Pt.2 - Korloin Goes Hydro!

spring2012 said:
Looking goood. Also like the natural formation...or it was burned in by aliens.
Click to expand...

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Surprisingly, for me, I really haven't looked into the backstory of that interesting little piece of range! I could probably tell you way more than you'd ever want to about mesopotamian Ziggurats, Egyptian temples and the most sound hypothesis re: the origin of the unit of measure incorporated in the megalithic structures of the UK, France and Spain. :geek:

But I know absolutely nothing about this incredible thing in my backyard! Go figure huh? :)

K
 
UGH!

3 words BROWN-SLIME-ALGAE

just finished bleaching everything out and changing out the nutes.

No seaweed or hygrozyme right now.

Seems to appear when both are present, so I'm gonna see what happens w/o them for couple days.

Glady's is going strong still (slime was in the bucket but not the roots), But Trudy and Sarafima were both full-on slimed up.
Trudy's entire root mass was slime (no wonder she's releafing so slow!) and Sarafima's airstone was so gunked it was spitting like 4 bubbles every 10 seconds!!

Gonna make a bennie tea tomorrow, just in case it comes back. Maybe push back flowering some more until I get this cleared.

Topped Booty yesterday. Seems to be taking it well.

Also grabbed a couple cuttings of Sarafima and dropped 'em in some perlite. She's looking so damn little, I thought maybe I'd hempy the 2 clones (if they root) to boost the yield from that strain a bit.

Just cataloged all my future seeds and realized I have 11 strains in the hopper!!
So torn what to do next. Hmmmm. Got a little time though to think it over.
Still want to get a few other auto's for some quick smoke too.

Aaaargh! Goin' to bed and getting my some serious shuteye.

Goodnight Peeps!

:peace:

K
 
That is a bummer man, but good catch. I am sure you will get it resolved. :)
 
Thanks guys!

I hate copping others info w/o being able to credit them, but this poster on another forum seems like he could be the kind of cat that would rather have people helped by the info rather than bask in the accolades. So, with some trepidation, I give you the Brown Slime Algae treatment I discovered elsewhere.

DWC Root Slime Cure aka How to Breed Beneficial Microbes
When a clear snot forms on roots in a DWC, and the normal course of treatment for root disease doesn't work, you probably have something called brown slime algae, which actually isn't algae at all, but a cyanobacteria. It loves oxygen and doesn't need light to grow. It doesn't care if your res is chilled or not. Safe levels of H202 slows it a bit but doesn't cure it. It can show up for DWC growers for no apparent reason even after years of successful grows. Once it shows up it's often a nightmare to get rid of. It WILL eventually spread to other DWC tubs, although it almost never gains a foothold on older well developed healthy plants/roots.

Several root conditions will cause a slimy build up; doesn't mean you have the brown slime. Common root disease is almost always caused by improper res conditions, and they improve greatly when those conditions are corrected. This isn't true of the slime. When to suspect brown slime algae is when you are doing everything right and still can't get rid of it. People who get this try the normal stuff... More bubbles in the water, cool res temps, and h202 treatments. The slime may appear to be gone at first, but comes back strong in as little as 12-36 hours. It starts out subtle like a clear coating of mucus on the roots with no odor. Plants often still appear healthy for a while, but all root production stops. In a very short time it will cover the entire root base and become thicker and sometimes turns yellow. Eventually it strangles the roots which causes pythium to set in, and at that point turns brown and finally has an odor.

The treatment is to clean up and sterilize the root base, and then populate the water with beneficial microbes. Simply running a continuous sterilizing agent such as SM-90, Zone, ect will almost certainly end with the slime as the winner. Some people have had luck running bleach or physan 20 continuously in the water, but most do not want there plants soaking in these particular chemicals. Making a microbe tea is cheap and easy, and IMO the proper way to fight this slime in a perpetual DWC garden.

