Where to get LECA in Canada?

[UncleChester]

Any ideas? Local Home Depot is a no-go, and I can't find it on their Canadian website. No luck at nearby garden centres either. The nearest location I've found is a hydroponics shop in downtown Toronto, which would be an annoying day trip (shipping is expensive). The local pet shop has a tiny bag for a not so tiny price.

Any one have luck at any major Canadian retailers?

[John]

Hydroponics stores are about the only place you'll find it locally. You could order it from the US - see how much it would cost to order it from joshsfrogs.

[Kurt]

Zoo Med makes it under the name "Hydroballs", so check your local pet stores. I know Pet smart carries it, but I don't know if they have store in Canada.

[Kurt]

I just looked Petsmart has quite a few stores in Ontario. I assume thats where you are.

[UncleChester]

Thanks guys. I'll be making my way near a Petsmart hopefully within a month or so, and I'll check out Hydroponic shops near it. I'll check Josh's shipping rates, the Canadian sources I found are fairly high.

I've found a few greenhouse supply companies that will ship to retailers (I can swing that), so I might try the option of getting a sample from them (I'd also like to try it for plant related purposes outside vivariums).

[Julia]

You can get it on Ebay here is the link:
Zoomed Hydro Balls Hydroballs Terrarium Substrate on eBay.ca (item 330443196551 end time 24-Jun-10 16:06:57 EDT)

[UncleChester]

Success at last! Anyone looking for LECA in the Burlington area can head to Frank's Magic Crops and pick up a 50L bag of Hydroton brand for $30 tax included. This is about 45lbs by my bathroom scale, compare with minimum $12 for a 1kg bag of HydroBalls. Plus, they wrap it in a black garbage bag for maximum discreteness

[Kurt]

Hydroton is also a better product over Hydroballs.

[UncleChester]

Hydroton is also a better product over Hydroballs.

You had mentioned this in another thread a few days ago and your preference helped with my decision to buy a giant bag of Hydroton. Can't beat quality combined with quantity at a good price

[Kurt]

A win/win situation.

[John]

Remember to rinse it very well - it usually comes with a ton of dust in it.

[UncleChester]

Remember to rinse it very well - it usually comes with a ton of dust in it.

You're not kidding when you say a "ton of dust"! I had thought a quick rinse in a pail would do the job, but ended up putting it in a colander under the tap for about 5 minutes before the water ran clear.

[John]

That's exactly how I rinse it .

[frogfreaks]

Success at last! Anyone looking for LECA in the Burlington area can head to Frank's Magic Crops and pick up a 50L bag of Hydroton brand for $30 tax included.

Did they recognize the word Leca. We asked around for that and people were looking at us cross eyed. lol

It seems to be referred to as Hydroton here.

Not a big fan of hydroballs. They're expensive and float. Hydroton/Leca is much easier to work with.

[UncleChester]

Did they recognize the word Leca. We asked around for that and people were looking at us cross eyed. lol

I didn't give them a chance to not recognize "leca", at this point in my search I was asking "Do you have any leca? They're small clay pellets, possibly called Hydroton?" before the cross eyed look could come out