[Kinetic]

Forgot to mention that I also use an ebb and flow system.

[EL1M1N80R]

Originally Posted by BELLEROPHON

in continuous flow systems where the hydroton is always humid and wet, the problems with PH generally don't happen. In systems like ebb and flow or flood and drain , the hydroton is exposed to air for much longer periods and in some systems some pebbles even dry out.
Rinsing with peroxide or vinegar are really not ideal products to be using to clean and reset the CEC of Hydroton.
In hydroton systems where PH swings are becoming a problem , take a good look at everything and look for dry spots. Sealing the root zone environment to maintain high humidity in the media is standard fix.
To correctly wash and more importantly reset the CEC of hydroton or other hardened expanded clays, Bleach is the correct product. I am amazed to see people using vinegars and peroxides for this task.
I posted this in the other hydroton thread but here it is again.
Mix a solution of 90% pure water , RO or distilled preferrably and add 10% BLEACH.
Soak and rinse.
In our systems the HEC is flushed between every crop with this solution.

I did read somewhere not to use bleach because the pebbles can retain the bleach in the pores and it ends up coming out in the system.

[EL1M1N80R]

Originally Posted by Kinetic

I use hydroton and have no issues. My procedure was this:

1. Dumped hydroton into a 20gal container and filled with water.
2. Agitated rocks for several minutes.
3. Dumped and filled with water a couple times.
5. Mixed a small amount of hydrogen peroxide (3 sec pour?) with water and soaked for 5 minutes while stirring because I'm OCD.
6. Drained, refilled, rinsed while agitating.
7. Attached an aluminum window screen material (lowes) to the top of container so that it dipped inwards.
5. Dumped hydroton onto screen and ran water over rocks and agitated for a short time to make sure there was no more dust.
6. Agitated rocks while blow drying for 30 minutes. You can let them dry over a few hours with the lid over them, I'm just impatient. Excess water dropped into container.
7. Ready for use.

I am OCD too and what I thought was a thorough rise, over a 3 day period I still ran into massive swings.

The photos in the post with all the silt was after 3 days of cleaning and soaking prior to a vinegar bath.

[Absolem]

Super easy way to rinse hydroton. Take a five gallon bucket and drill a bunch of holes around the bottom edge. Put the hydroton in the bucket and rinse away. The debris washes out the bottom and the water doesn't overflow the hydroton over the top edge. I would rinse mine first, then soak in bleach for 24hr, then soak in RO water for 24hr, then one more good rinse in the five gallon bucket. 20 gallon Rubbermaid works great for rinsing too if you have a lot to clean.

[Andyo]

Originally Posted by BELLEROPHON

in continuous flow systems where the hydroton is always humid and wet, the problems with PH generally don't happen. In systems like ebb and flow or flood and drain , the hydroton is exposed to air for much longer periods and in some systems some pebbles even dry out.
Rinsing with peroxide or vinegar are really not ideal products to be using to clean and reset the CEC of Hydroton.
In hydroton systems where PH swings are becoming a problem , take a good look at everything and look for dry spots. Sealing the root zone environment to maintain high humidity in the media is standard fix.
To correctly wash and more importantly reset the CEC of hydroton or other hardened expanded clays, Bleach is the correct product. I am amazed to see people using vinegars and peroxides for this task.
I posted this in the other hydroton thread but here it is again.
Mix a solution of 90% pure water , RO or distilled preferrably and add 10% BLEACH.
Soak and rinse.
In our systems the HEC is flushed between every crop with this solution.

Its exactly as you say.
Plus nutes formulated for hydroton which i have formulated 20 yrs ago and use till this day.

Also certain nutes will add to this as they use up nitrogen
N03 / NH4
Ca(NO3)2 = calcium nitrate will raise ph as nitrogen used
NH4NO3 = ammonium nitrate will lower ph as nitrogen used

So best is rain or RO water with a nutrient formula calculated to buffer ph rise via NH4NO3

need measure ph last few drips run off from hydroton at 1 hr and 2 hr after flood/drain.

in grow it runs 5.8 to 6.2 over 5 days 250 ltrs under 1000w
in bloom its reverse 6.2 to 5.8 over 5 days.A

[Andyo]

Originally Posted by BELLEROPHON

I know you know
Bleach is not going to hurt your system in trace amounts and in fact would be beneficial in some aspects. It is a bit of a given that after the soak and flush in the 10% bleach solution , one follows up with clean fresh water. Using this method does more than just clean the hydroton. More importantly it resets the cation exchange capacity. Which is the whole reason for using a product like hydroton as a grow media. Try it and watch your plants excell.

10% bleach solution ?
Assuming sodium hypochlorite how much in say 100 litres to make a 10% solution