# Reusing Hydroton?



## a628627 (Jan 24, 2013)

Just wondering if Hydroton could be reused if disinfected with a 10% bleach sollution.


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## Rusty_Shackleford (Sep 2, 2010)

I think you would be better off boiling or baking the Hydroton as you don't want it to absorb the bleach and then release it back into the viv.


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## SnorkelWasp (Feb 19, 2009)

Rusty_Shackleford said:


> I think you would be better off boiling or baking the Hydroton as you don't want it to absorb the bleach and then release it back into the viv.


Exactly. It is very hard to completely rinse. It has so much hidden surface area. What are you sterilizing for? Was there a known issue? I would go for the bake/boil approach


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

I would bleach soak it, then double soak and rinse in water. 
Why are you scared of bleach? Chlorine easily dissipates after a short period of time. Yes hydroton has a lot of surface area, but its NOT porous, so it's not going to soak up any bleach. Do a 10% bleach soak, then rinse , soak repeat with warm water, then you're good to go.


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## Splash&Dash (Oct 16, 2012)

frogparty said:


> I would bleach soak it, then double soak and rinse in water.
> Why are you scared of bleach? Chlorine easily dissipates after a short period of time. Yes hydroton has a lot of surface area, but its NOT porous, so it's not going to soak up any bleach. Do a 10% bleach soak, then rinse , soak repeat with warm water, then you're good to go.


I use hydroton a lot in planting over the summer where I grow basil and tomatoes in a passive hydroponics system. And I've been using the same material for years. Like frog party said, just make sure you rinse well after the bleach soak and you should be fine

PS and if you want to be overly cautious, just test your rinse and soak water with a chlorine test kit. You can find them at walmart or any other place that carries pool supplies.

Hell, a pool shop will even test the water for you


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## SnorkelWasp (Feb 19, 2009)

frogparty said:


> I would bleach soak it, then double soak and rinse in water.
> Why are you scared of bleach? Chlorine easily dissipates after a short period of time. Yes hydroton has a lot of surface area, but its NOT porous, so it's not going to soak up any bleach. Do a 10% bleach soak, then rinse , soak repeat with warm water, then you're good to go.





Splash&Dash said:


> I use hydroton a lot in planting over the summer where I grow basil and tomatoes in a passive hydroponics system. And I've been using the same material for years. Like frog party said, just make sure you rinse well after the bleach soak and you should be fine
> 
> PS and if you want to be overly cautious, just test your rinse and soak water with a chlorine test kit. You can find them at walmart or any other place that carries pool supplies.
> 
> Hell, a pool shop will even test the water for you


Crack a piece of hydroton open and tell me its not porous. That's crazy. If it wasn't porous it would be gravel. And plants aren't frogs. Plants can easily handle residual bleach. To each his own. But what is bleach doing that boil/bake cannot with no added risk?


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## Rusty_Shackleford (Sep 2, 2010)

frogparty said:


> I would bleach soak it, then double soak and rinse in water.
> Why are you scared of bleach? Chlorine easily dissipates after a short period of time. Yes hydroton has a lot of surface area, but its NOT porous, so it's not going to soak up any bleach. Do a 10% bleach soak, then rinse , soak repeat with warm water, then you're good to go.


Yes, Hydroton is porous. It's fired clay, which sucks up liquid and acts as a wick. It's just like soaking your driftwood in bleach.


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## Splash&Dash (Oct 16, 2012)

SnorkelWasp said:


> Crack a piece of hydroton open and tell me its not porous. That's crazy. If it wasn't porous it would be gravel. And plants aren't frogs. Plants can easily handle residual bleach. To each his own. But what is bleach doing that boil/bake cannot with no added risk?


like I said, if you feel it's a concern, test it with a pool kit


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## a628627 (Jan 24, 2013)

I think that I will bake it. The problem that I have with it is that there were snails in the tank, that is why I am breaking it down.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

The inside is porous, it's fired clay. Its designed to be low density.The outside should be impermeable to water. That's why even used hydroton floats, not sinks
It wicks water via capillary action which is a function of surface area on the outside of the material combined with the surface tension of water caused by hydrogen bonding

All the hydroton I've ever used will float in perpetuity. A waterlogged product will not. I'd not be surprised if cheap product absorbed water. The hydroton brand products I've used do not. 
If you think about it, and its original use, it would be very bad if the hydroton absorbed water, because it would accumulate large quantities of fertilizer salts very quickly, which would be disastrous for an automated ph sensitive hydroponics system. The accumulation on the outside of the product is bad enough


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## SnorkelWasp (Feb 19, 2009)

Which is exactly why people using for horticulture use flush their systems and replace every few years. It DOES accumulate salts. They wouldn't wick water if they were impermeable. If they did then marbles would also be a good substitute.


