Root Rot in Deep Water Culture

[hypnotoad]

Hey guys I was wondering if you may be able to help me out. I've been lurking on the site for a while now and barely registered. I have some plants growing in some homemade Deep Water Culture systems. Today is day 17 and a couple of days ago I noticed the first signs of root rot in one of the tanks and it has slowly been spreading to other tanks. I've been trying to troubleshoot it for a couple days now. I started the plants from cuttings and most of them rooted within a week. The roots come out of the cup looking healthy and great but it seems like a couple of days after theyve been in the water, they start to rot. I noticed a good amount of light coming in from the resevoir so I wrapped them all up in black and white panda film. I thought maybe they were being over watered so I've been turning off the pumps and running them around 4-5 times a day for about 30 minutes. My irrigation hub doesnt have a control valve so I tied all the tubes in a knot before butting them in the rockwool. I also noticed that the water level might be too low from the cups (it was around 2-3 inches) so I raised it to about .5"-1". Do you guys have any ideas on what may be causing the rot? Am I on the right track to take care of it? I detected the rot really early and have been following rosemans 8 step cure guide on all of them (dropping 3% peroxide in the tanks, cutting the diseased roots, then drain and replenishing). None of the leaves look affected by the rot (not yet at least) and I am hoping It wont mess up my grow. Any help or input would be greatly appreciated.



What Strain is it? Pineapple Express, Banana Kush, Sweet Island Skunk
Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? Hybrid I'm not too sure about the percentages
How Many Plants? 2 per tank
Is it in Vegetative or Flowering Stage? Vegetative (day 17 from when I put the clippings straight into the system)
Indoor or Outdoor? Indoor
Soil or Hydro? Hydro (Deep Water Culture)
If Hydro, Reservoir size? 10 gallon tub, 6 gallons of water
If Hydro, Reservoir Temperature? averages around 65
If Hydro, what type of Medium? rockwool with hydroton rocks surrounding it
If Hydro, what type of Setup? Deep Water Culture
Size (Wattage) of Light? How Many? 105 watt CFL (2 per every 3 tanks)
Is it Air Cooled? No
Temperature of Room/Cabinet? 80-85 degrees
RH of Room/Cabinet? 45%-65%
PH of Medium or Reservoir? 5.5-6.3
Any Pests? no
How Often are you Watering? I did have my pumps on 24/7 but have cut back to about 4-5 times a day for 30 minutes at a time.
Type and Strength of Fertilizers used? Humboldt Nutrients, I very slowly started feeding them and now my ppm is about 350-420 (the tap water that I am using is coming out around 180)
Size or Square Footage of Room? Small Bedroom

 

[Roseman]

Hey guys I was wondering if you may be able to help me out. I've been lurking on the site for a while now and barely registered. I have some plants growing in some homemade Deep Water Culture systems. Today is day 17 and a couple of days ago I noticed the first signs of root rot in one of the tanks and it has slowly been spreading to other tanks. I've been trying to troubleshoot it for a couple days now. I started the plants from cuttings and most of them rooted within a week. The roots come out of the cup looking healthy and great but it seems like a couple of days after theyve been in the water, they start to rot. I noticed a good amount of light coming in from the resevoir so I wrapped them all up in black and white panda film. I thought maybe they were being over watered so I've been turning off the pumps and running them around 4-5 times a day for about 30 minutes. My irrigation hub doesnt have a control valve so I tied all the tubes in a knot before butting them in the rockwool. I also noticed that the water level might be too low from the cups (it was around 2-3 inches) so I raised it to about .5"-1". Do you guys have any ideas on what may be causing the rot? Am I on the right track to take care of it? I detected the rot really early and have been following rosemans 8 step cure guide on all of them (dropping 3% peroxide in the tanks, cutting the diseased roots, then drain and replenishing). None of the leaves look affected by the rot (not yet at least) and I am hoping It wont mess up my grow. Any help or input would be greatly appreciated.



