dwc Root Rot - some answers please?

gand3r

Active Member
i had amazing roots in DWC system for 3 weeks then got Root rot, i was using EWC Heisenberg recipe.

I have narrowed down my issue to some of these which i need to know the answers too to determine what exactly cause root rot.

1. I didn't strain my batch of tea properly and when pouring it around the hydroten i noticed bits of EWC sitting on top of the hydroten. Can this cause rot?

2. i used the following recipe
1gallon RO
3 cups of EWC
1 tspoon microgrow
15ml Mollasses
5ml roots Excel
bubbled using medium pump for 48hrs

3. I noticed a very very slight clear layer on my roots, i thought this was the good bacteria doing its work. Could this be slime?
 

Sativied

Well-Known Member
5ml root excel on 1 gallon?? H&G recommends using 0.2-0.5ml per gallon.

Can't help with the rest though, I use only base nutes. Anything more just seems to cause problems. Even Root Excel, which is why H&G added a note to their schedules and calculator about using half the recommended doses in hydroponics.
 

Hydroburn

Well-Known Member
roots should be crisp and white, free of any kind of slime coating. I always pour the tea through a piece of foam to strain out the dirt. I used to use mycogrow soluble as recommended by the tea thread, but I have been slimed with it... and I have added mycogrow straight to my res and it fucked shit up bad.. so I don't use it anymore. also make sure your res water doesn't have chlorine/chloramine.

I now use this recipe which has worked well:
3 gallons r/o
Aquashield - 30ml
Great White - 1 tsp
Unsulphured black strapped molasses - 1 tbsp
Ancient forest humus - 2 cups

I got the recipe from this thread.
http://www.420magazine.com/forums/blogs/183146/tea-recipe-how-get-pearly-white-roots-accellerate-vegetative-growth-3520/
 

gand3r

Active Member
5ml root excel on 1 gallon?? H&G recommends using 0.2-0.5ml per gallon.

Can't help with the rest though, I use only base nutes. Anything more just seems to cause problems. Even Root Excel, which is why H&G added a note to their schedules and calculator about using half the recommended doses in hydroponics.
Thanks, i will take that on board and be sure to use reduced amount.

roots should be crisp and white, free of any kind of slime coating. I always pour the tea through a piece of foam to strain out the dirt. I used to use mycogrow soluble as recommended by the tea thread, but I have been slimed with it... and I have added mycogrow straight to my res and it fucked shit up bad.. so I don't use it anymore. also make sure your res water doesn't have chlorine/chloramine.

I now use this recipe which has worked well:
3 gallons r/o
Aquashield - 30ml
Great White - 1 tsp
Unsulphured black strapped molasses - 1 tbsp
Ancient forest humus - 2 cups

I got the recipe from this thread.
http://www.420magazine.com/forums/blogs/183146/tea-recipe-how-get-pearly-white-roots-accellerate-vegetative-growth-3520/
I have trouble getting aquashield, i use a product similar to great white and different EWC but it is humus. I think i may need a better pump also for brewing the tea.



i need to know the answers too to determine what exactly cause root rot.

Root rot is a fungus, the spores like other molds/fungi are everywhere,
all you did is set the conditions for the fungus to be active

to my journal: https://www.rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/root-rot-pythium.27516/
I had roots cooled by chiller, 18oC and used RO water. I run 0.8EC nutriants which includes Cal/mag additive. My concern is everything was fine for weeks them i got the rot, i just cant figure what i did wrong.

Sounds like your air pump is weak sauce or your airstones clogged or improperly located (roots should be in air column).
The system is 6 pot RDWC using Undercurrent design, i have a 4000ltr pump bulling thro the system dumping into the Res and a 60l minute air pump with an airstone in each bucket.

The water turblunce in the buckets is a lot, the roots do end up twisted overthemselfs which could also be a concern..?
 

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
Take the molasses out and up your EC to between 1.0-1.4EC using inorganic synthetic nitrate salt based nutrients. Make sure the pH is right.

