beluga said:

I guess that's what I'm getting at in so many words.
The people I see the most frustrated are those chasing technicalities without having much basis for the general feel of things.

I think we can

Just listen to @Aqua Man is suggesting and go from there. Since it's independent of the system you're currently using, I'm sure it will be successful.
I'm also sure your system is clean enough and I'm sure it will work for you if you wait until a plant is well-established before moving it to the system. Then we'll help you with tuning it if need be.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't be chasing these technicalities if I was having any amount of measurable success. I'm trying to figure out why I'm failing so I can correct it. Regardless of what your feelings are on me wanting to collect some actual hard data to try to better understand what may be going on, to me, that's my next logical step. If that's pointless and anecdotal to you, I can only apologize for my ignorance. To me, it makes sense. Fail -> analyze and try to understand why failure occurred -> make correction, try again.


Reading/watching countless guides/diaries online and trying to emulate their methods isn't working for me for some reason. Every single magic bullet "just do this - it's easy!" answer I come across that promises me success where I've failed - hasn't solved my issues. There's endless amounts of conflicting data online regarding hydro systems and how people successfully run them, and the frustrating thing is - everyone seems to have great success running it in every which way no matter what they are doing, even through many directly contradict one another. Everyone says what they are doing works for them, therefore, it will automatically work for everyone else. That's great, except for when it doesn't work out as expected.

For people like myself who clearly are lacking both the basic abilities and common sense to successfully pull this off - it becomes difficult and frustrating, especially after a year+ worth of encountering nothing but complete failure.




Like I've made mention before to someone else, I'm glad what's working for you is working so well - truly, I am! I'm exceptionally happy that you have everything figured out, and that your methods are sound, reliable, and that you inherently know how to get from start to finish effortlessly without problems (or when you get them, you know how to instantly rectify them and get back on track).

I really wish I could say that after this many attempts, this much invested money and time, etc - that I could at least manage to keep something alive - but I can't. So, I'm doing the best I can, with my limited know-how, minimal abilities, and zero common sense - based on what I've tried/what I've yet to attempt.

hm7 said:

I wouldn't be chasing these technicalities if I was having any amount of measurable success. I'm trying to figure out why I'm failing so I can correct it. Regardless of what your feelings are on me wanting to collect some actual hard data to try to better understand what may be going on, to me, that's my next logical step. If that's pointless and anecdotal to you, I can only apologize for my ignorance.

What I've read and tried to follow from reading/watching countless guides/diaries online isn't working for me for some reason. Every single magic bullet "just do this - it's easy!" answer I come across that promises me success where I've failed - hasn't solved my issues. There's endless amounts of conflicting data online regarding hydro systems and how people successfully run them, and the frustrating thing is - everyone seems to have great success running it in every which way no matter what they are doing, even through many directly contradict one another. Everyone says what they are doing works for them, therefore, it will automatically work for everyone else. That's great, except for when it doesn't work out as expected.

For people like myself who clearly are lacking both the basic abilities and common sense to successfully pull this off - it becomes difficult and frustrating, especially after a year+ worth of encountering nothing but complete failure.




Like I've made mention before to someone else, I'm glad what's working for you is working so well - truly, I am! I'm exceptionally happy that you have everything figured out, and that your methods are sound, reliable, and that you inherently know how to get from start to finish and deal effortlessly without problems (or when you get them, you know how to instantly rectify them and get back on track).

I really wish I could say that after this many attempts, this much invested money and time, etc - that I could at least manage to keep something alive - but I can't.

Click to expand...

What tools do you have or can you borrow? Measuring devices and microscopes and stuff like that. We can treat this like a patient in a hospital, first thing they do after talking to the PT is order tests to confirm what they think. For example, could you take a look at the roots under a microscope? Confirm we are dealing with root rot, perhaps with a specific so we know how to treat?

Root rot is caused by numerous fungi, especially Armillaria mellea, Clitocybe tabescens, and Fusarium, and many oomycetes, including Pythium, Phytophthora, and Aphanomyces.

Pythium is the most common complaint in hydro, but even that is a group of organisms, not one thing

Pythium is commonly referred to as “root rot” by most cannabis cultivators. This stealthy pathogen is a fungus with a nasty habit of wreaking havoc on root zones in hydroponic systems and any other damp medium it manages to infest.

