Need recommendations for LECA
Login
User Name
Password   


Registration is FREE. Click to become a member of OrchidBoard community
(You're NOT logged in)

menu menu

Sponsor
Donate Now
and become
Forum Supporter.

Need recommendations for LECA
Many perks!
<...more...>


Sponsor
 

Google


Fauna Top Sites
Register Need recommendations for LECA Members Need recommendations for LECA Need recommendations for LECA Today's PostsNeed recommendations for LECA Need recommendations for LECA Need recommendations for LECA
LOG IN/REGISTER TO CLOSE THIS ADVERTISEMENT
Go Back   Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web ! > >
Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #11  
Old 01-01-2013, 11:03 PM
Bef Bef is offline
Jr. Member
 

Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Montreal, QC
Posts: 4
Need recommendations for LECA Male
Default

You might try to reduce your fertilzer to 50 ppm. This is the concentration that Ray is now using (instead of 125 ppm).

I also switched from 125 ppm to 50 ppm and it probably helped to reduce mineral buildup.

BTW, can you let me know what device you're using to get the TDS from your water?
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 01-02-2013, 12:01 AM
DTEguy DTEguy is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2012
Zone: 7a
Location: Bethesda, MD
Age: 48
Posts: 142
Need recommendations for LECA Male
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bef View Post
You might try to reduce your fertilzer to 50 ppm. This is the concentration that Ray is now using (instead of 125 ppm).

I also switched from 125 ppm to 50 ppm and it probably helped to reduce mineral buildup.

BTW, can you let me know what device you're using to get the TDS from your water?
Hi Bef,

Yeah, I thought about that too. I recently bought a cheap meter at amazon, you can find it in this link:

Amazon.com: HM Digital TDS-EZ TDS Water Quality Tester with Auto-off Function TDS-EZ: Home Improvement

I am not sure about it's accuracy, but it seems to be very consistent.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 01-02-2013, 09:17 AM
Ray's Avatar
Ray Ray is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2005
Member of:AOS
Location: Oak Island NC
Posts: 15,204
Need recommendations for LECA Male
Default

All brands of LECA are loaded with dissolvable solids when they are manufactured. It is a remnant of the binders, processing aids, and water used to quench them.

ALL mineral deposits occur upon evaporation of the solvent - water, in this case. If the wicking rate outstrips the evaporation rate, and you flush sufficiently, there is no buildup to be concerned about. If evaporation wins, it wins at the top of the medium in stuff that wicks well, and lower in the pot for those that don't.

Yes, a better wicking LECA provides more surface area for evaporation, but it also provides a better environment for the plants. If you're trying to reduce wicking as a way to reduce buildup, I suggest that semi-hydro culture is not for you.
__________________
Ray Barkalow, Orchid Iconoclast
FIRSTRAYS.COM
Try Kelpak - you won't be sorry!
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 01-02-2013, 11:04 AM
DTEguy DTEguy is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2012
Zone: 7a
Location: Bethesda, MD
Age: 48
Posts: 142
Need recommendations for LECA Male
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray View Post
All brands of LECA are loaded with dissolvable solids when they are manufactured. It is a remnant of the binders, processing aids, and water used to quench them.

ALL mineral deposits occur upon evaporation of the solvent - water, in this case. If the wicking rate outstrips the evaporation rate, and you flush sufficiently, there is no buildup to be concerned about. If evaporation wins, it wins at the top of the medium in stuff that wicks well, and lower in the pot for those that don't.

Yes, a better wicking LECA provides more surface area for evaporation, but it also provides a better environment for the plants. If you're trying to reduce wicking as a way to reduce buildup, I suggest that semi-hydro culture is not for you.
Yes, I am trying to figure out if S/H is the right system for me.

I was wondering if you can share with us if you checked the TDS of primeagra after you clean them? Do feel that the material is inert and doesn't have high ionic binding capacity?

Thanks!

