White slime on air stones and roots

[TurboBucket]

The salt in the water will cause any metal to corrode. They use brass for marine applications for a reason lol.

It's strange to me that it's on the stones, most baddies are anaerobic and thrive in low oxygen environments.

That being said if everything hasn't been thoroughly sanitized there could be any manner of junk hiding in it. I had to try and sterilize a new circulation pump and tubing three times in a week before I finally managed to get it clean enough the infection stayed gone. That was a yellowish sludge building up in the line.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Will metal cause issues in the rez? I have curtain rod rings weighing down my air stones ATM, doubt they are coated in anything. Will the oxygen in the water cause the metal to oxidize? And will the ferrous oxide feed bacteria?

Most people would probably confuse that with ferric oxide (rust, lol).

Wait, you're using iron curtain rings? With a complete hydroponic nutrient set, I suppose you'd have a few options "in that regard." There's iron sulfate - sometimes given to plants in a soil environment to reduce yellowing/chlorosis. Might be more; I just woke up from a nap and am not up for thinking back to chemistry class at the moment.

Were I to weight down air stones in a reservoir, I'd probably use some sort of sterilized stone. But, since the bulk of the actual oxygenation takes place at the air:water interface (surface) where all the little bubbles are bursting, I tended to not bother - unless they're floating on top, probably not worth bothering with (IMHO).

Oh, do you know about aquarium powerhead devices? I'm a big fan (for use in DWC reservoirs). Dead-simple pump, draws up from bottom and "blows" it out across the reservoir, causing constant flow. Oxygenates via a little air line, pulls air in via venturi effect at the same time. They used to cost $19.95 or so at pet stores, ChinaMart, etc. Probably up to $23 or $25 now. I still don't believe your issue is oxygen-related, though - but they're pretty helpful in general, and you probably won't attain a state in which you're providing too much oxygenation (yes, I realize it's technically possible). Generally speaking, well-oxygenated root zone equals healthier plants that grow at a better rate and, often, require less nutrients than otherwise due to the plants' increased metabolic/etc. efficiency. Are there any friends/neighbors/relatives you can beg a different nutrient (and pH-adjuster) set from? A lot of folks start with General Hydroponics three-part Flora series, then move on to something else ("If it costs more, it must be better...") and have something like that somewhere in a box gathering dust. If sealed tightly and uncontaminated, it should still be good. The product line has been around since the late 1970s, has even been to orbit, lol.

I don't go out of my way to recommend General Hydroponics products now that Scotts Miracle-Gro owns the company through its Hawthorne Gardening Company shell corporation. But that's because I cannot stand the parent company; I wouldn't have bought ice cream from Hitler, either, lol. However, unless they've dicked with the formulation since the purchase, it will still perform well. If you're "I don't have much money" poor instead of "eating out of dumpsters" poor, you can use GH's two-part dry nutrient set (Maxi series). Some people will use only the MaxiBloom component, although this gives less options for adjusting ratios than having both components. Plants might require a "calcium + magnesium" supplement, although if you're using tap water, you might get by with commonly available Epsom salt for additional magnesium, instead. Maxi series nutrients used to work out to pennies per gallon, and are probably still one of the cheapest hydroponic nutrient sets.

Another suggestion: You should be able to find contact information for the company/companies that manufactured your pH adjusters and nutrients. Contact each and make sure that they've been tested in and approved for a highly oxygenated deep water culture hydroponic environment. My guess is still that one or more of them isn't. (I'd be happy to get schooled and eat my words, because I will have learned something - but I'd be even happier to be proven correct, because that will mean you've found the cause of your issue, lol.)

 

[Gorgothl]

Most people would probably confuse that with ferric oxide (rust, lol).

Wait, you're using iron curtain rings? With a complete hydroponic nutrient set, I suppose you'd have a few options "in that regard." There's iron sulfate - sometimes given to plants in a soil environment to reduce yellowing/chlorosis. Might be more; I just woke up from a nap and am not up for thinking back to chemistry class at the moment.

Were I to weight down air stones in a reservoir, I'd probably use some sort of sterilized stone. But, since the bulk of the actual oxygenation takes place at the air:water interface (surface) where all the little bubbles are bursting, I tended to not bother - unless they're floating on top, probably not worth bothering with (IMHO).