Clean up the root base as well as possible. Best thing to do, if you can, is hold the plant over the sink and use the sprayer to vigorously rinse the roots, trying to get all the dead roots and gunk to slough off. It's also okay to give the dying roots a slight tug to see if they come off. Now let the roots soak in a mixture of whatever sterilizing agent you have. Physan 20 works great. This is a good time to sterilize any equipment and give the res a good scrub. After a few hours, no more than 12, of soaking in the solution rinse the roots really really well again, prepare a fresh res, and inoculate the res with beneficial microbes. Wait another 12 hours before adding nutes.

*** The smaller your roots, the less likely the are to survive a strong h202 treatment. In my experience using h202 will increase your recovery time.

Once the slime is gone be sure to practice proper res maintenance, which includes keeping any type of organic material out of the res. Trying to sterilize the res water is often a losing battle. In fact, since most hydro sterilizers fail to kill this stuff, when you sterilize the water you are removing competing microbes and opening the field to slime. There are people who use RO filters and then run their water through a UV sterilizer and still end up with the slime. The answer always seems to be beneficial microbes.

Below is my previous introduction to preparing and applying a microbe tea.


In DWC the roots sit in water constantly putting them at huge risk for disease. Some people have great luck using nothing at all. Others find sterilizing products keep their roots white, but a few of us have found that even with proper res maintenance and doing everything right, we still get a slimy build up on the roots. This is when a microbe tea can really make a difference by robbing the slime of housing, food, and actually attacking it.

By making a microbe tea with a diverse selection of organisms you will have a super tonic for you res that will ward off nasty gunk and build up while at the same time keeping your roots stimulated and growing. Best of all it can be made for just pennies per batch.

Ok so we wont be starting from scratch. You have to buy a few products. But instead of using the products directly in the res, you will be breeding them in a tea. This way, you can use a fraction of the regular dose and make your products last much longer. Plus, you will end up with a freshly active tea that is more diverse than anything you can buy on the market.

Aquashield ($12) The product composition consists of: Bacillus subtilis, Paenibacillus polymxa, Bacillus circulans, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. This gives you a base population of beneficial bacteria. (Aquashield can be replaced by any inoculation that contains bacillus bacteria.)

ZHO Powder ($10) The product composition consists of: Glomus intradices, Glomus aggregatum, Glomus etunicatum, Glomus mosseae, Trichoderma harzianum, and Trichoderma koningii. This gives you a base populartion of beneficial fungi. (ZHO can be replaced by any inoculation that contains myco fungi)

Ancient Forest ($14) - Soil amendment provides a high diversity of microorganisms, including more than 35,000 species of bacteria and over 5,000 species of fungi. (AF can be replaced by any earth worm casting)

EDIT* Mycogrow soluble is the cheapest and most diverse inoculant we have found. It can replace everything here except the ancient forest.


The recipe is really simple. Start with non-chlorinated water. I make 2 gallons at a time, but you can easily adjust the additives for whatever amount you wish to make. Now put the water into a bucket and throw in a couple air stones. The more air the better. You want the water to be almost turbulent from the bubbles. Now, add 15-30ml of aquashield and about 1/4-1/2 scoop of the ZHO powder. You will be breeding these into the billions so it doesn't really matter how much you start with, just don't overdo it. Now take an old sock or pantyhose and fill it with about 2 handfuls of EWC or Ancient Forest. Tie off the sock and place it in the water above an air stone, or better yet, feed an air stone down into the sock itself. If you want, you can just throw the EWC directly into the water and strain it out later with cheesecloth or even an aquarium net. Next, add about a tablespoon of molasses to wake up the microbes and give them something to eat. We will only be feeding the microbes in this tea; never add food for the microbes to the res itself. It's okay if the bennies in the res starve. You will be replacing them every few days. Now let the tea bubble at room tempeture for 48 hours. It can be used after 24, but will be more active and diverse at 48. If you use EWC you will probably notice a foam eventually, this is normal. After 48 hours you can store the tea in the fridge where it will stay fresh for about 10 days. Once it starts to go bad it will develop an odor. If you ever detect an odor from your tea, throw it out and make a new batch. Fresh tea can have a range of smells from earthy to mossy to shroomy. Bad tea smells like gym socks, fecal matter, or decay.

