wilting crops in hydro and i need some input

[knubs]

I am running a modified version of the 8 bucket water farm system and I've had 2 crops go down due to a wilting problem(possibly fussarium). Both crops have been the forum cut of GSC. One crop vegged fine and started wilting in flower, the second one did it in veg. It always happens one plant at a time and my roots look healthy, fish boned, and white. every plant has its own air stone too. I keep my systems propogated with benificial microbes as well.
I sterilized all my hydro equipment with physan 20 before both runs. I am now just wondering how I get over this? How can I start another crop and have it not destroy it? My water temps were a little warm I must say (75-80), but after I saw a plant wilt on the second crop I transferred the system into an air conditioned room. That didn't stop other plants from wilting though.


I've also had the problem outdoor as well this year and it has taken down half my crop(luckily I have a tiny outdoor grow...)

If you have dealt with this before please chime in. I can't afford to lose another crop. Oh, and should I be worried about my moms getting sick in coco/soil?

 

[Cort]

I am running a modified version of the 8 bucket water farm system and I've had 2 crops go down due to a wilting problem(possibly fussarium). Both crops have been the forum cut of GSC. One crop vegged fine and started wilting in flower, the second one did it in veg. It always happens one plant at a time and my roots look healthy, fish boned, and white. every plant has its own air stone too. I keep my systems propogated with benificial microbes as well.
I sterilized all my hydro equipment with physan 20 before both runs. I am now just wondering how I get over this? How can I start another crop and have it not destroy it? My water temps were a little warm I must say (75-80), but after I saw a plant wilt on the second crop I transferred the system into an air conditioned room. That didn't stop other plants from wilting though.


I've also had the problem outdoor as well this year and it has taken down half my crop(luckily I have a tiny outdoor grow...)

If you have dealt with this before please chime in. I can't afford to lose another crop. Oh, and should I be worried about my moms getting sick in coco/soil?

This is the first thing to fix. After you can keep your water 68 ish and your PH stable then move on from there.

One of the Hydro pros can chime in to maybe save your grow, but for right now get the temps down. Freeze water bottles to chill the rez if you cant run out and get a chiller or what ever you need to do... but start now.

 

[stickyfing3rs]

Ime a chiller is key to Dwc systems, that and Ph like cort said. Low ppms also, I rarely go over 350 ppm with NO additives and have great results. Temp is most likely your problem. Pics would help though

 

[stickyfing3rs]

Just to be clear, I don't claim to be a pro. Just got some experience :)

This is the first thing to fix. After you can keep your water 68 ish and your PH stable then move on from there.

One of the Hydro pros can chime in to maybe save your grow, but for right now get the temps down. Freeze water bottles to chill the rez if you cant run out and get a chiller or what ever you need to do... but start now.

 

[knubs]

I've always grown with warmish (75 degree) water, and I've managed to keep most diseases algae away with strong microbial support/brews. I basically have just kept my water so colonized with good that nothing bad can establish. So if this is a fungal problem would overly colonizing beneficial fungus and spraying with ogbiowar help as a preventative from the start?

with my vegging crop that is wilting right now I have only been giving them 150ppm cal mag, 150-200ppm base (sensi grow a/b), and microbes.

and I would post pics, but unfortunately you can't even do basic stuff like that from a windows phone... They basically all of the sudden look like they are thirsty though. The leaves droop and eventually the top falls limp.

I would be running a water chiller, but my systems don't circulate fast enough to effectively use one I don't think.. How fast does water flow through a chiller?


thanks for the input everyone!

 

[stickyfing3rs]

I've always grown with warmish (75 degree) water, and I've managed to keep most diseases algae away with strong microbial support/brews. I basically have just kept my water so colonized with good that nothing bad can establish. So if this is a fungal problem would overly colonizing beneficial fungus and spraying with ogbiowar help as a preventative from the start?

with my vegging crop that is wilting right now I have only been giving them 150ppm cal mag, 150-200ppm base (sensi grow a/b), and microbes.

and I would post pics, but unfortunately you can't even do basic stuff like that from a windows phone... They basically all of the sudden look like they are thirsty though. The leaves droop and eventually the top falls limp.

I would be running a water chiller, but my systems don't circulate fast enough to effectively use one I don't think.. How fast does water flow through a chiller?


thanks for the input everyone!

Definitely sound like a lack of oxygen, are you running rockwool cubes by chance?

 

[stickyfing3rs]

Forgot you mentioned your outdoor doing the same, don't see how the problem could be related unless they have bugs.

 

[TSTEW313]

Sounds like a fungus check your root crown an the rip a part you lower stalk an 150× microscope an if you see any black string looking stuff at your root crown or in your stalk then you definitely have a fungus. @nightmarecreature an I just got done dealing with a similar issue!

 

[knubs]

Definitely sound like a lack of oxygen, are you running rockwool cubes by chance?

I clone into 1.5" cubes and transplant into expanded clay pebbles.
and I have no bugs except ants EVERYWHERE. I can't beat them...

 

[knubs]

Sounds like a fungus check your root crown an the rip a part you lower stalk an 150× microscope an if you see any black string looking stuff at your root crown or in your stalk then you definitely have a fungus. @nightmarecreature an I just got done dealing with a similar issue!

thank you for the tip, I will check right now. Did your roots still look healthy?

 

[TSTEW313]

Yeah my roots looked good but my plant's started to root slower an the yields got smaller check out @Dunge thread about what his plant's did with a fungus sounds just like what yours did!

 

[stickyfing3rs]

Water level possibly too high and getting stem rot with them cubes.

 

[stickyfing3rs]

You using that drip ring on your water farms?

 

[TSTEW313]

Yeah @stickyfing3rs I would have thought that but he said he was having the same problems outside as well! Unless I read it wrong

 

[knubs]

I checked my roots at 100x and 160x on a plant that is wilting out of my crop as we speak, and there are no black hairs or abnormalities.
oh, and this crop I am/was attempting to veg has been going very slow too.

My buckets only have about 3 inches of water in the bottom, and they have about a 3-4" air gap between the top bucket with rocks and the bottom bucket with an air stone. I've ran higher and lower water levels to test these systems (on crops years ago, not these current ones.) and the water level I run now has always proven to keep the roots happiest. Right now the roots are just starting to really come through to the water in the bottom, and they look great.
and yes, I run the drip rings. I considered maybe they were getting over watered (even though I've never had that happen) so I cut the flow back on the drippers 50%. It didn't help...and the last crop before this one was 2 weeks into flower with good established roots before it started.

 

[TSTEW313]

Yeah you wouldn't be able to see it with 100× 160 or strong is needed an you definitely want to rip apart the stalk to see it was your stalk getting soft?

 

[knubs]

Yeah @stickyfing3rs I would have thought that but he said he was having the same problems outside as well! Unless I read it wrong

yup, my outdoor is suffering bad. I believe it started there. I didn't replace the soil in a spot where I had a couple plants and they started to wilt in sections. (I assume the fungus started from the rotting old roots from last year with a new plant on top. Either that or it came with some of my UK seed bank seeds...) They were bushes and certain main branches would wilt off at a time. Then it spread to some of my weaker plants in other spots.... Through that time it got to my hydro crop at week 2 of flower

 

[TSTEW313]

Well I wish you luck my friend!

 

[knubs]

Yeah you wouldn't be able to see it with 100× 160 or strong is needed an you definitely want to rip apart the stalk to see it was your stalk getting soft?

would it be a single black hair out of the root tip?

 

[TSTEW313]

No it would be in the lower stalk it almost looks like string!