Last edited by DTEguy; 01-02-2013 at 11:09 AM..
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 01-02-2013, 02:21 PM
Ray's Avatar
Ray Ray is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2005
Member of:AOS
Location: Oak Island NC
Posts: 15,204
Need recommendations for LECA Male
Default

I once took some thoroughly cleaned material - done by soaking in RO water for a week, changed daily - and sealed it in a jar of RO for over a year, and saw no shift in the pH or TDS. By soaking in water containing any dissolved minerals, include the calcium nitrate and/or magnesium sulfate, you are not totally stripping the surfaces clean, but are merely replacing the unwanted residues with desirable mineral ions.

LECAs in general have very few ion exchange sites, as the exposed crystal lattices tend to be vitrified to a significant degree, so "taken out of the equation", if you will. It is those sites (along with organic matter) that provide the majority of CEC in soils.
__________________
Ray Barkalow, Orchid Iconoclast
FIRSTRAYS.COM
Try Kelpak - you won't be sorry!
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old 01-02-2013, 07:44 PM
DTEguy DTEguy is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2012
Zone: 7a
Location: Bethesda, MD
Age: 48
Posts: 142
Need recommendations for LECA Male
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray View Post
I once took some thoroughly cleaned material - done by soaking in RO water for a week, changed daily - and sealed it in a jar of RO for over a year, and saw no shift in the pH or TDS. By soaking in water containing any dissolved minerals, include the calcium nitrate and/or magnesium sulfate, you are not totally stripping the surfaces clean, but are merely replacing the unwanted residues with desirable mineral ions.
Yes, the cationic exchange is merely replacement; and magnesium's high solubility in water makes it easier to be taken out later. That's a really good study which proves that there is virtually no ions leeching from the material.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray View Post
LECAs in general have very few ion exchange sites, as the exposed crystal lattices tend to be vitrified to a significant degree, so "taken out of the equation", if you will. It is those sites (along with organic matter) that provide the majority of CEC in soils.
I didn't expect the CEC to be completely zero but it is good to know from you that it is low. Thanks again for the input.

Last edited by DTEguy; 01-02-2013 at 08:04 PM..
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 05-06-2013, 02:24 AM
DTEguy DTEguy is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2012
Zone: 7a
Location: Bethesda, MD
Age: 48
Posts: 142
Need recommendations for LECA Male
Default

Switched to hydrotons....so far so good. Haven't seen any salt deposits and roots are taking it very well.
Attached Thumbnails
Need recommendations for LECA-hydroton-jpg  

Last edited by DTEguy; 05-06-2013 at 02:53 AM..
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 05-07-2013, 06:22 AM
Discus Discus is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Grahamstown, Eastern Cape
Age: 46
Posts: 1,191
Need recommendations for LECA Male
Default

The "cleaner" the water you rinse with, the less build up you will get; you may find (it may be a worthwhile experiment) that your tapwater alone has enough dissolved minerals to cause problems, so flushing with that will not help - rainwater, RO or distilled, however, should properly "flush" excess minerals away.

I don't actually do semi hydro, but I do grow some plants in LECA (hydroton brand), and I sometimes see some buildup on them; flushing with RO gets rid of it pretty fast.
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 05-07-2013, 08:13 AM
RosieC RosieC is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jul 2008
Zone: 8a
Location: West Midlands, UK
Age: 49
Posts: 25,462
Default

I agree with Discus,

I used to flush with tap water and saw build up of deposites, I now flush only with rain water and it seems to keep the build up levels down/build up is slower.
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 05-07-2013, 12:16 PM
DTEguy DTEguy is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2012
Zone: 7a
Location: Bethesda, MD
Age: 48
Posts: 142
Need recommendations for LECA Male
Default

Thanks for the input, I will remember to do that once in a while.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
culture, leca, people, salt, wondering, recommendations


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Dendrobium media recommendations calvin_orchidL Propagation 2 03-11-2010 09:54 PM
Deep purple mini-catt, any recommendations? Libo Cattleya Alliance 0 10-11-2009 09:24 PM
Frequent Flowering Catt Recommendations OrchidSue Cattleya Alliance 5 09-20-2009 01:32 PM
Orchidarium fan recommendations? Becca Parts & Equipment 7 08-14-2009 01:20 AM
Book recommendations? DelawareJim Vanda Alliance - Neofinetia 10 06-04-2009 01:03 AM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:15 PM.

© 2007 OrchidBoard.com
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.37 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Clubs vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.