Brown film on roots

Pat666

Well-Known Member
I'm starting o have a brown film in my roots. Water temp in my DWC is below 70 I use Hydroguard and have 2 air stones per bucket (4buckets) with a 35 watt air pump anybody have any ideas
 

Pat666

Well-Known Member
I can't take a pic because I cleaned the roots and cleaned reservoir but when and if it happens agin I'll take a pick. Yes I use hydroton. I ordered some air siffuser rings to replace stones incase I need more circulation/bubbles. And it wasn't snotty just a light brown film in 2 out f the 4 plants. The 2 wih the slime have longest root balls idk if that matters. The film came off by lightly misting with a hose also if you slid root between fingers it would come off. My water temps have been around 63 this week. Idk what's going on. I added some more Hydroguard see if that helps at all. So frustrating I'm just about to switch to my hps bulb fo flowering and this shot starts up. Maybe I should just stick to soil haha
 

blackforest

Well-Known Member
I can't take a pic because I cleaned the roots and cleaned reservoir but when and if it happens agin I'll take a pick. Yes I use hydroton. I ordered some air siffuser rings to replace stones incase I need more circulation/bubbles. And it wasn't snotty just a light brown film in 2 out f the 4 plants. The 2 wih the slime have longest root balls idk if that matters. The film came off by lightly misting with a hose also if you slid root between fingers it would come off. My water temps have been around 63 this week. Idk what's going on. I added some more Hydroguard see if that helps at all. So frustrating I'm just about to switch to my hps bulb fo flowering and this shot starts up. Maybe I should just stick to soil haha
Just make sure you are changing your water once a week and use 3ml/gal of hydroguard. I've had that before as well. The first signs... Are you using anything organic in there?
 

Pat666

Well-Known Member
Just make sure you are changing your water once a week and use 3ml/gal of hydroguard. I've had that before as well. The first signs... Are you using anything organic in there?
I use advanced nutes 3 part, cal mag , Hydroguard, and canazyme.oh and yeah I always change it weekly this week I've changed it 2 times trying to make sure I don't lose my babies
 

blackforest

Well-Known Member
I use advanced nutes 3 part, cal mag , Hydroguard, and canazyme.oh and yeah I always change it weekly this week I've changed it 2 times trying to make sure I don't lose my babies
I've never used it before, but from everything I've read, zymes in general are not great for rdwc systems. I don't really know what cannazym is exactly, but just from checking out the website I saw:
"CANNAZYM prevents bacteria and harmful mold"
"CANNAZYM improves the soil environment."

Someone can chime in here if they have used it and been successful in rdwc, but perhaps it's having an adverse effect on the hydroguard? which is bacillus bacteria. I use gh rapid start with hydroguard, especially when they are young and growing roots. Personally I would drop the cannazym to see what happens. It definitely won't hurt your ladies. Hydroguard should be doing it's job just fine. If it's not working, something is affecting the hydroguard imo.
 

Pat666

Well-Known Member
I've never used it before, but from everything I've read, zymes in general are not great for rdwc systems. I don't really know what cannazym is exactly, but just from checking out the website I saw:
"CANNAZYM prevents bacteria and harmful mold"
"CANNAZYM improves the soil environment."

Someone can chime in here if they have used it and been successful in rdwc, but perhaps it's having an adverse effect on the hydroguard? which is bacillus bacteria. I use gh rapid start with hydroguard, especially when they are young and growing roots. Personally I would drop the cannazym to see what happens. It definitely won't hurt your ladies. Hydroguard should be doing it's job just fine. If it's not working, something is affecting the hydroguard imo.
Ok thanks for the input. Btw I'm running just a regulars DWC no recirculating although I'd like to convert it I'm just not super handy but one day I'll work up the courage to attempt the switch to rdwc
 

blackforest

Well-Known Member
Ok thanks for the input. Btw I'm running just a regulars DWC no recirculating although I'd like to convert it I'm just not super handy but one day I'll work up the courage to attempt the switch to rdwc
Gotcha. It's pretty much the same thing as far as culturing bacteria goes in rdwc vs dwc. For example I get bacteria growth in my top off rez which is just plain ro water after a few days even though it's in the dark and cool temps. Another tip is more hydroguard is not always better, just use 2.5 - 3ml per gal. I think it works Much better as a preventative than a treatment. It doesn't sound like it's very bad at all in your system. A normal dose minus the cannazym should do the trick.
 

Pat666

Well-Known Member
I'd read that canazyme was good for hydro but maybe I'm mistaken. I'm gonna wait few days and see I just changed my res tonight but unfortunately added canazyme. Thanks for your help. Do you run a RDWC? If so how hard would it be to switch from DWC to tht. I run a 4 (5gal) bucket system. I'd just need a sub pump with a line in to each bucket and then a return at bottom of each bucket back to res right? Anything else and what size line should I runs from res to buckets 1/2 in?
 

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
If any of your liquid nutes are thick and dark like FloraMicro is, it's very possible they're just stained. Mine sure are.
 

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
P.s., if it was actually slimy and had texture, you can almost guarantee it's gonna come back. Your crop will be infested by it, in no time.
 
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Pat666

Well-Known Member
Yeah that's all I got but it's not bad ph is decent and as far as tap goes I've seen far worse
 

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
Yeah that's all I got but it's not bad ph is decent and as far as tap goes I've seen far worse
Yup, I knew it. Figures. Tap water occasionally will get spores in it that over run DWC. Happened to my dad's tomatoes. He had to start completely over from seed and bought all new equipment. And I mean ALL NEW.
He didn't risk re-using one single thing that had been used in that setup.
New buckets, tube, air line, fittings, pumps, air stones, net pots, hydroton, Everything... he built it all over again from scratch.
After that, he's invested in an R/O filter setup that comes up from the sink for like $100 at Lowes.
If it comes back, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you do the same as well, man. It will NOT go away if you just take down your system and clean it. You gotta start over. And only use that r/o FROM THEN ON.
 
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firsttimeARE

Well-Known Member
Ive used tap water for 5 years now and never have issues with it. You dont need an RO filter unless your tap sucks and is 200ppm plus
 

Pat666

Well-Known Member
Yeah I washed hydroton. My leaf tips are starting to curl under. When I changed my res out I didn't add cal mag like usual. Wonder if that's why there curling? Seems like one Thing after another
 

tyson53

Well-Known Member
Seems like you have slime algae ...I know AN uses carbs in some of thier formulas..check your to see...carbos will feed the slime....

I had the slime in a RDWC system and had to fully clean it..I used pool shock in the system with the plants remove...scrubbed every thing good...then I dipped roots in peroxide ..refilled with new water and added peroxide to it..ran a few days when the peroxide is gone...then added hydroguard and has been good so far...that was 6 weeks ago ..spagetti white roots still....
 

Pat666

Well-Known Member
Seems like you have slime algae ...I know AN uses carbs in some of thier formulas..check your to see...carbos will feed the slime....

I had the slime in a RDWC system and had to fully clean it..I used pool shock in the system with the plants remove...scrubbed every thing good...then I dipped roots in peroxide ..refilled with new water and added peroxide to it..ran a few days when the peroxide is gone...then added hydroguard and has been good so far...that was 6 weeks ago ..spagetti white roots still....
Thanks I'll check it iut
 
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