Problems with Hydro Setup - FTG w/ pics. Help greatly appreciated

[Roarmary]

Hey! This is Roarmary here, my friend was in need of some help and I insisted on having him ask the forums here because you guys have always been super helpful. Here's what he has to say:

"Hey basically I have a 21 gallon tub where 4 plants sit in and I have 2 150 watt hps lights as well as 3 150 watt fluorescent bulbs on them. They are flowering currently and have looked amazing until recently in flowering. They vary in height from the tallest being 3 feet to the others around 1 and a half feet. I have been told possibly the roots are the problem as they are tangled together in the root tub and are about balled up."

Thanks for your help in the past.

[Tead]

Hiya Roarmary and welcome to our friendly group!
We're going to need a bit more info to help you, and photos would be extremely helpful.

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I've seen huge root balls in hydro. They often get all tangled up.
Do you have any air stones running in your res? O2 at the root zone is important. I've even seen folks put small air stones directly into the root mass.
You say they "looked amazing until recently". How do they look different? Again, a photo would be worth 1000 words.
What's your nute regimen?
Have the temps changed?

Cheers!

[Roarmary]

I will have all the specs for you shortly, he will email me the grow setup specs outlined in how to ask for grow support

[Tead]

That water looks horrible. I'm pretty sure you've got a very serious case of root rot going.
Does the water smell like anything other than clean water? Is there slippery goo over everything? Is it clogging your water lines? All of these would be indicators of rot.

I gotta say... I'm not sure you're going to save them. Many folks would try to clear up the issue with hydrogen peroxide. I tried everything when I had it, but ended up pulling them and putting them in soil. At any rate, you'll need to find the source of the problem and stop it. Many things can cause root rot. Heat, and light are two common causes of rot.

Cheers!

[Roarmary]

Here's more info from my friend:

"4 strains, Blue dream, Headband, Green crack, chem underdawg
All sativa more or less 100%
In flowering stage about 2 and a half to 3 weeks
Hydro setup: 21 gallon tub where 4 plants sit in, 4 air stones in bottom pumped to by 2 air pumps
2 150 watt hps lights plus 3 150 watt fluorescent and 1 100 watt fluorescent
As of now it is air cooled thanks to the fan. Color has been coming back since fan has been put on it btw. Id say temp is anywhere from 65-78 or so?
It is in a closet that is about 5 ft by 3 ft
I do not know how to check the PH
I have not been watering as the roots sit in the tub of water
Used a normal flowering fertilizer found at any hydro store for about half its nutrients, Also used a dose of Jamaican bat guano that helps with flowering (when first added noticed immediate and drastic affect in flowering yet has tapered off since)

The 4 net cups sitting in the bucket also have roots that have all intertwined and am wondering if that is an issue?"

He's not very good with computers... but I'll post his reply to those questions Tead, thanks a lot, it's been really helpful!!

[McBudz]

Yeah that water is nasty. Hopefully its just the guano.. if not then tead is right on you have some serious root rot going on. Are the rots slimy and do they tear off very easily?

I would change the water out. You should be doing this once a week or so. Check your airstones and make sure they are not clogged. Also try to keep reservoir temps down to 67-70 degrees.

Consider adding some hygrozyme to help your root system.

And most important make sure to check and adjust pH. If you dont have a meter get one Milwaukee PH 600 is $21 online. get it quick.

[Old New Guy]

You don't say what the problem is. I doubt it's a root problem, my hydro tubs get so root bound it's scary sometimes. Let us know what problem you are experiencing and perhaps we can help. ONG

[Old New Guy]

If you don't want to wait for a PH meter go to your grow store and buy a test kit ($10). Pretty self explanatory, keep PH at 6.0 and you'll be good.

[PitViper]

I was going to post my thoughts but Tead and McBudz are on point. I would say that the water clearly wasnt changed very often. Live and learn. Such a waste of good genetics. Look on the positive side, you learned some valuable info...you cant buy that anywhere. I would trash them, bleach the hell out of everything and start fresh, you will be up and growing really fast. CHANGE THE WATER WEEKLY. get a PH meter please, it will be the best 20 bucks you ever spent. sorry to repeat what the others said