isnt that stuff similiar to kitty litter ? An what type of system are you using it in ?

high life 45 · Apr 4, 2012

I am about to rock the ppk
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=138004
In the past I have mixed with it with
soil
perlite
coco
I am used to stuff that is about four times as big compared to the floor dri from napa.

17 off of this gal

cyat · Apr 4, 2012

the reason is if you buy the custom mix it is pre rinsed hydroton and 80/20 performs like straight rocks, if not better 24/7feed same waterfarm kit ur using. my farms arent connected, and the girl in 80/20 is the bushiest compared to straight rocks and she drinks the most

SeaMaiden · Apr 4, 2012

I reuse my coco coir until it becomes fines, when it goes into the planters. The way I rinse it for reusing is to use an old pillow case (if it's a small amount) or an old sheet (if it's a large amount), out on the driveway with a hose. Only takes a half hour at the most.

Why can't you do the same with hydroton?

Herbophile · Apr 4, 2012

SeaMaiden said:
I reuse my coco coir until it becomes fines, when it goes into the planters. The way I rinse it for reusing is to use an old pillow case (if it's a small amount) or an old sheet (if it's a large amount), out on the driveway with a hose. Only takes a half hour at the most.

Why can't you do the same with hydroton?

You can but I'm personally a lazy bastard. It's easier for me to rinse out new than to try to get all the roots cleaned off of used. My old stuff goes to a buddies and I add it to his landscaping around his shop.

I don't think washing stuff in my driveway would fly around these parts either. haha

ThePizzaMan · Apr 4, 2012

Ill take washing hydroton over dealing with soil or coco any fucking day of the week.

Since i am small..i am using about 20 1 gallon pots...I just wash it right in the pot...i sterilize in a larger container...but now i think there is no need to do that...just fill your pots...sterilize the whole tray/pots/pump/rez...right at the same time...

takes out unnecessary steps.

I just got fed up with having to dump 50 lb contractor bags full of coco...such a hassle...and a huge liability.

Cheers

TPM

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