GreySeer
- 14
- 3
Hello folks,
After reading on the subject and looking at pics for a bit now I'm fairly certain the root issues I'm having are brown slime/algae.
I found a large brown feathery clump at the bottom of the bubble bucket during a water change last week so I cleaned the inside of the bucket, stones and all my tools and replaced airlines. I used some 3% h202 to rinse the roots I have hanging out of the netpot. I also mixed a little with water and used it to rinse the media in the net pot in hopes it'd sterilize things.
I've always used Hydroguard 2ml per gallon like it says on the bottle, water temps are between 68-72, around 72 right before lights off most days. I'm using an Undercurrent bucket and lid so it should be fairly light proof, though I've begun sticking paper towels in the finger/tube holes in the lid just to eliminate that small light leak. I refilled with fresh nutrient water and gave it a double dose of hydroguard in hopes it'd out compete anything I couldn't rinse off the roots. I lowered the water level a bit more than an inch.
We're about a week out and I'm now seeing the roots above the waterline look to be turning darker brown and the roots look a little bit slimy. Not quite the nasty snot clumps I've seen in pics but it seems similar. I do not smell a nasty smell. At best I'm getting a hint of fish tank, not sulphur/rotten egg like I hear pythium smells like. I can see some fresh looking roots that might be trying to grow out of the net pot but this plant looks like a weak seedling after 50 days from sprout so it's hard to say if it's in recovery, still stunted, relapsing, or withering away. New leaf growth looks a little pale but it's not turning brown like the lower leaves.
I'm trying to figure out my best next steps to prevent this in the future.
It seems the most popular prevention options boil down to:
A chiller is a large investment, and growing in the small space I have, I question if it would make the heat problem worse trying to cool the water down.
I'm not opposed to running a sterile res, though using h202 and having to regularly dump more in sounds like a hassle I'd like to avoid so I'd probably look at something I don't need to maintain between water changes.
What's your recipe for success in keeping your DWC clean? I understand nothing is 100% fool proof, if you've had some success with one method I want to hear about it!
After reading on the subject and looking at pics for a bit now I'm fairly certain the root issues I'm having are brown slime/algae.
I found a large brown feathery clump at the bottom of the bubble bucket during a water change last week so I cleaned the inside of the bucket, stones and all my tools and replaced airlines. I used some 3% h202 to rinse the roots I have hanging out of the netpot. I also mixed a little with water and used it to rinse the media in the net pot in hopes it'd sterilize things.
I've always used Hydroguard 2ml per gallon like it says on the bottle, water temps are between 68-72, around 72 right before lights off most days. I'm using an Undercurrent bucket and lid so it should be fairly light proof, though I've begun sticking paper towels in the finger/tube holes in the lid just to eliminate that small light leak. I refilled with fresh nutrient water and gave it a double dose of hydroguard in hopes it'd out compete anything I couldn't rinse off the roots. I lowered the water level a bit more than an inch.
We're about a week out and I'm now seeing the roots above the waterline look to be turning darker brown and the roots look a little bit slimy. Not quite the nasty snot clumps I've seen in pics but it seems similar. I do not smell a nasty smell. At best I'm getting a hint of fish tank, not sulphur/rotten egg like I hear pythium smells like. I can see some fresh looking roots that might be trying to grow out of the net pot but this plant looks like a weak seedling after 50 days from sprout so it's hard to say if it's in recovery, still stunted, relapsing, or withering away. New leaf growth looks a little pale but it's not turning brown like the lower leaves.
I'm trying to figure out my best next steps to prevent this in the future.
It seems the most popular prevention options boil down to:
- Use more and/or different beneficials trying to out compete or provide a predator for the brown slime (make tea or just use more than one non AN bennie product)
- Cool the water with a chiller until the slime can't survive or doesn't get a foothold
- Run a completely sterile res with h202 or chlorine
A chiller is a large investment, and growing in the small space I have, I question if it would make the heat problem worse trying to cool the water down.
I'm not opposed to running a sterile res, though using h202 and having to regularly dump more in sounds like a hassle I'd like to avoid so I'd probably look at something I don't need to maintain between water changes.
What's your recipe for success in keeping your DWC clean? I understand nothing is 100% fool proof, if you've had some success with one method I want to hear about it!