DWC Root Slime Cure aka How to Breed Beneficial Microbes

Great thread i think i will give this a try. I have a question about storage do you keep it in an air tight container or something that can get oxygen in it. Maybe it doesn't matter but i was just curious.
Thanks

I keep mine in a 2.5 gallon water dispenser, the kind the water already comes in. It has a spout built in which is nice. I cut a hole in the top about the size of my fist, so it's not sealed. Once the microbes go into the fridge it isn't necessary to aerate the water, but if you have a sealed container you can simply shake it to add oxygen.

Originally Posted by Heisenberg

If used in the tea, I suppose enzymes would help break down the molasses quicker, but that really isn't necessary. In fact we want things to unfold on their own in the tea, which is why we let it brew 48 hours. Some microbes wake up in the presents of food, other wake up in the presents of other microbes (cos they are food).

The tea goes bad because after a while it looses it's oxygen and becomes anaerobic. Beneficial microbes tend to be aerobic and die off without oxygen, while pathogenic microbes thrive in an anaerobic environment.

so does that mean if you kept oxygenating the tea it would last longer?

Originally Posted by Heisenberg

enzymes are basically the stuff that bacteria makes that breaks down organic material, like dead roots. Adding something like hygrozyme is like adding the good stuff from the bacteria without adding the microbes themselves. I know this sounds like a great idea, but in a DWC enzyme products can be a huge trigger of the slime. If you are already infected and you add an enzyme, the slime will feed and explode out of control in less than a day.

I had slime, so I dumped my 20gal dwc res and cleaned everything with H2o2. In addition to my nutes...I added Aqua Shield, Sub Culture B & M, and Hygrozyme.

My question: If I somehow missed some of that slime with the H202, will it come back since I added the other stuff?

Originally Posted by Heisenberg

Correct. If you add organic material of any kind to the res, there is a chance the slime will feed on it before the bennies and outgrow them. Your plants will send carbon down to the roots to feed the rhizoplane which will keep plenty of microbes alive, and we replace them every few days anyway.


I just started a brew with the mycogrow product. I used only a tiny amount and it instantly turned the water black. I also noticed a fecal type odor coming from the powder. This is a very fine powder and I don't like seeing spores go air born. (believe it or not I am actually a bit of a germ freak) I will def be using a face mask from now on. I have never used great white, can anyone tell me if it happens when using it as well?

Funny you mention that, I just spoke with a friend who used to use great white and recently switched to mycogrow, and he said both are exactly the same super-fine powder that goes airborne very easily. He wondered if the spores would grow in his lungs. For protecting myself from perlite dust I picked up a 3M 6391 which is true HEPA and beats the hell out of those disposable dust masks, much tighter seal, got it for about $20 on amazon. Perfect for spores also I'd think.

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Originally Posted by Tahmi.Guhnn

so does that mean if you kept oxygenating the tea it would last longer?

It seems it will last a little longer. Take the EWC out after 2 days, and you would need to add more molasses every so often. I don't know how tea brewed longer will effect the slime. The types of microbes that are present in the water at 48 hours might not be the same that are there at 72, ect. When we cool the water in the fridge we put the microbe activity on pause.

Originally Posted by smithmds

I had slime, so I dumped my 20gal dwc res and cleaned everything with H2o2. In addition to my nutes...I added Aqua Shield, Sub Culture B & M, and Hygrozyme.

My question: If I somehow missed some of that slime with the H202, will it come back since I added the other stuff?

Not if you brew the tea outside the res before adding it. If the microbes are already active they should overcome the slime in that situation. If you leave a little slime and then add bennies directly to the res, it takes them a few days to become active, and that is enough time for the slime to get well established.

Originally Posted by poindexterous

Funny you mention that, I just spoke with a friend who used to use great white and recently switched to mycogrow, and he said both are exactly the same super-fine powder that goes airborne very easily. He wondered if the spores would grow in his lungs. For protecting myself from perlite dust I picked up a 3M 6391 which is true HEPA and beats the hell out of those disposable dust masks, much tighter seal, got it for about $20 on amazon. Perfect for spores also I'd think.

IMG_2024.JPG

Most of the microbes in the mix are ones that we encounter in life anyway. Our immune systems should already be well equipped to fight them, or even benefit from them. But fungi spores growing in the lungs is a very serious problem if it occurs, so a mask is prudent. However the spores have to go somewhere, and I have 4 cats and a roommate. Bugs me to think about it, but it is probably a groundless fear. As far as I am aware no one has ever become ill from using these products.

Originally Posted by Heisenberg

I don't see any advantage over cheap airstones, since the oxygenation comes from the bubbles increasing the surface area of the water and breaking surface tension. Additional oxygen is supplied from the bubbles making momentary contact with the roots, so obviously we want some sort of diffusion, but does it really make a difference if the bubbles are tiny? I don't feel it does.

In terms of DWC, I think that micro-pore diffusing airstones could make a difference for the roots and micro-organisms. Bubbles will either burst, stick, or be absorbed by the roots in which they come into contact with, but ones that miss the roots will continue upwards and micro-organisms in the reservoir will slowly chomp away at the bubbles. The number of bubbles increases the "mobility" of the bubbles and I would think would allow them to penetrate larger volumes of the reservoir.

I'm by no means a microbiology guy, but I am an engineer, and I'm just applying some general logic to the scenario. Mathematically, the increase in quantity of the bubbles is proportional to the decrease in surface area, so it seems to make sense. The only real gain would be the mobility of the bubbles. Although, I can't necessarily say that the extra cleaning involved would be worth it. I would bet they clog easily, which I think somebody even mentioned earlier..

Anyway, took me about an hour or so to read through the whole thread after you pointed it out to me, Heisenberg. All I have lying around right now is soil a friend cooked up composted with tons of goodies (claims he composted with EWC, too), some subculture B/M, and something called StressZyme+ (for my aquarium, from PetSmart). I don't have any molasses lying around, so will cane sugar, honey, or maple syrup work? I also have liquid karma, which I thought might be a nice food source for the bennies while they're brewing.

Thoughts? Thanks again, Heisenberg. This all looks promising.