DWC Newbie, Is this root rot?

[MustardTiger]

Hello!
So I started a DWC indoor grow about a month and a half ago. Having quite a few issues. First off, these plants are about 1.5 months old, and maybe 5 inches tall. Yea. real slow. I've had a ton of issues, soooo many things grow in DWC's, and the heat has not been helpful. I thought I fixed my issues, (light leaks, air flow, reservoir temp) but now I have a new issue.

These are the things I add to the water:
I added Great White for the first time a couple days ago.
Nutrients: Advanced Nutrients

So is this root rot that I've heard of? -Unfortunately I washed most of the brown off before taking a picture. Woke up to this and washed it before thinking about making a post. The longest root was pretty much completely brown. - at least as dark as the darkest brown root in the pic.

The only reason I didn't immediately dump and clean everything is because the plant/leaves look good, no drooping. Some small yellowish spots but looking pretty good overall. And the brown washed off pretty easily. Plus i've read it might be nutrient stain? not sure

Pic of the reservoir. Lots of brown stuff growing. Not sure if this is the 'beneficial' bacteria and whatnot or if its root rot.
The reservoir was cleaned and filled Tuesday afternoon, looked good Thursday afternoon, Friday morning looked like this.

Suggestions? I know I should probably just clean it out and add new water, but I'm constantly having to do this. Like twice a week I get growth of some sort and I have to clean it again. Was supposed to be once every 2 weeks!! I'm going through sooo much more nutrients than I should be and constantly disinfecting is starting to become a huge pain in the A.

 

[Aqua Man]

First off yes that is root rot.

Your are using ph perfect right?

I have never used great white and heard good things about it however I'm not sure if it treats root rot and got a feeling it more preventative.

What you are seeing in your res looks like diatoms to me but possibly algae. Hard to tell under the blurples.

Hydrogaurd has a bacteria call bacillus amyloliquefaciens. It has been proven to kill pythium infected tissue in agriculture for quite a while now.

What I would do.

Make a fresh res cleaning everything before refilling.

Get some hydrogaurd asap and treat as per directions.

Ph some tap water NOT dechlorinated. And rinse the roots gently. Do this in a seperate 5gal pail or other container. Each day for 3-4days. Then put back in res. From there watch the roots and and if any slime or browning occurs rinse and put back.

It may take a while to get under control but just keep at it.

There is no guarantee but the faster you do this the better.

 

[MustardTiger]

First off yes that is root rot.

Your are using ph perfect right?

I have never used great white and heard good things about it however I'm not sure if it treats root rot and got a feeling it more preventative.

What you are seeing in your res looks like diatoms to me but possibly algae. Hard to tell under the blurples.

Hydrogaurd has a bacteria call bacillus amyloliquefaciens. It has been proven to kill pythium infected tissue in agriculture for quite a while now.

What I would do.

Make a fresh res cleaning everything before refilling.

Get some hydrogaurd asap and treat as per directions.

Ph some tap water NOT dechlorinated. And rinse the roots gently. Do this in a seperate 5gal pail or other container. Each day for 3-4days. Then put back in res. From there watch the roots and and if any slime or browning occurs rinse and put back.

It may take a while to get under control but just keep at it.

There is no guarantee but the faster you do this the better.

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'm not using ph perfect, the nutrients I'm using are "Ph Smart" or "PH perfect" whatever they call it and are supposed to handle that. I tested it with a ph pen, and its at 6.5. Probably a bit high, but my normal tap water is up to a 7.7.

Great white lists Bacillus amyloliquefaciens as an ingredient. I really dont want to buy hydroguard. For me shipping is more expensive than the jug, and it takes 2+ weeks to get here. Which is why i went with great white.

I'll start the rinse bucket today, thanks for the info.

 

[Aqua Man]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'm not using ph perfect, the nutrients I'm using are "Ph Smart" or "PH perfect" whatever they call it and are supposed to handle that. I tested it with a ph pen, and its at 6.5. Probably a bit high, but my normal tap water is up to a 7.7.

Great white lists Bacillus amyloliquefaciens as an ingredient. I really dont want to buy hydroguard. For me shipping is more expensive than the jug, and it takes 2+ weeks to get here. Which is why i went with great white.

I'll start the rinse bucket today, thanks for the info.

What is the ppm of your tap water?

Also I would suggest using RO with PH perfect nutrients. It's designed to be used with RO. Only add great white and nothing else.

 

[MustardTiger]

What is the ppm of your tap water?

Also I would suggest using RO with PH perfect nutrients. It's designed to be used with RO. Only add great white and nothing else.

