Hydroton needs prep!!!...be careful ..!!...

[zoomatl]

I used to use the inexpensive/cheap grow rocks ...the ones that look like large gravel .. odd sizes and pieces and they produced killer grows ..i had a little extra cash so i sprung for the expensive pretty round marble sized Hydroton ...I washed it just like I washed the cheep rocks ...maybe a little more ...but it was not nearly enough it turns out and since my tap water runs at a ph of 9 I was adding insult to injury ...I have had nothing but problems..from soaring ph to sickly looking plants...combined with the fact that they spent a few day in one of those poison Hydrohuts... I have to say .." this grow is trashed.."...."Say la V"...lol.
I did salvage the grow rocks from a few of the first plants that bit the dust ...I washed them in flora shield and bleach water a million times and they were finally dust free...Im using them in bubble buckets now and the plants look ~Amazing...!!! ~...Im assuming all the Ph adjusting I had to do contributed to the poor health after I got them out of the poison Hydrohut...Anyway... I will throughly wash and ph this Hydroton that I will salvage from the current grow that Im about to trash.....and reuse it ...it cost a fortune so I guess it will be good for a couple of grows once it has been throughly Ph balanced.imp:

zoomatl Reviewed by zoomatl on 06-12-2008. Hydroton needs prep!!!...be careful ..!!... I used to use the inexpensive/cheap grow rocks ...the ones that look like large gravel .. odd sizes and pieces and they produced killer grows ..i had a little extra cash so i sprung for the expensive pretty round marble sized Hydroton ...I washed it just like I washed the cheep rocks ...maybe a little more ...but it was not nearly enough it turns out and since my tap water runs at a ph of 9 I was adding insult to injury ...I have had nothing but problems..from soaring ph to sickly looking Rating: 5

[JeffersonBud]

Just like rockwool, you have to adjust the water before you soak. I believe this is in the directions. Perhaps you should have adjusted your water before you washed. I don't think you should say a product doesn't work or it sucks when you can't follow directions. I have had excellent grows using this product.

[herbie the love bud]

Some people feel that way about Hydroton. But maybe your nutes are out of balance, causing your pH to rise. And how come your hydroton is coming into so much contact with your nutes? Are you using top-feed drip?

[bigjohnson688]

testing

[xcrispi]

Jefferson hit the nail on the head bro.
I have no probs. w/ it either once it's washed and soaked properly in ph adjusted water for 24 hrs.
Crispi :stoned:

[justanotherbozo]

and i didn't find it to be all that expensive either.

like jefferson said, of course you have ph issues, your using ph 9 water to soak the hydroton in.
balance your ph first, then soak the hydroton

[stinkyattic]

It's not the hydroton; it's your prep method.
The stuff is the cat's ass; you just have to 'set' the pH before adding plants. Run your system with no plants for a few days, whcih you have to do anyway to check for leaks and determine your flood/drain timing. During that time, check the pH in the res 2x/day and bring it down to 5.8-6.0 with Nitric or Phosphoric acid. When it stops dropping, do a complete res change, add your plants and nutes, and rock on.

[the image reaper]

I've had no problems with Hydroton, and I'm a hydro-beginner, and a moron (ask anyone) :S2: ... but, ya gotta get that pH correct, and pre-soak first :thumbsup:

[italian04]

ya me too. on my first grow and loving it. you might want to purchase (or make) little covers for your net pots just in cast light gets through to your res water. :thumbsup:
peece

[zoomatl]

I was simply stating that i found the inexpensive grow rocks to be more user friendly...you dont have to ph the cheap grow rocks at all...i can stick a garden hose in the top of the bag made a trillion little holes at the bottom and could flush 50 litres in no time at all with the cheap stuff...but i had to do a lot more washing with the Hydroton.......and it was still dusty comparing to my years of using the cheep stuff.
i know exactly what i did wrong and it is all MY fault...i was just simply posting in case someone like me, who has grown for years in the cheap grow rocks with Killer results, doesn't upgrade without doing the correct ph balancing ...im sure the directions are on the bag, and im a stickler for directions... but because of the inherent similarity of material i did the ASSume thing ...and here i am...i plan to pick up 2 more 50 liter bags of Hydroton this weekend..
Just like my poison Hydro hut i had ...Very similar looking but drastically different results...I didn't know what was happening until i read a post ....Thank you Cannabis.com...!!!
If i had read a post like this i would obviously not be in this situation but you grow and you learn....... :smokin: