Cleaning hydroton

Wanted to post what I made. Nothing special just a screened box to clean my hydroton in it. This is a dedicated bathroom to my grow and I have the exhaust air going into this room then out the window so it gets warm in it.

After trying to clean the hydroton a couple of different ways I found out this works best for me. I leave the hydroton in the box to dry out all of the plant material stuck to the hydroton. After it is dry you roll it around with your hands to get the waste to fall through the screen. It actually feels good on your hands doing this. Then rinse the hydroton off to give it a final rinse. I will either let it dry there and store it in a clean box or it will go into a bucket that has holes in the bottom to finish drying. Eventually I will put a short garden hose on the shower head so I dont have a big hose laying around.

Nifty!

I just throw mine in a large kitchen collander stick it under a tap and keep swishing it all around with my hand, havn't had an issue doing it that way yet, although i wouldn't want to be using that method if using vast quantities.

I have plumbed in sediment traps and then screen so I could get away with using a larger mess in my table so everything smaller than the gravel can leave the table and not get caught in the pump.

dont you want to clean it somehow before storing it? like a rinse in h202 then a final water rinse then dry and store? Just seems like inviting pests or some sort of disease. Personall i buy a big bag and just throw out the old stuff. However if you want to reuse then idk dosesnt seem like a bad idea to disinfect also.

I heat it up in an electric oven if I need to sterilize. I find it stays reasonably clean just from the constant flooding and draining. When I pull I do it when the table is flooded and the roots come out easier and I put in new clones at the same time.

Never disinfected never had an issue.

Any roots that I missed will shribble up and make the way into the first sediment trap.

bubblebucketguy said:

dont you want to clean it somehow before storing it? like a rinse in h202 then a final water rinse then dry and store? Just seems like inviting pests or some sort of disease. Personall i buy a big bag and just throw out the old stuff. However if you want to reuse then idk dosesnt seem like a bad idea to disinfect also.

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I dont think rinsing it with h202 will do to much - rinsing. If I have time I will use an oxygenator on the hydroton in the pots for a few hours before I put in new plants.

Do you have any advice on how to clean a Waterfarm system? Ive heard to run bleach water through...

I just rinse through a strainer, never disinfect or try voodoo magic on it. Just grow big plants. The screen is a great idea though I am going to build a smaller scale one, thanks!

BigBuddahCheese said:

I just rinse through a strainer, never disinfect or try voodoo magic on it. Just grow big plants. The screen is a great idea though I am going to build a smaller scale one, thanks!

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I did try to use a bucket with a bunch of hole in it but the rocks and root matter would clog it up and didnt work. This new idea works for me and it is inside where people cant see me cleaning hydroton outside. Plus it sucks trying to clean rocks outside when it is cold out.

The one I made is 25''x28''. Made it that size to fit on the edge of the tub.

The size of the screen is 1/4''.

great idea on the screen box, i am a small timer but expences are expencesand if i can save a buck then i will, i always let mine dry a few days and the shake off all lose pellets and boil them and now thanks to you i can pour through my box screen and they will dry faster than a colender. 2 thumbs up..

From what i have learned from Al BFuct is that you scrubb it good with 50% solution of H2O2 and then rinse it out, then go back over it again with a more diluted amount and spray out the resivour and let it dry

you should sterilize your hydroton between uses. H202 in a high dose should be very effective.

I just throw it out and start fresh personally. its cheap and take lots of time to clean.

HappyHarvesters said:

you should sterilize your hydroton between uses. H202 in a high dose should be very effective.

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I have the mad farmers oxygenator to use for this.

HappyHarvesters said:

I just throw it out and start fresh personally. its cheap and take lots of time to clean.

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What I will save in hydroton I will just about end up getting free water for my grow.

Hooked up the hose and have the first batch drying.

Riven67 posted this here on RIU. " Cleaning Hydroton, Bleach, H202 The Science" Hope you find it useful.

just don't use bleach. your hydroton will smell like that crap for quite a while.

I tried every method I thought of, hand cleaning, putting in oven, letting it dry out and finally H2O2 35% grade and I settled on the final one. I dont even have to remove them from the flood table, I just remove the big rootballs then flood it then add a big dose of H2O2 35% then leave it for hours to take action, the result is broken down roots that are flushed down easily. I chose this method because it is the fastest, I can reuse the hydroton the same day which I harvest and it is very little work and cheap. and anyone who dumps his hydroton every grow, I wish I knew where you dump your trash