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flowergirl21
Well-Known Member
Re: 1st Time Grow - Flowergirl21's - White Widow - Bloombox - Hydro - Manifold Techni
Day 52 of Flower
Well. I have not given up yet! I haven't been journaling because I have been figuring out and fighting all of the various things hitting Scarlett all at once.
Drain Flies
Although they are supposedly not hurting the plant...they are a nuisance at best, and they are/were breeding at the root level and in the rockwool (I think); which leads me to believe that they might have been harming the plant. My sticky traps revealed it was out of control (which I knew), and on top of all of this, I had a few fungus gnats flying about as well.
I am now an expert on cleaning Bloombox reservoirs. That is all I've been doing. That and spending money that I don't have on products to help battle my next issue.
Pythium
I thought I had it. I might have had it. I still could have it. My roots had always been a tan color because of the Plantacillin--which is supposed to prevent/fight the pythium. My reservoir never smelled bad. It always smelled pleasant--like growing things. The root mass, however, wasn't doing well anymore, and if I went a day without maintaining them, I would have hundreds of pupae from the drain flies caught up in them...well, pupae "shells" as they had molted and were flying around.
At one point in time at the beginning of this mess, I had done a reservoir change, and had treated with SOS but not Plantacillin. The next day, I had beautiful new roots coming out. Scarlett was smelling better, and she had started taking up nutes again, according to my readings.
The next reservoir change, I added the Plantacillin back into the mix, since I figured that it was compatible with the SOS, and why not add more beneficials to the party.
No.
I won't say that I will never use it again, but I think I might stick to a different beneficial bacteria. The new roots turned tan (just a color change), but I wish I hadn't used it because the whiteness of the new roots allowed me to tell at a glance that she was doing okay. It also seemed to cause more dead root "shedding" into the reservoir. That is what I thought was happening, because I would have brown particles on the bottom of the reservoir. It was almost as if the Plantacillin had come out of solution and had settled. But I use 5.8mL per 23 Litres or 6 Gallons of RO water. There was way too much brown stuff...but again, my system didn't smell.
My res temps have not been ideal either. I was running CO2, so my box temps were okay running a bit high. I thought it was okay for my res to be slightly higher as well. I don't think that anymore!
Interlude
These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago.
When I first started having problems, I ditched the rockwool in the 8 other unused netpots. I replaced the netpots with red opaque plastic cups (think keg party) which fit perfectly. For the drip sticks, I poked a small hole through the cup, and it held the emitter in place while still allowing it to drain. I covered the top with the covers, but they wouldn't really stay in place. The cups were great because I could simply wash them and wipe them clean. They did, however, allow a sanguine light into the root area.
Around this time, I started running out of SOS, and I also wanted to get Hydroguard, since it came highly recommended. I also wanted to get diatomaceous earth--not for my res, but for the top of the rockwool. I can see the drain flies walking around there, so why not? I also wanted to get hydroton balls--I figured I could fill my cups with them and block out the light.
I went to a different Hydro store, as the one I normally go to was closed. The gentleman who owned the shop was very nice and helpful, and didn't mind me asking specific questions about cannabis. I only started because I overheard the conversation he was having with the previous customer. They were chatting about marijuana, so I figured I could explain my woes to see if he had any thoughts. He recommended Hygrozyme over the Hydroguard. They were both on the pricier side, which excluded me purchasing both. The Hygrozyme is actually pricier. He couldn't say enough great things about it though, so I went with it.
Just interspersing a long post with photos.
When I got home that day, I was excited to try the Hygrozyme. I added it to the reservoir. The next morning, I checked Scarlett. She seemed okay...then I lifted the lid. Yuck. Cloudy brown water. The roots? Wow. Right up to the water line--brownish-blackish color. What??
I don't have any photos because I had to get to work immediately. I had to do more research, and I knew I should have gone with my gut and gotten the Hydroguard.
