Damnit! Why are my roots brown again?

So my older girls are in a DWC setup right now. i had some troubles but you guys helped me out with light proofing my setup and white roots started shooting out like crazy. I stopped using peroxide and noticed a little algae in my res but not much. I also noticed my pretty white roots where brownish. WTF? I added 2 tbsp of peroxide per gallon for the last 2 days. Did they turn brown bc of the algae? It was such a small amount compared to what it used to be. My plants look so great and green up top, its just the roots look like shit all of a sudden.

I took all the pots out today and flushed them with PHed water only and my res temps even after 16 hours of light are at 73. My room temps are between 78 and 85.

Im using the lucas formula with GH micro and bloom and 4 drops per gallon of superthrive. Ph is at like 5.8 and I check it daily. My ppm is around 930.

Im using 8 multi spectrum 23 w cfls all with reflectors and Im about to go get some 42 w cfls today.

Using 2 12 inch air stones connected to a large air pump and a 6 inch air stone connected to a smaller pump. I have a lot of bubbles in there.

What do you guys think the deal is?

My roots are somewhat brown too but I'm using Fox-Farm Big Bloom so it makes the water brown anyway. I figure it's just from that. I was told to use 16 drops of 30% hydrogen peroxide to each gallon of water or use Clean Slate from www.mygreenplanet.com. I've been using the Clean Slate and it hasn't turned my roots back to white but the plants seem healthy and they've been brown for about 7 weeks now.

More often than not, it is the Nutes that stain the roots.

I recently started my first DWC using Lucas. I've noticed my roots browning a bit too, but figured it was the nutes because even though I think I could do with more bubbles the plants and roots are still growing quite well all the same, they're behaving like live roots not like dead/dying roots.

The true test is the smell.

Well the thing is the roots were growing like mad and now all of a sudden they are brown and growing not so fast. Lol. Does that even make sense?

texashustle said:

Well the thing is the roots were growing like mad and now all of a sudden they are brown and growing not so fast. Lol. Does that even make sense?

Click to expand...

Like Roseman said, if your res smells like ass then that's not good. If the roots are slime-y like snot, that's not good. If the roots have patches of dark brown or black or die-off, that's not good. If your pH spikes up or down, that's not good. If the water is foaming, that's not good. If your plants take on a droopy, over-watered look, that's not good.

If the roots are a uniform light-brown then it's probably stained from the nutes, especially if you are using the Lucas Formula.

Bear in mind that if you've had a previous attack, the pathogens will always be present in the roots no matter how well you clean. You might want to maintain a preventative Hydrogen Peroxide regimen to prevent reinfestation. Pictures of the roots would help...

Dystopia said:

Like Roseman said, if your res smells like ass then that's not good. If the roots are slime-y like snot, that's not good. If the roots have patches of dark brown or black or die-off, that's not good. If your pH spikes up or down, that's not good. If the water is foaming, that's not good. If your plants take on a droopy, over-watered look, that's not good.

If the roots are a uniform light-brown then it's probably stained from the nutes, especially if you are using the Lucas Formula.

Bear in mind that if you've had a previous attack, the pathogens will always be present in the roots no matter how well you clean. You might want to maintain a preventative Hydrogen Peroxide regimen to prevent reinfestation. Pictures of the roots would help...

Click to expand...

Good post thanks. I'll get pics when my gf brings my camera over tomorrow or maybe tonight. Shes a pain in my ass, always using my camera. It smells like plants to me but my nose isnt so great, I'll ask her to smell my water later. Ha

Everone got repped except Rose, cant give you anymore right now.

yeah i use flora nova grow, and my roots vary in color. you have any pics?

Shit ok yeah root rot. I picked one up and the roots have some dead brown stuff on them. How do I fix this? Flush and add new water with peroxide? I really need to light proof the tops of my net pots. I used styrofoam like roseman suggests but it still lets light through. Ugh this sucks. Still look great up top but ones leaves are drooping. FML.

Usually just the nutrient solution, like one of the first posters has stated.

Bleeching, or Hydrogen peroxide has been used by people with great results. Of course, it makes the damn things white, you are bleaching them! Do not do this, if you plan on having humans smoking the plants!

If they are not dying, try using a wash/clearing solution for a nutrient cycle. This will probably help, but if the plants are healthy, I wouldn't go spastic trying to fix it.

Yes, light proof your root system, try clearing solution. If they are coming off in clumps from light touch I would be worried. But remember, roots don't like light, or being played with. There is some natural breakage to be expected if you are fondaling the roots all the time.

I used foil shiny side down to wrap around the net pots. I know that shit is light proof. Im not using a clearing solution. The great use peroxide with great results. Thanks so much for the ideas though.

