is this root rot, or just stained roots?

I have a sinking feeling I know what the consensus will be...

I am pretty new to hydro and DWC. This is my third grow since abandoning the soil.

I'm using botanicare pure blend and liquid karma, along with sweet. I know people say that botanicare will stain your roots, so it took me a long time to worry. But.... are they supposed to be this dark??

If it is root rot, what is the best way to prevent this on my next grow? (I'm harvesting in a week or two, so I assume that not much can be done at this point.)

Cheers in advance to all replies!

feet

you gotta at least put pics up lol

Check out Hygrozyhme. It will keep those roots nice and white!

lol, I guess a pic would help, eh?

original post edited.

That looks like root rot to me and I bet it smells horrible. I was growing my mother plant in DWC and after I cut all the clones I needed, I wanted to experiment and see what would happen if I took out the air stone. My mother plant's roots looked like your pic and it smelled like broccoli that's been in the trash can for 24 hours.

Since I don't exactly know your setup, I'd assume your problems was not enough air going to the roots or your using pretty nasty water. I use to use tap water but I stopped because whenever I would pre-mix some solution, this crusty stuff would appear on the top. Its sorta like eating Cream-of-Wheat soup and there is that little layer of skin on top. I started filtering my water and I've never had a problem since. Also, change your nute solution at least weekly.

Some people might say your problem is due to heat but I grew my mother in 95 degree heat and she grew great.

It's not heat, I'm pretty sure. It could be bubbles, I guess. But I'm pretty sure I have lots. My reservoir is a 1 gallon milk jug for each plant. (2 small ones.) I got an aquarium pump that's rated for a 30 gallon aquarium and has 2 outputs. Each has one of those 1" ball air stones, and it makes quite a lot of action. Although, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that when the plants are in the jugs the roots might sit on top of the air stone and inhibit the bubbles... that could be it. The problem is probably exacerbated by the fact that I'm using organic nutes.

I've been using such a small reservoir because, as I said in my initial post, I'm still learning and have been nervous of wasting a whole bunch of nutrients due to having to empty out a large tub if I needed to flush (which I did a couple of times).

But, my next grow I'm going to have each plant in a 5 gallon tub, and I will also pickup some hydroguard. And that Hygrozyhme looks pretty good too.

Anyways, ramble ramble... thanks for the advice to all who replied!

cheers,
feet

p.s. petrol420 wtf is cream of what soup?! sounds awful!

ihavefeet said:

p.s. petrol420 wtf is cream of what soup?! sounds awful!

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I'm a stoner, I meant to say mushroom soup. I know, how could I confuse the two. I'm a stoner.

Back to your grow. I grew my mother in a 2 liter soda bottle and although the roots just filled the whole container, she grew great so I wouldn't worry too much if you think your resevoir is too small.

Also, did you mention that your nutes are for soil? Maybe that stuff isn't meant for hydro and could be the root of all your problems (all pun intended). Don't organic nutes have stuff like worm castings and various kinds of animal and insect shit? Maybe that crap creates too much bacteria and they thrive in an all liquid environment. Try using nutes meant for hydro. You don't have to use the expensive stuff. I use General Hydroponics which is I think the cheapest stuff around and I haven't had a problem with them yet.

My last word of advice. Don't be afraid and use common sense. Don't believe everything anyone tells you unless they have solid proof it works.

I tried growing some plants about 15 years ago when I lived with my folks. They were going great when my nosey ass dad found them. He made me chop them down. It was a sad day but maybe sort of a relief since they were getting all out of control as far as height and bushiness and to top it off, the internet was really new and there were no pot forums combined with my amateurness. Ever since then though, I heard of the Sea of Green method and decided that's how I wanted to grow the next time I was going to do it. FFWD 15 years and I've achieved what I wanted.

I did this with a laid back attitude, no fear and common sense. So bro, just relax and enjoy yourself.

btw, you a Brit? If so, cheers mate! (I'm not a Brit though)

Hey petrol, thanks for the reply again.

Botanicare nutes are organic hydroponic nutrients, so they are meant for applications such as DWC. However, you are right that they have microbes living in it. Botanicare even advises on their website that you should not use hydrogen peroxide with their nutrients as it will kill the beneficial microbes. From what I've read other botanicare users have had to tackle root rot as well. It seems that "hydroguard" is a popular and effective solution that works with organics.

