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What Is That Stuff?


sconel

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Decided to clean all the 5" square pots during this summers shutdown. They have never been seriously cleaned, and some have been in use for a couple decades. Every few years, they might get run thru the dishwasher, but that dosent really get them clean, just sort of gets the big, loose stuff off.

 

This time I decided to really clean them right down to the shiny plastic, and finding it a total complain of a job. The pots are coated in a crust of what I believe to be salts and minerals from the hydro nutes, and it takes a steel scratcher, like we use in the kitchen, and HARD and long scrubbing to cut thru this stuff.

That's after letting them soak in hot water for 24 to 36 hrs.

 

Wondering if anyone knows if a chemical cleaning agent (maybe like CLR) that would make that job easier? 

 

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buy the stuff that's used to clean humidifiers (a joy of summer, the indoor air naturally has humidity, unlike in winter).  humidifiers acquire the same build-up of scale and lime, and the filters have to be replaced and the hard surfaces delimed and descaled. (build-up occurs faster the harder the water).

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Did the looking away for a long time....don't have any problem with leaving it alone, but got it in my head that the buildup was getting thicker real fast. Like maybe there was enough crud accumulated that it was maybe attracting more and more of whatever it was, faster and faster, and possible affecting the nutrient levels in some way.

 

I'm guessing the crud is mostly PH buffer from the nutes, and wont have any effect whether its there or not. Havent ever noticed any difference in growth or deficiencys, but I just want to see if there might be any difference in a totally clean and disinfected system, and all its components. Hope not....I don't want to have to do this again.

 

Already soaked and all the hydroton in a bleach/water solution, then spread it out in the sun to dry....that was another big nasty job. Some of that has also never been sterilized as long as the pots.  Trays, rezes, pumps and lines get cleaned and sterilized next. Guess I don't have enough to keep me occupied. Now watch....after all this, it will be the worst crop ever, for sure.

 

Appreciate the ideas.

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Scale , the kind you have, is from the solution getting on a surface and then evaporating, leaving behind the solids in the solution, just like what you get in your shower. If you wipe down your shower every time you use it you will not have scale. If you make your grow with less surfaces that get wet and evaporate then you will have less scale.

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Already soaked and all the hydroton in a bleach/water solution, then spread it out in the sun to dry....that was another big nasty job. Some of that has also never been sterilized as long as the pots. Trays, rezes, pumps and lines get cleaned and sterilized next. Guess I don't have enough to keep me occupied. Now watch....after all this, it will be the worst crop ever, for sure.

I learned with an aquarium that you need to not totally kill the micro environment or your mini ecosystem suffers. I wouldn't do anything to the hydroton other than rinse it and take out the plant material chunks. That way it's still alive for your next run, unless you need to kill it because of an unwanted infestation.

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Not a thing wrong with hydroton. The few times I've used silica were because I wasn't keeping the plants in the optimal environmental conditions, (usually heat stressed). I don't stress my plants in any way nowdays. System is dialed in to provide optimal environmental conditions at all times without ANY additives or amendments beyond basic nutes. If grow rocks had been around when we started we might have given them a try. We tried lots of other stuff. Sand, gravel, broken bricks, styrofoam, rockwool, even dirt as hydroponic medium.

 

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I bet the build up is saltier than calcium......does affect ph, and can pizz off a root when contacted. Roots will get over it though. The crap does get harder and harder to wash off over time though. I just waited till the square poly pots cracked, an bought more. Ahhhh, no more scrubbing scale! Now I use soil, and no salts=no buildup scale either. Same scaly pots though....hehe

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Tried some CLR (calcium/lime/rust remover) and Limeaway. They did great compared to scrubbing with a scratcher, hot water and soap. Still had to scrub a little on the thickest buildups, but it really did a good job....just wipe it on, let it sit a few seconds, and a little scrubbing with a dishcloth gets 90% of it off.

 

Was surprised the white vinegar is the BEST of the three. I tried it as sort of an afterthought, because "home remdies" rarely work as well as commercial stuff, but vinegar was clearly the superior scale remover. Didn't realy get a chance to try it for long, just dumped some on a paper towel and cleaned a tray with it. Easy peasy...wipe it on...scale is GONE. Some of the heaviest buildups needed a few wipes with the vinegar, but it cut that stuff immediately...and no scrubbing.

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