PLant!t Clay Pebbles brand... do you recommend it?
 

Hi,

I'm having a hard time finding Leca or Hydropon in Mexico... I found these brand that could be shipped to me; has anyone used it or heard about it?

Thanks!!

LECA is the generic term for the clay pebbles. It stands for Light Expanded Clay Aggregate.

Hydroton is no longer available. The German company that made it used up the clay source and other sources did not provide the same quality, so they went out of business.

My local hydroponics store tells me that Plant!t is a direct substitute for Hydroton, but I've never used it so I can't say how well it works.

Ray sells his own brand called PrimeAgra that works the same but I don't know what shipping would cost. I use it with very good results.
Orchid Growing Supplies Semi-hydroponics Hydroponics Orchid Books PrimeAgra

Cheers.
Jim

Thanks Jim!! For clarifying what LECA means ;), and also for your response...

These guys have the product already in Mexico, just in another state; I think it will be faster and cheaper right? If your local hydroponic store is recommending it, I think I'll give it a try!!

Let you know how it goes!!

Regards

I ran out of hydroton some time ago, and this Hydrofarm brand is the only one available at my nearest hydroponic store (I think the owner said that anything from his catalog can be ordered, but I don't want to hassle him). It's only $18 for a 45 liter bag, cheaper that my last bag of hydroton, but I'm curious about how well it performs in a semi-hydro setup. Nobody here has first-hand experience?

I'm using it, and I think quite a few people are if I remember correctly.

I use it, No problems. My only complaint would be that i would like the particle size to be a little more uniform.

Alright, thanks for the reviews you two. I'm glad I cleared that up. When I bought my first 50 liter bag of hydroton, I never thought I would use the whole bag up. This next bag will surely be empty in a fraction of the time. I'll ask the owner if he can order something finer for my African violets when I go there next time.

If you need smaller ones, and you have the patience, you can just pick them out. It will make the others more uniform, and you can use the smaller for your violets. I don't think they can order the Plant!t in different sizes. You could call Hydrofram directly and ask them though - they are very responsive. (They are local to us, if ya didn't know!)

I didn't know Hydrofarm was local. I really only need the the smaller pieces for the top layer, so sorting shouldn't be so much trouble. It was really simple to do with hydroton because most of the smaller pebbles would sink in water, or would end up at the bottom of the bag over time. I would really prefer something smaller though. I know that hydroton did have a 4-8mm size, and hydrocorn is also made in that size, though I don't know if my nearest store will have access to it.