Major Algae Problems

hi, i've recently got curious about hydro and set up a 8 pack waterfarm kit. i also have 6 dwc buckets. with both my systems i get a LOT of brown algae. this stuff makes my ph uncontrollable. i have to drop acid in the res/buckets twice a day to keep the ph in the 5's. it constantly tries to raise up past 7. i have been running H202 in my systems from day one and the problem never goes away. this stuff literally just looks like snot everywhere. the waterfarm may let a tiny bit of light through, but my dwc buckets get NO light on the inside at all.. i thought algae needed light???
this stuff is bad.it's the worst problem ive ever had growing.
i know not every grower can have this crap, but right now i cant see how any hydro grower could not have it.

my water temps are about 76-80, just fyi

any recommendations are welcome, just dont tell me to sterilize my system... i've done that so many times it isnt funny...also it has nothing to do with the nutrients. it happens with many brands or even just plain water.

Your water temps are WAY too high! That is a breeding ground for Algae! You don't ever want to get much above 70 and maximum should be 75 for short periods! Ideally, you want 60-70. How many air stones are you running in the system? How often do you change your water? How big are your res's?

Brown sounds more like rot to me than algae though as well. What do the roots look like?

i cant get my temps any cooler... and in the dwc system, i have an airstone in each bucket and one massive pump giving them more than enough oxygen. i change my water every week, sometimes after 5 days. my waterfarm unit holds like 15-20 gallons i believe. the dwc buckets are 5 gallon each with probably about 4 gallons in each right now since my clones are still very young.
the roots look healthy minus the clumps of whitish brown snot here and there

knubs said:

hi, i've recently got curious about hydro and set up a 8 pack waterfarm kit. i also have 6 dwc buckets. with both my systems i get a LOT of brown algae. this stuff makes my ph uncontrollable. i have to drop acid in the res/buckets twice a day to keep the ph in the 5's. it constantly tries to raise up past 7. i have been running H202 in my systems from day one and the problem never goes away. this stuff literally just looks like snot everywhere. the waterfarm may let a tiny bit of light through, but my dwc buckets get NO light on the inside at all.. i thought algae needed light???
this stuff is bad.it's the worst problem ive ever had growing.
i know not every grower can have this crap, but right now i cant see how any hydro grower could not have it.

my water temps are about 76-80, just fyi

any recommendations are welcome, just dont tell me to sterilize my system... i've done that so many times it isnt funny...also it has nothing to do with the nutrients. it happens with many brands or even just plain water.

Click to expand...

go to lowes or home depot, go to the garden dept ( i highly recommend lowes over home depot, home depots NEW line of pumps SUCK ASS) and get a UV filter for a outdoor waterfall... find a way to incorporate it into your rez system, perhaps by adding a recirculating line... algae needs to free float to reproduce... the UV filter kills the algae while its in the free floating stage, and prevents further colonization. eventually, your algae bloom will die out.... in the future, keep your hands and mouth away from your solution, thats most likely how your algae got into the system in the first place

Need to get a chiller or try putting frozen water bottles in rez to lower temps. If you cant get the temps lower maybe switch to flood and drain system, Not trying to sound like a dick but you will never have good results with DWC at those temps.

knubs said:

i cant get my temps any cooler... and in the dwc system, i have an airstone in each bucket and one massive pump giving them more than enough oxygen. i change my water every week, sometimes after 5 days. my waterfarm unit holds like 15-20 gallons i believe. the dwc buckets are 5 gallon each with probably about 4 gallons in each right now since my clones are still very young.
the roots look healthy minus the clumps of whitish brown snot here and there

Click to expand...

Insulate everything you can with this from Home Depot. Cheap and easy to use. It will drop those res temps and provide a barrier to keep light out.

Look into a product called dutchmaster Zone. It's a root zone conditioner that uses copper, chloramine, and some other stuff to prevent root problems. I have not had anything but white roots since using this product in my dwc.
Also, avoid using anything "organic" in your nute lineup. your rez should be clear.

knubs said:

i cant get my temps any cooler...

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You are going to need a chiller.. wasting money on other band aide fixes will simply be money you could have put towards buying a chiller in the end.

Get you one of these..

http://www.amazon.com/Active-Aqua-Chiller-Refrigeration-Unit/dp/B0048IVBT4

They work great.

Temp doesn't just affect algae, too high of temps prevents oxygen from dissolving, which will starve / kill roots. Is light getting in your system somehow?

My buddies system was HORRIBLE (root rot, not algae) for like a week - even smelled bad. Seemed like the end of the world, then he added 6 air stones and the water cool down because of winter and everything was perfect. Are you able to put the res some place else?

tibberous said:

Temp doesn't just affect algae, too high of temps prevents oxygen from dissolving, which will starve / kill roots.

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Low oxygen will also breed anaerobic bacteria that cause even more problems.

Qwisty said:

You are going to need a chiller.. wasting money on other band aide fixes will simply be money you could have put towards buying a chiller in the end.

Get you one of these..

http://www.amazon.com/Active-Aqua-Chiller-Refrigeration-Unit/dp/B0048IVBT4

They work great.

Click to expand...

I have the 1/4 Hp one and it works great. However, the best ROI for keeping your res cool is insulation.

knubs said:

i cant get my temps any cooler... and in the dwc system, i have an airstone in each bucket and one massive pump giving them more than enough oxygen. i change my water every week, sometimes after 5 days. my waterfarm unit holds like 15-20 gallons i believe. the dwc buckets are 5 gallon each with probably about 4 gallons in each right now since my clones are still very young.
the roots look healthy minus the clumps of whitish brown snot here and there

Click to expand...

Did you know that oxygen dissolves into water through the agitation at the water's surface and not directly from the bubbles from your airstone? The bubbles moving the water around at the surface is where the oxygen from the surrounding air incorporates itself into your res. A greater surface area means greater surrounding air for your res, making any agitation from bubblers and waterfalls more effective. A vertical enclosure like a bucket has a very small water surface area, and the air pumps are pumping heat into your water. So that's not enough DO and a hot res... a recipe for slime every time.

Ever wonder why it's so easy for Bubble buckets to get warm and slime up? There you go.

Insulate your buckets and keep doing what you're doing. The insulation will help to trap the heat generated by your airstone, and you'll still get slime because of your small water surface area and your still warm water. Run a chiller or change up your game plan... or you and slime will become much better acquainted in the future.