Tea Bag your DWC

SmokzAlot

New Member
Brewing Beneficial Tea for your DWC

Why?
Root enhancement and biological control of various conditions that can slime a good grow. A hands on tutorial sort of on how to manage and maintain the system.

Most DWC or bucket bubblers tend to be hard to control temps of the res. This no longer becomes a major issue for the home DIY grower. Use this Tea Bag method in a large multi bucket system or a single. Just as effective.

I thought this would be a great topic for conversation as well as a refresh of what we know and have learned. As well as share with others.

Slime!
Most of us have seen it. or know someone that had it, or has been devastated by it, or learned to manage it. Herein is a method to take care of business at minimal cost, but yet just as effective as commercial solutions like Great White. Maybe even better, for darn sure pennies per application in comparison.

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If you are familiar with this concept you know that we are talking about growing and distributing beneficial bacteria and fungi to our root zone and water supply.

Choice in managing a DWC or any hydroponic grow is either run a sterile system of a beneficial system. This thread will address the Beneficial side of this issue. This method will help you recover from a slime attack as well as prevent. It can also be applied to your cloning process as well. I would recommend if you run it in a NFT or drip system that you strain the tea before applying.

Who's on board?

:reading420magazine:
 
Let it be noted I am not the founder of this info only pooling what I have garnered in my travels and study from various soucres. This is my attempt to break it down in a K.I.S.S. fashion...

:lot-o-toke:

edit: please feel free to rate this thread
:Namaste:
 
Some basics that have been posted over and over but deserve repeating here.

Root Zone Health and Color
A young plant root system should have lots of white furry root tips everwhere. A healthy mature root system will be strong and fiborous and will have a thick root mat. If the roots are cream or yellow on top of the mat, they should still have many white root tips underneath at the bottom.

Thick, fat, white furry roots are what you most want to see - they are absolutely indicative of healthy root growth. Be aware however that the color of a nutrient solution will stain the roots, turning them yellow or brown. This is also true of many nutrient additives. Older, more mature plants will have a darker cream-colored root system, and some plants just tend to have a natural color pigment.

Root Zone Temperature
The temperature of the root zone and the temperature of the nutrient solution can have a major effect on the healthy growth and appearance of the root system. In general the temperature should be between 68 and 72 degrees farenheit. Colder or warmer conditions can cause poor and stunted root growth, as the roots don't want to grow into the unhospitable nutrient solution. Major root death can occur in even brief periods of cold or heat stress. Poor temperature conditions leave the door open to root disease.

Oxygen at the Root Zone
Lack of oxygen at the root zone is the leading cause of root death. Roots NEED oxygen. Roots should never sit in stagnant or ponding nutrient solution - make sure the trays are tilted and supported to drain completely. Lack of oxygen can also be caused by decomposing organic material in the nutrient solution or trays - this material should always be removed. . Another problem can be too many plants competing for too little oxygen. These problems are worsened by high root zone temperatures.

Some of the main Beneficials at the Root Zone

Bacillus
Several varieties of Bacillus (i.e Bacillus megaterium) have been found to play a role in the conversion of unavailable forms of phosphates into plant available forms. In natural settings they can provide near 10% of the available phosphorous in the soil solution. With increased levels of plant available phosphorous, Bacillus strains become less effective. However, if the Bacillus can sustain as a back up it may continue to provide hungry blooms with phosphorous if it should become otherwise unavailable or "locked out". This bacterium is of special interest to organic farmers who incorporate rock phosphate into the growing medium or if introduced through fertilizer teas, preparations, etc. Rock phosphate tends to be mostly unavailable, breaking down into plant available forms over time.

Certain forms of Bacillus are known to inhibit pythium and other pathogens. One of these is bacillus subtilis and is found in Hydroguard .

Mychorhizal Fungi
Mycorrhizal fungi are especially effective in providing nutrients to plant roots. These are certain types of fungi that actually colonize the outer cells of plant roots, but also extend long fungal threads, or hyphae, far out into the rhizosphere, forming a critical link between the plant roots and the soil. Mycorrhizae produce enzymes that decompose organic matter, solubilize phosphorus and other nutrients from inorganic rock, and convert nitrogen into plant available forms. They also greatly expand the soil area from which the plant can absorb water. In return for this activity, mycorrhizae obtain valuable carbon and other nutrients from the plant roots. This is a win-win mutualism between both partners, with the plant providing food for the fungus and the fungus providing both nutrients and water to the plant. The importance of mycorrhizae in plant productivity and health has often been overlooked.It has been well documented that mycorrhizal plants are often more competitive and better able to tolerate environmental stress.Mycorrhizal technology has likewise made possible the production of inoculants to significantly improve the survival, growth and establishment of trees and crops.