I'm not sure what my ppm is, dont have a meter. I probably should get one

And ill look into getting RO water

 

[pdasterly]

+1 on hydroguard

 

[RoyalRoutes]

I switched from dwc within the first 3 weeks

 

[Aqua Man]

I switched from dwc within the first 3 weeks

Yeah it's not something you can cut corners on. It's easy if you have the right info and equipment.

 

[pdasterly]

Yeah it's not something you can cut corners on. It's easy if you have the right info and equipment.

first hydro run went smooth, then all downhill from there, still trying to make it work(have to much invested)

 

[Aqua Man]

first hydro run went smooth, then all downhill from there, still trying to make it work(have to much invested)

What are you having problems with?

 

[pdasterly]

What are you having problems with?

same as op

 

[Aqua Man]

same as op

Have you tried hydrogaurd?

Here is some brief info on what works for me. You can pm if you have questions.

I run a live system and am mindful to do anything I can that helps preserve the bacteria. I also have what all aquariums and aquaponics use to maintain a healthy system... A healthy population of denitrifying bacteria. These occur naturally but can take up to 6 weeks to establish. You can seed from aquariums or buy some starter bacteria get a jump but I would recommend what's called a fishless cycle using pure ammonia.... You can google and pm if you have questions. With a simple ammonia and nitrate test kit you can see how well your bacteria colony is doing. And I use a fert with a tiny amount of ammonium in it. I'm won't go on about this more here.

I also use hydrogaurd for small plants but I mix it and pour from the top as opposed to in the res. I do this because I use jiffy pellets and it provides a decent although small home for some of the bacteria since the bacteria in hydrogaurd don't do as well as denitrifying bacteria in water.

I run a canister filter on my res but a hang on the back style would be better with filer foam and ceramic media to provide even more space for bacteria to populate. Once the plants are 4-5 weeks old I stop adding hydrogaurd and have had no issues just keeping my denitrifying bacteria happy.

I do 50% water changes maximum usually 25% a week. To help reduce stress on bacteria from chloramines/chlorine.

How I setup my grow. Seeds/clones in jiffy pellets for 2 weeks (usually a few days less maybe).

Adjust my water to 1" below the net pot so bubbles breaking the surface splash the hydroton. Put 2-3" of hydroton in the net pot place my jiffy pellets with plants in and fill the rest making sure no light leaks.

Top water a cup of nutrient solution a day for a week. After this once a week I pour maybe a little of water(plain water) from the top to keep from any nutrient build up so I never have to worry about it.

Ph to 5.6-5.8 and drift up to about 6 although it really doesn't drift much until your getting more growth.

Change out 25-50%max of the solution a week depending how well your nutrients are dialed in.

I have recently been testing 74F res temps for the past month or a bit more and no issues Infact it seems better growth so far. But keeping res temps down will give you more time to react should you run into a problem like root rot. But temps do not cause root rot.

Probably the worst thing that can be done in DWC is big changes or several changes. A healthy start means a plant will have a good immune system and a healthy bacteria population also helps a plant in defense of pathogens

I won't go into the parameters as that's pretty common stuff.

Sterile works well to but I prefer not to go that route I think if you take the time to set it up a live system is far healthier.

Added: the problem with live systems in hydro is hydro is really not designed well to house a good population of bacteria

 

[pdasterly]

tried hydroguard, z7, southern ag garden fugicide, armoury benificial bacteria. hydroguard used to work for me
I have 1hp chiller, still got RR. Doing oxine treatment now and it appears to be working. hopefully i can save my unattainable strain:)

Have you tried hydrogaurd?

Here is some brief info on what works for me. You can pm if you have questions.

I run a live system and am mindful to do anything I can that helps preserve the bacteria. I also have what all aquariums and aquaponics use to maintain a healthy system... A healthy population of denitrifying bacteria. These occur naturally but can take up to 6 weeks to establish. You can seed from aquariums or buy some starter bacteria get a jump but I would recommend what's called a fishless cycle using pure ammonia.... You can google and pm if you have questions. With a simple ammonia and nitrate test kit you can see how well your bacteria colony is doing. And I use a fert with a tiny amount of ammonium in it. I'm won't go on about this more here.

I also use hydrogaurd for small plants but I mix it and pour from the top as opposed to in the res. I do this because I use jiffy pellets and it provides a decent although small home for some of the bacteria since the bacteria in hydrogaurd don't do as well as denitrifying bacteria in water.

