Quote Originally Posted by grow4fun
Wow, barbecue rocks. Never seen those before. Thanks. They look better to me than clay pebbles. I am still interested in the use of landscaping rocks (I would clean/sterilize them of course). Larger volumes of them would be way cheaper [than barbecue or hydroton].
People tell me their experiences with [something], but when I do my own experiments I come out with completely different results. For instance Hydroton. ??It doesn??t affect the pH of water?. In my experience that statement would be true only if you??re using tapwater, where the pH is already high 7.2 ?? 8.2. I washed my hydroton a dozen times. Then immersed it in a volume of pure R.O. water (pH 6.2), waited overnight, and it invariably raised the reading to around 8 ?? quite unacceptable. Tried it several times. Good pH meter, tested, calibrated; a solid experiment. And no matter how many times you wash them, more red powder keeps coming off ?? you could wash them until they disintegrate!. Guess I could do what other people do: use pH down and get over it.
Maybe there are different brands of pebbles. I??ve read that some ??cheap agricultural?? brands do leach and raise the water pH. I got mine from a growstore, but maybe that brand has started using the cheap stuff. Or maybe it??s all that way???
lava rocks need to be crushed up, before using...but, they don't hold a candle to hydroton for hydro...
which, I have cleaned and rinsed and never get dust after I'm done...you must use a collander or something that allows the dust/redness to dissipate over several rinses, it works...Zandor uses one of those homeowner portable cement mixers w/a shitload of holes drilled in the sides and hoses'em DOWN...

goodluck, be patient and on task always, when growing. Try and start small. but use good proven products and techniques until you get a 'REAL' harvest or 2 under your belt.