Hydrocorn.... Help.....

Firstly sorry if you saw this in the aero garden sub forum... Sorry.

Now this is the post i have moved to the right place....... I hope.....

Hey all,


as it says on the title, Hydrocorn some help please.


Too cut through the back story i have got two bags of this sh1t and having just spent 6hrs cleaning one bag im stuggling to see the point.
So you know i first take the bag and cut open the top. Then i poke about 20 small holes in the bottom of the bag and wash it with my shower hose( head off) filling and mixing, shaking draining then repeating. Then after i stop getting loads of crap off it i then take a small amount in a salad/pasta strainer( which has some larger holes but not large enough to let the pebbels through) and rinse this for a good while and stur which produces more crap in the runoff so i keep going till its running clean. It then goes into buckets and i would like to pH them in the buckets. Now i just filled a strainer and ran it under the shower hose and low Nd behold more crap is coming offa it...??


so not only am i annoyed but i think i must be doing somthing wrong. So am i?? Or is golden labels Hydrocorn just to be stayed away from? I have emailed golden label but thought they wont be as good or useful as what i can get from here.
Im also expecting them to say it the batch or somthing. To which i will say something along the lines of " do you not quailty check every batch? ".


Also if someone could explain how this stuff got a RPH certifcate...? Basically the rhp site says it only gives the award to clean mediums? This stuff aint clean and certainly aint green( enviromentally friendly)


starting to rant now so i will leave it at that.


thanks for anyhelp and take it easy...........

U will continue to get runoff, i went thru the same thing with my bag. I believe I read enough to find out that it is normal, you will get some discoloration with use so no worries...as long as you get the dust coating them rinsed off yoi should be fine.

well thanks thinn, that not only makes me feel better it also shows im not washing it wrongly. So thank you once again.

Just so you know I am still waiting for a reply from golden label.

pain in the ass stuff. no need for it. just use a net pot and a collar.

I put new hydroton/corn in pots with mesh bottoms. Fill about 2/3rds with hydroton and rinse with hose till the major stuff like the big dust particles stop running off. About 10 - 20 seconds of water running through each pot. The red dust comes off when they rub and bang together, like when they are being shaken around. Once they are in a pot and set and not moving, they will not have that red runoff. At least not until next time you clean them. But rest assured, the dust is inert and will not affect your nut solution, or PH.

Six hours? Daaaaaannnnng. That's some seriously clean hydrocorn! Just rinse of the big dust and you're good to go.

I use a 50 gallon trash can. One bag and fill with water. Mix it and let dust fall. 12 hours later mix and but in baskets. The rinse with water. It is vkay so as it drys more dust will show. You just want the exes off.

Thanks again for the input you guys.
Glad to here it isnt just me , or more likly it is me and some ocd obsession with gettin it clean. And yes mithrandir, or at least i thought it was clean!

Yeah i think i will use this up and see how they grow in the stuff and maybe move on to somthing that takes less prep. Or i just wont wash it as much. Thanks again everyone,
P
O and golden label still havent emailed me back so i think i will bite the bullet and call them, just think it will cost me much more as they are in holland and im not. Upsetface. Take it easy all.

It should only take you 45 minutes to an hour to clean a big bag of hydroton. Also, I have learned some tricks to it over the years. After you harvest reclaim the rock while the rootball is still moist. I use a bucket or other deep container and bash the rootball agains the sides a couple of times and shake it out. Most will come right out. As long as the rock hasn't been sitting too long in between uses and you didn't have anything weird happen like root rot you don't need to bleach or peroxide the rock. Hot water will be fine. When I wash I fill a 5 gallon bucket about 2/3rds of the way and fill it with hot water. I stir and mix around and let sit for a little while to let the hot water dissolve any nutrient salts left in them. This isn't usually much because I flush with plain water the last 10 days. (another positive to flushing is that it starts cleaning the rock for you) I use a lid on the bucket that has been drilled with holes to let the water drain out. I will soak and drain 2 - 4 times depending on how dirty it is. I use 3 buckets at once so I am filling or draining while another bucket soaks.

And remember, the more they rub against one another the more red comes off. I have hydroton that has had all it's red rubbed off and is now black. It's one of those, "Don't sweat the little stuff" things in hydro.

Green, Organic = Scam