HYDRO Ever tangle with a pathogen in hydro you just can't shake?

[UndergroundFarmer]

My two RDWC projects, Murcott and Deuxberry may be converted to coco grows soon if I can't fix this.

Long story short, I've done everything virtually the same as other grows in hydro except forgetting to bleach and rinse out the hydroton pellets. I keep finding big "rafts" of red-brown algae which I noticed smells just like fish tank water. I find it growing on the airstones mostly. The bits get loose and cling to the roots, causing them to rot. I keep cleaning this crap out yet it still comes back. I went crazy cleaning the hell out of both RDWC systems yesterday before feeding and adding Hydroguard. Today, I had to wash off slimed roots and add more Hydroguard. None of the Blueberries in hydro look like they will make it another week. I installed an A/C unit in the grow room over the weekend to bring temps and RH down and it is doing the job. Water temps are hanging around 72-73 F. I've piled on hydroton pellets in the net pots to try to cut down light leaks. I've washed out the "dirty" hydroton I used enough times to get all the garbage out but this pestilence is persistent.

[gbauto]

What are you using to 'clean' your system?
I'd say that if I had that situation, I would use pool shock after a system dump to sterilize the system as well as the roots.
The chlorine should get you back to zero on pathogens, and then you can work on what created the issue in the first place.

[UndergroundFarmer]

I've been using water pressure to knock the crap loose then flushing out until it all runs clear.

[gbauto]

You'll need to use a sterilizing agent to KILL whatever funk is present throughout the system.
Spraying off the roots isn't enough.
Look at running a sterile system.

[DW2]

Howdy undergroundFarmer, The water temperature should be between 62° F and 70° F, whether it is RWC, DWC , or coco. Light leaks (at any temperature) are bad, I use aluminum foil to block out the leaks around the hydroton pebbles. If one wishes to re-use the hydroton, do not use bleach to clean them as they are porous and can leach the bleach back into the system. I wash them in plain water (no soap!) or in H2O2, let them air dry for a couple of hours then bake them in the over at 350° F for an hour. There will be some breakage (dust and chips) from trapped water, but this can be minimal when they are air dried longer and placed into the cold over and allowed to heat up gradually. The air stones can not be baked (due to the plastic tube fitting) so I just soak them over night , first in vinegar and then another night in H2O2. I'm getting ready for my 11th grow now and I only used Hydro Guard on the first two and never got rid of the root rot (brown algae), but now, keeping the water temperature below 70° F with ice bottles and insulating the reservoirs and blocking the light leaks, I have been having some success in keeping the root rot down.

[UndergroundFarmer]

The temps surely aren't helping but they've never been a problem until this grow. I'll take your advice on decontamination and until I can do that to both RDWC systems and add water chillers, I think I will just attempt to transplant to coco until all that can be done. Part of both grows are in coco anyway - the "spares".

[DW2]

UndergroundFarmer, I have been using ice bottles to keep the water temperatures down within the safe range. I use a o.7 L bottle with smooth straight sides (allows the ice expansion without splitting the bottle) in a six gallon Bubble Phonic style reservoir. Early in the grow, the bottles need to be changed out approximately every three to four hours (while the lights are on), but after the canopy fills out, the changes become less frequent.

[UndergroundFarmer]

I'll probably have to look into a chiller for Murcott if I leave them in hydro. The Tangies aren't nearly as bad off as the Blueberries. I may also just plan on going coco only during the summer months. And yes, usually at this stage of the grow, light has little chance of finding the floor of the tent through the dense canopy, let alone the nute solution through the hydroton pellets. I did turn off the white LED boost to see if it helps.

[UndergroundFarmer]

This is one of the airstones from Project Deuxberry. All the Blueberries were moved to coco this evening in hopes of saving at least half of them. The Tangies in Project Murcott will be moved after I can get another block of coco.

[Ckbrew]

Is that sediment build up or slime?

[UndergroundFarmer]

Slime! It's a red-brown algae I used to see in fish tanks all the time.

[UndergroundFarmer]

Also, this algae can thrive without light in an oxygen-rich environment. I replaced the old air pump with a stronger one lately. The bubbles are awesome now, I wish the algae didn't think so.

[alltatup]

Underground, I've seen that stuff in the reservoir clinging to the air stones, but it hasn't ever caused a problem. I assumed it was beneficial and came from the Great White mycorrhizae that I use. I have used reservoir chillers since the one time I got root rot, keeping water temp around 68 F.

I use hydrogen peroxide 35% to clean and sterilize all my equipment, including hydroton. I like H2O2 the best because it won't cling like bleach might. It sterlizes everything without harsh chemicals (I hate the smell of bleach).

[Eliot Pryor]

Cheers Alltatup !! I always enjoy following your grows. I would be interested in your experience with chillers. Personally I don't do anything about the heat but I want to. Thank you for sharing your knowledge !!

