Hydroton Question

Hi Everyone!

This is my first time using hydroton. I got some used stuff from a friend, and I have cleaned it, soaked it, and baked it, and now I am wondering if I should soak it again before using it, or if I should just put the freshly baked hydroton into my pots as is. I let it cool for a while, so it is now at room temp, but it is completely dry.

My instincts tell me that I should probably soak it again in pH neutral water, but I'm not sure.

Can anybody give me some guidance on this issue?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Ohh.. Also, if I should soak it before use, would it be better to soak it in a nutrient solution (similar to, or the same as the mix I plan to use)?

AND.. I soaked the hydroton in isopropyl alcohol the rinsed throughly before i baked it in the oven at 350 for an hour. The hydroton still has the slightest sent of alcohol on it (barely noticeable). Is this a problem? Should I continue to rinse it?

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All posts by this user are strictly for novelty purposes

You're fine with using it as is. I've been using hydroton for years, and all I do is rinse it in water with some bleach. That kills everything you don't want. Then rinse well, and rinse again.... and its ready to go.

keylime

So do you let it dry before you put it in your system, or do you just put it in when its still wet from the rinse?

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Originally Posted by HydroLife

So do you let it dry before you put it in your system, or do you just put it in when its still wet from the rinse?

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wet is fine, the main thing is that you want to rinse them off and make sure theyre clean.

Hell we just boil ours :thumbsup:
Yes it should be soaked to PH'd water, no nutes. Fill bucket with hydrotron and soak in PH water for a few hours and check PH. If more than a couple points from your starting PH then dump water and repeat until PH water in with Tron stabilizes.

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Originally Posted by tinytoon

Hell we just boil ours :thumbsup:
Yes it should be soaked to PH'd water, no nutes. Fill bucket with hydrotron and soak in PH water for a few hours and check PH. If more than a couple points from your starting PH then dump water and repeat until PH water in with Tron stabilizes.

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I'm sure it does no harm to PH the water after cleaning your hydroton, but unless there are unusual reasons it will not affect anything. Hydroton has very little moisture retention, very much unlike rockwool. It makes no sense to soak the hydroton in PH'd water.


keylime

From my experience NOT soaking the tron will give ph fluctuations that will drive you crazy trying to figure out. Once I started washing then soaking in phd water (due to suggestion) I started having alot less fluctuations.

I soak in PH water if not your chasing your a$$ everyday trying to get back to 5.7-6.0. And for what the cost of PH up/down is why the hell not but it seriously seems to be eaiser and more stable to keep water ph'ed

Thanks guys.. I really appreciate the input. I soaked it in ph'd water and kept repeating until the ph was stable. I know this is a total newbie question but, every time I drained the water out it was discolored from the hydroton. I assume this will never end (right?), so my question is... Does this effect the longevity of my reservoir?

Currently, I change my res every week (completely empty it and refill with fresh water and nutes). Can I just continue in this fashion, or should I be changing more often because of some effect the hydroton runoff might cause?

Thanks!


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all posts by this user are just for shits and giggles! I like to pretend :D
Sometimes I pretend to be high, but really I'm to scared to do pot!

i recommend that you save some money a get some pea gravel. its 3 bucks for a 50lb bag at home depot and it is heavier and it gives you plants roots a little more stability as it grows. and when it comes to cleaning it very easy with a teaspoon of bleach to 5 gallons of water and wash and dry and good to go....i find alot of draw backs to hydroton as some floats some stink. it is light weight and just seems to get all over if a plant begins to lean. try a conparison using the gravel in one pot next to your hydroton and soon you will be a gravel fan....it last forever and i just love love it

Hmmm.. sounds interesting. I think I'll have to try that. The thing is, I use flood tables with 6" square pots inside the tables. If I were to do a side by side comparison then I would have some pots with gravel and some with hydroton in the same table. My concern is... Would the gravel filled pots be okay on the same flood schedule as the hydroton filled pots? I know hydroton retains some water and nutrients, does the gravel do the same?

Thanks!




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all posts by this user are just for shits and giggles! I like to pretend
Sometimes I pretend to be high, but really I'm to scared to do pot!

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Originally Posted by leftreartire

i recommend that you save some money a get some pea gravel. its 3 bucks for a 50lb bag at home depot and it is heavier and it gives you plants roots a little more stability as it grows. and when it comes to cleaning it very easy with a teaspoon of bleach to 5 gallons of water and wash and dry and good to go....

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Another question I have about the gravel is... Does it give off any minerals or anything that may be harmful to my babies?


Thanks!


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all posts by this user are just for shits and giggles! I like to pretend
Sometimes I pretend to be high, but really I'm to scared to do pot!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HydroLife

Another question I have about the gravel is... Does it give off any minerals or anything that may be harmful to my babies?


Thanks!

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Ive never grown hydro so I could be wrong about this...

I used to maintain a lot of aquariums and a common problem was owners adding rocks to the aquascaping and most rocks you find laying around will screw with water one way or another to kill fish. If it'll kill fish it might not have a desired affect or effect on a plant. Especially if the roots are wrapped directly around it.

Rocks can screw with the pH severely, release trace elements that can kill fish, and some stones will wipe out and entire 125 gallon aquarium full of plants in less that 48 hours. I know the latter from first hand experience. Theres no telling exactly what type of rocks the gravel is made of so theres no telling what it'll do.

I found this on another site, its context was aquarium life but like I said up there...

"were to begin well lets start our geology lesson in the igneous type

igneous rocks that are safe

granites
schists
basalts
obsidian
anorthisite

these rocks can be considered inert for the purposes of use in aquariums

Metamorphic

Slate ( if you are looking for thicker pieces of slate they are out there but less common since a slate in just a metamorphosed shale which are typically thinly bedded.
marbles (if you have hard water)
quartzite's
Gneisses

note if the rock has any pure minerals in it that are the source of an ore such as galena gold silver coper or zinc do not use then in you aquarium at all.

Sedimentary

lime stone (if you have hard water and like it that way)
sand stones not on occasion some sandstones do contain minerals that contain heavy metals.

shales are safe but will brake down over time in to a pile of sharp slivers of stone

note this is a very basic list of aquarium safe rocks if you would like a more specific answer just shoot me a line and i will see what i can do to help." - metageologist

Wow that is good info to read .... thanks for posting it :thumbsup:
The discolored water will stop, it is rinsing the dust off the hydrotron. I also learned about soaking the hard way when I almost lost 10 plants.