Seeds and seedlings are especially vulnerable to the plague of Pythium and cannabis plants at any stage of their lifecycle can be attacked by Pythium should the grow environment be allowed to become habitable by fungus.

If you want to do deep into the diagnosis, I'll lend a hand. Without both access to more information, and access to the cure (H2O2), any advice you receive here will be necessarily anecdotal.

Moe.Red said:

What tools do you have or can you borrow? Measuring devices and microscopes and stuff like that. We can treat this like a patient in a hospital, first thing they do after talking to the PT is order tests to confirm what they think. For example, could you take a look at the roots under a microscope? Confirm we are dealing with root rot, perhaps with a specific so we know how to treat?

Root rot is caused by numerous fungi, especially Armillaria mellea, Clitocybe tabescens, and Fusarium, and many oomycetes, including Pythium, Phytophthora, and Aphanomyces.

Pythium is the most common complaint in hydro, but even that is a group of organisms, not one thing

Pythium is commonly referred to as “root rot” by most cannabis cultivators. This stealthy pathogen is a fungus with a nasty habit of wreaking havoc on root zones in hydroponic systems and any other damp medium it manages to infest.

Seeds and seedlings are especially vulnerable to the plague of Pythium and cannabis plants at any stage of their lifecycle can be attacked by Pythium should the grow environment be allowed to become habitable by fungus.

If you want to do deep into the diagnosis, I'll lend a hand. Without both access to more information, and access to the cure (H2O2), any advice you receive here will be necessarily anecdotal.

Click to expand...

That's some solid advice. Thank you.

I haven't examined the roots yet given I don't have any direct access to any decent scopes. I wouldn't be opposed to getting one though. Up until this point, I've been primarily focused on trying to ensure the nutrient solution/environment is treated enough (through popular means of sterilization) to keep anything from forming - but, obviously I haven't been able to successfully accomplish that.

Maybe the next step is to get a decent scope. I already flushed the old plants though, so I've nothing to examine right now.




Out of curiosity - can you please let me know what your recommended amounts of 3%, 12%, and 35% H2O2 per gal of nutrient solution would be, as well as how often it should be added? I'd actually prefer to run H2O2 over anything else if I can find a feasible/cost effective solution to doing it. My current res contains 12gal of solution roughly.

After reading everything I am wondering if you are just doing something wrong that you are not really consciously aware of that's killing your seedlings. People kill plants, cannabis and otherwise, with too much love all the time.

geemonty said:

After reading everything I am wondering if you are just doing something wrong that you are not really consciously aware of that's killing your seedlings. People kill plants, cannabis and otherwise, with too much love all the time.

Click to expand...

Haha - Ohhhh..... I'm absolutely certain I'm doing everything and anything wrong that can be done wrong lol (and yes, I'm being completely serious).


I really think some people are naturally born with a green thumb and can grow anything/everything no matter what they do, while others - like myself - cause everything they touch to die. I have tried doing everything I've seen/read, and fail. I have tried doing the exact opposite of what I have seen/read and still fail. It's incredibly frustrating. To make matters worse - I have absolutely zero skills, prior experience growing anything (except for a bamboo which - you guessed it - I killed too!). I lack any/all ability of any kind, and the only knowledge I have on the subject is in constant conflict with all other knowledge I find/acquire - which puts me in the awkward situation of constantly being in a state of 'am I'm helping or hurting things - I don't know'. I've failed so many times and in so many different ways, it's what I expect to happen every time now too. I've gotten so damn good at failing, that I can spot the failure beginning to start before most people would even recognize there's a problem lol. "Oh boy, here we go again - they're going down hill again already!" and sure enough, 1-2 days after - whomp whomp....


It's the same thing with all this top feeding stuff, or water level, or literally any/all aspects of this. I've read posts about people submerging their netpots, others saying 1" under, some saying 2" under. Some people swearing to top feed, others claiming it's utterly pointless to do in hydro. Everything is so contradictory to everything else.


Everyone makes this look so effortless and easy. Endless amounts of success stories with pictures of massive plants, stems larger than my wrist, and roots more expansive than my entire res - lavish promises of tremendous and quick growth followed by insanely huge yields. For those who succeed and flourish at hydro, they seem to just inherently know what to do all the time, every time, and no matter what they do - they manage to pull through and succeed with huge gorgeous plants. I don't think I've seen anyone who's failed as many times as I have, or in as many ways. At most, I'll see someone post here or there about a small problem, or one failure and then they switch something small up and instantly get huge growth and great end results a couple days later with pics to prove it. I just don't get it.