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## SnorkelWasp (Feb 19, 2009)

Also. To the OP. Snails can easily withstand a mild bleach solution. I have seen people try copper and bleach for Pyramid snails in freshwater aquaria and they thrived. Another reason bleach isn't good


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Untrue. A piece of hydroton the same diameter as a marble has MUCH MORE SURFACE AREA due to the irregular surface pits/depressions etc. it does NOT ABSORB

Take some hydroton, and put it in water. If it absorbs water it will sink. If it floats, the air inside is not being displaced by water


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Salt accumulation on the outer surface of hydroton is bad, but nothing compared to the potential holding volume inside all the spheres


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Wicking of water for ANY SUBSTRATE is primarily driven by the surface tension of the water. The tighter the spaces between the substrate, the easier it is for water to climb via capillary action. 

Gravel wicks water.


Wicking is different than porosity and a materials ability to hold water. You are confusing your physical properties. 

Wicking is not easily accomplished by liquids that have lower surface tensions due to limited hydrogen bonding. Yet materials that will absorb and retain liquids will still absorb liquids other than water


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## SnorkelWasp (Feb 19, 2009)

Dude you are wrong. I am not gonna argue anymore. If you are so confident go bleach them all day if you want. Its unnecessary risk


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Try it. You'll see. Does your hydroton sink? Clay itself has a density much higher than 1.00


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## SnorkelWasp (Feb 19, 2009)

frogparty said:


> Try it. You'll see. Does your hydroton sink? Clay itself has a density much higher than 1.00


Haha yes it sinks. I go to work in about an hour. I am the assistant director of a public aquarium. Ill grab some and take a pic and show you. My reptile/amphibian curators are getting a big kick out of this. A small percentage might float at first but given time 95+% sinks after water replaces air inside


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Ok, all the hydroton I've ever used floats. It never sank. Even when I used it as a false bottom it dried to float. One of the reasons I quit using it. If 

If it sinks I'm wrong. Freely admitted


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

The fact that it always floated for me is why I switched to rockwool for hydroponic culture in the first place


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## SDRiding (Jul 31, 2012)

Well you're kind of both right here, an unbroken piece is not porous but the broken pieces are. It's not supposed to absorb water, the shape and texture is designed to have the water and air surrounding the pellets. There are different sources and grades for the expanded clay pellets.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

My hydroton sinks after soaking. Pour some into a bucket of water and let it sit over night.


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## Splash&Dash (Oct 16, 2012)

SnorkelWasp said:


> Which is exactly why people using for horticulture use flush their systems and replace every few years. It DOES accumulate salts. They wouldn't wick water if they were impermeable. If they did then marbles would also be a good substitute.


people do use marbles as a substitute. though natural it has some characteristics that are drastically different


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## Ray (May 12, 2009)

As someone who has been using LECA as a growing substrate for close to 20 years, I guarantee that both the surface and interior are porous. Just HOW porous varies with the brand (and the particular production lot in crappy quality stuff).

If the surface was not porous, the stuff would not absorb any liquid at all.

The finer the pores in the interior, the thinner the walls between pores, so the easier the liquid can penetrate through the microcracks in them, enhancing the absorption. If the particles float, they likely have very coarse pores, thick walls, and reduced absorption, so the pores remain full of air.


Ray Barkalow
Sent using Tapatalk


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## Azurel (Aug 5, 2010)

As cheap as this stuff is why not just toss it? Add new leca, nothing to worry about bleach, parisites, bacteria, or any other nasties. Just add some bleach water double bag and toss....problem solved.

sent from my Galaxy S lll


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## Cfrog (Oct 28, 2011)

Use plastic table tennis balls, more fun.


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

rain dart said:


> Use plastic table tennis balls, more fun.


Lighter too, I assume


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

Just bake it in the oven what snail is going to survive? It's clay so you could probably bake it at 500F no problem and you could bake it as long as you wanted. 



Funny marbles came up, I wanted to try them but they were going to be expensive and very heavy.