I totally agree with your comment about common sense and not stressing out. In the two years since I started growing I've definitely become more relaxed about it, knowing that even if mistakes are made I will still get some kind of yield, and I treat it as a learning experience.

Dispite this current root rot, my buds are looking sick and I'm totally stoked for harvest in a couple of weeks. It will definitely be my best yet! This will be the first time I've used quality breeder genetics. Up until this grow I was using a whole bunch of seeds my cousin gave me from plants on her organic farm.


And, no I'm not a brit, I'm a canuck!

i'd switch to larger reservoirs, and I would most definitely get rid of those friggin organic nutes for that are supposed to be designed for hydro. They suck!!! I don't care what people have to say about them. I am a firm supporter of the the General Hydroponics line of products. and as long as you flush your plants the last couple of weeks before harvest, there is no issue with taste or high....my opinion anyway...

and by the way, YES, that is root rot...

Hey Snutter, thanks for the reply!

I will be switching to larger tubs this evening or tomorrow morning. I got a 17 litre tote for each plant.

As far as organic nutes go, you may well be correct that there is no difference in taste or high. However, the important difference (for me) is that chemical nutes mean that your plants are essentially made entirely from petroleum. Call me a tree-hugging hippie (you wouldn't be the first), but I ain't down with that. One of the main reasons I started growing in the first place was to ensure that the pot I was smoking was 100% natural.

Also, every guy who works at my hydro shop uses botanicare for their own gardens. And, many people on this forum are loyal users as well. So... I'm sticking with the organics.

But, again, thank you for giving your input!

feet

ihavefeet said:

Hey Snutter, thanks for the reply!

I will be switching to larger tubs this evening or tomorrow morning. I got a 17 litre tote for each plant.

As far as organic nutes go, you may well be correct that there is no difference in taste or high. However, the important difference (for me) is that chemical nutes mean that your plants are essentially made entirely from petroleum. Call me a tree-hugging hippie (you wouldn't be the first), but I ain't down with that. One of the main reasons I started growing in the first place was to ensure that the pot I was smoking was 100% natural.

Also, every guy who works at my hydro shop uses botanicare for their own gardens. And, many people on this forum are loyal users as well. So... I'm sticking with the organics.

But, again, thank you for giving your input!

feet

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you hippie!!! hahahahah. Just kidding man! I too get called a hippie all the time, but that cause I have long hair past my waist line....as if that's what makes a person a hippy.

Any ways man, that's cool. I can totally appreciate your reasons for wanting to grow all organic.. I hope the larger reservoir helps out with your issue. Good luck! And happy harvests!

i dunno, long hair and pot growing gets you pretty close to the definition.

unless you're a gun toting redneck? That would probably cancel it out.

ihavefeet said:

i dunno, long hair and pot growing gets you pretty close to the definition.

unless you're a gun toting redneck? That would probably cancel it out.

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ihavefeet: just curious, are you using tap water or filtered water?

I'm using tap water. It's pretty good though, it's what I drink myself. It doesn't even register on my EC meter, so it's got to be less than 100ppm.

I've been thinking about getting a britta filter, one of the big 3 gallon jugs. Haven't got around to it yet, though.

feet

ihavefeet said:

I'm using tap water. It's pretty good though, it's what I drink myself. It doesn't even register on my EC meter, so it's got to be less than 100ppm.

I've been thinking about getting a britta filter, one of the big 3 gallon jugs. Haven't got around to it yet, though.

feet

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Dude, they make a 3 gallon Brita? I'm gonna have to check it out. Brita is what I use to filter my water.

Hey feet, you might wanna try this. I tried using tap water to premix my nutrient solution but by the next day, there would be this crust that was about an 1/8" thick on top. I thought is was because I didn't have it covered so I threw that away and made another batch with tap and covered it with saran wrap but the crust would still form. I started filtering my water and I've had great luck.

Btw, I noticed that after the water was filtered, the PH would drop down some.

Thanks for the advice petrol. I will put aside some cash for a britta for my next grow.

Here is the jug I'm talking about. Not sure if it's 3gal or not, that was just a guess. But, it uses the same filters as the milk jug style one.

Looks like root rot to me...Id get some hygrozyme asap... Keeps your root system rocking..Jusy my $.02

Liquid Karma stains the roots in aero, so I would assume the same with dwc. If they smell good..they you are probably fine.