# Cleaning Hydroton



## GrowinGreen (Feb 10, 2010)

It's a pain in the ***.

The only reason I do it, is to get the old roots out from the previous grow, but is it really necessary? Also, all I use is water to rinse it.

Any tips on an easy way to clean it?


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## LEFTHAND (Feb 10, 2010)

*or you can make a screen for it.. dump the hydroton on a tarp.. let it dry... roots will dry out for you..and become crisp.. take tray with screen 1/4" sqaures.. and shake... all the roots and crap fall underneith.. then you can cook it in the oven... rest will burn off... or boil it.. in big basin out back over fire..... i have boiled mine on stove that took me 3 hrs to clean 9 5gallon pails full... rinse and let dry.. it is ready for next grow.. no need for bleach.... 
or you can sit and pick.. you choice.. but so far this is the easiest way i have found.. and i do beleive its Zem who throws his in the oven...
LH*


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## nouvellechef (Feb 10, 2010)

Here is the easiest way. Find a industrial kitchen supply place. Ask them to show you stainless or plastic "perf' pans. You will need one 2"-8" perf and one solid pan. Size depends on how much hydroton. Dump the hydroton into the perf, drop into the non-perf pan and submerge in water/bleach mix. Lift, dump dirty mix, refill, do it until it looks new.

Or lose the hydroton as it is kinda a pain, depending on quanity and roll with, Sure to Grow. Not reusable but works badazz


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## LEFTHAND (Feb 10, 2010)

nouvellechef said:
			
		

> Here is the easiest way. Find a industrial kitchen supply place. Ask them to show you stainless or plastic "perf' pans. You will need one 2"-8" perf and one solid pan. Size depends on how much hydroton. Dump the hydroton into the perf, drop into the non-perf pan and submerge in water/bleach mix. Lift, dump dirty mix, refill, do it until it looks new.
> 
> Or lose the hydroton as it is kinda a pain, depending on quanity and roll with, Sure to Grow. Not reusable but works badazz


 
*hydroton is a pain.. but then you cant run an Ebb n flow the way its ment to be ran.. 1-2 waterings a day on sure grow isnt the what ebb was designed...*
*LH*


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## nouvellechef (Feb 10, 2010)

Didnt see he said Ebb?


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## LEFTHAND (Feb 10, 2010)

nouvellechef said:
			
		

> Didnt see he said Ebb?


 
*dont think he mentioned ebb. but a few have .. and sure grow pops up right behind it... *
*that sure grow changes the grow totally.. to crap.. lol another marketing scam.. maybe for pots.. but i wouldnt even use it in dwc.. that shet would stay soaked... like a sponge..*
*LH*

*PS: just cuz something is a lil harder to do or takes time.. figure out a way to make it easier.. spending money on a non reuseable product is not the answer ..*


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## nouvellechef (Feb 10, 2010)

You were spot on about it. I bought 1. Stayed wet for wayyyyyy to long. Now I cant even think of a appliation it would work in.


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## LEFTHAND (Feb 10, 2010)

nouvellechef said:
			
		

> You were spot on about it. I bought 1. Stayed wet for wayyyyyy to long. Now I cant even think of a appliation it would work in.


 
*Cloning.. stay wet just like rockwool.. .. then when you go oh shet my babies and run down there it will still be moist..*
*LH*


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## nouvellechef (Feb 10, 2010)

For sure. Was thinking of those large ones.


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## GrowinGreen (Feb 21, 2010)

Well I went with the advice of boiling the hydroton and man is it easy haha definitely will be doing it this way from now on.

I just used this real big stew pan we have.. I really don't know if it is called a stew pan, but if I were going to make some stew I would definitely use it haha ... boiled the water, used this nifty kitchen utensil to remove the roots from the top

Then just poured the hydroton into a strainer and gave it a rinse.

