Rinsing Perlite

[Indycar]

If you did take that route, it might pay to look around the bag where smaller shards may have accumulated and pop it with the screwdriver to rinse them out as well before using it..

Edited September 3, 2018 by Indycar

[merl1n]

Intially I used straight perlite

Once upon a time (years ago) I never rinced it and in the bottom of my pot was a layer of sludge from the fine dust from the perlite, when it gets wet the dust holds water like clay. It smothers the fine air roots and suffocates them, not what you want. 

Unlike clay, the sludge goes like a grinding paste and is REAL harsh on pump shafts. If you are using perlite washing it is a must 

 

I say "air roots", plants have 2 types of roots. Air roots and fluid roots and there needs to be a balance of both air and fluid for the roots to work properly. Too much air and the fluid roots dry out and die, too much fluid and the air roots drown. Over time perlite naturally compresses as the fluids flow through it, this compression closes off the air pockets for those air roots to draw from and causes even more dust, to combat this I use a 3-4inch layer of clayballs in the bottom of my pot (Again the clayballs are well washed, cos they're covered in dust too). Clayballs do not compress, so those airpockets are always available to the roots.

 

As for the washing of the grow medium, I run a 50ltr 'pot in pot' system. I fill my top pot with a 4inch  layer of clayballs. I then make a bag out of shade cloth, fill the bag with the 4inch layer from the pot and wash the red dust off of them until the water runs clear, then set them aside. I place a layer of shade cloth at the bottom of the pot to block the holes from the perlite but still allow drainage, then I do an initial rinse of the perlite still in its original bag. The dust from perlite is some bad shit (it's suspected of being a carcinogen) so try not to breathe it in. By  getting it all wet prior to handling it, it reduces the dust floating around in the air when you fill your pots. Once the wet perlite is in the pots I rinse it all off again going around and around with a hose over the top of the perlite to ensure the dust has been removed. HINT: If you are using a pot in pot system, don't forget to rinse out the bottom pot, the perlite dust will stick to the inside of the outer pot, so rinse ALL surfaces to get rid of as much as possible I block off my pots drainage holes and fill the pot up with water. You'll notice that the perlite floats, I push the perlite down into the water and leave it to soak overnight. This allows the sediment to sink to the bottom of the pots. From here, the following day I start to set my pots up.

 

First, the shade cloth covering all of the drain holes, then the clayballs, evened out over the whole bottom of the pot, then the perlite to top up.

 

Now I will admit, some may see this as a bit of overkill, but if you start off with a clean system it's much easier to maintain, rather than trying to clean it up once you set your system up. Take it from me trying to do a clean up of the dust after you've set everything up is a complete an utter pain in the arse (I know 'cos I've tried to do it). Do it once and do it right. It'll save you a whole load of headfucks later on.

 

Hope it helps

Merl1n

[Buds-lightyear]

Guess I'm getting cancer then

Hopefully if I smoke enough weed it'll combat it nicely

[Buds-lightyear]

Bathtub and a strainer works pretty well, like the kind you use to catch your boiled spuds.

Makes for an easy cleanup too, you can just wash all the mess down the drain

[midlifegardner]

Intially I used straight perlite

Once upon a time (years ago) I never rinced it and in the bottom of my pot was a layer of sludge from the fine dust from the perlite, when it gets wet the dust holds water like clay. It smothers the fine air roots and suffocates them, not what you want.

Unlike clay, the sludge goes like a grinding paste and is REAL harsh on pump shafts. If you are using perlite washing it is a must

 

I say "air roots", plants have 2 types of roots. Air roots and fluid roots and there needs to be a balance of both air and fluid for the roots to work properly. Too much air and the fluid roots dry out and die, too much fluid and the air roots drown. Over time perlite naturally compresses as the fluids flow through it, this compression closes off the air pockets for those air roots to draw from and causes even more dust, to combat this I use a 3-4inch layer of clayballs in the bottom of my pot (Again the clayballs are well washed, cos they're covered in dust too). Clayballs do not compress, so those airpockets are always available to the roots.

 

As for the washing of the grow medium, I run a 50ltr 'pot in pot' system. I fill my top pot with a 4inch layer of clayballs. I then make a bag out of shade cloth, fill the bag with the 4inch layer from the pot and wash the red dust off of them until the water runs clear, then set them aside. I place a layer of shade cloth at the bottom of the pot to block the holes from the perlite but still allow drainage, then I do an initial rinse of the perlite still in its original bag. The dust from perlite is some bad shit (it's suspected of being a carcinogen) so try not to breathe it in. By getting it all wet prior to handling it, it reduces the dust floating around in the air when you fill your pots. Once the wet perlite is in the pots I rinse it all off again going around and around with a hose over the top of the perlite to ensure the dust has been removed. HINT: If you are using a pot in pot system, don't forget to rinse out the bottom pot, the perlite dust

will stick

to the inside of the outer pot, so rinse ALL surfaces to get rid of as much as possible I block off my pots drainage holes and fill the pot up with water. You'll notice that the perlite floats, I push the perlite down into the water and leave it to soak overnight. This allows the sediment to sink to the bottom of the pots. From here, the following day I start to set my pots up.

 

First, the shade cloth covering all of the drain holes, then the clayballs, evened out over the whole bottom of the pot, then the perlite to top up.

 

Now I will admit, some may see this as a bit of overkill, but if you start off with a clean system it's much easier to maintain, rather than trying to clean it up once you set your system up. Take it from me trying to do a clean up of the dust after you've set everything up is a complete an utter pain in the arse (I know 'cos I've tried to do it). Do it once and do it right. It'll save you a whole load of headfucks later on.

 

Hope it helps

Merl1n

Thanks Merlin. The forums I've read mentioned that layer on the bottom you talk about. Since the hempys rely on that small layer at the bottom for the res that would be bad news. I like the idea of the fabric pot but have none on hand. I think I'll go the route of giving the whole bag a rinse as Indy mentioned initially so the dust in the bag settles. Then I'll empty it out into my bucket for a more thorough wash.

Thanks again. MLG

 

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[midlifegardner]

Bathtub and a strainer works pretty well, like the kind you use to catch your boiled spuds.

Makes for an easy cleanup too, you can just wash all the mess down the drain

Thanks lightyear, a few good ideas but for the quantity I'll use the bathtub is overkill.

 

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[midlifegardner]

If you're going to use the whole bag, punch a few holes in with a screwdriver and stick a hose in it and flush for 10-15 minutes..

I'll do that for my initial rinse. Thanks Indy.

 

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[bakedcake]

I’m also in the process of doing a 3L hempy with coco/perlite but bottom res in scoria - I gave that a rinse prior to using and no complaints yet plant seems happy as

[midlifegardner]

I’m also in the process of doing a 3L hempy with coco/perlite but bottom res in scoria - I gave that a rinse prior to using and no complaints yet plant seems happy as

Great BC. Can I ask what you're growing? 3 litres doesn't seem too small? I have some auto beans I want to get rid of and have found some square squat pots. They are 12L. I'd only be doing 3 under a 400w.

Youre not worried about 3L being too small? MLG

 

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[bakedcake]

I’m growing a sandstorm in there. I will take a pic tonight it’s already a few weeks into flowering and to be honest no I reckon it’s a perfect size. I guess I will only really know come harvest but at the moment I am real impressed with the amount of effort vs result.