Perfect example of this - I was looking at a post last night, on here actually I think, where someone had rockwool cubes with seedlings in their netpots, and they had what appeared to be a constant stream of nutrient solution literally pouring onto their rockwool cubes. Seriously, I just don't get it. For the longest time, my cubes/rooters/starters were staying way too wet just from being sprayed a little bit from the bubbles under neath the hydroton, and here this guy is literally pouring a constant stream 24/7 directly onto his cubes and they're flourishing without any signs of overwatering/drowning in those cubes that are clearly saturated to the max. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

I swear, some people just succeed at this doing literally anything, while others can try the exact same thing and encounter nothing but problems. I really am starting to believe I am just incapable of accomplishing this. It's become that frustrating.

Sorry i cant read all this but i run a live system and after a 2 month fight with root rot and lots of trial and error. . ill say this. . it wont matter if your live or sterile, if your encouraging Fungi Growth in your res, you wont stop it.

I would focus on light leaks. That black tubing you are using, once you get root rot, you will also aquire a slime inside those tubings. . especially if they are external. Even if you fix it, that shit will still break loose and restart the process. You can take a line off and run hott water through it. . if brown shit comes out. . your entire system needs cleaned. I hate using that black tubing for that reason.

Also when fighting root rot its ok to completely submerge your netpots. Fill that shit. . let the corrosives or BBs work. Hell your hydroton looks pretty dry. Generally mine stays wet and actually will dry on the hydroton leaving salt residue behind as I turn up light intensity.

Id get a lux meter on google play, set your phone next to the seedlings. . and set ur light to 6k lux. This ensures your not giving it too much light.

Next id cover the entire system with reflective foam board. Cut notches and holes for ur stems. Take some pebbles out cause it looks it will hold the foam board up.

I feel you have way to many spots for light to leak through. Covering it all with something is ideal. Even a blanket or tarp for now.

I fought root rot for about a month or 2 when i first started hydro. Since then ive had 0 issues cause I build my systems with that in mind. 0 external plumbing also helps in my opinion in regards to light leaks.

Im actually building another design cause im constantly learning new things. Just be patient and stick with it. Again sorry I cant read all this. I can from here forward though if u wanna update me.

hm7 said:

I swear, some people just succeed at this doing literally anything, while others can try the exact same thing and encounter nothing but problems. I really am starting to believe I am just incapable of accomplishing this. It's become that frustrating.

Click to expand...

I totally get that frustration.
But you can do it, because we can do it.
If everything you're trying is failing, start from 0 and try your damnedest to emulate exactly what someone else is doing successfully - then you can a least be sure that if something is wrong, it's something localized to you, like your water or some environmental factor (but, given the right bits of information, we'll be able to identify and offer solutions for those, too.) And if you're gonna emulate anyone, make it Aqua Man.

So, for now, just get some seeds in some peat plugs and wait for them to get well-established.
You're not giving your plants any room for error having a small root system going into a full-size system. For now, you just need to baby those roots.

Honestly, those with the greenest thumbs I've seen are those who simply wait and listen. Most successful growers are just copy/pasting - you just happen to have a hole in your method which might simply be transplanting too early.

Imo a large part of your issues are rushing… dont take that as an insult but rather an opinion.

Seedlings are very temperamental and especially can be a pits when put into a hydro system to young.

I think if you use peat, rapids or RW you will be fine as long as you hold off putting them into the system until they have maxed out the roots in the starters.

i suggest running live systems, hydrogaurd, defgaurd or orca. once in the system when they have a good rootmass in the plugs just top feed once a day.… every second day for RW.

For initial setup use double dose and top feed right after mixing the res.

There are many ways to do things but not all of then are mix and match so the first thing you need is a complete plan to term and transplant. Then stick to it and sit on your hands. The more you fuck with them the bigger your risk of them fucking with you…. Do to much and they WILL die. Dont poke at em, dont peek 40 times a day at the roots, just leave then and stick to your plan.

Cashmeh said:

Sorry i cant read all this but i run a live system and after a 2 month fight with root rot and lots of trial and error. . ill say this. . it wont matter if your live or sterile, if your encouraging Fungi Growth in your res, you wont stop it.