M y-cor-rhi-zal - The symbiotic association of the mycelium of a fungus with the roots of a seed plant.

Nitrosomonas Bacteria
Species of aerobic bacteria which converts ammonia to nitrite. One of the critical bacteria in nitrogen cycle. Optimum pH range between 6.0 and 9.0, temperature 10oC - 34oC. Will acclimate to changes in water quality, but activity is reduced during acclimation which can lead to a build up of ammonia.
Nitrosomonas eat ammonia, they absolutely LOVE it. They Convert plant available ammonium (NH4) to unavailable nitrite (NO2).

Nitrobacteria
These bacteria convert the nitrite (NO2) resulting from the nitrification above into nitrate (NO3-), an important form of Nitrogen that all plants need.

Streptomyces
Bacteria that secrete a variety of compounds including antibiotics that prevent and control root zone pathogens. A closely related species of Streptomyces produces the antibiotic that we use, streptomycin. Many studies demonstrate the bacteria's effectiveness at controlling root diseases, and select foliar diseases. An interesting consideration noted in one study is that they will also reduce levels of some nitrogen fixing bacteria in the soil.

Trichoderma
Some species of fungi that parasitize other fungi, such as Trichoderma, have been observed physically attacking and destroying pathogenic fungi. Strains of Trichoderma are found naturally occurring in many soils can play a role in the prevention and control of root pathogens, ultimately providing a healthier soil environment which can lead to higher yields. Some research suggests that the proteins in Trichoderma can degrade chitin, which is a structural component found in pathogenic fungi such as powdery mildew and in insects.

Some innovative propagation materials are inoculated with strains of Trichoderma.Many forms of coco coir contain it naturally. CANNA's Coco Growing Media is innoculated with it. If a healthy root environment is maintained, the bacteria will continue to colonize the roots and multiply in the growing media. The trichoderma help to form a protective layer around the root system, helping to fend off invading pathogens, etc.

Using Good Microbes to fight the Bad Ones

There are a slew of new beneficial microbial products on the market, and they have a variety of effects ranging from breaking down nitrogen into useable forms to cleaning the roots to warding off negative microbiological pathogens. These good microbes also activate, enrich and stimulate the roots - they help to create beautiful fuzzy white root growth like you have never seen before.

Examples of products on the market.

Earth Ambrosia / Earth Nectar: a two-part mycorrhizal fungi innoculant - in liquid form

Down to earth mycorrhizal root innoculant: in powdered form for soil or coco

Piranha Piranha colonizes the root zone with 26 beneficial fungi (in powder form for hydro)

Tarrantula Bacterial blend of 57 microorganisms, with 1.4 billion Colony Forming Units per gram

Voodoo juice Liquid solution consisting of five strains of bacterial microbes, one is a nitrogen fixer

Botanicare Aquashield Water treatment and pathogen supressor made of four benefical bacteria: Bacillus subtilis, Paenibacillus polymxa, Bacillus circulans, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.

Great White - and the list goes on

Bacterial slime and other horrifying nasties

These are not the beneficial bacteria and fungi that we have already spoken about. These bacteria cause cloudy reservoirs, slimy build up, weird reservoir fuzz, gelatin growths and wild pH fluctuations. These are the reservoir monsters.
When these bad microbes are present at high populations and are happily feeding on organic matter, they use up just about all the oxygen in the nutrient solution, suffocating the plants. They release toxic substances as a biproduct of their life cycle. They also suppress the good microbes at the root zone and cause problems with nutrient uptake and plant growth.

