DWC Root Slime Cure aka How to Breed Beneficial Microbes

Originally Posted by Revvy

That's totally what it is like! Still getting thicker but everything else seems fine. I felt it and the stuff was pretty firm. More solid than slime, like super heavy phlegm. The root I examined itself seems strong.

This was a fresh res, cleaned it out with bleach at the same time I started brewing the tea. Filled with ~16 gallons of tap, pHed and nuted. Added 3% H2O2 a few times a day until a few hours before the inoculation to try and keep things clean.

The slime before was brown and lined the walls of the res and roots. It comes after a foaming so that had me worried, even with the earthy smell.

For nutes I had GH three part. The only additive is H2O2. Dunno.

-edit-

Ended up being bad slime again. Smaller roots started dying late last night. Meh.

Try it again without the h2o2. Peroxide can take up to three days to break down, so it was still killing the bennies. The myco spores were probably oxidized before they could germinate. There is never a good slime, a beneficial biofilm is very subtle.

So I have been experimenting lately with using tap water. We have been told that typical amounts of chlorine in tap water should not harm benneis. I began using un-aged tap water to top of my buckets and saw no change. No slime developed and roots still seem stimulated. So it does indeed seem that using a bit of chlorinated water to top off a res dilutes the chlorine to negligible levels.

I have made a few batches of tea using tap water. At first it seemed as if it worked just fine; no slime developed. However after a few weeks I went back to using distilled water and noticed an explosion in root mass. So it seems, if we use chlorinated water to make the tea, enough of the microbes survive to prevent disease, but the ones which thicken, strengthen and stimulate the roots do not make it.

So continue making your tea with pure water, but don't be afraid to top off your res with water straight from the tap.

IMG_20110531_201411.jpgIMG_20110531_201434.jpgIMG_20110531_194750.jpgIMG_20110531_194845.jpg

"You must spread around some reputation before giving it to Heisenberg again."
What a brilliant thread. One of the best sources of essential DWC info that I've found yet. Thanks very much.

Made the above brew setup after some brown snotty roots in my last grow and no good pearly whites in the current. 5 gallon bucket, couple holes drilled in the lid to twisty tie a sock or whatever, and a few holes around the edges where you'd normally run an air line. just empty holes to keep air moving, and they are definitely used. strong air movement at these holes when the bucket is on. 1/2" bulkhead at the bottom leads to a valve. A cheapo air pump on top powers 2x 8" micro bubble stones. One stone in a sock with wiggle worm EWC (didn't read the post about ancient forest hummus = ewc until too late!), the other just tossed into the bottom. It froths like a volcano in there.

Used Great White and Aquashield, also a bit of Companion for so as to get maximum subtilis action yo. I spent about $30 on the project, excluding the Companion and Great White that I already had laying around. Everything, including both AF Hummus EWC, was available at a small local hydro store. Dude even pointed me at the AF stuff but I failed to take his advice.

I have two DWC reservoirs that run 74f tops in close proximity to a table, so I sat the bucket up there to brew. After 24 hours it was frothing nicely. 48hrs a little less froth but looking great. Smelled like .. well, like Hobo Ass Candy(tm) .. an old sock stuffed with dirt and molasses. The res in my current grow had just been flushed yesterday so all set. I just connect a length of 1/2" piping from the bucket valve directly into the reservoir, maybe 4 feet away. Turn valve, smile as the hordes descend on the unsuspecting bad guys. Dropped about 2 gallons into a 35-40 gallon RDWC system and we'll see how it does. No serious problem to cure other than the root mass in this grow isn't as large as I'd usually expect. I don't know much though, and these didn't veg for more than 2 weeks, so all things considered will be looking for new growth or coloration changes.

Will be brewing 3-4 gallons per week, enough for all my grow needs and we'll put the rest into a sprayer and see what happens around the yard. Can't wait for the next round of clones to see how the tea does versus a constant assualt of the fuzzies in the clone dome. I typically lose 30-50% of clones to the fuzz. I bet this does the trick.

I will be replacing the sock with something like you were doing for awhile with the paper towel. Maybe a coffee filter or some hose. Something loose enough to let the big microbes through but still keep chunks out of the tea.

One last note - my understanding is that while chlorine will air out of tap water, chloramine will not. I have been so far unable to find out if my tap water contains chloramine. I have been assuming it does, but using it anyway. I run it right out of the hose, add nutrients, then let it roll at least overnight before adding tea. I top the res off with tap that I let air out for maybe 30 minutes, usually 5 gallons at a time. I use RO or purified water to brew the tea.

