Wtf Is This Slime? It's Not Pythium

[t cole]

I have had a pretty small DWC operation for about four months now. Pretty simple, just four vegetable plants growing in a 13 gallon tub. Three weeks into it i noticed my plants werent growing and the roots were consistently covered in some translucent slimey crap that appeared to be choking their growth. Over the past few months the roots have grown maybe a couple of inches and despite their small size the slime is attacking them pretty ravenously.

I have washed the roots in both h202 or a bit of bleach a few times with no real success. After the chemicals I have also also I have tried several types of beneficial bacteria like hydroguard and voodoo juice. From what i can tell the beneficials help a bit my slowing the slime build up but thats about it.

The res is a thin white plastic but it is pretty light-proof. Also I have a couple big ass air stones in there pumping oxygen so that should not be a problem (also why i don't think the slime is pythium/root rot) and lastly I have been diligent to keep the PH at around 6. Water temperature is upper 60s, never exceeding 70.

The net pots aren't submerged in water, they sit maybe an inch or two from the surface and the bubbles from the airstones keep the pots wet enough I think. I don't want to put them right into the water for fear of this very thing. I will say though that the slime apparently loves oxygen. When I check in the res, the airstones are the first thing it grows on

After leaving for a long weekend I came back and this crap was COVERING every inch of root with this snot-like substance. It is on the roots and also building up on the walls of the res a little bit. Here are the picshttp://invalid.com/a/fUFmZ

The growth of the plants has been completely stunted and it seems clear from the pictures that the slime is covering the roots and depriving them of oxygen.

At this point I am about to just throw away the entire thing and just start over again but that isn't really preferable after all the work I put into it. If anything I just really want to know wtf this is so I can avoid this problem in the future. I am a somewhat experienced grower but I am stumped. I have heard good things about florashield but haven't tried it. Any suggestions are welcome

 

[Seamaiden]

There's a thread about that. I had to scrap my aerocloner because of the slime, the bleach actually fed it. I used isopropyl, muriatic acid, pool shock, regular chlorine. The only thing I didn't try was antibiotics, which (used to be) are use(d) in aquatics to kill cyanobacteria.

 

[t cole]

Really? You had to use all of that to get rid of it? Wow. At this point I think I'm just gonna have to pitch the plants, sterilize the equipment and start again.

For how much of a bitch this problem is I'm surprised there isn't more out there describing how to treat it.

How do you think you got it?

 

[Seamaiden]

Oh my Lord, that's the thing! I COULD NOT get rid of it! At a certain point I had so much Pool Shock in there I thought it was gonna make the plastic disintegrate. The slime GREW. There's research showing that the more we throw at certain microbes, the harder they get off on it. I watched it happen in my cloner. It was awful.

I don't know how I got it, but at that place I was on a well, filtered only through some mechanical filtration and carbon.

 

[jumpincactus]

I have had a pretty small DWC operation for about four months now. Pretty simple, just four vegetable plants growing in a 13 gallon tub. Three weeks into it i noticed my plants werent growing and the roots were consistently covered in some translucent slimey crap that appeared to be choking their growth. Over the past few months the roots have grown maybe a couple of inches and despite their small size the slime is attacking them pretty ravenously.

I have washed the roots in both h202 or a bit of bleach a few times with no real success. After the chemicals I have also also I have tried several types of beneficial bacteria like hydroguard and voodoo juice. From what i can tell the beneficials help a bit my slowing the slime build up but thats about it.

The res is a thin white plastic but it is pretty light-proof. Also I have a couple big ass air stones in there pumping oxygen so that should not be a problem (also why i don't think the slime is pythium/root rot) and lastly I have been diligent to keep the PH at around 6. Water temperature is upper 60s, never exceeding 70.

The net pots aren't submerged in water, they sit maybe an inch or two from the surface and the bubbles from the airstones keep the pots wet enough I think. I don't want to put them right into the water for fear of this very thing. I will say though that the slime apparently loves oxygen. When I check in the res, the airstones are the first thing it grows on

After leaving for a long weekend I came back and this crap was COVERING every inch of root with this snot-like substance. It is on the roots and also building up on the walls of the res a little bit. Here are the pics

The growth of the plants has been completely stunted and it seems clear from the pictures that the slime is covering the roots and depriving them of oxygen.

