White Fuzz On Top Of Hydroton?

[KSum]

Any idea what this might be, or if I should be worried about it? I saw a post about something similar in soil that suggested it might just be excess salts drying. This was taken under a microscope and while there are thin white structures that look like fuzz, there are also larger crystals on the rocks. So I'm inclined to thing it's just nutes drying on top. Which makes sense since I know I didn't put enough of the hydroton in the buckets and can see the water during the fill cycle.

Anyway, if anyone thinks this might be a fungus or something harmful, please speak up.

Thanks.

 

[NCDude]

Looks like mold….

 

[KSum]

Anything I should worry about? If so, how should I treat it?

Current conditions in the room are,
- Temp 72-80 F
- Humidity 40-50 %

 

[AKgramma]

Once you have mold, the plant is doomed, unless it's a very big plant and the mold is localized and you can cut out that branch. You have to remove the moldy plant from the others ASAP. Mold will spray spores all over your grow.

 

[KSum]

..but it's not anywhere on the plant. This stuff is in the rocks. (Hydrocorn)

 

[AKgramma]

I'm only familiar with soil gardening, so I don't know if you can add something to the water, or if this bodes evil for water culture. There are beneficial fungi in soil that provide nutes to the plant. Is it the same for hydroculture?

I guess the best indicator is how healthy your plants look. If they're strong and sturdy, then leave it alone. If the stems are getting soggy and/or your leaves start dying, then you have a real problem.

 

[KSum]

Not sure how long it's been there exactly. Maybe a week or so. The plants don't show any signs of it and are doing fantastic. (love hydro) In soil I've never gotten a plant this far into flower without the whole thing turning yellow. By the time I harvested the plants were almost stripped bare, and I never got more than 1.2 oz from each one. I think with a couple of these in hydro I'm looking at 3-4 oz, and with the one I FIMd and Fluxed it could give about 8 oz. Have to wait and see.

So I guess for now I'll leave it alone and watch to make sure it doesn't end up on the plant or start degrading their performance.

 

[iwltfum]

can you upload pictures of it without using the scope?

 

[KSum]

I should mention, some of that is perlite. The only plants showing this are the ones I transplanted from soil and I was unable to remove all the soil and stuff from the main root ball just under the trunk.

 

[AKgramma]

So, does soil contaminate the hydro? Do you have to gently rinse all the soil from the roots before putting it in hydro?

 

[KSum]

Yes, you would have to remove as much as you can anyway. In a bubble pot it wouldn't make a lot of difference but I'm using an Ebb and Flow system for 18 plants. The three that are showing this are the only ones I transplanted from soil, and the only ones currently in the bud room.

The remaining dirt does get distributed throughout the system, but it hasn't shown any ill effects on anything. If nothing else going from soil to hydro has doubled yield and produced much healthier plants.

I currently have the 3 in the bud room, 9 autos, 2 photoperiod and 1 clone off of one of those.

 

[KSum]

So I've now noticed this white stuff on the rocks creeping up in other pots in the system. Still not sure if it's nutrient buildup from the ebb & flow or some sort of mold, mildew or fungus. The weird thing is it's not showing up on the plants at all. Just on the rocks. Even the plants that I've harvested that had this on the rocks, the roots were clean.

I'm about to change the water in the system today, so I think I'll make the PPM a little lower this time and see if it rinses away. My other thought was water temp. I don't have a chiller, and the water is steady at around 68 F. (21 C) That may have something to do with it, not sure. The weather here is supposed to be in the upper 90s to low 100s over the next few weeks, so taking care of these babies in that heat will be interesting. I have A/C, so there's that..

 

[AKgramma]

Your water could have lots of minerals that are crystallizing out. My tap water is high in calcium, which leaves residue on my dishes, faucets, sinks, etc.

 

[KSum]

Could be. I know after a while there's a film buildup on my fish tank stuff, and this stuff does have a more crystalline structure.

PPM of the water out of the tap is 17.

 

[AKgramma]

Well then, if your plants are happy, then don't worry about it. ;-)