Bacteria slime and cloudy reservoirs
Bacteria can make the water cloudy, but tend to produce more of a slime or jellylike, smelly mass in the system.If you have it, you will notice slimy reservoir walls and perhaps an oily slick on the water. Another symptom can be a foamy buildup in the reservoir. If left to their own devices, these bacterial growths will smother the roots, depriving them of oxygen. Some species of anaerobic bacteria thrive in an environment deprived of oxygen and can produce chemical metabolites, such as alcohols, aldehydes, phenols and ethylene, that are toxic to plant roots and to other microorganisms.

Other symptoms of bacterial infections can be fuzzy, cotton like growths, or the growth of fur. Just in case you are wondering, that white fuzzy growth you see at the tip of your roots is desirable. That is not bacteria - That is the good stuff - you should see tiny fine white hairs at the roots.

All of these nasties require organic matter to feed on. They may be there as the result of a buildup of dead roots and leaves in the root zone, but usually they are the result of adding an organic product to the reservoir. If the conditions are just right, the bacteria will begin to thrive.

So in the case of fighting slime, add NO organic material as it will more than likely feed the problem. I have seen it with Liquid Karma being the culprit. NO matter which treatment method, Sterile or Bene.
 
Now we need to gather a few things to brew our tea (beneficial bacteria)

The main reason we want to brew instead of buying and applying a commercial fix is to save money yet achieve the same level of effectiveness. By brewing we encourage the bacteria and fungi to multiply and come to life, hence multiplying the product. Now cost is reduced to pennies per application. In hydro we don't strive to install as it were or maintain this condition in the res. The bacterial soldiers expire in time and we need to replenish them in our DWC so we can keep an upper hand as it were in the battle of good vs bad. We achieve this by brewing tea as needed, so we always have a fresh army of soldiers ready to fight. The tea takes 48 hours to brew and will last about 10 days if refrigerated after the brew. Brewing works best above 70f.

So we will need a bucket or container with lid. An air pump and a couple of air stones and as much water as your application requires. I also suggest a 1 gal paint strainer or something similar, like a panty hose or sock. this will be for your Earth worm castings and humus. One can just chuck into the tea and strain later or not at all. I have done both with no issues. I use the strainer and it keeps it clean enough for me. Here is why I say two air stones, I want you to put one into the strainer with the EWC (then submerge) and the other into the bucket water itself. This will provide ample air to breed the bacteria. Your average two port aquarium air pump will suffice.

Application rates will be discussed when we get into the recipes for the tea.

I tend to brew 2-3 gal at a time about once a week and I have fresh tea on hand at all times. (yes you can use these teas in soil and such as well as an inoculant). Regular application isn't required in those mediums.
 
What to do if you have a bacterial or fungal infection

Completely clean out your system - if you can, remove each plant, rinse it off, perhaps even dip it in an H202 solution. Trim or lightly pull off any dead roots. They will almost fall off in your hand. If applicable to your style of grow, clean the entire system using a strong bleach or h202 solution. Make sure you rinse everything very well before putting the plants back in. I have also gone straight to treatment without a clean out and had success. Just took longer and required refresh sooner as the ph rises as it fights the offending armies. Watch the ph closely and do your best to keep it under control. A runaway ph will only worsen the situation.

If your plants are damaged, you might want to run the nutrient solution at a lower concentration than usual or just water. I usually go straight water with tea, and do foliar feeds till I see some recovery. Remember I suggest you lay off the organics for a bit.

Always keep an eye on your res, be prepared to change it out regularly, or as soon as any sign of an infection occurs (cloudy water or wild pH fluctuations). We are fighting by keeping the the numbers in our favor with Bene vs the bad guys.

Remember IT IS MUCH EASIER TO PREVENT than fix it after the fact.
 
What we have been waiting for...

The core of these recipes are known on the net as "Heisenberg Tea".

recipe #1 (most aggressive)
- 1 ga water (if tap, let sit 24 hours or aerate)
- 1 tsp (5mL) Mycogrow soluble
- 1 tsp (5mL) ZHO powder
- 3/4 tbsp (11.25 mL) unsulfured molasses
- 1/8 cup (30 mL) Ancient Forest EWC

recipe #2
- 1 gal water
- 15-30ml Aquashield
- 1/4 scoop ZHO (enclosed scoop small end)
- 1 handfull of EWC
- 3/4 tbsp unsulfured molasses

recipe #3 (simplest but not as aggressive)
- 1 gal water
- 1 handfull EWC
- 3/4 tbsp unsulfured molasses


The products listed can be substituted for similar items, but the chosen items have been found to be cheapest/best/most diverse. Great White powder and Roots Excelurator are stupid expensive. (Not to mention Roots Excelurator contains anaerobic bacteria and specifically says not to use it with airstones). Most anything containing sugar can be used in place of molasses, it just provides food for the bennies.