Cleaning it my old way KILLLED my back and I'm not even old

It seems like a lot of the roots actually dissolve in the water which is really cool


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## DonJones (Feb 22, 2010)

As to the issues raised with Sure To Grow, it is designed to stay wet.  Their recommendations are to flood it for less than 10 minutes at a time and then only about 4to 6 times a day. 

In DWC IF you are keeping the solution highly oxygenated, then there is NO reason for the media to ever dry out.  

Rafting actually floats the medium in the water at the surface so it always stays wet and if the solution is highly oxygenated, the plants seem to thrive.

Aeroponics keeps the roots wet constantly too.

The reason that you need the dry period is to get oxygen to the roots, not to dry them out.

Regardless of the medium, General Hydro recommends running the solution 24/7 because the air pump action in lifting the solution to the drip ring give a high dissolved oxygen content and there is no need for a dry period.

Now that you know how it is supposed to work, either use it or not as you see fit, but please don't bad mouth a product that you obviously didn't understand.  IF you had problems with the product, it was mostly likely because you didn't have enough dissolved oxygen in the solution.

The STG cubes have given me the best results of any medium in cloning, even better than using either a bubble cloner or a spray/mist cloner and the best rooting and young plant growth that I've seen.  They have also given me the best results in growing from seed of any medium that I've seen in use.

Yes, they are disposable and that might be a concern for some of us, but in comparison they use a lot of recycled plastic and are in the process in switching completely to recycled plastic so the environmental impact is minimal.

I don't see anyone complaining about Rockwool not being biodegradable or staying wet too long.  That is what the STG is is a plastic based fibrous medium instead of a mineral based fibrous medium.

Personally I obviously think the STG is a great product, but in my case the shipping costs are approximately 1/3 of the price of the product which makes them much more expensive than buying clay balls locally without freight.  The price of the Hail that is supposed to replace clay balls is very nearly the same as clay balls on a volume basis and if I could buy the locally, I would not hesitate to use it instead of the clay balls.

I'm getting ready to make a side by side Waterfarm grow using clay balls in half of the pots and the STG hail in the other have, using the recommended 24/7 drip cycle in both sets and the same nutrients and additives to directly compare the results in my environment and operation.

Great smoking.


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## LEFTHAND (Feb 22, 2010)

*whats witht the sure to grow Don??.. you seem to be pushing it.. i think shes a bad choice of medium for Ebb... why on earth would one wont to cut back on feedin in hydro??  come on now. just to beable to use the product lol. i flood my tubs 1hr on 2 off 24/7 till i chop em.. good luck to you don.. im a gonna keep me hydroton  
LH*


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## pcduck (Feb 22, 2010)

> Now that you know how it is supposed to work, either use it or not as you see fit, but please don't bad mouth a product that you obviously didn't understand.



well Don they have an opinion just like you. They bought the said product and was not satisfied with it. I would imagine they have growing experience just like you. Now why would you have to go and spout off about something you have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe there system is/was set up just like you said was that the optimal levels should be? You just assumed they did it wrong.


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## tintala (Feb 24, 2010)

I use SIMPLE GREEN PRO 3, its 15$ a gal at HD and is way better than bleach , no toxic, can go down the drain, do not need gloves (I use me anyway) and kills viruses, bacteria, and fungus, they use this in Hospitals... Iwouldnt use anything else.


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## PieRsquare (Feb 24, 2010)

DonJones said:
			
		

> In DWC IF you are keeping the solution highly oxygenated, then there is NO reason for the media to ever dry out.


The media really isn't intended to "dry out" in any system. The drain cycle of ebb and flow and off time used in other types of hydro are done to provide the roots with as much available oxygen as possible. By draining the water away from the roots, in ebb and flow, it causes a vacuum that pulls ambient oxygen into the root zone and accomplishes oxygen saturation in the root zone. Other type of hydro do this with less saturation, but more than if the water was left on at all times.



			
				DonJones said:
			
		

> Rafting actually floats the medium in the water at the surface so it always stays wet and if the solution is highly oxygenated, the plants seem to thrive.