Initially, add about 1 cup to your res for every gallon of water, and then add 1 cup total every 3 days after. If you can, pour a little over the base of the stalk to inoculate the root crown. Your water might get a little cloudy but your roots will stay white and stimulated. When you use tea and practice proper res maintenance you can feel confident your roots will be healthy. By multiplying the microbes this way your products should last a great deal longer. Once you have eradicated slime and simply want protection from future outbreaks, adjust the tea dosage to 1 cup per 10 gallons about once per week.

If you are interested in why the tea works, or what products you may use for substitution, continue reading the rest of the thread. It is a journey I took with others to learn a great more about the tea. If you want to see how I use this tea in a cloner, jump to here.

***In an attempt to address frequent issues which bloat the thread

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 my 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 or 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.

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 impropoer 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 75f with bennies. Air pump should be at least 1wt per gallon. Light proof your buckets!

If this solution works for you please post in the thread and tell us your story.

I'm happy to answer questions in the thread. You will get a faster reply here than messaging me. Remember, all advice I give is intended for a synthetic DWC grow.

Some FAQ's

Can I run a perpetual batch of tea?

No. The key to fighting slime is a diverse microbe population. No matter what you do to your brew, diversity will peak and begin to decline around the 48 hour mark.

Can I feed the bennies in my res instead of letting them die and replacing them?

No, you would be feeding the slime as well. Some bennies will live on in your roots, most will die. It is simple to replace them which we do every three days while fighting slime, and about once a week after the slime is gone.

Will the chlorine/chloramine in my tap water kill off my bennies?

It is best to use pure water to brew the tea, however adding tap water directly to your buckets in small amounts to top off will not kill enough bennies to matter. I add as much as a gallon of un-aged tap water to my 5 gallon res with no ill effects. If you are worried, simply add a little tea a few hours after watering.

Can I add too much tea?

As long as your tea is brewed properly it is really hard to add too much.

I added tea, maintain proper res conditions, and still have slime!

First be sure you are not simply seeing after-slime. (see above) If it is aggressive slime, then you are probably adding something organic directly to the res. Check each and every thing you put in your mix, and be sure foliar sprays do not drip into the res. Incorporate some type of housing into your res, such as lava rocks.

You are not teaching us how to breed microbes, only multiply them.

Correct.
Click to expand...

If you want to thank the original poster, you can google the title of his thread and find the original. :) I'm planning on it if it works. I just don't want to have to register on that site if I can help it. There are douche-ier sites out there, but it's still no :420: :thumb:
 
TacticalGrow said:
That is a bummer man, but good catch. I am sure you will get it resolved. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks TG! I will, come hell or high water.:thumb:
Perseverance! That's my game.

Figure my first few grows are just gonna be plagued with misshaps and drama. But that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger growers, right! :rofl::rofl:

By the 4th grow I'll be the Master Of Disaster fo'sho'! ;)

:peace:

K
 
iSmokes said:
Never dealt with anything but dirt so no help here :(. I'm sure you'll get it resolved in no time.
Click to expand...
Thanks Smokes!

The thing I'm liking about Hydro, in this regard, is there's a lot less guesswork. There's no where for these things to hide. So they're easier to identify. I really like soil for a lot of reasons. But it was such a bitch when I was trying to figure stuff out, comparatively.

ajagunle said:
Sorry to hear your bad news, wish I could offer a suggested course of action but I can't, hope you get it resolved!! :goodluck:

I have me amy ritual sacrifice to the Ganga Gods or your behalf!
Click to expand...


Thank's AJ! It's not too bad. I noticed it the night before and was all :hmmmm:.
Then yesterday after work I was all:whoa:

Today I'm all:allgood:


:)

Everythings gonna be fine. The Ganga Gods are massaging my soul.

