Need general advice for rdwc

[RBGreen]

Doubtful due to past 3 weeks of pearly white

 

[MileHiGhost]

So maybe it’s my root benis nd fungle shit,

I patched up the lids on my buckets with black tape aswell the wee corner pockets are great at forming algae

I know if it’s brown slime if I cut the silicone for 1 week nd wipe nd drain it all away it should have the grounds to breed

My roots are white for the most part

A couple look creamy yellowish off the nute dyes but new growth white

It’s just the brown stuff on the walls untill agitated then float about

I took some into a jug nd added peroxide nd it all settled at the bottom

Same, there is always yellow mush, as long as the plants are green we are happy.

 

[RBGreen]

Before hydrogen peroxide dunk

 

[RBGreen]

After hydrogen Peroxide dunk, has taken most the dark brown off. Ill see if I got a previous picture from days ago

 

[MileHiGhost]

I have issues, I only drink Eldorado spring water. So do my girls ! So they are always happy.

 

[RBGreen]

This is 3 days ago, where I have circled you can see the dark drown, sorry its the only photo i have of it

 

[MileHiGhost]

After hydrogen Peroxide dunk, has taken most the dark brown off. Ill see if I got a previous picture from days ago

Love me some H2O2

 

[NairnM16]

It’s hard to dile hydro in with benis
I do it to myself for some reason

I use advanced nutes
Voodoo juice
Piranha
Tarantula

Nd sensyzime instead of hydro guard

All runs great untill I get lazy

I think my problems was coming from subtle light leak in my buckets

 

[RBGreen]

Probably the worst thing is trying to gather information about the system in general.

I one upped all my equipment from recommended dude to someone else owning the system and said they were having troubles with circulation due to recommended pumps n equipment.

I had to trial n error to figure out the UV Sterilizer. It is a must for this system if you want to run a Sterilise system.

Also with UC roots, luckily I was told to run it...

I originally wanted to run bennies but didn't feel like getting bent over daily like I was with problems

 

[RBGreen]

Also Alien system is super finicky with organics, the filter is easily clogged if you're not using the right organics, can't be too lumpy etc

 

[NairnM16]

I clean my filter weekly nothing tht I’ve seen so far I’ll keep an eye out tho

 

[LuckyLlama]

Is this brown algae,

My temps are around 18/19c

I know that brown algae prefers cooler inviroments nd high silicone levels

I use advanced nutes

Last run I ran into root rot as I didn’t have a chiller nd it was summer here

I cleaned the system a good few times with pressure washer nd peroxide

But this showed up bad week one of new res

Done another flush nd peroxide bath nd only a wee bit showed up this week

I’m thinking dropping my silicone levels nd looking for changes but honestly no clue a second opinion would be great

Look into the benefits of not only cleaning with hydrogen peroxide, but using it like a nutrient. When diluted down to a low level, it will make oxygen more available to the roots as it "cooks off" and converts to water dropping its extra oxygen molecule. From H2O2 to H2O. There are benefits and drawbacks. Too much can oxidize other nutrients making them less available to the plant. Just enough will clean up any mess you have going on. Im new to rdwc as well. I did one grow in soil and am running hydra unlimited systems now. I had great sucess in getting clones to root by using some H2O2 in my cloning solution this week. Check my journal for any specifics

 

[Captspaulding]

I just use hydro guard once a week.
And some scale cleaner.

Amazon.com : Hydroguard 1 qt : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Amazon.com : Hydroguard 1 qt : Patio, Lawn & Garden

a.co

Amazon.com : General Hydroponics TrueFlo Irrigation Line Cleaner, 1 qt. : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Amazon.com : General Hydroponics TrueFlo Irrigation Line Cleaner, 1 qt. : Patio, Lawn & Garden

a.co

Those two and i havent seen antthing browning,
Also, I found that when you top off pouring through your clay pellets washes some of that shit off so you can have a better idea whether or not it is a) rot that setting in or b) just a nutrient coloration

 

[RBGreen]

I just use hydro guard once a week.
And some scale cleaner.