The water in any rafting system, (which is really nothing more than DWC), has to be oxygenated somehow. If the needed oxygenation isn't available, the plants die. Most raft systems use air pumps in their reservoirs to accomplish this.



			
				DonJones said:
			
		

> Aeroponics keeps the roots wet constantly too.


I understand what you meant, but your wording isn't really correct. The roots in an aeroponic system aren't wet all the time. In the micro process, the stream of water/oxygen that is directed at the roots is highly saturated with oxygen. During any given time, the flow striking the roots has a constant flow of both oxygen molecules and water molecules touching the roots. If the oxygen saturation of the solution is at 30%, it means that in essence, 30% of each root is actually in oxygen at any time. To the human eye, it 'looks' like it's wet constantly, but in actuality, it's not wet 30% of the time. This is what makes aeroponics work better than any other form of hydro in terms of plant health. Depending on the type of delivery nozzles (spray heads), used, the oxygen levels can be brought up to the 50/50 level or even higher, which is the best that can be achieved in any form of hydro.


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## LEFTHAND (Feb 24, 2010)

*ive explained this many times.. but doesnt seem to sink in... glad to see someone who understands Ebb..
LH*


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## nouvellechef (Feb 24, 2010)

I got it 

With all the hydroton I have to use. I decided to use my own thought on cleaning the hydroton as stated earlier. I got a used 8cf industrial steamer with 6" mesh stainless pans. I will do a trial and report back on how well a full blown steam on the hydroton works. The unit is plumbed and all that, I know it sounds like alot, but if I can just load the hydroton into pans, steam it off and wash and dry. It would save me many hours of boiling hydroton and dealing with the water, etc. 

Will report back.


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## PieRsquare (Feb 24, 2010)

nouvellechef said:
			
		

> I got it
> 
> With all the hydroton I have to use. I decided to use my own thought on cleaning the hydroton as stated earlier. I got a used 8cf industrial steamer with 6" mesh stainless pans. I will do a trial and report back on how well a full blown steam on the hydroton works. The unit is plumbed and all that, I know it sounds like a lot, but if I can just load the hydroton into pans, steam it off and wash and dry. It would save me many hours of boiling hydroton and dealing with the water, etc.
> 
> Will report back.


I tried steam once. It sterilizes of course, but the thing I like about using boiling water is the stems all float to the top and I can skim them off. When I steamed it, I had to pick the stems out still. It was about the same amount of labor/time.


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## LEFTHAND (Feb 24, 2010)

PieRsquare said:
			
		

> I tried steam once. It sterilizes of course, but the thing I like about using boiling water is the stems all float to the top and I can skim them off. When I steamed it, I had to pick the stems out still. It was about the same amount of labor/time.


 
*as well with not boiling it your not breaking down the salt build up within the hydroton itself. which may cause a problem down the road.. vs the boilding kinda does all in one.. *
*LH*


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## PieRsquare (Feb 24, 2010)

LEFTHAND said:
			
		

> *as well with not boiling it your not breaking down the salt build up within the hydroton itself. which may cause a problem down the road.. vs the boiling kinda does all in one.. *
> *LH*


Well, I can only imagine that the steam does get up into the pores of the hydroton and condense, thus flushing a little of the salt out, but like you, I think the boiling probably does it more effectively.


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## PieRsquare (Feb 24, 2010)

Let's remember also that hydroton is not just "clay balls". It's heat expanded clay pellets. It's way, way more porous that what plain old clay balls would be.


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## DonJones (Feb 24, 2010)

LH & PieRsquare,

None of you seem to pay attention.  Every comment I made was carefully qualified with the provision that IF you were using HIGHLY OXYGENATED WATER.

Both of you explained what I had already said about the dry period being to allow oxygen to get to the roots not to dry them out.  IF THE SOLUTION/WATER IS ALREADY HIGHLY OXYGENATED THEN YOU DO NOT NEED THE DRY PERIOD TO PULL AIR IN TO OXYGENATE THE ROOTS!