What Strain is it? Pineapple Express, Banana Kush, Sweet Island Skunk
Is it Indica, Sativa or Hybrid? Hybrid I'm not too sure about the percentages
How Many Plants? 2 per tank
Is it in Vegetative or Flowering Stage? Vegetative (day 17 from when I put the clippings straight into the system)
Indoor or Outdoor? Indoor
Soil or Hydro? Hydro (Deep Water Culture)
If Hydro, Reservoir size? 10 gallon tub, 6 gallons of water
If Hydro, Reservoir Temperature? averages around 65
If Hydro, what type of Medium? rockwool with hydroton rocks surrounding it
If Hydro, what type of Setup? Deep Water Culture
Size (Wattage) of Light? How Many? 105 watt CFL (2 per every 3 tanks)
Is it Air Cooled? No
Temperature of Room/Cabinet? 80-85 degrees
RH of Room/Cabinet? 45%-65%
PH of Medium or Reservoir? 5.5-6.3
Any Pests? no
How Often are you Watering? I did have my pumps on 24/7 but have cut back to about 4-5 times a day for 30 minutes at a time.
Type and Strength of Fertilizers used? Humboldt Nutrients, I very slowly started feeding them and now my ppm is about 350-420 (the tap water that I am using is coming out around 180)
Size or Square Footage of Room? Small Bedroom

I see a few things you mentioned that don't sound right, but 10 out of ten times, when I see root rot in Deep Water Culture, it is water temp (too warm of water) or NOT enough bubbles. (not enough airstones, not enough oxygen)
You say the water temperature is 65. 65 degrees is perfect, and anything below 72, 71 or lower is good. 72 to 75 for a few hours can start the root rot. (pythium)

1st, let me tell you that root rot stinks. Root Rot makes roots get all mushey, slimey, turn colors, like brown.


If it is not the temps of the water,it has to be not enough oxygen bubbles.
Light in the tank causes algae, but seldom if ever have I seen it cause root rot.

I am concerned about you saying


I thought maybe they were being over watered so I've been turning off the pumps and running them around 4-5 times a day for about 30 minutes.

That wasn't or isn't good, you need the water pump flowing 24/7 til you get well established roots in the water.

and you say:
My irrigation hub doesnt have a control valve so I tied all the tubes in a knot before butting them in the rockwool.

That wasn't anything I've ever seen before either. How can they get a flow of water, tied in a knot? No one else does that, I'd go back and untie them or get new tubes

The perfect water level leaves two inches of air pocket between the water line and the bottom of the cups.


You did good with the 8 step, but also cut off any dead roots, and hang in there. I really want to help you, if I sounded brief, Im just in a hurry. I'll ask a few Deep Water Culture to come visit too.

 

[hypnotoad]

Roseman any amount of your time is grealty appreciated. Thank you so much for your input.

I have 2 - 12 inch airstones in each tank but Ill throw in some round ones I have lying around.

And when I had the tubes untied I noticed that the rockwool would almost be drenched so I tied a knot to constrict the flow and there is still a decent stream coming out from under the cups. But ill check them right now to see if I can position them better and untie the knot.

I have now turned on all the pumps and will be running them 24/7.

 

[Green007]

Rosemans advice is right on as usual.
Move the tubes down in the net cups so they are near the bottom of the rockwool. They should still be butt into the side of the rockwool tho, not the bottom. See if that helps. If you haven't already, cut the bottom out of some styrofoam bowls and put them over the net pots so light doesn't leak in thru the hydroton. Is it possible for you to post any pics? Hope that helps a little.

 

[hypnotoad]

Thank you guys so much for the advice. I added in a round airstone and moved the feeder tubes below the cup. It seems that the root rot has stop spreading after the 8 step recovery guide and these steps. If things continue going well Ill be sure to keep you guys updated on the grow. Thank you once again!

 

[Roseman]

Always glad to help out, bro.

 

[Green007]

You're welcome. There are a lot of good people here who are willing to help. Keep up the good work. Check out the Deep Water Culture home when you have some free time. Fun and interesting place for Deep Water Culture to hang out. The link is in my sig.