I would focus on light leaks. That black tubing you are using, once you get root rot, you will also aquire a slime inside those tubings. . especially if they are external. Even if you fix it, that shit will still break loose and restart the process. You can take a line off and run hott water through it. . if brown shit comes out. . your entire system needs cleaned. I hate using that black tubing for that reason.

Also when fighting root rot its ok to completely submerge your netpots. Fill that shit. . let the corrosives or BBs work. Hell your hydroton looks pretty dry. Generally mine stays wet and actually will dry on the hydroton leaving salt residue behind as I turn up light intensity.

Id get a lux meter on google play, set your phone next to the seedlings. . and set ur light to 6k lux. This ensures your not giving it too much light.

Next id cover the entire system with reflective foam board. Cut notches and holes for ur stems. Take some pebbles out cause it looks it will hold the foam board up.

I feel you have way to many spots for light to leak through. Covering it all with something is ideal. Even a blanket or tarp for now.

I fought root rot for about a month or 2 when i first started hydro. Since then ive had 0 issues cause I build my systems with that in mind. 0 external plumbing also helps in my opinion in regards to light leaks.

Im actually building another design cause im constantly learning new things. Just be patient and stick with it. Again sorry I cant read all this. I can from here forward though if u wanna update me.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I'm starting to think now too - that something has somehow gotten into the system somewhere I can't see, inside the return tubing, the feed lines, the pumps, or maybe even in the chiller - and the small amount of chlorine I've been adding isn't enough to get rid of it. I have no idea how to completely clean/flush all aspects of this system out. I can't get into the inside mechanisms of the chiller, these small tubes etc.

That's a solid point on the black tubing too, but again, what other option is there? PVC leaks light, which is why I painted my return feeds black and covered them with reflective tape. The buckets are black, shouldn't be any way light can get in through there. The rest of this system sits in a room that's unoccupied, there is no light in the room except for the light inside the tent.


I do absolutely agree (I have seen) a small amount of light leaking around the outer perimeter of the hydroton on the edge of the netpot, but again I can't seem to solve it. When I cover my netpots up, the hydroton seems to stay too damp, doesn't get flushed, and stuff grows up in it. I've always had the entire top of my buckets/netpot completely covered on my old system, and even now up until this most recent attempt on this system - yet somehow, stuff still happens/grows that causes root rot to set in, inside the netpot.

This is again another contradictory point I've continuously run across - some people are claiming these tiny light leaks around the edges of the netpot/hydroton aren't a big deal, and others claim it's going to ensure complete failure. To make this more frustrating - I've seen people who have literally run their netpots 1/2 full with hydroton, letting the top half holes leak light straight into their buckets and yet they still manage to get no rot and have beautiful, huge plants! It makes no sense.

hm7 said:

Yeah, that's what I'm starting to think now too - that something has somehow gotten into the system somewhere I can't see, inside the return tubing, the feed lines, the pumps, or maybe even in the chiller - and the small amount of chlorine I've been adding isn't enough to get rid of it. I have no idea how to completely clean/flush all aspects of this system out. I can't get into the inside mechanisms of the chiller, these small tubes etc.

That's a solid point on the black tubing too, but again, what other option is there? PVC leaks light, which is why I painted my return feeds black and covered them with reflective tape. The buckets are black, shouldn't be any way light can get in through there. The rest of this system sits in a room that's unoccupied, there is no light in the room except for the light inside the tent.


I do absolutely agree (I have seen) a small amount of light leaking around the outer perimeter of the hydroton on the edge of the netpot, but again I can't seem to solve it. When I cover my netpots up, the hydroton seems to stay too damp, doesn't get flushed, and stuff grows up in it. I've always had the entire top of my buckets/netpot completely covered on my old system, and even now up until this most recent attempt on this system - yet somehow, stuff still happens/grows that causes root rot to set in, inside the netpot.

Click to expand...

The simplest answer is usually the right answer…. Your over complicating it

hm7 said:

When I cover my netpots up, the hydroton seems to stay too damp, doesn't get flushed, and stuff grows up in it. I've always had the entire top of my buckets/netpot completely covered on my old system, and even now up until this most recent attempt on this system - yet somehow, stuff still happens/grows that causes root rot to set in, inside the netpot.

Click to expand...

What stuff grows on it?