Make sure there's enough air being pumped into the water.

Start by cleaning the roots and the tank.

2. i used the following recipe
1gallon RO
3 cups of EWC
1 tspoon microgrow
15ml Mollasses
5ml roots Excel
bubbled using medium pump for 48hrs
 

gand3r

Active Member
Well the undercurrent is not adequately oxygenating the water.
The system also has the 60l airpump, this is pumping into each tub and the undercurrent is circulating at a high rate. This is not the issue as the water is constantly being cooled to 18oC.
I didnt rule this into the list of possibilities, i will check the system again with a DO meter but im sure its fine.

Take the molasses out and up your EC to between 1.0-1.4EC using inorganic synthetic nitrate salt based nutrients. Make sure the pH is right.

Make sure there's enough air being pumped into the water.

Start by cleaning the roots and the tank.
I am using GH G,M,B at the 3,2,1 formula. The plants looked amazing, no deficiencies.
So when i make the tea use a bigger airpump and no mollasses?
 

gand3r

Active Member
roots should be crisp and white, free of any kind of slime coating. I always pour the tea through a piece of foam to strain out the dirt. I used to use mycogrow soluble as recommended by the tea thread, but I have been slimed with it... and I have added mycogrow straight to my res and it fucked shit up bad.. so I don't use it anymore. also make sure your res water doesn't have chlorine/chloramine.

I now use this recipe which has worked well:
3 gallons r/o
Aquashield - 30ml
Great White - 1 tsp
Unsulphured black strapped molasses - 1 tbsp
Ancient forest humus - 2 cups

I got the recipe from this thread.
http://www.420magazine.com/forums/blogs/183146/tea-recipe-how-get-pearly-white-roots-accellerate-vegetative-growth-3520/
I cant find aquashield, i can get hydroguard. Are these the same product?
 

Hydroburn

Well-Known Member
Yes I think it is essentially the same... I have never used it but it sounds like maybe botanicare is phasing out aquashield, and hydroguard is the new product. I still have a gallon of aquashield... but I know superstoner and some other members use hydroguard... should be good in the tea recipe.
 

gand3r

Active Member
thanks hydroburn,

after more reading i am sure Aquashield is now hydroguard, it says the new formula in hydroguard enables a longer shelf life of 2years instead of 12mths for aquashield.

the EWC i can get are 100% organic, no ancient forrest so will have to do, great white i can get.

I posted in the Heisenberg thread, i remember seeing a light clear coating on my roots before they went brown. I thought it was good bennies as the slim pics look much much more dramatic than what i had. I could only just notice the slim as it was very thin layer.

What kind of air pump should i use, i used a 20l min before, do i need bigger and do i need to take more notice on the temps of the tea?
 

ganjaman87

Well-Known Member
Yo bro LOL! This exact same shit happened to me just recently after making teas! I'm willing to bet that you used too much molasses in your mix and that the microbes were not able to consume it all so you were adding left over molasses to your res, and that combined with high temps/ low oxygen is what caused the root rot. I was using alot of molasses because I noticed the more that I used, the more foam I would get on top but this was a bad idea. My teas were extra dark and had a very strong smell, but this last batch I made I only used 1tbsp of molasses and added some aquashield and my tea was actually very clean with none of that stuff floating around that I usually saw and it had a light tan color instead of very dark like before. DWC you gotta go light on the molasses or just not make the tea's at all
 

ganjaman87

Well-Known Member
Also, I see where you only used gallon of water?! That one gallon of water and 15ML of molasses is exactly your problem! You should only be using 5ML of molasses to about 3-5 gallons of water
 

gand3r

Active Member
Yo bro LOL! This exact same shit happened to me just recently after making teas! I'm willing to bet that you used too much molasses in your mix and that the microbes were not able to consume it all so you were adding left over molasses to your res, and that combined with high temps/ low oxygen is what caused the root rot. I was using alot of molasses because I noticed the more that I used, the more foam I would get on top but this was a bad idea. My teas were extra dark and had a very strong smell, but this last batch I made I only used 1tbsp of molasses and added some aquashield and my tea was actually very clean with none of that stuff floating around that I usually saw and it had a light tan color instead of very dark like before. DWC you gotta go light on the molasses or just not make the tea's at all
hey bro,

I completly understand what your saying, i was looking for the foam effect. The room i was using was cool and with a low powered air pump i bet the mollasses was not consumed. Exactly what your saying :D

The biggest mistake i made was not taking notice of the slim on the roots, thinking it was good stuff lol.

