Brown Roots! is it because of this? or that?

[Flurple]

here is the problem

this aero setup was started prematurely so there are lots of variables confusing me. but my dad really doesnt want to have to scrap it

heres all the variables i think may be effecting this brown stuff...

...we dont have distilled or RO water (our water ppm=240).
...the tank is around 70F with bubblers and being changed weekly with ppm around 900.
...sometimes the ppm reading goes up about 40 when lights are off.
...for the last week the temp inside the pipes would start at 70 and rise to 82 by the time the sprayers came on again
...just recently he adjusted the spray time to 45 seconds on and 5 mins off to help keep the temp inside the pipes down (70-72F).
...or is it salt build up????

for now im going to increase the time between watering to 30 mins of 2 mins on and most likely flush when he gets home and takes a look
any suggestions will make him happy

he has been looking at the roots for the last week but didnt notice so this is all i know at this point.

 

[CocoJoe]

Re: Brown Roots!! is it because of this? or that?

Hi, I'm not a hydro guy, I would guess your temps can be no higher than 68 degrees.

 

[Racefan]

Re: Brown Roots!! is it because of this? or that?

I've seen worse roots. You've caught it fairly early. Temps are too high which allows pythium to grow. Are you running a air stone in the reservoir?

 

[OldMedUser]

Re: Brown Roots!! is it because of this? or that?

Get some peroxide in there pronto. 2cc/USG of 35% H2O2 every two or three days until the roots clear up then the same dosage once a week to keep it away. If you can't find food grade try to get the 10% stuff from the drug store or a hair dresser. 3.5x the first dose. Even 3% will work at 11x the first dose.

Lots of luck dude.

 

[Flurple]

Re: Brown Roots!! is it because of this? or that?

thanks a bunch for the replies...

there are a few air stones in the res but its a wimpy pump.

i got some of the 35% peroxide at the local grow shop and added it, hopefully in a few days its all better.

 

[Farmer Rich]

Re: Brown Roots!! is it because of this? or that?

I had this problem on one of my aero systems at the tail end of summer. I limped through harvest using 1oz of 35% H2O2 to 10 gallons of water in my reservoir, and swapped every 4-5 days. You may want to drop your nutes down to 600 ppm too.. I understand the uptake is really slow once pythium develops.

Next year, I'm going to have a reservoir chiller for each system.

Peace,

Farmer Rich

 

[Flurple]

Re: Brown Roots!! is it because of this? or that?

thanks for the tip

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

Re: Brown Roots!! is it because of this? or that?

I think slowing down your cycles to allow the roots to dry a bit is a wise move - next, invest in R/O - it's less than $200 - that 240PPM water will cause problems.

 

[PitViper]

Re: Brown Roots!! is it because of this? or that?

here is the problem

this aero setup was started prematurely so there are lots of variables confusing me. but my dad really doesnt want to have to scrap it

heres all the variables i think may be effecting this brown stuff...

...we dont have distilled or RO water (our water ppm=240).
...the tank is around 70F with bubblers and being changed weekly with ppm around 900.
...sometimes the ppm reading goes up about 40 when lights are off.
...for the last week the temp inside the pipes would start at 70 and rise to 82 by the time the sprayers came on again
...just recently he adjusted the spray time to 45 seconds on and 5 mins off to help keep the temp inside the pipes down (70-72F).
...or is it salt build up????

for now im going to increase the time between watering to 30 mins of 2 mins on and most likely flush when he gets home and takes a look
any suggestions will make him happy

he has been looking at the roots for the last week but didnt notice so this is all i know at this point.

NASTY!!!
def add peroxide and then ben bacteria after flushing out.
they will be fine IMO

 

[Flurple]

Re: Brown Roots!! is it because of this? or that?

thanks for the added info guys, this thing was a rush job and like i said it was set off premature so we are just gonna ride it out or scrap it til the room is empty and we can remodel. we have lots of other little issues too, there are not enough sprayers either so roots keep drying out along with no RO water. the H2O2 did a pretty quick job of clearing off the heavy crap, still a little left but they are definitely getting better.

and i would like to increase the off time but the pipes are in direct light and the room is constantly 85 degrees. without constant flow roots and nutes get too hot.

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

Re: Brown Roots!! is it because of this? or that?

I see - yeah 85 is hot!

 

[Farmer Rich]

Re: Brown Roots!! is it because of this? or that?

No need to use beneficial bacteria if there's H2O2 in the system.. it will kill the good stuff too.

You're going to be in deep shit with this until you get your reservoir temps down to 68 deg and below.

Once you limp through harvest, make sure and sanitize the system using bleach or H2O2..

Peace,

Farmer Rich