[Ckbrew]

I will second the use of peroxide for a sanitizing agent,

[UndergroundFarmer]

I bought and used some food grade peroxide today in Murcott. I also bought more coco. This Saturday I will decide what to do with them. If I can kill off all that algae with the peroxide, I might just leave them in hydro. All the Blueberries were moved to coco and are doing well.

[Eliot Pryor]

Underground. I have been growing dwc in just single bucket set ups and I can see where it might be a big problem in multi-bucket setups but in my experience the plant still thrives. Good growing to you !!

[UndergroundFarmer]

Thanks. Excepting one very sick Blueberry, I think I can save them.

[alltatup]

UndergroundFarmer You may already know this: using H2O2 in the reservoir will keep it sterile for 1-2 days, so you have to keep replenishing it if you want to go for a sterile reservoir. I never tried that route, because I invested in the water chillers, which have worked fine for 4 years.

When I had the root rot, I rinsed my plants' roots under the fauced and used my fingers to dislodge the stuff clinging to the outside of the roots. It came off easily because I started quickly. Root rot: https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...strains/page10

Then, what I used after making sure there were no light leaks into the reservoir was Grapefruit Seed Extract, frequently used in fishponds and such like to kill all the nasty stuff. It worked like a charm. https://luv2garden.com/hydroponics_algae.html

[UndergroundFarmer]

I think we still have grapefruit seed extract from a trip to Colorado when my stepdaughter had the trots. I will grill my wife on its location when she gets home. And yes, I've been massaging as much of that junk off the roots as will come off. And now for another peroxide treatment!

[Ckbrew]

UndergroundFarmer , Colors of pix can be altered when posted, but that looks like iron bacteria to me. Do you have a drilled well for water? Iron bacteria are not harmful to humans, just gum up stuff. They feed on the iron from the well casing. I flush the water system with bleach every 5 years of so and it goes away. Maybe change your water source or boil or sanitize it before you use it?

[UndergroundFarmer]

It's STL city water with particulate and charcoal filtering. I haven't had this problem until these two grows.

[Ckbrew]

I think I would go with peroxide then.

[UndergroundFarmer]

Friday update: All six Tangies in hydro are doing OK and still reaching for the grow lights. I scooped far less crap out of the system today before adding another dose of peroxide. We are looking for our bottle of GSE and I will probably use it every water change for a while. The red-brown algae may all be dead by now. I've noticed new white roots shooting out from most of the pots too. Thanks to alltatup for the help. I read through the whole thread and yes, that sounds exactly like what I've been battling.

[alltatup]

UndergroundFarmer Yaaaay! Good for you. If you read a little on GSE, you'll see killing algae is one of the things it's great at.

[Ckbrew]

Good to see it under control.

[UndergroundFarmer]

I'm still removing bits but it's getting there! I've been using the peroxide every day and the fresh roots keep sprouting. The airstones aren't getting coated again after I scoured them off either.

[UndergroundFarmer]

I dosed with grapefruit seed extract and no peroxide yesterday. Whatever is attacking exploded overnight. I will be moving the Tangies to coco at the next opportunity. I can't expect them to hang on and thrive any other way. I will put away the hydro setup until much cooler weather then sanitize the hell out of it before trying again.

[Smoklahoma]

Been following along, makes me nervous. I'm fixing to start my second grow in hydro. Did a leak test last weekend after wiping everything down with bleach water. Think I'll mix another batch of bleach and cycle through both systems several times before I plant. I don't want any of that shit!

[UndergroundFarmer]

A few observations: the crap is always at its minimum at the end of the week just before water change and feeding. The day after feeding is the day when I always discover that the roots in water are slimed over again even with peroxide treatment. Either the nutrients are contaminated (not likely) or the water supply is. I'm going to suspend growing in hydro until cold weather sets in and then try again. It's always good to try out other methods - if I hadn't needed to park mothers in coco a few years ago to slow their growth, I would not have any techniques to fall back on. Luckily, it seems I just can't lose in coco nowadays.

[Mr.furley]

Ultimately a chiller is going to help with your problems, 62 to 65f is a great target for water temperature in a Rez but out of curiosity what Nute line do you run and do you check your PPM's?

[UndergroundFarmer]

I'm using Aurora Soul (a hydro version of Buddha Grow). It's been getting a little hard to find lately. I use a Wiztech pH/TDS/Temp meter that has outlived my cheapo pH pens by a factor of 4. Water temps are usually between 70-72F. I've grown in every season before without a chiller or ice packs in the reservoir and never had these issues. I try to stick to the graphic showing target EC for each week of veg and bloom and rarely take it over 1.6 unless I've got large plants. I'm suspecting the water supply is introducing fresh infusions of algae and bacteria lately.

[UndergroundFarmer]

As of a half-hour ago, all Tangies are in coco. I expect five of six to recover. The five I have confidence in all sprouted fresh roots from the bottoms of their stems and spread throughout the hydroton laterally. The other one only has a stub of a taproot and pulled straight out of the rooter plug. I expect the survivors will all rebound as the Blueberries did.