Peroxide works because it is chemically lightening the roots. It will kill off bacteria etc. . . but it will also kill the good bacteria. But as always, it is was works for you! I would hate to see you kill off your enzymes, bacterias, microbes etc. . . and I have seen people kill off entire crops using Hydrogen Peroxide. Both as a spray & as a nutrient root clean. So be careful, use in small incriments. Don't just blindly add bottles full of peroxide to the nutes. It seems like a harmless chem. but it is a chemical, so be careful. If you kill the roots, you kill the plant.

Good luck!

The Good Doctor said:

Peroxide works because it is chemically lightening the roots. It will kill off bacteria etc. . . but it will also kill the good bacteria. But as always, it is was works for you! I would hate to see you kill off your enzymes, bacterias, microbes etc. . . and I have seen people kill off entire crops using Hydrogen Peroxide. Both as a spray & as a nutrient root clean. So be careful, use in small incriments. Don't just blindly add bottles full of peroxide to the nutes. It seems like a harmless chem. but it is a chemical, so be careful. If you kill the roots, you kill the plant.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

Ok thanks. a clearing solution just isnt available to me and shipping takes what a week? What do you suggest I do? Change out the water and a subculture BB to the mix?

What about some of that stuff at home depot that is for ponds and is for fish and plants? No idea just thought Id ask.

Honestly You should start over with diff plants. Clean your system with 35% H2o2 and bleach and start over. You need to get the rotten roots off or they will decompose and pose an even greater problem. Go out and buy your self some roots excelerator (very expensive but it actually beats the hell out of the root rot) and change your res every week. So your looking at at least 2-3 weeks just to get it showing new shoots and another 2 weeks to get a good root system.
and it's not gone just minimized, as soon as your temps rise or airstone clogs... Doing it all over.
Alot of time and energy.

texashustle said:

Ok thanks. a clearing solution just isnt available to me and shipping takes what a week? What do you suggest I do? Change out the water and a subculture BB to the mix?

Click to expand...

OK, this is a fairly aggressive treatment I'm recommending here, so use your best judgement.

First of all, avoid the subculture or any organic nutes for now. Yes, these organics attract and feed beneficial and symbiotic bacteria and fungi - but they will attract and feed the bad stuff as well. It's your water conditions that determine which win out, and right now the bad guys are winning.

The beneficials are critical for nutrient uptake when using ORGANIC nutes. You are not using organic nutes, you are using GH chemical nutes. Nutrient uptake is not a big issue with chemical nutrients and beneficial organisms, while nice, are not critical or even really needed IN MY OPINION.

RIGHT NOW, it is much more important for you to have a sterile environment to kill off the nasties. That's the benefit of chemical nutes...you can grow in a sterile environment without the NEED for beneficials or the DANGER of pathogens.


If you want to try to save these plants you'll want to completely clean out your system. You should remove each plant and rinse off the roots. You should trim off any dead roots or damaged roots. Soak the roots and POTS in a hydrogen peroxide solution - 1/4 cup of 3% H2O2 per gallon of water. See this link, post 8 under over-watering, for an example of soaking in H2O2:

https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/1469-marijuana-plant-problems-cures.html


Don't let the solution get to the base of the plants, keep it about an inch below the top of the rocks.

While the plants are soaking, you should clean your entire system using a strong bleach or h202 solution. Soak everything (except the plants) in the solution for an hour or so. Make sure you rinse everything really good before putting the plants back in.

Unfortunately, no matter how well you clean the pythium fungus will always be present in the roots. So your best bet will be to try to maintain sterile water for the rest of the grow. Go with a little lower nute concentration mixed with two tablespoons of 3% H2O2 per gallon.

The H2O2 dissipates within 3 days, so you'll have to add some back with your top-off water at a rate to replace it - similar to what you would do with nutes. For instance, if you have a 6 gallon res, you would start with 12 tablespoons 3% H2O2. That means you need to replace 12 tablespoons H2O2 over 3 days. So if your topping off with 1 gallon of water per day you would add 4 tablespoons H2O2 to that gallon of top-off (4 tablespoons H2O2 x 3 gallons = 12 tablespoons over 3 days).

You might be able to stop this H2O2 regimen after a couple of weeks IF you can get the water colder (68* or below) and use more forced air (bigger air pump, if you're using a small one now). The colder (down to like 66* F) and more aerated you can keep the res water, the harder it is for the pythium to survive.

Hope this helps...

brookstown said:

Honestly You should start over with diff plants. Clean your system with 35% H2o2 and bleach and start over. You need to get the rotten roots off or they will decompose and pose an even greater problem. Go out and buy your self some roots excelerator (very expensive but it actually beats the hell out of the root rot) and change your res every week. So your looking at at least 2-3 weeks just to get it showing new shoots and another 2 weeks to get a good root system.
and it's not gone just minimized, as soon as your temps rise or airstone clogs... Doing it all over.
Alot of time and energy.

Click to expand...

What is root excellerator? I've never heard of that.