(Good news--diatomaceous earth seems to be helping keep the population down. The hydroton is a great medium--way less of a breeding ground for little pests! No more empty rockwool for me!)
Brown Algae
Possibly masquerading as pythium...also, from some of the articles I read, this "brown slime algae" doesn't need light to grow, loves oxygen, and it doesn't care about res temps. Great. Anyway, after reading quite a bit on the subject, I realized I most likely have some form of this. Apparently, things like Hygrozyme and things like Super B+ are just food for the algae. Using them definitely caused an "algae bloom." I went back to my usual store and picked up H2O2 and Hydroguard. I've basically drained, cleaned, rinsed, and refilled every day since 8/14. And before then, a couple of times each week. So, once again, I thoroughly cleaned my entire system and let the airstones run in some strong peroxide and water. I rinsed and dried, and then added ONLY Flower and Common for nutes, along with CalMag and the Hydro guard. This was perfect, and it helped Scarlett put out even more new roots. Oh yeah, side note, I also removed the dead root mass. It was just a breeding ground for all of the nasties.
A few days ago...maybe more:
Flush
I changed the res last night, and since Scarlett was doing well, I added the Super B+ back in, as well as two other additives. This morning--same thing, but to a lesser extent. Brownish slimy roots, and the bottom of my res had a brown coating on it. Another cleaning, and I figured it was time to flush.
I have been keeping a close eye on the trichs--I don't have a camera, and I misplaced my lens, but I have a handheld magnifying scope, and right now the trichs are mostly cloudy. The calyxes are also swelling, and I think after a week or so, I can chop. It might happen sooner--ideally I can get this done next Sunday. If I need to though, I'll chop early.
I added Final Phase to RO water and pH'd it. It's circulating now.
Today's photos:
I have some desiccant in the flowering chamber to drop the humidity, and hopefully I'll be able to do a 24 or 48 hour period of complete darkness before harvesting.
Once I harvest, the Bloombox is getting a major cleaning and drying out period. I will not start the new plants in the flowering side until I know the drain flies are gone.
Winter can't get here fast enough.
Day 52 of Flower
Well. I have not given up yet! I haven't been journaling because I have been figuring out and fighting all of the various things hitting Scarlett all at once.
Drain Flies
Although they are supposedly not hurting the plant...they are a nuisance at best, and they are/were breeding at the root level and in the rockwool (I think); which leads me to believe that they might have been harming the plant. My sticky traps revealed it was out of control (which I knew), and on top of all of this, I had a few fungus gnats flying about as well.
I am now an expert on cleaning Bloombox reservoirs. That is all I've been doing. That and spending money that I don't have on products to help battle my next issue.
Pythium
I thought I had it. I might have had it. I still could have it. My roots had always been a tan color because of the Plantacillin--which is supposed to prevent/fight the pythium. My reservoir never smelled bad. It always smelled pleasant--like growing things. The root mass, however, wasn't doing well anymore, and if I went a day without maintaining them, I would have hundreds of pupae from the drain flies caught up in them...well, pupae "shells" as they had molted and were flying around.
At one point in time at the beginning of this mess, I had done a reservoir change, and had treated with SOS but not Plantacillin. The next day, I had beautiful new roots coming out. Scarlett was smelling better, and she had started taking up nutes again, according to my readings.
The next reservoir change, I added the Plantacillin back into the mix, since I figured that it was compatible with the SOS, and why not add more beneficials to the party.
No.
I won't say that I will never use it again, but I think I might stick to a different beneficial bacteria. The new roots turned tan (just a color change), but I wish I hadn't used it because the whiteness of the new roots allowed me to tell at a glance that she was doing okay. It also seemed to cause more dead root "shedding" into the reservoir. That is what I thought was happening, because I would have brown particles on the bottom of the reservoir. It was almost as if the Plantacillin had come out of solution and had settled. But I use 5.8mL per 23 Litres or 6 Gallons of RO water. There was way too much brown stuff...but again, my system didn't smell.