To everyone else,  Aeroponics does NOT mean intermittent spraying ONLY, but any kind of spraying of oxygenate solution on the roots, including fogging.


Now who was pouting off about what they don't know anything about?

Like I said, once you understand how it is supposed to be used, make your own choice but don't bad mouth a product for doing just exactly what it is designed to do.  Also, maybe before bad mouthing me you need to research Sure To Grow's recommendations on using their product in ebb and flow settings to see if you understand what you're complaining about.  
also, if I don't know how their systems were set up, neither do you or you would have said so rether than using maybe.

Why don't you all just let people who may think they are being picked on raise the issue them selves instead of mouthing off about something that exists in your own minds and doesn't effect you anyway?

This whole thread was nice and polite until you all started bashing me about posting factual information that you disagreed with, but chose to turn into a bash Don party instead of supplying factual information to counter what you though I misstated when you obviously either didn't read what I said or what I meant.

Great smoking.


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## PieRsquare (Feb 24, 2010)

DonJones said:
			
		

> None of you seem to pay attention.Now who was pouting off about what they don't know anything about? Also, maybe before bad mouthing me you need to research...to see if you understand what you're complaining about. Why don't you all just...instead of mouthing off about something that exists in your own minds and doesn't effect you anyway?


 
Ha, this is easy to fix:

*WTMIL*


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## jamexican686 (Mar 10, 2010)

could you use a mixture of rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, I really dont have a root ball problem, the hydroton was on the bottom of my dutch buckets, so the root ball was all the coco and the roots were suspended in the hydroton. Could I run a water pump in a 5 gal. bucket with a mixture of hydr. peroxide, or rubbing alchohol?


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## zem (Mar 10, 2010)

i tried few ways and found this method to be the least work, you get big metal buckets that fit in an oven, throw your rocks in, put in oven for 2-3 hours, wait till they cool down, take out and fill your pots, the roots mostly become ashes and get washed away, the remaining rootballs you can just remove as your refilling pots, the ashes get washed away when you flush the growrocks. it doesnt require much work only a wait till they cook and its clean. drowning them in liquid is a pain i dont advise you to do it, actually spreading them lettin them dry out for a day then handpicking the roots would be easier than drowning them IME, cheers


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## LEFTHAND (Mar 10, 2010)

DonJones said:
			
		

> LH & PieRsquare,
> 
> None of you seem to pay attention. Every comment I made was carefully qualified with the provision that IF you were using HIGHLY OXYGENATED WATER.
> 
> ...


 
*How old are you don?? cuz your acting like my 4 yr old son... i never bashhed you.. maybe poked a lil fun at the fact your like a sales person.. really big on the sure to grow.. i have reasearched it.. and for a "true ebb n flow" its not a "proper medium" maybe for those on drip.. or automated waterin systems but not ebb.. now shame on you if you by into or listen to most to all a grow shop has to say.. half the time they arent using the product like we do and dont even use the product period.. *
*but thats your own being and doing to listen and gather facts from your local hydro store.. when i was at the store 3 days ago to pic up a few items.. they had it.. but funny thing is he rathered me to buy hydroton..why because its more applicable to my grow.. *
*sorry to inform you... WTMIL*
*LH*


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## zem (Mar 11, 2010)

alexjoan said:
			
		

> Hi Growin.
> First of all wash them off with bleech and water like 1/3 bleach to 1 whole water. wash them off and or soak them keep repeating until they are clean, and then rinse them off with a lot of plain good water.
> Is the hyrdoton stuck in the roots if so, just start shaking them out they should come out with out you having to pull each one individually. Its tricky and probably time consuming, you could cut them out in sections. Its gonna be messy i can see it already.


