Is this one a lost cause?

sven_lordy

Active Member
Yet again have tried and failed with DWC. Root rot set in over a week ago and I tried to treat with a Heisenberg tea. Think I was too heavy on molasses and not patient enough with timing before applying, and despite a very promising first few hours, the brown sludge came back with a vengeance within 12 hours.

So, I made a second brew. Followed every instruction to a tee. As well as disinfecting the res I poured a cup of fresh tea over the airstone (flat disc style), let it sit on it for an hour, then let it sit for another hour with the pump running, adding serious oxygen in an empty tank.

It's now 24hrs since applying the second tea. Was just plain RO water, pH to 5.5, with the correct amount of tea. 12 hours later, 250ppm of GH trio and that's it - no other fancy amends except the tea. The foliage is still very heavily curled. Growth has all but stalled, and I can only see 2 small fractions of root you could classify as ‘white’.

Is this a lost cause? Or should I give it a few days? I also added lava rocks to the bottom of the res this time too - some sat on the airstone and some around the outside of it, to give the good bacteria a home.

It's ironic – in all the months I’ve been messing around with DWC and failing miserably, I could have already had 1 crop and been half way to another if I’d stuck with plain old soil and kept things simple. Just about ready to throw in the towel.
 

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sven_lordy

Active Member
The sad thing is... I tried sterile last time and had the same failure.

I used SB Roots last time - never had an organic product anywhere near the tank. Each of my 4 DWC attempts has ended the same way... as soon as the roots get long enough to start to tangle, rot sets in and it's game over.

The gap below the pot I usually keep is 3", but because I had to cut so much dead root off, the gap is only about 1.5" at present. Thankfully, the lava rocks on top of the airstone are stopping any severe splashing into the hydroton. As you can see from the attached pic, I only have a couple of VERY minor splashes on the net pot.
 

BobThe420Builder

Well-Known Member
What order are u mixing the GH flora trio in?

Never use teas with dirt stuffs or molasses in DWC

Do u have enough bubbles in the water
RO or Tap water
 

sven_lordy

Active Member
When I say 'long enough to tangle', what I mean is... I use an air disc right under the net pot. The tap root touches down first... no problem. Then the side roots reach to the depth of the airstone, then they start to link up with the tap root and sit about 1" above the air stone. Next step is ALWAYS one piece of brown sludge where the roots are matting, or a yellow tinge starts to form above the res water line.

I sterilise everything thoroughly (I did a post at the start of this grow laughing at myself for sterilising TOO thoroughly). I fully clean the res at every weekly change. I have 2 air discs/stones I use one at a time and change fortnightly, so I can fully sterilise them before anything nasty can build up.

At this stage I feel I've tried absolutely everything and the outcome is always the same - rot.
 

sven_lordy

Active Member
GH I use Micro, then grow, then bloom. I mix thoroughly between each one. I aerate for 1 hour before pH adjusting.

Air pump is a 25w Haelia - it's a 12.5 gallon res and I usually keep 4.5 gallons in, so there's a healthy distance between the top of the waterline and the base of the net pot
 

BobThe420Builder

Well-Known Member
Yer doing something wrong

The Micro can stain the roots if not mixed good
I don't bubble my nutes till after I mix them

Any enzyme cleanser like hydroguard or z7 ya using
 

Failmore

Well-Known Member
Seems like you got everything in order. Weird your having issues.

Only thing I can suggest is nuke it with pool shock. .01 g per gallon.

I would always end up with a stinky res using h202 or hydro guard.

Pool shock...crystal clear all day everyday..add a lil more every 3 days. 1 bag will last me years for less than 20$.
 

BobThe420Builder

Well-Known Member
Seems like you got everything in order. Weird your having issues.

Only thing I can suggest is nuke it with pool shock. .01 g per gallon.

I would always end up with a stinky res using h202 or hydro guard.

Pool shock...crystal clear all day everyday..add a lil more every 3 days. 1 bag will last me years for less than 20$.

Never heard of pool shock before

I'll pass on that one
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
Never heard of pool shock before

I'll pass on that one
Calcium hypochlorite. It's what many use because they don't want to use sodium hypochlorite aka Clorox bleach. But I used bleach for years with no problems at all. Always nice white roots when doing hydro. It's been used for decades in hydroponics. It just seems that cannabis growers are skeptical and fear it might harm their plants. Plus there are many companies targeting cannabis growers with their expensive products and have many believing that cannabis is special and other methods that have been used for years won't work with cannabis. It works fine when used in small amounts which will kill pathogens and maintain a sterile reservoir.
 

BobThe420Builder

Well-Known Member
Calcium hypochlorite. It's what many use because they don't want to use sodium hypochlorite aka Clorox bleach. But I used bleach for years with no problems at all. Always nice white roots when doing hydro. It's been used for decades in hydroponics. It just seems that cannabis growers are skeptical and fear it might harm their plants. Plus there are many companies targeting cannabis growers with their expensive products and have many believing that cannabis is special and other methods that have been used for years won't work with cannabis. It works fine when used in small amounts which will kill pathogens and maintain a sterile reservoir.

No, I know what it is, I have a pool...lol

I don't use bleach either

Hydroguard and z7 for the win
 

sven_lordy

Active Member
@rkymtnman told me all about pool shock several attempts back. I bought some but measuring out 0.03g (what I needed at the time based on my res size) was a royal PITA. That's when I switched to Silver Bullet Roots, which I'd seen many good reviews for. The silver ions allegedly meant only needing to dose every 1-2 weeks.... but I even tried switching to daily h202 when I saw rot signs from the SB roots

My res temps have been stable, starting the day at 18.5c climbing to 19.6c by end of day. I did try running warmer temps after 1st trial run of bennies (Orca) and kept 21-22c... but as soon as I saw rot I dropped back to regular temperature regime
 

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
@rkymtnman told me all about pool shock several attempts back. I bought some but measuring out 0.03g (what I needed at the time based on my res size) was a royal PITA. That's when I switched to Silver Bullet Roots, which I'd seen many good reviews for. The silver ions allegedly meant only needing to dose every 1-2 weeks.... but I even tried switching to daily h202 when I saw rot signs from the SB roots

My res temps have been stable, starting the day at 18.5c climbing to 19.6c by end of day. I did try running warmer temps after 1st trial run of bennies (Orca) and kept 21-22c... but as soon as I saw rot I dropped back to regular temperature regime
somebody on here just said the were able to buy Dutchmaster Zone online. that was what i used before shock. i think it's chlorine/coppper mix: the copper helps strip the crap off the roots so the chlorine is more effective. i thougth it worked great.
 
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