At this point I am about to just throw away the entire thing and just start over again but that isn't really preferable after all the work I put into it. If anything I just really want to know wtf this is so I can avoid this problem in the future. I am a somewhat experienced grower but I am stumped. I have heard good things about florashield but haven't tried it. Any suggestions are welcome

Does the slime/snot look anything like a waxy buildup? If so get your magnifier and look at the net pots and roots closely. You may have RA (root aphids)

I clipped this from another site, Root aphids feed on the root system of various plants, sucking so much sap from the roots that the plants do not receive proper sustenance. As a result, leaves turn yellow and little new growth occurs. Root aphids tend to congregate en masse, especially on the outer edges of the root ball, forming a white, waxy, snow-like covering over the roots. This white, waxy coating is an important characteristic gardeners can use to identify a root aphid population. Plants fed with high doses of nitrogen can be a superfood for aphids. When aphids siphon sap from the phloem of a well-fed plant, the high-nitrogen fertilizer supercharges the plant’s sap and simultaneously the aphids’ reproductive capabilities.

Here is the entire article

 

[NightsWatch]

Which ever way you look at it ,,it began with you..
Slim , snot what ever you want to call it .These are not the beneficial bacteria and fungi . These bacteria cause cloudy reservoirs, slimy build up, weird reservoir fuzz, gelatin growths and wild pH fluctuations. These are the reservoir monsters.
When these bad microbes are present at high populations and are happily feeding on organic matter, they use up just about all the oxygen in the nutrient solution, suffocating the plants. They release toxic substances as a bi product of their life cycle. They also suppress the good microbes at the root zone and cause problems with nutrient uptake and plant growth.

Bacteria slime and cloudy reservoirs
Bacteria can make the water cloudy, but tend to produce more of a slime or jellylike, smelly mass in the system.If you have it, you will notice slimy reservoir walls and perhaps an oily slick on the water. Another symptom can be a foamy buildup in the reservoir. If left to their own devices, these bacterial growths will smother the roots, depriving them of oxygen. Some species of anaerobic bacteria thrive in an environment deprived of oxygen and can produce chemical metabolites, such as alcohols, aldehydes, phenols and ethylene, that are toxic to plant roots and to other microorganisms.

Other symptoms of bacterial infections can be fuzzy, cotton like growths, or the growth of fur. Just in case you are wondering, that white fuzzy growth you see at the tip of your roots is desirable. That is not bacteria - That is the good stuff - you should see tiny fine white hairs at the roots.

All of these nasties require organic matter to feed on. They may be there as the result of a buildup of dead roots and leaves in the root zone, but usually they are the result of adding an organic product to the reservoir. If the conditions are just right, the bacteria will begin to thrive.

So in the case of fighting slime, add NO organic material as it will more than likely feed the problem. I have seen it with Liquid Karma being the culprit. NO matter which treatment method, Sterile or Bene.

To the op i suggest you completely sterilize everything in your loop then i suggest some water monitoring temp controllers ,, to keep temps in check and some of this
your problem is solved
https://www.planetnatural.com/product/pond-zyme-plus-pond-cleaner/
and trial and error

Personally i have grown closed loop sterile there is much debate over doing it open loop organically which i think works in aquaponics and lots of filters compared to possibly one small filter in a average DWC system
I have yet to see a successful organic DWC grow from start to finish

 

[Seamaiden]

All of these nasties require organic matter to feed on.

What you say makes sense, I'll have to dig for the papers shared with me by @MGRox but the long and the short of it that I took away was that the organisms some of us end up battling hard don't seem to require organic matter. One of his papers explained that (not necessarily why) some cyanos feed on substances like Cl. I myself couldn't believe what I was observing, how can anything withstand the assault I waged? Extremophiles, perhaps? Muriatic acid, Pool Shock, household bleach, both 70% and 91% isopropyl. None of those seem very organic to me, but like I said, I watched it *grow* when I kept upping the PS.

It's interesting that you mention AP because I know exactly what I would do if I observed cyanobacteria in an aquatic system with live organisms. But hell if I couldn't get it sorted in my cloner.

 

[NightsWatch]

Its not that chlorine does not kill all bacteria we have to realize that, all living things evolve.
including them deadly virus, and bacteria .
A person needs to types of disinfectants which he should repeat to help stop the evolution change of organisms. but again it does not kill all organisms

So there are 2 types sterilizing agents and disinfectant agents
Again which one should a person want

Sterilizing agents Kill all living things

Disinfectant kill some microbes, but inhibit the growth of others. Most techniques only provide disinfection. Also, several factors influence the effectiveness of any method of microbial control. These include population size, susceptability of the microorganism to the agent, concentration of the dose used, and the duration of treatment.

