New to DWC

[Msizzle]

Anyone know what this is? I started growing hydro a few weeks ago and today is day 27 in my 17 gallon tote, They are being grown under a 200 watt spider farmer LED. Enclosed in a 3x3x5 tent. Temps are fairly stable between 68-80 degrees and the growth has been outstanding for 3 weeks. I noticed this white growth around the stems and wondered if this is something I should be worried about. This is my 3rd grow, my 1st and 2nd were in coco so I am fairly new to the game. I am growing white widow and grand daddy purple.

 

[Poppa]

To me they look like the start of roots. I see in the picture the feed tube is at top of basket and allowing light to get to the solution this may cause root rot. I have lowered it a bit through first few grows to where now I place it through the side of basket at the bottom. You may also find light can get trough the white lid which will also cause root rot. My first setup had a gray lid and light caused it through it I taped over the lid with foil tape to stop it.

 

[DW2]

Howdy Msizzle, First of all, what is the temperature of the water and is it being aerated? The second thing is, get rid of the clear tubing for the water lines (the clear tubing acts like a 'light pipe' and can 'carry' light down into the reservoir causing problems) and move the water lines to the bottom of the cube or net pot, it appears that the stems are too wet and are either growing mold or trying to product roots. It also appears to be splashing and causing a nutrient build up on top of the reservoir. I cover the net pots with aluminum foil to block out all light intrusions into the reservoir to prevent the growth of brown algae. I also insulate the reservoir and use ice bottles to keep the water temperature between 62° F and 70° F.
Good luck with Your grow.

 

[Msizzle]

Thanks for the quick response, I am aerating the water with 2 air stones. I have not been checking the temp of the water consistently but my ambient air temp is between 71-77 degrees. I will remove the water tube entirely since it's only needed in the 1st few Weeks of bubbleponics? If I remove it entirely will it hurt my growth? I will cover both net pots with aluminum foil and try to keep the temperature of my tent in check.

 

[Friedumpling]

Hey there!

I agree with DW2 and another trick I used to keep the water temps down (if that’s an issue) was to have the air pumps outside of the tent. This way they are sending the usually colder outside of tent air in to the water.

The top fed water is really only beneficial in the beginning before the roots hit the water. Once the roots have submerged in to the main source of water, the benefit falls off drastically, almost completely. So you won’t hurt anything by not feeding that water to the top anymore (once the roots have hit the main reservoir). Just be gentle when you remove that tube as you don’t want to damage any roots.

You will also want to be in the habit of monitoring the temps of the water in the reservoir and any water you add to the reservoir. Getting a bad environment in the water was probably the most annoying challenge I had to deal with as a new dwc/bubbleponics grower. If you haven’t already, I would highly recommend the guide that Fourside made https://www.growweedeasy.com/high-yield-bubbleponics-technique