chemistry
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I suppose this scenario is quite possible..
- abundance of algae matter residual from last grow cycle
- Physan20 did its job and killed all algae
- leftover dead algae matter is the tan colored slime we see in pics
- it begins to cake itself everywhere with nowhere to go
- buildup on roots starts to choke them out (score one for @chemistry)
- I mistakenly blame Physan 20 for doing it’s job
- Physan20 works, but Enzymes or Beneficial Bacteria would be better solution longterm because they eat this dead matter as opposed to letting it build up?
Enzymes would eat the slime and other debris like dead roots, the green algae is down to light getting into your NFT and feeding on your nuits, your problem is doubled by the fact that you have white fitting which collects light, thus gives the algae the ideal home, and this is what blocks your feeder pipes.
That's it in a nut shell.
Can I over feed with enzymes? Or just go by the bottle recommendation? I want this stuff eaten away immediately.
Please keep this updated I have a feeling this thread will be a resource uses in the future.Ok,
System has been Fully Flushed, 350+ gallons of fresh water added
All feed tubes checked and at maximum flow rate
Beneficial Bacteria (HYDROGUARD) has been added, 1 quart
Enzymes (CANNAZYME) has also been added, 5 liter
Auto Dosing System set to slowly add nutrients back into system, EC set to 1.2
I'll give the system the next 9 days to let the enzymes do their job and eat everything up, then start in with the FloraShield each week as a preventative measure (post resi flush)
Once determined that this is safe/working, will repeat protocol in remaining zones:
1. Sterilize via Fungicide > Physan 20 > Flush System
2. Eat Dead Matter via Enzymes > Cannazyme > Week > Flush System
3. Maintenance via Beneficial Bacteria > FloraShield > Weekly
If that doesnt keep things at bay, then we'll know to go back to strictly using the Enzymes as @chemistry has suggested.
On the larger scale enzymes (like hygozyme ect) never worked like they were intended for me. I would still get the root slime with them. Specially with water culture. Media based plants they did ok. The pond enzymes are the economical approach if you are doing big rez's. Stuff like cannazyme will break the bank over a year.
H202 works great but you dosed about 3.5x the dose I would run 34% @ right off the bat. H202 is one of those thing you can go strong on but have to start out on the low side and ramp up. I always dosed 34% @ 0.5ml a gal. Kept everything tidy and roots stark white. That as a starting dose and plants shouldn't skip a beat. Economically it's the cheapest option for going sterile unless you want to go the bleach route (I stay away from that)
Im not looking to use enzymes long term if I dont have too. I’d prefer going the FloraShield route unless there are not any logical objections. The enzymes are a short term solution to eating up the dead matter / cleaning up the leftover dead sludge.
As for my H2o2 dosage rate, most people would suggest 5 ml per gallon. The label suggests WAAAY more than that. I did about 1.4 ml / gallon at most. Which is nearly 25% dosage rate from every growshop or grower that swears by the stuff. I did plenty of google searches & reading these forums to see what others were doing. And then went 1/4 of that. And it still burnt/killed 1100 perfectly healthy babies in under 5 minutes.
Then when you consider that I contacted techs at Hawthorn to see what the issue was, and they were misrepresenting their labeling/dosage rates, I dont trust the company or the product. Maybe I got a “hot” batch. Not super interested in taking the risk again. Losing those 1100 plants cost me a LOT of money.
Looking for alternative/safer methods. Especially when I have employees. I dont want them using a product so volatile. They overdo it with enzymes? No biggie. Beneficial Bacterias? No harm. Bleach or H2o2? Costly error. Certainly more costly than a gallon of enzymes per week. And I dont want to fire people. I want to set them up for success.
On the larger scale enzymes (like hygozyme ect) never worked like they were intended for me. I would still get the root slime with them. Specially with water culture. Media based plants they did ok.
I wonder if this is because the enzymes need some resting water to do their magic. In the typical 24hr feed recirculatory system, everything is moving a LOT. The enzymes might not have a chance to settle in and do their work if the solution is always being rushed from one area to the next (resi > pump > feed manifold > feed tubes > gutters > return manifold > return plumbing > resi).
Ok now I feel not having experience with this is leaving me at a disadvantage. Sorry @RFT for derailing but @chemistry any experience with this in a res? Over 20 yrs in aquatics (not working experience just personal experience) I thought I had shit figured out.
Fucking love this place and thank you for starting this thread.
Awesome... my hydrogaurd just expired and im low on it. With the cost in Canada I think I'm gonna order some and give it a go. As well will be seeding denitrifying bacteria. I all for live systems the differnce i have seen first hand so many times. even my change outs are 50% most at a time. I was almost considering going sterile because of the cost to get hydrogaurd in Canada.Sorry for the late reply, you know the score. I don't like using bleaches and stuff like pool shock, or it's equivalents for growing. I don't do sterile, I chose the enzyme root. My theory behind this is, if you kill all the beneficial bacteria that lives in your water, then there's nothing on guard to eat stuff like root rot and other types of nasties that hang out in water. I use Cannazyme, works well for me(DWC). Not had root rot since I stuck to using the Cannazyme, but with the sterile rez, root rot was always knocking on the door until I introduced Cannazyme, so now I run with it 24/7-365.
Definately... doing a diary this time so we can all see it in action. I use mega crop so there is always root staining but so far in hydro no rot yet with hydrogaurd running higher res temps at 74F i noticed a slightly better growth rate than at 68F. But im thinking i may not push it to 74 with this off the bat and just ease into it to be cautious. Cause those 6F make a huge difference in beneficial bacteria and pathogen growth rates.For the last 6 years I used Cannazyme, at first it was on and off to cure moulds in my rez. or root root. But as time went on, other unexplained benefits were apparent. So now I use it all the time. Other companies do their own zyme products which might be cheaper if you have a large grow. But being as I use Canna's A and B's, I just stuck to their brand. If you use it and see some good results, let me know. I'd put enzymes up there with rockwool in the top 10 products for water growers.
Is the silica in the dosers ph'ed down?
I'm not sure if this is common practice but if I was dosing silica I would likely want it ph'ed down to like 6.
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