But your right Sea i even do not use aero cloner slime will show its ugly face 8 times out of 10 have no luck i cube clone old school like

 

[Seamaiden]

After long talks with my surgeon about how to get my home areas clean enough for me to come home (another issue), and how he spoke about isopropyl being 'the shit' for true sterilization, I fail entirely to grasp how the slime lived through the iso. Entirely. I must have more information if I ever hope to use my cloner again. But then, given where I am, there may not be much need. I, too, have gone back to my 'tried & true' method. Stick it in a cuppa perlite.

Btw, have you gone through the slime thread I mentioned? Most folks do have success using the things I mentioned above.

 

[Natural]

I don't run dwc myself..but have a buddy that runs sterile in veg and uses micro-organisms in flower. He swears by 5ml/gal of Oxine aka chlorine dioxide for sterilization.

 

[nabrbob]

Hi Natural, 5ml/gal would give your buddy a 26.4 ppm solution of OXINE. This is way over the recommended dosage for horticulture water treatment which is 0.25 ppm up to 2 ppm. I would hate to see someone experience phytotoxicity issues by overdosing . Per the OXINE Label, you would add 0.4 ml of OXINE to one gallon of water to make a 2 ppm solution.

 

[nabrbob]

I don't run dwc myself..but have a buddy that runs sterile in veg and uses micro-organisms in flower. He swears by 5ml/gal of Oxine aka chlorine dioxide for sterilization.

It's pretty awesome when someone is an advocate for the chemistry you sell. I am thankful you found and tried OXINE Natural.

 

[Natural]

Hi Natural, 5ml/gal would give your buddy a 26.4 ppm solution of OXINE. This is way over the recommended dosage for horticulture water treatment which is 0.25 ppm up to 2 ppm. I would hate to see someone experience phytotoxicity issues by overdosing . Per the OXINE Label, you would add 0.4 ml of OXINE to one gallon of water to make a 2 ppm solution.

As stated I don't run water culture..and I was just relating what had been said to me. But he did say he was going over recommended manufacture suggestions...to no ill effects. I would hate to see anyone burn a plant as well. I believe his direct quote was this,
My mother plant resevoir for the ebb and flow holds 55 gallons but filled with approximately 45. So I was using a cup per reservoir change. Doesn't seem to have any effect on the plants and I have healthy mothers with no issues or brown build up. That comes out to about a little more than 5ml per gallon.

 

[nabrbob]

As stated I don't run water culture..and I was just relating what had been said to me. But he did say he was going over recommended manufacture suggestions...to no ill effects. I would hate to see anyone burn a plant as well. I believe his direct quote was this,
My mother plant resevoir for the ebb and flow holds 55 gallons but filled with approximately 45. So I was using a cup per reservoir change. Doesn't seem to have any effect on the plants and I have healthy mothers with no issues or brown build up. That comes out to about a little more than 5ml per gallon.

I'm just glad to hear it helped with his problem. OXINE is an oxidizing biocide so perhaps some of the active was consumed in reactions with iron, manganese or some organics in the reservoir/water/fertilizer which would have knocked down the active levels. I really appreciate your comments. Like you, I just want to see as many people thrive as possible for the common good. If you ever visit Norman, Oklahoma come on by and I'll give you a tour.

 

[AnEn]

To the op.
Your water temp is too high and i would not use white tubs.
There is a lots of different info on a perfect water temp in DWC , but I have learned not to go over 60F.
Clear slime is a beginning of some kind of "root rot" it will turn darker eventually, and roots will turn yellow/ brown and become "mushy". Once it is in there , It can't be killed without damaging the roots. Eventually root balls will fall off the plants and plants will loose stability.
First Aid:
I would start with light (.3 EC) foliar/crown feeding several times a day, remove (trim) all affected roots , wash em good ,and relocate the plants into clean black tubs, with nutes that are set at 50-55F. Throw away old air stones and use new ones.
Clean old tubs with bleach and dry, then clean with bleach again. Once dry I would paint outside of the tubs black, and set the plants back in. Keep the nutes at 50-55 F and foliar/ crown feed several times a Day, until new roots start emerging.
It may take few weeks for plants to recover and take off again.