Thanks again Heisenberg. And too for selecting Heisenberg as a name. Not only is it a joy to see another (assuming) physics/history fan around here, it also makes me sound especially intelligent when I talk about my "Heisenberg Buckets." Cheers!

http://www.happyherbalist.com/5gallonfoodgrade-5.aspx

just came across this while looking into giant teabags (not your crazy neighbor). about the same as what i've made. dunno if shipping kills it but, shrug, if you're lazy.

cloth across the top is also an interesting idea. a variation on this could be useful for us.

Originally Posted by phenob

IMG_20110531_201411.jpgIMG_20110531_201434.jpgIMG_20110531_194750.jpgIMG_20110531_194845.jpg

"You must spread around some reputation before giving it to Heisenberg again."
What a brilliant thread. One of the best sources of essential DWC info that I've found yet. Thanks very much.

Made the above brew setup after some brown snotty roots in my last grow and no good pearly whites in the current. 5 gallon bucket, couple holes drilled in the lid to twisty tie a sock or whatever, and a few holes around the edges where you'd normally run an air line. just empty holes to keep air moving, and they are definitely used. strong air movement at these holes when the bucket is on. 1/2" bulkhead at the bottom leads to a valve. A cheapo air pump on top powers 2x 8" micro bubble stones. One stone in a sock with wiggle worm EWC (didn't read the post about ancient forest hummus = ewc until too late!), the other just tossed into the bottom. It froths like a volcano in there.

Used Great White and Aquashield, also a bit of Companion for so as to get maximum subtilis action yo. I spent about $30 on the project, excluding the Companion and Great White that I already had laying around. Everything, including both AF Hummus EWC, was available at a small local hydro store. Dude even pointed me at the AF stuff but I failed to take his advice.

I have two DWC reservoirs that run 74f tops in close proximity to a table, so I sat the bucket up there to brew. After 24 hours it was frothing nicely. 48hrs a little less froth but looking great. Smelled like .. well, like Hobo Ass Candy(tm) .. an old sock stuffed with dirt and molasses. The res in my current grow had just been flushed yesterday so all set. I just connect a length of 1/2" piping from the bucket valve directly into the reservoir, maybe 4 feet away. Turn valve, smile as the hordes descend on the unsuspecting bad guys. Dropped about 2 gallons into a 35-40 gallon RDWC system and we'll see how it does. No serious problem to cure other than the root mass in this grow isn't as large as I'd usually expect. I don't know much though, and these didn't veg for more than 2 weeks, so all things considered will be looking for new growth or coloration changes.

Will be brewing 3-4 gallons per week, enough for all my grow needs and we'll put the rest into a sprayer and see what happens around the yard. Can't wait for the next round of clones to see how the tea does versus a constant assualt of the fuzzies in the clone dome. I typically lose 30-50% of clones to the fuzz. I bet this does the trick.

I will be replacing the sock with something like you were doing for awhile with the paper towel. Maybe a coffee filter or some hose. Something loose enough to let the big microbes through but still keep chunks out of the tea.

One last note - my understanding is that while chlorine will air out of tap water, chloramine will not. I have been so far unable to find out if my tap water contains chloramine. I have been assuming it does, but using it anyway. I run it right out of the hose, add nutrients, then let it roll at least overnight before adding tea. I top the res off with tap that I let air out for maybe 30 minutes, usually 5 gallons at a time. I use RO or purified water to brew the tea.

Thanks again Heisenberg. And too for selecting Heisenberg as a name. Not only is it a joy to see another (assuming) physics/history fan around here, it also makes me sound especially intelligent when I talk about my "Heisenberg Buckets." Cheers!

Sounds like you're all set up. If your tap water contains chlorine you will occasionally notice a faint but distinct smell similar to a swimming pool. If you have never detected this scent from your tap water, then it probably contains chloramine. If it does, easpecially with your size setup, you might wanna invest in an RO filter. Generally we don't want to add nutes before adding tea. So if you need to let the water bubble overnight, leave the nutes out till just before using it.

Looking forward to updates

In your DWC systems, how far below the pots do you typically set your water level? I have about 4 inches of space between the pots and water level. This area of the root mass has always been the worst looking. Not horrible or problematic, not yet anyway, but not as nice as roots that are down immersed in the drink. The roots in the water already show improvement in color not 24 hours after adding the tea. Can see a nice pearlescent shine starting to come through, starting at the bottom of the root tips working upward.

I run my water 1 inch above the bottom of my pots. Air gap = cord roots, and cord roots don't do anything but support roots in the water, they don't feed.

Hey Heisenberg Thanks for all you've done and continue to do.

Iv been brewing guano kelp teas for my girls in soil for a year now, but I just finished my first hydro (rdwc) grow and starting on my second.
Im brewing a batch now because I think I might see the beginnings of something not right.
Have you made any changes to the original recipe?\

Thanks again.



edit: and on the note of tap water, Im thinking mine is pretty good. It comes out at 62 ppm I forgot ph but after bubbling for 24 hrs or more it settles at 6.9-7.1