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Cleaning and Sanitizing ???


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Old 09-02-2011, 03:44 PM
T'Mater T'Mater is offline
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Default Cleaning and Sanitizing ???

Well think it's time for me to start cleaning my stuff and was just curious what everyone use's to make sure everything is clean and disinfected to make sure i don't carry over anything i shouldn't be.

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Old 09-03-2011, 05:54 AM
fintuckyfarms fintuckyfarms is offline
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I just plan on using bleech except in the pumps
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Old 10-04-2011, 11:14 PM
forex123 forex123 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fintuckyfarms View Post
I just plan on using bleech except in the pumps
Really interesting information! Good work!
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Old 09-03-2011, 06:08 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Well there are a few things I know of that are good for sanitizing.

1. Bleach
2. H2O2
3. Boiling water
4. Steam

I haven't used steam as a sanitizing agent yet, but the steam mop my mom got to clean the kitchen floor has giving me some ideas. There are various hand-held portable steam cleaners on the market, and I bet they would do a good job of sanitizing the inside of tubes if adapted right, as well as used on them long enough (10-20 min).

But first I wash everything with soapy water and a scrub brush (except the growing medium). Then depending on what it is I need to sanitize, I'll use either bleach, boiling water, or H2O2. For grow rocks, I'll let it dry out real good first to let all the organic material (roots etc.) dry up. Then I sift it out as best as I can. And soak it in water again and take out everything that floats. Then I rinse them off real well to get out all the organic material out, and soak it in a white vinegar/water solution for a few days to get off the built up mineral salts (string it up at least once a day), and then rinse it again. Then to sanitize it, I soak them in a bleach/water solution overnight (string it up a few times along the way). Then I rinse it out a few times, and if it still smells like white vinegar, I'll probably soak it in boiling water a couple of times to loosen up/dilute the white vinegar smell. Then let it dry out and store it dry for a while before I reuse it. Some day I may build a steam box for things like that, but I'm just not a fan reusable growing mediums anymore.

For the pumps, I take them completely apart and wash them in soapy water with a scrub brush. I don't usually sanitize them unless there was something in the water. But if I do, I usually soak it in straight H2O2. I also wash the air stones in soapy water, then soak them in straight H2O2 too.

The flexible vinyl tubing I let completely dry out so that anything inside drys out and sticks to the tube. That makes it easy to just flex the hose and break it off the inside of the tube. Then I flush hot water through it, and soak it in bleach water overnight, making sure the tubes get filled with the bleach water solution and all the air pockets are out (for complete coverage inside the tubing).

For PVC tubing I'll hook up an old pump, and pump bleach water through it. And for anything too big to soak in bleach water or H202, I'll wash it completely with soapy water and a scrub brush. Then fill a spray bottle with either bleach water or straight H2O2, and spray it down completely with it (repeatedly).
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Old 09-03-2011, 11:31 AM
jamromhem jamromhem is offline
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I am use Bleach to do the first cleaning/sterilizing. I put it in a spray bottle extra strong (like a 50:50 mix) and that is usually done twice. I let it sit a moment before scrubbing the system down where ever I can and then rinsing.

The final part of my cleaning is rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. I make sure I spray it EVERYWHERE i can possible reach. Then just let it dry on it's own.

It is probably over kill, but it definitly works.

While running the system I use 1ML per 4 gallons (makes it about 3ppm bleach) which is about the standard for pool sanitation. I also have a UV filter in my res ($50 at petco) and I have that running 24/7. My res is still perfectly clear and I havent done a full change in over a month. I just pull out a gallon every week to water the potted plants and replace it with a fresh gallon of solution. If you use bleach you have to remember that it will work as a PH up. It has a PH of 8+, so I put in the bleach before checking the PH and I set it at 6.8 and let it settle down as the bleach evaoporates to probably 5ish and then bring it back up. The plants are doing well and showing no signs of deficiency as they go through the whole PH nutrient range over the course of a day or two as the bleach disipates. This is more of a way to be lazy as I am experimenting with hydroponics than a final intended method. It also might not be a great way to manage larger plants. I am only growing some leaf lettuce in my system. I also am not getting TOO far into hydroponics while inside because it is going to cost extra in equipment to get the humidity in the root zone up being in the air conditioning. I am thinking a fogger (I am trying to find one of those sonic humidifiers to pull the parts out of).
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Old 09-03-2011, 05:39 PM
T'Mater T'Mater is offline
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Ya i use the sure to grow cubes, not to sure how well you could get them clean. Guess maybe the hail that didn't end up having roots grow through it i could boil and possibly reuse.

Bad thing about the 6x6, root's all through it LOL.
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Old 09-03-2011, 06:29 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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jamromhem
You can find ultrasonic foggers for as little as $25-$35 like these, Ultrasonic Water Fogger, and ultrasonic fogger, as well as even on eBay. But just make sure it has replaceable Teflon discs. The Teflon discs wont clog up as fast, but you'll want to be able to replace them when they do. I understand you can also clean the disc with white vinegar, and a Q-tip.

If your trying to create a aeroponic type system, ultrasonic fog carry's much less moisture than the mist from aeroponic misters. Also it's my understanding that the fairly dry mist promotes fungal diseases in the root zone. So it would be even more important to keep the root zone temps down to discourage the fungal disease from growing.

But if your are not getting the moisture you need to the roots, have you considered changing your watering cycles, or water delivery system. I'm sure it would be much cheaper than buying foggers. Not to mention the hassle of cleaning and replacing the disc regularly just to keep them working.
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Old 09-03-2011, 10:23 PM
jamromhem jamromhem is offline
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I have thought about changing the delivery. There is way too little humidity in the root zone right now and the roots refuse to grow down due to that. I am thinking I either have to swap to a water culture, or add real sprayers to the delivery to increase water contact with the air. I am curently on 15:15 cycles. I tried to drop the timing and the plants didnt like it much. I am considering adding some fog misters (the actual irrigation type), but that will be later. I am not in a hurry to make changes to the system right now as I work out other areas of my life.
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Old 09-03-2011, 11:57 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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I'm a bit confused because you keep referring to humidity in the root zone. Humidity implies water vapor, but I think you are referring to "moisture" which is the water content in the growing medium (not vaporize, in the air). If I remember correctly your running NFT type system, but have a PVC tube with holes running through the NFT channel to spray water on the growing medium from below. The biggest issue with that is getting enough water pressure to spray the water out of enough holes for good even coverage. But a simple solution is to run a flexible line on top of the NFT channel, directly over the tops of the baskets. Then just poke some holes in the flexible tubing right over the baskets to drip the water directly down on the growing medium. That requires a LOT less water pressure, and making the holes exactly where you want them gives even coverage.

Another simple solution is to close off both ends of the NFT channel, run your fill line in the top end of the tube (like normal). But on the other end install a through hole (bulkhead fitting) in the bottom (for a overflow back to the reservoir). Then on the inside of the NFT channel insert a piece of tubing into the through hole (bulkhead fitting). Basically that temporarily converts the NFT system into a "flood and drain" system, and you can control the water height inside the NFT channel by the height of the piece of tubing you insert into the bulkhead fitting. When the roots reach far enough down, you can easily convert it back to a NFT system by taking out the pice of tubing from the bulkhead fitting, and letting the pump run 24/7.

Other than getting water to the roots, it dosen't matter how long your roots are for a healthy plant. In fact roots are more likely to grow long when they are lacking water. They grow longer to search out more water sources. But when they have plenty of water, they don't need to search for moisture. Thus they just don't need to grow longer roots, and instead focus energy on growing foliage.
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