Reuse Hydroton or toss?

Would you try to re-use hydroton that has been exposed to root aphids, or would it go straight to the landfill? If you would, how would you sterilize it? I'd pour it around bushes in the yard, except that I'm way too paranoid to put 100 pounds of hydroton where anyone would see it, ever. I know there was some hype about hydroton being endangered and precious and all that. But root aphids impaired my last cycle and I'm thinking I should ditch this stuff and maybe move.

UnderBelly said:

Would you try to re-use hydroton that has been exposed to root aphids, or would it go straight to the landfill? If you would, how would you sterilize it? I'd pour it around bushes in the yard, except that I'm way too paranoid to put 100 pounds of hydroton where anyone would see it, ever. I know there was some hype about hydroton being endangered and precious and all that. But root aphids impaired my last cycle and I'm thinking I should ditch this stuff and maybe move.

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i see alot of information on the web that you can clean/sterilize, and reuse it. i would and i would take the time to clean it properly. waste not, want not unless you got cash to burn bro...

tooteefrootee said:

i see alot of information on the web that you can clean/sterilize, and reuse it. i would and i would take the time to clean it properly. waste not, want not unless you got cash to burn bro...

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But... Root aphids... I want to be absolutely sure that there is a way to kill them... It's not a matter of "waste not/want not"... It's fear. I didn't communicate my level of fear of these bugs coming back. I'm not joking about moving.

they are just clay balls that are put into a kiln/oven and cooked.. then you use them. So do the same thing.. rinse them off with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water and let them dry, then put them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven on 450 for 30 minutes.. should be fine and will kill anything on them. Take them out and let them cool and voila! .. and what about hydroton being endangered or precious.. its just cooked clay.. expanded pellets.

UnderBelly said:

But... Root aphids... I want to be absolutely sure that there is a way to kill them... It's not a matter of "waste not/want not"... It's fear. I didn't communicate my level of fear of these bugs coming back. I'm not joking about moving.

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Haha. Man. I know exactly how you feel. That fear will never leave me.

plantz said:

they are just clay balls that are put into a kiln/oven and cooked.. then you use them. So do the same thing.. rinse them off with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water and let them dry, then put them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven on 450 for 30 minutes.. should be fine and will kill anything on them. Take them out and let them cool and voila! .. and what about hydroton being endangered or precious.. its just cooked clay.. expanded pellets.

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Sarcasm? .... Hydroton is no longer being produced. Is there another RHP certified expanded clay hydro medium? I don't think that there is.

I know i've had plenty of good harvests in mediums that are not RHP certified, so, it's not the end of the hydro world or anything

Root aphids... the bane of my existence...
Yea the new LECA being produced is awful. Stuff just crumbles and the bottom of the bag ends up being dust. If there's any positive side to it, it's a lot lighter than hydroton...

To clean:
I usually set up a flood table and reservoir. I fill the tray with hydroton. Then I fill the reservoir with water, bleach, and some kind of pesticide (azamax, most recently).
I circulate this mixture for a good while, making sure all of the hydroton gets submerged. I pick out root matter and leaves/etc as I see it.
Eventually a lot of the nastiness will drain down to the reservoir, and the pump filter should stop it from going back into the tray.
Then I drain it all and give it a rinse with plain water.
Then scoop all the hydroton in a tub for later use.

note: It's a lot easier to use a flat bottom surface for a flood table. The hydroton gets stuck in the grooves and its a PITA to get outta there. Especially on a 4x8 table.

good luck man