So I had slime in my DWC bucket... It grew on the roots, and the air hoses and airstones.
If you just want to see how I solved my case, go to the bottom of this post. If you want to gleefully point and laugh at my poor growing skills; read on.
For me, the solution was to make absolutely certain that no light whatsoever could get into the bucket. I flushed the bucket, placed the plant in a pre-cleaned and ph adjusted bucket of water while cleaning the main bucket, air-tubes and airstones thoroughly with some detergent (?). Then when everything was rinsed off thoroughly and water was added along with nutes, I rubbed the soaked roots gently, while I rinsed them in clean ph adjusted water, then back in the bucket.
Then I just used lightproof plastic to wrap around the base of the plant, so that the pot is well covered, and I also wrapped as much of the air-tubing as I could with the same plastic stuff. Now there is no light leaking in.
A week later, there's dead slime floating in the water, and there's nothing on either roots nor air-tubes. That's when I noticed I had just gotten a new problem. Root rot. Now, the description for the seed on the website I bought them from (this was a free-seed I hadn't ordered), said they had a tendency towards root rot, so I was prepared for it, but it's still nerve-wracking for a new grower.
Well, I youtube'd (is that a verb yet?) root rot and hydroponics, where I saw a guy use H2O2 on an old plant with root rot. Now, H2O2 is, from what I read, a very strong antimicrobial, so this makes a lot of sense. But it's POWERFUL stuff, so it should be used sparingly, and WITH CAUTION. I tried this for the first time today, and the roots are looking much better already.
So in conclusion,
Disclaimer
There may be other causes for Slime. There may be other types of Slime. This is how I got rid of the slime I had.
Slime: Make ABSOLUTELY sure that there's no light, whatsoever, poking into the bucket. I'm serious. There's no light in the champaign room. Or something. Eliminate all sources of light leaking into your reservoir, and the slime will die. To make sure there's no slime left in the bucket; clean it.
Warning: H2O2 in this concentration is Dangerous.(10 times more concentrated than recommended for contact with skin)See? Capital D. That's how serious I am. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Also, this is not completely tried out, but if you're interested I'll keep this post updated.
Root rot: 2ml/l of 29-30% H2O2 (Hydrogen peroxide, I got mine at the pharmacy) for 40 minutes, a week or so apart for as long as the roots are brownish. After the roots have sat in the H2O2 for a minute or so, you'll see bubbles forming, and perhaps makes some foam at the surface (if it's real bad), this means the H2O2 is working. When you take it out, rinse the roots thoroughly to get rid of all the H2O2, then back in your newly cleaned bucket.
If you just want to see how I solved my case, go to the bottom of this post. If you want to gleefully point and laugh at my poor growing skills; read on.
For me, the solution was to make absolutely certain that no light whatsoever could get into the bucket. I flushed the bucket, placed the plant in a pre-cleaned and ph adjusted bucket of water while cleaning the main bucket, air-tubes and airstones thoroughly with some detergent (?). Then when everything was rinsed off thoroughly and water was added along with nutes, I rubbed the soaked roots gently, while I rinsed them in clean ph adjusted water, then back in the bucket.
Then I just used lightproof plastic to wrap around the base of the plant, so that the pot is well covered, and I also wrapped as much of the air-tubing as I could with the same plastic stuff. Now there is no light leaking in.
A week later, there's dead slime floating in the water, and there's nothing on either roots nor air-tubes. That's when I noticed I had just gotten a new problem. Root rot. Now, the description for the seed on the website I bought them from (this was a free-seed I hadn't ordered), said they had a tendency towards root rot, so I was prepared for it, but it's still nerve-wracking for a new grower.
Well, I youtube'd (is that a verb yet?) root rot and hydroponics, where I saw a guy use H2O2 on an old plant with root rot. Now, H2O2 is, from what I read, a very strong antimicrobial, so this makes a lot of sense. But it's POWERFUL stuff, so it should be used sparingly, and WITH CAUTION. I tried this for the first time today, and the roots are looking much better already.
So in conclusion,
Disclaimer
There may be other causes for Slime. There may be other types of Slime. This is how I got rid of the slime I had.
Slime: Make ABSOLUTELY sure that there's no light, whatsoever, poking into the bucket. I'm serious. There's no light in the champaign room. Or something. Eliminate all sources of light leaking into your reservoir, and the slime will die. To make sure there's no slime left in the bucket; clean it.
Warning: H2O2 in this concentration is Dangerous.(10 times more concentrated than recommended for contact with skin)See? Capital D. That's how serious I am. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Also, this is not completely tried out, but if you're interested I'll keep this post updated.Root rot: 2ml/l of 29-30% H2O2 (Hydrogen peroxide, I got mine at the pharmacy) for 40 minutes, a week or so apart for as long as the roots are brownish. After the roots have sat in the H2O2 for a minute or so, you'll see bubbles forming, and perhaps makes some foam at the surface (if it's real bad), this means the H2O2 is working. When you take it out, rinse the roots thoroughly to get rid of all the H2O2, then back in your newly cleaned bucket.