:circle-of-love:

K
 
You def have a strong will to overcome adversity! Just when I thought I might try my DWC out again I see more hassle than its worth for my manic ass! Though the DWC set up I'm running now makes my veggies look great and healthy.
 
almost forgot +reps to you for your knowledge and will to learn for us all!!
 
Sorry to hear about the slime , you will get it under control I have no doubt. I feel yah on the hurdles on both my indoor grows, but as you said it will only make us better . Best of luck on kicking the algaes ass.OG
 
Don't be scared. ;)

It's a lot easier than I make it look. :)

To that end I might suggest a RDWC instead of just the buckets. Or actually, taking into consideration the size of your closet, a multisite tub. The biggest hassle is the amount of time it takes to change out the nutes for 4 buckets. I'm gonna redesign my grow a bit in the future to either 1 large tub w/ 4 plants or RDWC if I can figure out how to set it up w/ the main res outside the growbox. :)
 
Hey there K check into Hozona he has the set up not Any of that dwc stuff, but it it is as easy as taking the top off the tote out of the veg room and placing it into the bloom room, he has a DIY thread on it too.
 
OG1969 said:
Hey there K check into Hozona he has the set up not Any of that dwc stuff, but it it is as easy as taking the top off the tote out of the veg room and placing it into the bloom room, he has a DIY thread on it too.
Click to expand...

Thanks OG!!

I'll check out the Journal. It's been on my list, but sometimes I have a hard time keeping up w/ all of my subscriptions. :) It'd be great to not have to drill more holes in the box.

K
 
Later that evening.................


OG1969 said:
Hey there K check into Hozona he has the set up not Any of that dwc stuff, but it it is as easy as taking the top off the tote out of the veg room and placing it into the bloom room, he has a DIY thread on it too.
Click to expand...


Holy crap! I got about 4-5 pages into the current(?) journal maybe and then WHAM!! That Hozaero Hoozits is the BOMB! When I first thought about trying hydro, I was also considering something similar conceptually, for my herbs and veggies during the snowy time. Yet, I couldn't quite
realize a design that would do what I was envisioning it could. This opens a whole new avenue of possibilities!! :thumb:

I was trying to play ideas off of this gizmotron herethat Mr.Smith built. But with an eye towards aesthetics as well as function. I'm inspired!

I got to go back and give that man a lil' kudos! And the tutorial is almost archetypal in its simplicity too. No need for over-explaining. Nice!


:peace:

K
 
What's up K'ster! I'm genuinely interested in your thoughts and blueprints for the setup you're attempting.
I won't be switching to my 2x2 soon, so I still have plenty of thinking time (mid april). I considered many options including hempy, dwc, flood style, and aero. If I can keep my resevoir outside the tent then it will most probably be aero pvc DIY setup. I'm waaayyy too medicated to discuss what I see as pros and cons of each style, but I definitely will tomorrow :laughtwo:. Looking forward to bounce ideas off you K'man. I'm completely new to hydro and almost completely new to growing all together :rofl: LOL, sooo... this should be fun :)!!!


Cheers :grinjoint:
 
As am I Sir! :)

Will ride this wave together and do some tricky thing that surfers may do when they ride said waves!:high-five:

(I'm equally as far from either ocean as the other and have less than no experience with surfing terminology, aside from Spicoli.:surf::slide:)
 

Similar threads

Korloin
Third Times A Charm They Say
12 13 14 15 16 17
Replies
328
Views
26K
Happy Kitty
Happy Kitty
S
Strawberry Cheesecake & Critical Kush - Soil Grow Journal
Replies
4
Views
2K
David Bowman
David Bowman
mrbubbles87
Mr Bubbles Goes Hydro RDWC
Replies
3
Views
954
David Bowman
David Bowman
Blastyblast
White Russian (FEM), Afghani, Bag Seed, Hydro CFL Grow
2
Replies
20
Views
7K
Munki
Munki
S
Stonecutter's 300Watt CFL To 600Watt HPS Coco & Perlite Medium
Replies
8
Views
1K
Amadeus Forzin
Amadeus Forzin
Back
Top Bottom