algae and slime?

i have a dwc setup and to save money i have white buckets and clear airlines. is the light penetrating the buckets and lights and growing this algae and what i can assume is root slime even though the roots havent pushed through the stg inserts yet. also i have green algae or green mold on some of the white sure to grow inserts. is there a way to fix this problem without cause more? algacide?
 

HSA

Well-Known Member
Rocks: yep, there's a way. I had the same problem trying to save a few bucks. But I still had problems even after I repainted the buckets. And it wasn't easy because the paint didn't want to stick. Eventually I broke down and bought the black buckets they sell at the hydro store and found out that's why they don't carry colored ones.

Light is a killer. It causes an algae bloom in that nice warm environment with all those wonderful nutrients. After all algae are plants too and the clear tubing is no help. Now I use black plastic drip irrigation line from The Home Depot. I also sealed off where my lines go into the buckets near the top with rubber automotive grommets you can get from any parts house.

If you want to go to the trouble, a friend of mine showed me how to check for light leaks: put in every thing but your nutes; lines, air stones, etc. Next put in a flashlight that's turned on, preferrably a water proof flashlight light or one in a zip lock food bag to protect it from the dripping roots. Put the lid on the bucket and turn off the lights in the room. It should be dark. If you've got it sealed off there shouldn't be any light escaping. If it can't get out it shouldn't be able to get in. I hope this helps. HSA
 
thanks man i read that people were putting trashbags as a liner on the inside of the bucket and then replacing the clear lines with black or blue ones
 

HSA

Well-Known Member
Rocky: I never tried the blue ones. Like they say, "When you try black you'll never go back," and those black plastic drip irrigation lines from The Home Depot's plumbing department seemed to solve my problem. I also use rubber automotive grommets to tightly seal off the hoses through the holes. A friend of mine who's too damn cheap and lazy to make a neat installation uses black silicone glue from the 99 cents store to seal his lines, but like everything else he does it looks half assed. As far as the blue hoses are concerned, as long as they're thicker than the clear ones, and not as likely to kink, I guess that's okay. But I won't give you my stamp of approval if any light gets in there.

Black plastic trash bags? I suppose that would work as long as they're thick enough and you don't get any light in through the folds. Eventually you'll probably come around to the black plastic buckets like the rest of us. I've tried stuff like that, I think we all have, but eventually I got tired screwing around with the additional problems they created. I try to make sure that everything I use in my grow is 'food grade' because eventually I'm going to ingest it. You might want to RTFB's and see what others are doing before you start growing. That might save you a lot of headaches in the future. Originality is great but a lot can be said for first knowing what your peers are doing and then striking out on your own with something totally different. I hope that helps. HSA
 
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