Amazon.com : Hydroguard 1 qt : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Amazon.com : Hydroguard 1 qt : Patio, Lawn & Garden

a.co

Amazon.com : General Hydroponics TrueFlo Irrigation Line Cleaner, 1 qt. : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Amazon.com : General Hydroponics TrueFlo Irrigation Line Cleaner, 1 qt. : Patio, Lawn & Garden

a.co

Those two and i havent seen antthing browning,
Also, I found that when you top off pouring through your clay pellets washes some of that shit off so you can have a better idea whether or not it is a) rot that setting in or b) just a nutrient coloration

Is this to me? Cause hydroguard is bennies, I'm running a sterile system

 

[ajpapenfuss]

What is bennies

 

[RBGreen]

What is bennies

Beneficial bacteria

 

[ajpapenfuss]

Thanx I t seem as if u have more trouble with yours than I do mine in just got 5 gallon buckets I mix 20 gallons of water with hydroguard and use to mix nuts general hydroponics and always seem to have white roots

 

[frostworks]

Hydroguard is for a bennie system not a Sterilize system as far as I know

what i thought too.

 

[dankstranger]

Hey everyone

Couple of questions

First I'll list my equipment

Equipment:

Uv Sterilizer 36w

Alien 4pot 36L Silver Pro rdwc system

Helia HC-250a

Aqua one power head 105

Pond one 8000 o2plus

Rio hyperflow 6hf

Nutrients I'm running:
Floramax veg1
Floramax rootxs
Floramax Organabud
Floramax flowering Enhancer
Floramax system maintenance
Current culture uc roots


Okay so now I've listed my equipment and nutrients I'll jump into it.


Having problems with keeping roots pearly white. Have had to UP UC roots dosage to compact brownness.

Uv Sterilizer is currently down and out and I'll have a replacement soon so thinking that could be a cause.

I'm completely new to rdwc and this is my second grow ever. Ive gone from soil/autoflowers to Rdwc/photos so its definitely a big change up for me with everything

Have gone from ISN>GP3>Floramax ( more mineral based nutrients) as this system is super finicky with organic nutrients etc and i was wanting to run a sterilie environment.

Any information would help on trying to keep roots white

Here's how I'd tighten up that Alien RDWC and keep those roots white:

You got a solid setup - Alien 36L with chiller, UV, good air pump. Sounds like you're getting some brown tint that clears up when you hit it with peroxide and bump up the UC Roots. Found a clay ball in your chiller too which definitely doesn't help.

First thing - you picked sterile so stick with it. Don't add any beneficial bacteria or organic stuff while you're running UC Roots and UV. They just fight each other and feed biofilm.

UC Roots works better as a steady low dose, not big emergency hits. Get some cheap chlorine test strips and keep a small residual going all the time. Dose based on what the strips say, not guessing.

Keep your water temp 65-68F at the control bucket. Make sure you got a filter before your chiller so no more hydroton or root bits get in there. That clay ball you found can kill chiller performance fast.

Put the UV after the filter so it's hitting clean water, not chewing on debris.

Light proof everything. Any light leak means algae and brown slime. Tape up bucket lids, grommets, sight tubes, all those little spots people forget about.

Your air pump is plenty big. Just make sure it's distributed evenly and not blasting directly under thick root masses.

RDWC likes lower EC than soil or coco. Start low and work up slowly. Keep pH 5.6-6.0 and let it drift a little.

Between runs drain everything and circulate 3% peroxide for 30-60 minutes then rinse and refill. That peroxide dunk you did obviously worked so use it as a cleanup tool, just not daily or you'll mess with your nutrients.

Weekly wipe down the lids and control bucket, clean your filters, check your chlorine levels, make sure the chiller is hitting temp.

Real root rot smells sour and the roots get slimy. If they feel firm and new tips are white it's probably just staining or biofilm, not full rot.

What's your actual res temp and what additives you running besides the basics? If you can test your chlorine levels before and after dosing that'll help dial it in better.

You're close man. Keep that residual going, light proof everything, and protect that chiller and those roots should stay snow white.

 

[RBGreen]

So chiller on 18 always

Air pump is fine, no issues.

Was leaking at joint to pot, sealed up now.

UV FILTER 36w after chiller back into pot so after circulation and through filter back into header into chiller then out. It was currently out due to it blew up but is back and working fine.


HIGH UC dosage wasn't normal, was to try and combat whatever it was.

Last 2 runs was way worse

Have pulled apart, scrubs n fully reset completely.

Currently additives and nutrients

Floramax veg 1
Floramax organa bud
Floramax root xs
Floramax flowering Enhancer
Floramax xs growth ( new to line )
Uc roots

I do use Green pplanet additives
Bud booster
Cal mag
Vitathrive
Plant gaurd
Bud booster
Horti rawk

I had a few ISN nutrients go off, I originally think the problems came from there but this run is gonna be the best