I run a canister filter on my res but a hang on the back style would be better with filer foam and ceramic media to provide even more space for bacteria to populate. Once the plants are 4-5 weeks old I stop adding hydrogaurd and have had no issues just keeping my denitrifying bacteria happy.

I do 50% water changes maximum usually 25% a week. To help reduce stress on bacteria from chloramines/chlorine.

How I setup my grow. Seeds/clones in jiffy pellets for 2 weeks (usually a few days less maybe).

Adjust my water to 1" below the net pot so bubbles breaking the surface splash the hydroton. Put 2-3" of hydroton in the net pot place my jiffy pellets with plants in and fill the rest making sure no light leaks.

Top water a cup of nutrient solution a day for a week. After this once a week I pour maybe a little of water(plain water) from the top to keep from any nutrient build up so I never have to worry about it.

Ph to 5.6-5.8 and drift up to about 6 although it really doesn't drift much until your getting more growth.

Change out 25-50%max of the solution a week depending how well your nutrients are dialed in.

I have recently been testing 74F res temps for the past month or a bit more and no issues Infact it seems better growth so far. But keeping res temps down will give you more time to react should you run into a problem like root rot. But temps do not cause root rot.

Probably the worst thing that can be done in DWC is big changes or several changes. A healthy start means a plant will have a good immune system and a healthy bacteria population also helps a plant in defense of pathogens

I won't go into the parameters as that's pretty common stuff.

Sterile works well to but I prefer not to go that route I think if you take the time to set it up a live system is far healthier.

Added: the problem with live systems in hydro is hydro is really not designed well to house a good population of bacteria

 

[Hazed420]

Aquaman is very intelligent with much knowledge i run dwc and had the same problem i used hydroguard and liquid orca. The liquid orca at 1ml/g and it took the root rot away and never had another problem. You have to make sure you wash your roots. Throw out the old rez water and whip up a new batch and add the hydroguard and orca and my roots are pretty white other than one of my nutrients is really dark so it does stain the roots a bit. I hope this will help you out. Im no pro this happened to me also

 

[AnselAdams]

Have you tried hydrogaurd?

Here is some brief info on what works for me. You can pm if you have questions.

I run a live system and am mindful to do anything I can that helps preserve the bacteria. I also have what all aquariums and aquaponics use to maintain a healthy system... A healthy population of denitrifying bacteria. These occur naturally but can take up to 6 weeks to establish. You can seed from aquariums or buy some starter bacteria get a jump but I would recommend what's called a fishless cycle using pure ammonia.... You can google and pm if you have questions. With a simple ammonia and nitrate test kit you can see how well your bacteria colony is doing. And I use a fert with a tiny amount of ammonium in it. I'm won't go on about this more here.

I also use hydrogaurd for small plants but I mix it and pour from the top as opposed to in the res. I do this because I use jiffy pellets and it provides a decent although small home for some of the bacteria since the bacteria in hydrogaurd don't do as well as denitrifying bacteria in water.

I run a canister filter on my res but a hang on the back style would be better with filer foam and ceramic media to provide even more space for bacteria to populate. Once the plants are 4-5 weeks old I stop adding hydrogaurd and have had no issues just keeping my denitrifying bacteria happy.

I do 50% water changes maximum usually 25% a week. To help reduce stress on bacteria from chloramines/chlorine.

How I setup my grow. Seeds/clones in jiffy pellets for 2 weeks (usually a few days less maybe).

Adjust my water to 1" below the net pot so bubbles breaking the surface splash the hydroton. Put 2-3" of hydroton in the net pot place my jiffy pellets with plants in and fill the rest making sure no light leaks.

Top water a cup of nutrient solution a day for a week. After this once a week I pour maybe a little of water(plain water) from the top to keep from any nutrient build up so I never have to worry about it.

Ph to 5.6-5.8 and drift up to about 6 although it really doesn't drift much until your getting more growth.

Change out 25-50%max of the solution a week depending how well your nutrients are dialed in.

I have recently been testing 74F res temps for the past month or a bit more and no issues Infact it seems better growth so far. But keeping res temps down will give you more time to react should you run into a problem like root rot. But temps do not cause root rot.

Probably the worst thing that can be done in DWC is big changes or several changes. A healthy start means a plant will have a good immune system and a healthy bacteria population also helps a plant in defense of pathogens

I won't go into the parameters as that's pretty common stuff.

Sterile works well to but I prefer not to go that route I think if you take the time to set it up a live system is far healthier.

Added: the problem with live systems in hydro is hydro is really not designed well to house a good population of bacteria

TRUTH! This shit really works.!! Make it a regular part of your growing habits... The rewards are worth it.