These products do have their own dosage and application directions, ignore them and brew the tea. It will be more beneficial and make more efficient use of the ingredients than using them separately.

Small amounts brewed at a time are best as the tea remains usable for 7-10 days after brewing (only if refrigerated to slow bacterial/fungal growth!). If unrefrigerated must be used immediately or the bennies fight amongst themselves and the biological diversity degrades.

Add recipe to container, mix thoroughly, keep temperature 70-80F if possible, aerate for 48 hours.

- unless water pH is way off do not pH adjust before or after brewing
- a biofilm of foam should appear indicating good biological activity
- foam may not appear if water is too cold to 'wake up' the bennies but tea may still function at some level
- certain fungi will 'activate' in the tea but not reproduce and multiply, a small extra amount of ZHO powder (or any product with only fungi) can be added to the tea just before use to add additional fungi (but not at all necessary)
- tea is best brewed at the reservoir temperature it will be used at to ensure the different types of bennies are in the same ratio at the end of brewing as they will be when in the hydroponics system (however temperatures below 70F will not work as well)
- straining can be accomplished by running tea through a cheesecloth or similar, pour directly on roots, through netcups/hydroton, and directly into reservoir to innoculate the system

Application Rates
- 1 cup per gallon of total system water for fixing problems
- 1 cup per 10 gallons for general system health maintenance
- add a cup or so directly to roots every 3 days or so

Leftover tea can be refrigerated for use up to 7-10 days. The cold will slow down biological activity and keep the population diverse. If tea starts to smell like anything besides "mossy" or "earthy", throw it away. Especially if it smells like shit.

After inoculating hydroponics systems with bennies make sure to dilute any pH adjusters before adding them as the concentrate can kill them (good practice anyway to avoid nutrients being forced out of solution aka flocculation).

This tea can be applied as a foliar spray to fight PM and provide general health.

---

You can substitute just about any product you want. Any EWC will give you a good base of microbes. Any product or combo of products which contain mycos, bacillus, and trichoderma will do the trick. Don't worry about matching the exact ingredients. The exception is AN microbe products. Stay away from AN microbe products!


If you notice a dark sort of slime form after you treat with tea, stay the course. As long as you see new shoots growing you are on your way to recovery. The after-slime is harmless and will not expand or stall roots. New root tips are what you want to see.

Do not use tea with h202, sm-90, Zone or any type of sterilizing product. Do not filter tea beyond 400 microns.

If you have slime attacking plants with very small roots, adding housing to your res like a lava rock, hydroton, or a koi pond mat will make a big difference. Place the housing in your tea brew for the duration and then move it to your res. I accomplish this by soaking my air stones in the tea as it brews then transfer it into the res, don't forget to pour through the net pot to inoculate the roots. No one has reported sprayers clogging from using regular tea. But, if you are concerned you can also try Aquashield by itself without brewing. High pressure nozzles will kill most microbes, medium pressure and simple sprayers are fine.

Take care of improper res conditions FIRST. Even the tea will not save you from disease if you do not have enough oxygen or proper temperatures. Res water should be around 72-75f with bennies. Air pump should be at least 1wt per gallon. As always with DWC check those air stones often. I freshen mine up in a h2o2 bath then rinse and reuse. When fighting the slime the air stones will require more checking. Something you should be doing anyway if you are battling the nasties. If the plants are in stress due to lack of nutrient uptake, foliar feed them. Your recovery and halting further damage is worth the effort. Feed them..

What do I stand to gain from this?

explosive root growth, general plant heath, lower nutrient ppm levels necessary, and higher safe reservoir temperatures
 
Very nice Smokz but...................wouldn't it be just as easy to run Dutch Masters Zone and be done with it? Keeps the system sterile while boosting root growth as well.

