Brown algae concern.

What up Ganga gang..
This is my first go at DWC, I feel as well studied as I can be on it without actually getting in there and making my own mistakes... I have a feminised Chocoloco that was root bound for a week in a 3 inch pot with a small amount of soil but mostly clay balls...
I was feeding regularly and she's always been really healthy. I then moved her into a 20l DWC.. I washed off all the soil... I think there was maybe one bit of bark left in the centre...
Anyway... I have been running a very clean mix of 30.10.40 at a half dose and slowly ramping up from 500 - 700ppm. The water was clear, roots were white except for one or 2 bigger ones a slight shade of brown.. it was recently time for a Res Change, I've heard about the importance of bio stimulants and kelp so I have a concentrate to add to this new reservoir. Still in veg mode and all nutes mixed at 70% of recommended dose. I was a bit upset to see my crystal clear, almost blue water now murky brown... I guess soil ain't pretty but I sure was enjoying the purity of the clean npk solouton beforehand.
Now we get to the issue.. i check my roots daily and I see a zone of dark algae around the water level (photo inserted). It doesn't smell bad and it washes off easily only to return within 1 day. It is only on the roots and they still seem quite happy with life. I have fresh root growth out the botton. I have let my res level drop 1 inch because it was sitting too high at net cup level up until now.
Anyone have some insight into this and can maybe put me at ease or on the right track to fix it. I really don't want to add any h202 into the solouton I dont have any to begin with but I also think it's a bit extreme.
Thanks for taking the time to help me out
Res temp: 19c
Res volume: 18l
Nutes: 30.10.40 @ 650ppm
Nitrozyme: 75mls
Rhisotonic: 15mls
No light leaks

that's is not algae its the start of root rot
like why does every person trying to grow in dwc or hydro keep thinking products like bio stimulants and kelp are good
you should be using a 2 part veg nutrient and cal mag just a guess but that 30.10.40 nutrient is powder
res temps sound ok if its really 19c but clearly it isnt right im betting it gets hotter what will promote rot
you should be changing your res every 7 days just to keep it clean and you should pumping air in to the res 24/7
Nitrozyme: 75mls and Rhisotonic: 15mls i dont exactly know what that is and im too lazy to google it but id imagine that's half the problem and i see no option but for you to start running something like cx hydroponics wilt guard or h2o2 because that rot will not go away on its own and will return
if it was me ill scrap all the nutrients you are using and buy some basic veg nutrients A+B and some cal mag flush and bleach everything sock plant roots in a diluted mix of cx hydroponics wilt guard or h2o2 then refill res making sure to change it every 7 days regardless of remaining ec or ppm and pray

Yup. You need to decide what you are going to buy to keep your water clean for the long term.
Use some sort of synthetic nutrient and calmag. Maybe silica. Thats it
1.calmag
2. synthetic nutes
3. stuff to keep your water clean. bennes = hydroguard. sterile = peroxide or UC Roots.
Like said above, before anything else you need to sterilize your system and your plants first. Soak those roots in peroxide and then rinse them off. Dump your bucket and clean it with 91% iso.
The plant is going to die anyway if you leave it so don't sweat it. Your gonna lose a few weeks too btw, if it survives.

its a shitty photo but your roots really need to like like this. my current grow

GH three part, Calimagic, Armor Si and Hydroguard ONLY. Nothing else.

Thanks for the reply man.
I just made up a new Res with only my 2 part Nutrient. Yes I have an A and B mix and right now that is all I have in the Res at a 70%strength and in veg. While I did this I cleaned off the roots with the hose pipe and changed as much of the clay as I could.. theres no sign of dead material or any odor.
I think where I went wrong was keeping the water level too high before now and that might have started the rot if that's what's happening.. what should the level be? I'm unfortunately having to top up by hand every day or so.
I'm about to go away for 2 days so this will have to do.. I've not got any rot busting stuff so maybe my only other option is take the whole plant for clones..? If it goes south...? Thanks ms everyone for the help I really appreciate the advice.. like I said this is my first DWC and I've been having a great time doing it.. this is how it looks now.

Blent said:

Thanks for the reply man.
I just made up a new Res with only my 2 part Nutrient. Yes I have an A and B mix and right now that is all I have in the Res at a 70%strength and in veg. While I did this I cleaned off the roots with the hose pipe and changed as much of the clay as I could.. theres no sign of dead material or any odor.
I think where I went wrong was keeping the water level too high before now and that might have started the rot if that's what's happening.. what should the level be? I'm unfortunately having to top up by hand every day or so.
I'm about to go away for 2 days so this will have to do.. I've not got any rot busting stuff so maybe my only other option is take the whole plant for clones..? If it goes south...? Thanks ms everyone for the help I really appreciate the advice.. like I said this is my first DWC and I've been having a great time doing it.. this is how it looks now. View attachment 4233722 View attachment 4233723

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much better looking keep everything clean and fresh and youll be fine

when i refill my res i keep it around 2 inches under the net pot and over the day my plants will drink 1or2 liters of water what i refill every morning so around 0.528344 us liquid gallons if googles conversion is correct

3 days later and she looks all good.. so was it really root rot or was it an algae bloom? Has anyone else had this problem with bio stims? It seems to grow well without it..
My res does get warm though.. and might have been as high as 22c before my first post.. maybe I just caught it in time to reverse it. Anyway, Appreciate the help from everyone.. pretty cool.. chur

5BY5LEC said:

GH three part, Calimagic, Armor Si and Hydroguard ONLY. Nothing else.
View attachment 4233718

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lol, I foil tape over my holes, too. That tape is the shit.