Have you tried something like Hydroguard (can be found on Amazon) AND a product called PlusLife (+Life) which can be purchased here (the mfg). https://hydroponic-research.com/product/life/ I have found the combination to be most agreeable.

Good Luck, and Happy Growing

 

[dinosaurjrmafia]

i'm on day two of nothing but water and liquid orca at 1.5ml/gal at ph 5.8 and 70F temps.
i take the top off and spray the roots with the res water every few hours.

should i wait until i see improvement to add nutes? should i add back in any particular order?

ps the local hydro store only had gallon jugs of hydroguard so i got orca instead since i'm super hobbiest with 1 plant.
bacillus amyloliquefaciens is included in orca as well, most of the other root rot products are preventative or inorganic or don't have this on the label.

Would love your advice @Aqua Man

 

[Aqua Man]

i'm on day two of nothing but water and liquid orca at 1.5ml/gal at ph 5.8 and 70F temps.
i take the top off and spray the roots with the res water every few hours.

should i wait until i see improvement to add nutes? should i add back in any particular order?

ps the local hydro store only had gallon jugs of hydroguard so i got orca instead since i'm super hobbiest with 1 plant.
bacillus amyloliquefaciens is included in orca as well, most of the other root rot products are preventative or inorganic or don't have this on the label.

Would love your advice @Aqua Man

Add about 150ppm of nutrients to your res. Orca sounds like a good option

 

[PhatNuggz]

First, attempting hydro without a proper pH pen or PPM/EC pen is a recipe for disaster

Next sterile rez is the safest. Many people think organic is best, because they are not aware that plants can break down inorganic salts without issue

Carrying RO or Distilled from a store is a PITA . Besides, in most parts of the world tap water isn't fit to drink. I have owned ROs for 4+ decades for both cooking and drinking as well as for my hydro girls. Size of RO depends on how many plants you plan to grow, but a <$400 iSpring with a booster pump (see Amazon) will provide ~ 2 gallons of high quality RO at a time with a fairly quick recovery to make up to 20 g/day. The limiting factor is the size of the storage tank. Make sure to buy extra filters and one membrane. The RO and filters are easy to install with on line tutorials

Are your plants clones or seedlings?

Where is your water line... above or below the net pots

I have been dealing with RR due to pilot error combined with seedlings in starter cubes. If the cubes stay wet 24/7 root rot is soon to follow!

Pics are similar to yours before and after: THE SAME PLANT! Now 33" loaded with buds

I was doing daily rinsing up into the net pots under medium pressure faucet and removing gooey/slimy roots, then soak in ~ 5 10% H2O2 ~ 15 minutes , rinse again then return to rez. Repeat daily

Drop by my thread for helpful tips

hth

 

[Aqua Man]

Next sterile rez is the safest. Many people think organic is best, because they are not aware that plants can break down inorganic salts without issue

It's doesn't quite work like that. People with little understanding of organic/inorganic and the benefits of a live system vs sterile system say this kinda stuff.

The difference is inorganic nutrients are extremely available to plants. Organic nutrients need to be broken down by microbial life in order to be available. There are millions of species of bacteria/fungi some considered beneficial and others not so much. Root rot is caused by chemical, physical or environmental damage and overall plant health. It has nothing to do with sterile or live systems. Healthy plants especially with symbiotic relationships with beneficial bacteria and fungi will be far more resistant to root rot. An unhealthy or damaged plant is an invitation for disease and pests.

Root rot infects the root tissue and a sterile system while can be very effective at preventing root rot is not so effective in treatment. The high doses of h2o2 may kill free floating pythium but are also hard on the roots themselves leaving an opening for even more infection if not done properly but also is not very effective in killing the infected tissue. This can be seen by the stunting and time it takes to heal an infection. Hydrogaurd is usually 3days and causes no added stress to the plant. H2O2 I have seen go weeks controlling but not eliminating root rot which is most often the case when using it. Once the roots have been fully innoculated with hydrogaurd they are far more likely to resist infection should conditions permit in the future. There are also several other benefits to a live system over h2o2. Infact most of the h2o2 added to a system with be neutralized within 24hrs and is added every 3-4days to keep microbial populations down. It's not actually sterile for the full 3-4 days and that's why it's less effective in fighting off a root infection.

Both systems work well but once root rot is an issue you need to first treat the cause (why was the plant susceptible) and then treat the infection with a product like hydrogaurd than will kill the infection in to the roots as well as the system.

 

[PhatNuggz]

IMHO, I believe most people THINK organic will be more bioavailable than inorganic

I am using DM Zone, but only after I had to deal with RR.