Yeah I read about all the bad things about the STG inserts but the Hail seems like it might actually work since its just cubes and not a bowl like the inserts. So root rot should be a minimum. Even if I go back to hydroton, I already factored in as a consumable waste after one time so I am not going to reuse majority of them. I am in the same boat as you. 3x 50 liter bags. Not looking forward to cleaning and then waiting a whole week for the pH to stabilize. DAMN!
BEST WAY TO CLEAN HYDROTRON AFTER HARVAST +rep
- Thread starter hellraizer30
- Start date
Badbackguy
Well-Known Member
I also hate cleaning it. Usually, I just bury the used and grab some new.. But the new is always mega dusty and needs a decent cleaning / rinse and usually at that time that I wonder why I didn’t just clean the old, then I remember, BECAUSE IT SUCKS to clean that stuff when its already been used..
I boiled the used hydroten once and although it came clean, it stunk like bad clam, for a good minute. I said yikes, never again.
New is the way to go, if you ask me...
I boiled the used hydroten once and although it came clean, it stunk like bad clam, for a good minute. I said yikes, never again.
New is the way to go, if you ask me...
hellraizer30
Rebel From The North
with all the ideas that you guys have gave me this is what im going to try.
1st step wash as much roots out as posable
2nd step boil in a 10gal turkey fryer
3rd step bake in the oven to dry
ive done a 50L bag so far it sucks but its better than just buying new.
1st step wash as much roots out as posable
2nd step boil in a 10gal turkey fryer
3rd step bake in the oven to dry
ive done a 50L bag so far it sucks but its better than just buying new.
I'd eliminate either step 2 or step 3. both would do the same thing, kill anything organic so it can be rinsed off easily.
maybe if baking seems easier than boiling, do a search to see how people bake them. I'd put them in a giant pan and bake them for 20 minutes at the highest temp that the oven would go... 500 or so. Shouldnt take long to cook any root matter at that temp, plus, all charred up, it should rinse off easily.
2nd edit: why not just try a cookie sheet and a pan to boil, to test each method. Clean small amounts of pebbles, but try to get nice and dirty/rooty pebbles. Rooty Pebbles!! lol , get it?
seriously though, before you go through some major process with such a large volume of hydroton, give each method a test run, hell, you can do both at the same time and see which ones seem to come cleaner. Even do a cookie sheet of 'pre-rinsed' hydroton, and another with the stuff sraight from your ebb/grow. same with the boiling. Time is money. Good luck and please post results.
Upon further thought... skip step one too. Why bother going through that lengthy step if you're just going to boil or bake the fuck out of the old roots anyway? burn the shit the fuck up and rinse it the fuck off. BAM! clean clay pebbles. (or so we all hope)
for baking, you can get those deep giant aluminum pans that they use for baking turkeys. Those have to be cheap and re-usable.
I'd test it too to compare, but the hydroton that I use doesnt have any root matter on/in it, I only use hydroton to top my pots filled with rockwool to keep algae off of the rockwool (I do flood and drain). My hydroton is super easy to clean. I soak it in water/ h2o2, agitate it a couple times during the soak, and then just rinse well.
I'd test it too to compare, but the hydroton that I use doesnt have any root matter on/in it, I only use hydroton to top my pots filled with rockwool to keep algae off of the rockwool (I do flood and drain). My hydroton is super easy to clean. I soak it in water/ h2o2, agitate it a couple times during the soak, and then just rinse well.
hellraizer30
Rebel From The North
thanks il try that bake then rinse
joe macclennan
Well-Known Member
i believe i have discovered the most effective and efficient way of cleaning old rock. i used to run 4 seperate 2x4 flood and drain trays w/between 10-20 5 inch pots per tray. seperate as much of the old root material from the rock by hand. I always let my pots dry for a week or two after harvest to facilitate easy rock removal. Find yourself an old washing machine that you never want to put clothes in again and fill it about half way with rock and throw in enough bleach so it stinks i used to use about a pint or so per batch. turn washer on. the agitate cycle does a damn good job of getting all those salts and stuff off. its kinda like each rock acts as sandpaper on the one next to it. so your rocks come out very clean.thats pretty much it. sometimes if there is a lot of roots and stuff left i will run it thru a couple of cycles.you can tell how clean your rock is by the color of the water being spun out. make sure you rinse it good to rid yourself of any leftover bleach. i have ran a shitpile of rock thru my old maytag and it still works im talking hundreds of pounds of rock over about 3 years until i went full aero. sure the drum squeals every now and then when a rock gets stuck but talk about a timesaver. if you are washing more than 20# of rock at a time imo this is the only way to go. i was so proud when i had this epiphany it was like god himself said, "son im gonna save you hours of backbreaking work" but if you only need to wash a few pots i always did it in a laundry sink before. i always let my rock sit for a while (1-2 months) after to allow any left over bleach to dissipate i never saw any adverse effects from using the bleach this way but if you must reuse the rock immediately h202 would be a better choice.
i hope someone else can use this idea
joe
i hope someone else can use this idea
joe
wookieslinger
Active Member
Exactly.
