best type of leca, leca brands, irregular leca better?
 

Hi, all.

I have a question about the relative merits of various types of leca. I have a collection of about 100 orchids and about 150 other house plants of various kinds, most doing very well in self-watering with leca. (like regular semihydroponics, except with an external reservoir and microfiber wicks.)

I've been using a brand called HydroCrunch for the last three years. Recently, the price went way up, and I decided to try a different brand called Geolite. HydroCrunch is very smooth, round, and mostly uniform pieces, while Geolite is very irregularly shaped lumps. For years, I've hear that uniform pieces are best, but lately I've seen claims that the lumpy stuff is actually better, especially for encouraging the growth of beneficial microorganisms. Both brands claim to be pH stable.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried both types and has an opinion. The irregular stuff is definitely easier to keep in the pot and less likely to roll all over the place.

Irregular lumps are more stable in the pot. That may or may not be important depending on how people grow. I like irregular.

I have used these brands:

Hydroton - normal size - my favorite. Does not float. Must be washed (pretty well before use)

Grow It- I really like the weird shape but it floats way too much and was just not usable for me

Hydrocrunch- too floaty and I found it too smooth. Almost like it was coated. I still have a ton of this and I only use it for soil addition and in lieu of mulch.

Hydroton giant. Much larger hydroton but same stuff. Has a good use for large plants with big roots and at the base of SH containers where more space is beneficial and the size of the root is not relevant bc it’s in the water. This is not for all purposes. I bought it but accident. But it has a niche

I’ll add that number four perlite is a great SH choice if you have the restraint to not crush it. I use a lot of that and mix some into my hydroton to seize it up and add more

Perfect spheres of uniform size offer the most void volume, so would be the airiest, but is like a bowl full of marbles.

If the particles become slightly non-spherical (egg shaped), that tends to lock them in place better.

Craggy surfaces lock them in even better, but smooth surfaces allow better contact, which leads to better wicking.

Here is an Inert Media Comparison, done a few months ago.

HydroCrunch isn't exactly smooth like marbles, but they do have relatively consistent size, which I prefer. On a typical bag of Hydroton, there are tons of tiny balls and chipped balls that I have to sift through, some that gets washed out of the holes on the side of the pot when I water and get my pipes clogged (lol). Seriously, when the bag runs low, I have to start picking larger balls by hand. However, I will say that Hydroton has superior water wicking properties so you get a wider gradient of moisture, as I call it. More vertical space in the root zone is better for plants that like moisture but dislike direct prolonged contact with water, perhaps.

Unfortunately though, due to the Covid, I don't have much options right now. I used to be able to pick up Hydroton at any of a number of Hydroponics stores that are now only shipping, which easily triples the Hydroton price. Due to the weight, some online stores only offer them in bulk.

HydroCrunch, on the other hand, is sponsored by Home Depot and you could always get them shipped to a store and picked up without any shipping costs, despite them being a bit more expensive per bag.

To be sure, I only found HydroCrunch because I couldn't get any Hydroton. I was turned off from the reviews saying they have less absorption and float -- all charges true. They float if you don't fill all the way to the top.

I've used Odla, Grow-It, and Hydrocrunch. the odla is ok, just expensive, very round. the Grow-It was a disaster, shattered pieces of clay and hardly wicking at all, I might as well have used gravel. the Hydrocrunch was a huge improvement, oblong but smooth and very wicking and was decently priced when purchased in 2019.