Can you Reuse Lava Rock - Orchid Board

Cattleya17 · #1 09-01-2009, 09:34 PM

im not exactly a beginner Ive been growing successfully for about 8 years now but i thought this was the appropriate place to post for this type of question. i have some leftover lava and some lava a plant that may have had a rot not confirmed though. and instead of buy more i was wondering if i can reuse it? can i bleach it to clean it or can i boil the rock to clean it? i think boiling would work and kill anything bad in the rock since it is porous.

Let me know please

Thank you sooooo much!!!!!!

Ross · #2 09-01-2009, 10:09 PM

I don't see why not. Obviously heat won't hurt the stuff. I'd be tempted to heat it in the oven at 350 or 400 for an hour or so. That will elevate the temp in the center of the pieces, just in case micro organisms are in the holes. Just a thought.

Jerry Delaney · #3 09-01-2009, 10:23 PM

Quote:

I'd be tempted to heat it in the oven at 350 or 400 for an hour or so. That will elevate the temp in the center of the pieces, just in case micro organisms are in the holes. Just a thought

I agree with Ross. Unless you use a pressure cooker or some type of instrument that will build up pressure, you are not going to be able to achieve a temperature over 212 degrees F by boiling. If you use an oven, I would be sure to spread the rock fairly thin or increase the time.

trdyl · #4 09-02-2009, 01:08 AM

I would not try a bleach solution. I doubt that it would completly penetrate. Baking or pressure cooking I think are the 2 best methods.

Doc G · #5 09-02-2009, 02:22 AM

If the lava rock was in use for any length of time, it may have built up chemical residues. Boiling may clean some of that out. Then bake for sterility.

If you are a back yard griller, you could use residual heat for the boil using a stock pot or such.

Undergrounder · #6 09-02-2009, 09:37 AM

I used to re-use my LECA, and i used to pressure cook it to sterilise.. but given it takes so much time and effort to sterilise, given that you still can't be 100% certain that it will work, and given that LECA/rock is pretty cheap in bulk, nowadays i just get new stuff.

Donald · #7 09-02-2009, 09:42 AM

I have lava rock that is 8 years old that I reuse on occasion. I know some other posts advise against bleaching but this is how I clean mine. It is put in 5 gallons of water to which has been added 2 cups of bleach. I let it sit in this solution for 3 days and rinse it off thoroughly then let it sit outside in the sun for a couple of days. I keep some "dens" and a couple of "phals" in it and haven't had any problems. Bleach isn't as caustic as most people think. It is used in fish ponds and campers put it in drinking water.

Cattleya17 · #8 09-02-2009, 03:06 PM

Awesome advice guys! i will boil then bake! i just have two pots full of it one 6 inch and one 8 inch and one pot had a catt division that had a backbulb turn black and a little mushy. so i have enough already to do the repot jobs i need to do before fall hits in two weeks. so i dont wanna spend 4 bucks for stuff i have if i can reuse it. so that is what i will do. Thank you all so much for your fast responses!