Hydroton is doomed. If this STG product does not cut it someone will come up with something better. I'm going to give the STG loose fill a go on next round.
Cleaning Hydroton sucks. I've always just used the tub, h20 and bleach.
hellraizer30
Rebel From The North
all I got to say is somebody do a jurnal using stg loose fill cuz im about to pull my hair out lol
id just throw it away!!! but its going to be 260$ to replace it and im a penny pincher
id just throw it away!!! but its going to be 260$ to replace it and im a penny pincher
ottermunky
Active Member
[/QUOTE]Cleaning Hydroton sucks. I've always just used the tub, h20 and bleach.[/QUOTE]
did you find the bleach makes it stink forever? that why mine ended up being used in the garden!
did you find the bleach makes it stink forever? that why mine ended up being used in the garden!
wookieslinger
Active Member
No I didn't notice. I fill the tub with hot water and throw a few stock pots of boiling water in as well. It's probably is only a cup o bleach come to think of it.
I am going to try out the STG Hail in combination with some hydroton and rockwool. Can't get away from rockwool until I get my own clones going without them.all I got to say is somebody do a jurnal using stg loose fill cuz im about to pull my hair out lol
id just throw it away!!! but its going to be 260$ to replace it and im a penny pincher
Clone in 1" rockwool + hydroton in a 5" netpot DWC, then transplant the whole pot into the Ebb and Grow filled with STG Hail.
hellraizer30
Rebel From The North
sounds like a plan keep us posted
joe macclennan
Well-Known Member
get away from the rockwool for cloning and build yourself an aerocloner for about 50 buks you will be very happy.
my 2cents
joe
ottermunky
Active Member
I managed to get some real nice ph neutral gold label (or something like that name) hydroton in a huuuge bag. yeah you still have to rinse it but never again am i going through all that bollox of washing it! there are plenty of good uses for it, you dont have to waste it.I also hate cleaning it. Usually, I just bury the used and grab some new.. But the new is always mega dusty and needs a decent cleaning / rinse and usually at that time that I wonder why I didn’t just clean the old, then I remember, BECAUSE IT SUCKS to clean that stuff when its already been used..
I boiled the used hydroten once and although it came clean, it stunk like bad clam, for a good minute. I said yikes, never again.
defcomexperiment
Well-Known Member
check it, get a drywall mud whip for a drill, a very large tub, something like this:
http://www.katom.com/007-FG424500BLA.html?CID=nextag
fill it with water, add your h2o2, make sure you wear protective gloves and goggles and let it circulate with that whip until all that organic material is broken off... let that shit soak for a while... then grab a collander and skim off all the hydroton, shizzam, should be clean, if you feel like it, load it into the oven...
http://www.katom.com/007-FG424500BLA.html?CID=nextag
fill it with water, add your h2o2, make sure you wear protective gloves and goggles and let it circulate with that whip until all that organic material is broken off... let that shit soak for a while... then grab a collander and skim off all the hydroton, shizzam, should be clean, if you feel like it, load it into the oven...
raindog
Member
On this thread I heard only one mention of perlite instead of hydroton. Anything wrong with coarse perlite? I'm planning on doing my 12/12 with nine plants in 2 gal smart pots (coco/perlite), ebb and flo on a 4 x 4 tray, setting the pots in 4" of ??... hydroton (yeicks), lava rock (cheap), or perlite (cheap, disposable, and it's white).
Is perlite a viable substitute for hydroton?
Is perlite a viable substitute for hydroton?
hellraizer30
Rebel From The North
Only thing i dont like about perlite is it dont hold much water
pazuzu420
Well-Known Member
I was just thinking that myself Joe. The way he is currently cloning sounds painful....
I use a homemade aerocloner also but was going to stick a few cuts in 1.5 rockwool starter cubes ph'd and soaked in a liquid clonex solution and then place those in a shallow plastic tub then hand water with a turkey baster when almost dry.
100 percent sucess with the aerocloner but want to see if I can just do cubes like the package says.