Hi mate,

I use H&G, I just lost a crop to root rot, was my first NFT grow, I am currently back up and running and have learnt allot while still learning allot.

I am no expert and you do have quite some knowledge here helping you out.

I think nutrients and lighting may be the issue. I have totally ditched the H&G classic and pro feeding guide as they are way too much.

While our systems are different I think our problems may be similar.

From what I can see, maybe adding plants to, too much nutrients too early. Also they don't need allot of light while young. (stuffed up on all of this last grow)

I added my plants to the NFT setup Monday, they were 3 weeks in incubation until Monday. Trying to get the root mass up as much as possible before adding to the NFT system. I haven't perfected my incubation setup so water temp started to hold growth back so I added them to the NFT where the water is chilled down and kept between 19-20C.

So I have ran into issues from the get go! tips of leaves started pointing downwards and then started clawing again, checked ph at roots, corrected and I lowered Nutes.

Last grow was MH, this grow is new LEDs, I have been running this for two or so weeks now at only 20-30% and the plants initially where shocked but are now liking it very much, node spacing suggests they don't need more.

I made a res on Monday, H&G recommend 1.2EC, hahaha mate I made a res at 0.9 - 0.2(tap) 0.7, still too much. That mix consists of reduced amounts of silica, aqua flakes A&B, root exel, multi Zyme and amino. They didn't like it, so after returning home from work, I made a new res yesterday, 0.7 - 0.2 so 0.5EC and that consisted of reduced amounts of, silica, aqua flakes A&B and super thrive, BINGO, they love it.

IMO, they only need nutrients from germination once the leaves start to lighten in colour (approx. couple of weeks) then all I was giving them which they liked, 1L of water, a drop (literally) of super thrive and root exel. They liked this!

I also started to get a bit of build up around the roots in the first day the NFT operated, I think this may be due to little bits of dust etc that I didn't get when doing the final clean, and the roots seem to collect it all, so I have since added a little basic aquarium filter pump to the res to keep all particle matter out of the NFT, I also removed baskets and cleaned the shit off the roots with the outlet from the chiller. So far so good dude, wish me luck!!

We're both on struggle street, I feel your frustration, but we must push on, all the best to you!!

Aqua Man said:

The simplest answer is usually the right answer…. Your over complicating it

Click to expand...

Yea i hated to jump in not knowing whats been recommended.

On light leaks:

Look how f'in janky that tub is.
I never cared too much about being strict with light leaks. I know this isn't a DWC system; but I don't think that's changing how microbes and their relationship to light works.

beluga said:

On light leaks:
View attachment 1290425View attachment 1290427View attachment 1290426
Look how f'in janky that tub is.
I never cared too much about being strict with light leaks. I know this isn't a DWC system; but I don't think that's changing how microbes and their relationship to light works.
View attachment 1290424

Click to expand...

Light leaks thru PVC is a non-issue. Seriously, no offence to anyone who says otherwise, but that dog don't hunt.

Aqua Man said:

Imo a large part of your issues are rushing… dont take that as an insult but rather an opinion.

Seedlings are very temperamental and especially can be a pits when put into a hydro system to young.

I think if you use peat, rapids or RW you will be fine as long as you hold off putting them into the system until they have maxed out the roots in the starters.

i suggest running live systems, hydrogaurd, defgaurd or orca. once in the system when they have a good rootmass in the plugs just top feed once a day.… every second day for RW.

For initial setup use double dose and top feed right after mixing the res.

There are many ways to do things but not all of then are mix and match so the first thing you need is a complete plan to term and transplant. Then stick to it and sit on your hands. The more you fuck with them the bigger your risk of them fucking with you…. Do to much and they WILL die. Dont poke at em, dont peek 40 times a day at the roots, just leave then and stick to your plan.

Click to expand...

Maybe I am rushing, but again - I'm seeing people starting tiny seedlings out in their netpots with no issues. If they can do it successfully without issue, why are mine failing when I try? I see so many posts of people with 2 week old plants that are a tiny little bush, vibrant, huge, and green - and here I am after a month with yellowing 1" plants that are wilting.


I'm absolutely convinced going back to rooters is going to just lead to more failure. I'll top feed them, they'll drown, and that'll be the end of it. I played that game for the last 6 months and that was the result every single time. I started with rockwool, went to rooters. I had less damping off when I went to rooters than I did with rockwool, but the rooters were still staying too wet and root rot was still setting in.