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## RobertN (Apr 15, 2006)

I soaked the Hydroton in hot water (from faucet) and add chlorine. Washed it a couple times and soak it with some amquel to remove chloramine. You can get amquel from most pet stores or Home Depot.


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## Splash&Dash (Oct 16, 2012)

Pubfiction said:


> Just bake it in the oven what snail is going to survive? It's clay so you could probably bake it at 500F no problem and you could bake it as long as you wanted.
> 
> 
> 
> Funny marbles came up, I wanted to try them but they were going to be expensive and very heavy.


there are a few bulk marble supply shops online. I think they usually go by lots of 1000. I forget what the pricing was like though


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## Splash&Dash (Oct 16, 2012)

RobertN said:


> I soaked the Hydroton in hot water (from faucet) and add chlorine. Washed it a couple times and soak it with some amquel to remove chloramine. You can get amquel from most pet stores or Home Depot.


I have a digital chlorine test kit from Hanna. If I get a chance I'll soak and rinse some hydroton and see what kind of reading it gives


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

In the process of redoing my old vivs, I am interested in this thread. I think the best solution is to replace Hydroton (it's cheap), but the question I ask is for the disposal of used Hydroton, which may contain nasties. If there is a safe and easy method to sterilize it, it's better!


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## Splash&Dash (Oct 16, 2012)

rigel10 said:


> In the process of redoing my old vivs, I am interested in this thread. I think the best solution is to replace Hydroton (it's cheap), but the question I ask is for the disposal of used Hydroton, which may contain nasties. If there is a safe and easy method to sterilize it, it's better!


double bagging it and sending it to a land fill should be fine. You could also soak in in bleach water prior to that as an extra precaution.


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

IMO double bagging it without sterilizations doesn't seem like it would achieve anything. First thing that will happen is it will get put in a garbage truck with a compactor that could very easily break the bag when it is crushed as things around it will puncture it. Then it will get poured out onto a landfill rained on and whatever is in it might just run off to the areas below. All this could happen in as little as 1 day. Not a ton of time for the pathogens to perish absent any harsher physical methods.

Heat it in the oven at 500F for an hour or so and nothing viral or eukaryotic is going to live and a I doubt any bacteria will survive either. 

Soak it in 10% bleach for an hour and I would think everything will be dead too, but due to the structure it is possible bleach will not penetrate all the areas of the hydroton. Still its going to be better than just about any option unless you have an autoclave or are going to be willing to pressure cook in batches all the hydroton. 

Of course all that work to sterilize and you might be asking so what did I save by buying new hydroton? Maybe you should just recycle it in your tanks after all. Unless it is structurally messed up and you just want some fresh un cracked balls.


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## Splash&Dash (Oct 16, 2012)

Pubfiction said:


> IMO double bagging it without sterilizations doesn't seem like it would achieve anything. First thing that will happen is it will get put in a garbage truck with a compactor that could very easily break the bag when it is crushed as things around it will puncture it. Then it will get poured out onto a landfill rained on and whatever is in it might just run off to the areas below. All this could happen in as little as 1 day. Not a ton of time for the pathogens to perish absent any harsher physical methods.


don't landfills have strict run-off regulations and requirements?


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

Animals, do not obey those regulations. They are primarily targeted at chemical waste. If a bird goes into a landfill and gets a dab of a chemical on its leg, well it might die. If it gets a transmissible disease it could start an out break. All bio hazardous waste is sterilized in labs, hospitals etc. before it goes to the landfill. It is not assumed that it will be properly contained in the landfill. Just think about the truck going out there, the workers who pick it up, none of these people or processes are equipped to eliminate the transfer of bio hazardous agents. I see water leaking out of the back of garbage truck all the time. 

Don't get me wrong, I know well that most people are never going to sterilize anything before it goes out. So I am not going to say you must do X or Y, but if you are motivated to do such you should do something that has high odds of achieving your goal. 

IMO based on my experience double bagging in this situation is not going to significantly change the odds of releasing an exotic pathogen. Heat treating or bleaching will reduce the chance orders of magnitude.


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## Splash&Dash (Oct 16, 2012)

Pubfiction said:


> Animals, do not obey those regulations.


great point and enough said on the topic



> Don't get me wrong, I know well that most people are never going to sterilize anything before it goes out. So I am not going to say you must do X or Y, but if you are motivated to do such you should do something that has high odds of achieving your goal.


no worries whatsoever. Discussing things is the entire point of this place, and I'm certainly not going to get mad over someone correcting me on the need to sterilize landfill materials


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