man when someone asks for a way to clean hydroton he usually means that he wants an easy way, this method is the hardest by far, you said it to be time consuming, i did it twice and it's as hard as trimming so you should multiply trimming time by 2 i remember i used to get frustated and angry with wet hands and bleach smell  please dont give such advice any more


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## LEFTHAND (Mar 11, 2010)

alexjoan said:
			
		

> Hi Growin.
> First of all wash them off with bleech and water like 1/3 bleach to 1 whole water. wash them off and or soak them keep repeating until they are clean, and then rinse them off with a lot of plain good water.
> Is the hyrdoton stuck in the roots if so, just start shaking them out they should come out with out you having to pull each one individually. Its tricky and probably time consuming, you could cut them out in sections. Its gonna be messy i can see it already.


 
*toally agree with ya zem.. *

*alex if you can void using chemical to clean your hydroton  then do so.. much nicer and so much easier..*
*LH*


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## GrowinGreen (Mar 11, 2010)

haha, lot's happenin' here ....so you're saying i should use hydrochloric acid?


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## jamexican686 (Mar 12, 2010)

Ok so I went a lil different route, I first ran the hydroton in a 5 gal bucket with some water and a lil rubbing alcohol, then ran a water pump to mix everything around and all the sediment fell to the bottom. I let it run in there for about an hour then scooped them out of the water mixture and place them on trays and put them in the over at 400 F for another hour. After this, i picked out all the pebbles with any visual salt build up and threw them away, and all the rest put them into another bucket lil by lil making sure there weren't any roots. After they were all in the bucket, I put some PH'd water and let them sit over night mixing them around once in a while. Finally I drained the bucket and rinsed it out then set all the hydroton in another 5 gal bucket full of PH'd water with a 25% mixture of my veg fertilizer. Then I was finished I saved me a lil denero but every little bit counts!


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## zem (Mar 12, 2010)

:holysheep: least i could say is that its overkill, you can rinse your rocks with tap water as soon as you refill them in pots after cleaning then feed em with ph'd and ferts solution when plants go in there, i dont throw any rocks


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## jamexican686 (Mar 13, 2010)

I threw the rocks away cus they had alot of salt build up on them and I was changing nutes. But yeah I just want to make sure that there isn't anything that will throw my plants off focusing on a good grow this time around going to post a journal soon. I'm going to be growing some Hindu Kush x Skunk #1, Purple Diesel, Bubba Kush, Mendo Kush, Chocolope, and Super Grape Ape under a 1000w HPS in DWC buckets.


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## zem (Mar 13, 2010)

jamexican686 said:
			
		

> Ok so I went a lil different route, I first ran the hydroton in a 5 gal bucket with some water and a lil rubbing alcohol, then ran a water pump to mix everything around and all the sediment fell to the bottom. I let it run in there for about an hour then scooped them out of the water mixture and place them on trays and put them in the over at 400 F for another hour. After this, i picked out all the pebbles with any visual salt build up and threw them away, and all the rest put them into another bucket lil by lil making sure there weren't any roots. After they were all in the bucket, I put some PH'd water and let them sit over night mixing them around once in a while. Finally I drained the bucket and rinsed it out then set all the hydroton in another 5 gal bucket full of PH'd water with a 25% mixture of my veg fertilizer. Then I was finished I saved me a lil denero but every little bit counts!


i'm visualizing an episode of "how it's made" :rofl:


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## LEFTHAND (Mar 13, 2010)

jamexican686 said:
			
		

> I threw the rocks away cus they had alot of salt build up on them and I was changing nutes. But yeah I just want to make sure that there isn't anything that will throw my plants off focusing on a good grow this time around going to post a journal soon. I'm going to be growing some Hindu Kush x Skunk #1, Purple Diesel, Bubba Kush, Mendo Kush, Chocolope, and Super Grape Ape under a 1000w HPS in DWC buckets.


 
*If ya would have tryed the boiling method.. that salt build up would have been gone ..always use the kiss princable..keep it simple stupid..not that im calling anyone stupid....*
*LH*


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