I don't understand how people are top feeding rooters/rockwool without causing drowning/damping off issues. Sure, I see people do it, just like I mentioned about the guy literally having a 24/7 stream pouring onto his rockwool. I sit there with a little dripper and put 1-2ml of water around the edge of my hydroton or cube and wham - they drown.

Moe.Red said:

What stuff grows on it?

Click to expand...

Whatever this black/nasty crap is like in the pictures of the roots I posted last night.

Moe.Red said:

Light leaks thru PVC is a non-issue. Seriously, no offence to anyone who says otherwise, but that dog don't hunt.

Click to expand...

Okay, so how can light leaks through PVC not be a problem, but a tiny little bit of light through the edge of my netpot where my hydroton is be a huge concern? I'm not arguing, I legitimately am trying to understand as I am confused.

hm7 said:

Whatever this black/nasty crap is like in the pictures of the roots I posted last night.

Click to expand...

Are you saying that the black nasty stuff starts early on the hydroton and moves to the roots?

Too late to get a closeup of the black spot? Are you certain there were no pests like root aphids?

Frostie069 said:

Hi mate,

I use H&G, I just lost a crop to root rot, was my first NFT grow, I am currently back up and running and have learnt allot while still learning allot.

I am no expert and you do have quite some knowledge here helping you out.

I think nutrients and lighting may be the issue. I have totally ditched the H&G classic and pro feeding guide as they are way too much.

While our systems are different I think our problems may be similar.

From what I can see, maybe adding plants to, too much nutrients too early. Also they don't need allot of light while young. (stuffed up on all of this last grow)

I added my plants to the NFT setup Monday, they were 3 weeks in incubation until Monday. Trying to get the root mass up as much as possible before adding to the NFT system. I haven't perfected my incubation setup so water temp started to hold growth back so I added them to the NFT where the water is chilled down and kept between 19-20C.

So I have ran into issues from the get go! tips of leaves started pointing downwards and then started clawing again, checked ph at roots, corrected and I lowered Nutes.

Last grow was MH, this grow is new LEDs, I have been running this for two or so weeks now at only 20-30% and the plants initially where shocked but are now liking it very much, node spacing suggests they don't need more.

I made a res on Monday, H&G recommend 1.2EC, hahaha mate I made a res at 0.9 - 0.2(tap) 0.7, still too much. That mix consists of reduced amounts of silica, aqua flakes A&B, root exel, multi Zyme and amino. They didn't like it, so after returning home from work, I made a new res yesterday, 0.7 - 0.2 so 0.5EC and that consisted of reduced amounts of, silica, aqua flakes A&B and super thrive, BINGO, they love it.

IMO, they only need nutrients from germination once the leaves start to lighten in colour (approx. couple of weeks) then all I was giving them which they liked, 1L of water, a drop (literally) of super thrive and root exel. They liked this!

I also started to get a bit of build up around the roots in the first day the NFT operated, I think this may be due to little bits of dust etc that I didn't get when doing the final clean, and the roots seem to collect it all, so I have since added a little basic aquarium filter pump to the res to keep all particle matter out of the NFT, I also removed baskets and cleaned the shit off the roots with the outlet from the chiller. So far so good dude, wish me luck!!

We're both on struggle street, I feel your frustration, but we must push on, all the best to you!!

Click to expand...

And this is the same thing I've been running into for the last 6 months too. I read over and over online "don't add any nutes for the first 3 weeks! - only give straight plain water!". Every single time I have done that, my plants instantly turn yellow and get deficiency issues. That's why this time I have tried adding a small amount of nutes in the beginning. The plants were MUCH better this round, they were green instead of yellow - but, root rot was still there.

I think a big part of my problem getting into my system this time was trying to follow H&G's full line of recommended stuff. All that roots excel, amino treatment, etc - they're like dumping motor oil into the res - and I think that's where something started and has possibly latched on/is now growing somewhere in the system I can't get to.

I got rid of all the additives, only using calmag, and Aquaflakes A and B - nothing else. No other additives. In attempts before this, I've tried GH nutes, Advanced, and now H&G. Clearly, it's something wrong with me/what I'm doing, not the nutes - although I still believe there are some nutes, as Aqua Man and I have discussed that can cause problems inside a res that's not 100% clean.