Blent said:

3 days later and she looks all good.. so was it really root rot or was it an algae bloom? Has anyone else had this problem with bio stims? It seems to grow well without it.. View attachment 4234988 View attachment 4234989
My res does get warm though.. and might have been as high as 22c before my first post.. maybe I just caught it in time to reverse it. Anyway, Appreciate the help from everyone.. pretty cool.. chur

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Nice rebound!

Now a couple's of weeks later and no treatment whatsoever. I came back after 4 days away and changed the Res which has been unchanged since the last time I posted here. Interested to see the reaction to this pic of the roots. I continued with my res change and I took the plant outside and cleaned up the roots with a hose.. it didn't look too brown at all outside and everything feels fresh and sturdy, squeaky texture and plenty of new growth evident. Res Temps have been low due to recent unseasonal weather.. between 15 and 18degs most of the time. I did spot one leaf with a rusty marking on it. I'm sure you can tell me exactly what this means. Anyway... Still growing a noticable amount every day. 2 more weeks max in veg then I'm flicking. Will keep posting. Cheers for the banter

Thought I might as well keep updating as I'm having a lot of fun here... So I've cut all bio stims / anything organic or containing kelp as I find this accelerates the algae and would give me rot in no time. All I'm using now is a 2 part mix at 30.10.40, silica and a calmag mix. Ppm gets topped up to 750 every 4 or 5 days it drops to 450.

I've found that lifting the plant out of the water damages the new root growth significantly. Lots of tiny new root hairs are found floating after a Res change.. so now I keep a bucket full of fresh water nearby so I can suspend the roots in water while I'm cleaning up.

I have gone through the undergrowth and made about 10 clones which are incubating. I'm 2 weeks from flipping and wanted to have a trim up now to establish growth on my main colas and give it a chance to heal properly. The change in colour is looking through my safety glasses.

How much do you think this will yeild? I'm stoked with the learning experience.. I've made a lot of mistakes but I'm very happy for a first attempt. Cheers

Another update. This is almost a journal now but what the hell.. check out how brown the roots still look... Anyone else with this kind of color? I defoliated a lot about a week ago and now it's back to being a bush. Definitely growing very fast. I installed a 20gal Res beside the tent which keeps the water topped up for me. I've been pretty careless with measuring nutes and things.. I usually just go with the... That's about right method. About the only thing I take too seriously is pH. Ppms are kept between 5.8 and 6.
Everything looks nice and healthy so far... I hear a lot of stories about people not making it through their first flower so I'm not holding my breath just yet.
I think humidity is a bit high right now and I'm working on that. I spilled a lot of water in my garage and I think this is part of the problem.
When is the best time to take some clones? Almost all of the ones I took last time died but I think I've sorted out that issue and want to give it another try soon.
Apppreciate the feedback. Cheers all

Keep underneath nice and trimmed. Clear out the bottom 3rd, its gonna help keep the RH down.
I just dump hydroguard in, but the nutes.....try to be at least in the ballpark, esp when you start flower.
Stop running organic stuff in your res and it wont be brown! Haha.

5BY5LEC said:

Keep underneath nice and trimmed. Clear out the bottom 3rd, its gonna help keep the RH down.
I just dump hydroguard in, but the nutes.....try to be at least in the ballpark, esp when you start flower.
Stop running organic stuff in your res and it wont be brown! Haha.

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Yeah mate you're spot on.. I put organics in the first Res change and I realize now what a huge mistake.. that was when they began to go brown... Haven't had any organics in there for ages but still brown. Yeah I'm actually pretty accurate with how I add the nutes but I don't stress if I'm up or down 100ppm.. thanks for the advice though I will try to be more vigilant going into flower!

3 weeks after flipping.. it's going alright ay? I defoliated for the last time a few days ago (here we go...) I thought I took it a touch too far but as usual the bounce back is phenomenal. The root mass now takes up the. Entire 5 gal tub and I have installed a top up Res that floods to overflow 4 times a day keeping it topped up and making me now part of the rdwc club. Can I get a hell yeeaah.. I'm having a lot of trouble cloning, I have designed my own system and through trial and error I am getting a few results but nothing compared to the success I should be. Can anyone tell me if clones prefer 18.6 to 24.0… ?I know my success is directly linked to my trial and error but I want to do this with my own materials. Will post some pics in another forum soon. One thing I will be doing soon is tying down the top colas with grow-yos to even out the canopy.
I think I can bring my light down lower now too since the stretch is over?
Do you see the bud tops growing any more length to them as they pile on buds?
Any feedback appreciated. Cheers

Awesome work.
When i first started on this site i couldn't believe people were growing in just a bucket without a res.Glad u added one,so much better.Again great work,nothin easier then rdwc.
Stretch should be done at 3 weeks ,if u can use an IR thermometer and check leaf temp.Should be same as room temp.

im kind of amazed your plants are still fine. i normally give a plant low hopes of surviving after they develop pathogens in the root zone. it might not of even been rot. although the photos did not look good at all.as i said id only use synthetic nutrients in dwc for many reasons. i would not expect them roots to ever turn white again and in all honestly i think they still have some sort of pathogen problems but they are working so and the plant looks happy. at this point all you can do is keep things clean and keep temps and ph in check

Blent said:

Yeah mate you're spot on.. I put organics in the first Res change and I realize now what a huge mistake.. that was when they began to go brown... Haven't had any organics in there for ages but still brown. Yeah I'm actually pretty accurate with how I add the nutes but I don't stress if I'm up or down 100ppm.. thanks for the advice though I will try to be more vigilant going into flower!

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I use bleach in my hydro systems. Plain household liquid bleach, about six drops per gallon of solution every three days. Works a charm. Don’t knock it until you have tried it. You can also make hundreds of gallons of your own liquid bleach using Pool Shock, but the scale of my garden is far too small to bother with that.