The system i was using does have enuf DO, it has a 4000lts pump pulling thro the 6 buckts in an undercurrent design and a 60L air pump and chilled to 18oC.

Another concern i have is the roots were all twisted and overlapping each other where the air from the airstone was forcing them too. Do you think this is an issue,..

Als i only ever get a few thick roots grow out the bottom of the net pot, all pics i see here the roots are all over the show.
 

gand3r

Active Member
Also, I see where you only used gallon of water?! That one gallon of water and 15ML of molasses is exactly your problem! You should only be using 5ML of molasses to about 3-5 gallons of water
Sugar..... no pun intended :/

I wish i come to this forum before now :(

Man i appreciate the help, you have pinpointed the issue why i got this rot... I had an idea it was the tea as it was fine for weeks until i got cocky making tea with what i thought was the right ingredients.
 

ganjaman87

Well-Known Member
Sugar..... no pun intended :/

I wish i come to this forum before now :(

Man i appreciate the help, you have pinpointed the issue why i got this rot... I had an idea it was the tea as it was fine for weeks until i got cocky making tea with what i thought was the right ingredients.
Hell yeah, I've been growing a long ass time in less than optimal conditions and have never gotten root rot until recently when I started making the teas. I didn't know wtf was happening so I was using contaminated equipment on other plants and basically all of my plants caught that shit. I started with 11 plants from seed and ended up with 4 that survived smh. Shit had me so scared I started some plants in soil just incase that shit wants to take out the remaining ones I have in DWC, but I think I have it under control now I had to throw all of my buckets and net pots out man the shit sucks!
 

gand3r

Active Member
Hell yeah, I've been growing a long ass time in less than optimal conditions and have never gotten root rot until recently when I started making the teas. I didn't know wtf was happening so I was using contaminated equipment on other plants and basically all of my plants caught that shit. I started with 11 plants from seed and ended up with 4 that survived smh. Shit had me so scared I started some plants in soil just incase that shit wants to take out the remaining ones I have in DWC, but I think I have it under control now I had to throw all of my buckets and net pots out man the shit sucks!
I am currently running bleach and physan thro the system, i plan to clean it completely including the room and wipe down all walls and lights etc. then ill do a weak physan 20 flush before i put them in the system.

When you brew the tea, after you have done a batch do you clean all the air-stones and bucket before you start brewing another batch? The reason why i ask is i was just using the tea and adding another batch immediately into the same bucket without cleaning it.
 

Rahz

Well-Known Member
Something I learned in another hobby, it only take a small amount of sugar to produce a large population of microbes. I brew in the changeout and use less than a teaspoon per 24 gallons. Bacteria on the airstone, bacteria on the air line, bacteria lining the container, bacteria floating everywhere. Introducing a live culture into a sterile medium it can take weeks for the carbs to be completely consumed in a low oxygen environment. Ideally you want as much DO as possible and a high ratio of bennies to carbs. I don't know what the concentration of bennies are in liquid products and find them dubious so I use powders.
 

ganjaman87

Well-Known Member
I am currently running bleach and physan thro the system, i plan to clean it completely including the room and wipe down all walls and lights etc. then ill do a weak physan 20 flush before i put them in the system.

When you brew the tea, after you have done a batch do you clean all the air-stones and bucket before you start brewing another batch? The reason why i ask is i was just using the tea and adding another batch immediately into the same bucket without cleaning it.
I never cleaned the stones and stuff, but i do always clean out the bucket with soap before I start another brew.
 
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