My res temps have not been ideal either. I was running CO2, so my box temps were okay running a bit high. I thought it was okay for my res to be slightly higher as well. I don't think that anymore!
Interlude
These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago.
When I first started having problems, I ditched the rockwool in the 8 other unused netpots. I replaced the netpots with red opaque plastic cups (think keg party) which fit perfectly. For the drip sticks, I poked a small hole through the cup, and it held the emitter in place while still allowing it to drain. I covered the top with the covers, but they wouldn't really stay in place. The cups were great because I could simply wash them and wipe them clean. They did, however, allow a sanguine light into the root area.
Around this time, I started running out of SOS, and I also wanted to get Hydroguard, since it came highly recommended. I also wanted to get diatomaceous earth--not for my res, but for the top of the rockwool. I can see the drain flies walking around there, so why not? I also wanted to get hydroton balls--I figured I could fill my cups with them and block out the light.
I went to a different Hydro store, as the one I normally go to was closed. The gentleman who owned the shop was very nice and helpful, and didn't mind me asking specific questions about cannabis. I only started because I overheard the conversation he was having with the previous customer. They were chatting about marijuana, so I figured I could explain my woes to see if he had any thoughts. He recommended Hygrozyme over the Hydroguard. They were both on the pricier side, which excluded me purchasing both. The Hygrozyme is actually pricier. He couldn't say enough great things about it though, so I went with it.
Just interspersing a long post with photos.
When I got home that day, I was excited to try the Hygrozyme. I added it to the reservoir. The next morning, I checked Scarlett. She seemed okay...then I lifted the lid. Yuck. Cloudy brown water. The roots? Wow. Right up to the water line--brownish-blackish color. What??
I don't have any photos because I had to get to work immediately. I had to do more research, and I knew I should have gone with my gut and gotten the Hydroguard.
(Good news--diatomaceous earth seems to be helping keep the population down. The hydroton is a great medium--way less of a breeding ground for little pests! No more empty rockwool for me!)
Brown Algae
Possibly masquerading as pythium...also, from some of the articles I read, this "brown slime algae" doesn't need light to grow, loves oxygen, and it doesn't care about res temps. Great. Anyway, after reading quite a bit on the subject, I realized I most likely have some form of this. Apparently, things like Hygrozyme and things like Super B+ are just food for the algae. Using them definitely caused an "algae bloom." I went back to my usual store and picked up H2O2 and Hydroguard. I've basically drained, cleaned, rinsed, and refilled every day since 8/14. And before then, a couple of times each week. So, once again, I thoroughly cleaned my entire system and let the airstones run in some strong peroxide and water. I rinsed and dried, and then added ONLY Flower and Common for nutes, along with CalMag and the Hydro guard. This was perfect, and it helped Scarlett put out even more new roots. Oh yeah, side note, I also removed the dead root mass. It was just a breeding ground for all of the nasties.
A few days ago...maybe more:
Flush
I changed the res last night, and since Scarlett was doing well, I added the Super B+ back in, as well as two other additives. This morning--same thing, but to a lesser extent. Brownish slimy roots, and the bottom of my res had a brown coating on it. Another cleaning, and I figured it was time to flush.
I have been keeping a close eye on the trichs--I don't have a camera, and I misplaced my lens, but I have a handheld magnifying scope, and right now the trichs are mostly cloudy. The calyxes are also swelling, and I think after a week or so, I can chop. It might happen sooner--ideally I can get this done next Sunday. If I need to though, I'll chop early.
I added Final Phase to RO water and pH'd it. It's circulating now.
Today's photos:
I have some desiccant in the flowering chamber to drop the humidity, and hopefully I'll be able to do a 24 or 48 hour period of complete darkness before harvesting.
Once I harvest, the Bloombox is getting a major cleaning and drying out period. I will not start the new plants in the flowering side until I know the drain flies are gone.
Winter can't get here fast enough.