Zone works well but I have found the tea to accomplish additional things like you would using a zyme product or any beneficial like Orca. Cost is much less and equally effective. I also can use it in coco or soil as well. Application in a Ebb-n-Flow is much different than DWC. One is inherent to slime and such as the other isn't. Heat is also harder to control in a DWC or recirculating system.

The tea pretty much eliminates strict temp control. Slime never really gets a chance to effect the roots of a flow-n-grow due to it being without water for periods. The nasties abound and await an opportunity to multiply in standing water type systems. Zone also kills any beneficial that may be there as well.

Sterile or Bene is the choice for managing any hydro. Tons of writing and products on the market aimed at each style of grow. I do feel Zone is superior in its niche, far better for your roots than H2O2 or bleach. Both of those are toxic if not careful with the dosage. I also believe Zone accomplishes it task by eliminating the negatives so the root can uptake directly what it needs. That is the point to hydro in the first place. I do not see anything about the product that actually stimulates the roots other than providing a safe sterile environment. If I recall you feed yours with Orca and Hygrozyme in veg.

If Zone was the definitive answer then why not run it from the start alone? I think most of us understand the benefits of beneficial bacteria. It all boils down to ones choice and ease of use in their opinion.

I also wonder can Zone be used as a foliar to fight PM or feed like I can with tea? Think of it as a natural solution or working with nature instead of against it.

This thread was never meant to be a debate over which is most effective or the best choice. Just an honest evaluation of a given system and its effectiveness. You want the details I suggest you google up Heisenberg tea.

I will admit I am running both and seeing for myself, the tea does work as advertised. I will need to start a run with Zone from the start to truly evaluate it. I have only used it to date in an infected system.
 
Actually Zone is REALLY toxic if over dosed just like H202 or Bleach. Kills all the bad stuff using copper sulfate. Xlr8 uses the Zone without the use of any other bennies and even the bottle says it promotes root growth but I haven't read up on how. I choose to run the Orca and Hygrozyme as added benefits. I got tired of battling root rot and the H202 just didn't seem to be cutting it as far as preventing it.
I'd really like to have some "organic" grows but in hydro? Is it possible?

Zone works well but I have found the tea to accomplish additional things like you would using a zyme product or any beneficial like Orca. Cost is much less and equally effective. I also can use it in coco or soil as well. Application in a Ebb-n-Flow is much different than DWC. One is inherent to slime and such as the other isn't. Heat is also harder to control in a DWC or recirculating system.

The tea pretty much eliminates strict temp control. Slime never really gets a chance to effect the roots of a flow-n-grow due to it being without water for periods. The nasties abound and await an opportunity to multiply in standing water type systems. Zone also kills any beneficial that may be there as well.

Sterile or Bene is the choice for managing any hydro. Tons of writing and products on the market aimed at each style of grow. I do feel Zone is superior in its niche, far better for your roots than H2O2 or bleach. Both of those are toxic if not careful with the dosage. I also believe Zone accomplishes it task by eliminating the negatives so the root can uptake directly what it needs. That is the point to hydro in the first place. I do not see anything about the product that actually stimulates the roots other than providing a safe sterile environment. If I recall you feed yours with Orca and Hygrozyme in veg.

If Zone was the definitive answer then why not run it from the start alone? I think most of us understand the benefits of beneficial bacteria. It all boils down to ones choice and ease of use in their opinion.

I also wonder can Zone be used as a foliar to fight PM or feed like I can with tea? Think of it as a natural solution or working with nature instead of against it.

This thread was never meant to be a debate over which is most effective or the best choice. Just an honest evaluation of a given system and its effectiveness. You want the details I suggest you google up Heisenberg tea.

I will admit I am running both and seeing for myself, the tea does work as advertised. I will need to start a run with Zone from the start to truly evaluate it. I have only used it to date in an infected system.
 
thanks mate, that's really good topic...

i did mine but i've must done something wrong... the bucket were i had the tea, after 36 hours, the airstone was covered in some sort of slime... did i do wrong or that's normal?

a friend that showed me this thread, told me i could use a bit of everything i had.... so i used:

EWC
Great White
Piranha
Pro-52
Voodoo Juice
Some sort of alga mix....

also the only molasses i've found drops the PH too much, its too acidic... so i used brown sugar instead....

anyways very good topic i hope to get this tea going and see some improvements....

thanks, peace!
 
never mind my last post bro,

IT WORKS LIKE MAGIC!!!!

the 2 plants i have are shooting lots of new white roots full of secondary roots!!!!

it's amazing.....

they love the tea!

thanks a lot!
 
So I am still dialing in my brew because it is still very strong. But I add a few extra things that you might try on a whim.

Last time I brewed it was 1.5 gallons and then when done I added it back to the 5 gal bucket I got that from (to dilute it) before adding to my 30 gal res... and that was still too strong. Plants love it and the roots really love it but I gots ta flush it back out after not long at this strength.

This brew adds additionally the primary ingredients of Advanced Nutrients Nirvana and Bud Factor X. However this is good for Veg as well.

get:
1 bag alfalfa meal: Can be bought at any feed store or most hydro and garden stores. I used Down to Earths brand

1 bottle of Alaska kelp fertilizer

1 bottle Aphrodites Extraction Carbon by Nectar of the Gods (molasses is fine, this stuff is just already broken down sugars that bacteria can use immediately)

1 bottle hygrozyme: This may be the most expensive one but you don't use much so this will make many batches. All DWC folks should be using this for other reasons anyway.

Fulvic Acid:

Crab Meal: I got mine at the hydro store but probably can be found at any gardening supply store. I used the same brand as the alfalfa.

Earthworm Castings: This can be found anywhere. People put this in many teas.

Humus soil: Many places have this in many brands. This can be found anywhere including Home Depot and Lowes. I used this stuff.

Oatmeal - plain (I used some old steel cut laying around)

Last time I did this it was still very strong. So I would cut the alfalfa, earth worm castings and kelp fertilizer all in half from what I did below.

1.5 gallons RO or de-chlorinated water at room temp or roughly 70F.

Recipe: (the units here are a totally made up thing, feel free to experiment but this is what I used)
1/4 cups alfalfa
1/4 cup crab meal - next time I may try 1 cup and see what happens
1/4 cups Earthworm Castings
1/4 cups Humus soil
1/4 cup Oatmeal
Alaska kelp fertilizer - followed bottle instructions for 1.5 gallons
Aphrodites Extraction - 1 teaspoon (again molasses is fine)
Hygrozyme - 15ml (10ml per gallon)
Fulvic Acid - 23ml (15ml per gallon)


How to brew:
Take a 5 gallon bucket and put in the dry ingredients. Then add 1.5 gallons of water (I take it from a dechlorinated 5 gallon I will return it to after filtering). Then add the wet ingredients and stir up good. There will be heavy sediment on the bottom you will want to agitate it all up. If it sits too long you can get anaerobic growth which we don't want. Add the air stones before the solids settle. Stir it up every few hours if you can. Keep it indoors so it stays at room temp or about 70 F. After about 24 hours add a second dose of the Aphrodites Extraction, mix and let sit for a few minutes. That will stimulate the microbes again. Then Strain into second bucket. I recommend straining twice then using an old wool sock for a third one.


Alfalfa has been a commonly used additive for all flowering plants since a little before foreverago (Main ingredient in AN Nirvana)
Alfalfa Meal Gardening Info ? Usage And Source For Alfalfa Meal Fertilizer

Crab Meal when broken down makes Chitosan which causes ridiculous flowering amongst many other things. That is the main ingredient in AN Bud Factor X but is good for all stages of growth.

Earth worm castings is the real base and contains the majority of the microbes this brew will grow.

Atlantic Kelp, which is the base for Alaska kelp Fertilizer, is the second active ingredient in AN nirvana and is well known to be an exceptional fertilizer amongst the seaweeds for many reasons.

Hygrozyme - there are other enzymes you can use but none really I have found work better. Enzymes are a slightly different topic but also good to add to the teas.

Fulvic Acid - Up to you but it aids in uptake.

Oatmeal - I read on a few places that adding oatmeal or cardboard to the brew will up the levels of beneficial fungi.


:peace:
 
I use this in soil every run. I use this in anything I grow. The tea recipe I posted at the end combines all of the top shelf AN products into a single bucket. In soils the dose is easy to control but in DWC the dose is really dependent on your res size. I threw int 5 gallons once into a 28 gallon multi plant res and it just exploded and cause double nute uptake for a few weeks. If you know how to keep up and handle that then rock and roll.
 
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