Oh, do you know about aquarium powerhead devices? I'm a big fan (for use in DWC reservoirs). Dead-simple pump, draws up from bottom and "blows" it out across the reservoir, causing constant flow. Oxygenates via a little air line, pulls air in via venturi effect at the same time. They used to cost $19.95 or so at pet stores, ChinaMart, etc. Probably up to $23 or $25 now. I still don't believe your issue is oxygen-related, though - but they're pretty helpful in general, and you probably won't attain a state in which you're providing too much oxygenation (yes, I realize it's technically possible). Generally speaking, well-oxygenated root zone equals healthier plants that grow at a better rate and, often, require less nutrients than otherwise due to the plants' increased metabolic/etc. efficiency. Are there any friends/neighbors/relatives you can beg a different nutrient (and pH-adjuster) set from? A lot of folks start with General Hydroponics three-part Flora series, then move on to something else ("If it costs more, it must be better...") and have something like that somewhere in a box gathering dust. If sealed tightly and uncontaminated, it should still be good. The product line has been around since the late 1970s, has even been to orbit, lol.

I don't go out of my way to recommend General Hydroponics products now that Scotts Miracle-Gro owns the company through its Hawthorne Gardening Company shell corporation. But that's because I cannot stand the parent company; I wouldn't have bought ice cream from Hitler, either, lol. However, unless they've dicked with the formulation since the purchase, it will still perform well. If you're "I don't have much money" poor instead of "eating out of dumpsters" poor, you can use GH's two-part dry nutrient set (Maxi series). Some people will use only the MaxiBloom component, although this gives less options for adjusting ratios than having both components. Plants might require a "calcium + magnesium" supplement, although if you're using tap water, you might get by with commonly available Epsom salt for additional magnesium, instead. Maxi series nutrients used to work out to pennies per gallon, and are probably still one of the cheapest hydroponic nutrient sets.

Another suggestion: You should be able to find contact information for the company/companies that manufactured your pH adjusters and nutrients. Contact each and make sure that they've been tested in and approved for a highly oxygenated deep water culture hydroponic environment. My guess is still that one or more of them isn't. (I'd be happy to get schooled and eat my words, because I will have learned something - but I'd be even happier to be proven correct, because that will mean you've found the cause of your issue, lol.)

Yeah I was looking at getting either the GH line, but am a little bit more impressed with optimum hydroponics line, they actually tell you what's in the bottle, types of N,P,K and other chelateds.

I bought new stones, the old ones I bought at big Al's, it's possible they don't oxygenate enough but I doubt it. Either way they were bought so that I can soak the ones currently in use for 24 hours in 29% h2o2.

I bought some h2o2 29% 1.5ml to 1L, going to use that to clean all buckets lines, and while doing that searching for more light leaks.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

optimum hydroponics line seems to be not a very used nute line

Personally I'd stick with main stream popular nutes so u have access to help

Be careful with that h202, it's nasty stuff, can burn a hole to China if yer not careful

 

[TurboBucket]

Yea don't reinvent the wheel your first roll. Find someone your comfortable asking questions and run what they got for awhile.

And definitely wear gloves when handling that h2o2.

 

[Gorgothl]

Yeah I burnt myself last night, couple drips splashed back up and landed on my wrist, should of wore long sleeves with my gloves.

Yea don't reinvent the wheel your first roll. Find someone your comfortable asking questions and run what they got for awhile.

And definitely wear gloves when handling that h2o2.

What do you mean dont reinvent the wheel?

 

[TurboBucket]

Find someone that's running a proven system similar to what you want to run and adapt that to your needs.

Don't pick a hot new start up nutrient, or a bargain bin one. Pick something lots of folks use so you have a big knowledge base to learn from. If you run into problems with an unknown fertilizer a lot of folks will just throw their hands up and say "idk never used it". If you run something more common you'll find a lot more folks have some helpful knowledge to share.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Exactly....what I said and Turbo said

KISS baby. KISS

 

[Bob Loblaw]

First of I'm an amateur when it comes to growing but here's my experience that may help you.

I use hydroton but I have a different system, anyway I covered my hydroton with plastic sheets last grow and I too had a white slime on top (I can't see my roots). It didn't seem to affect the plant but it was concerning to me, I did try H202 but there was too much slime to kill off.

This round I put a 1" spacer under my plastic covers in otherwords I raised my covers a bit to give airflow over the rocks... seems to have worked as I don't see the white slime anymore. It's either that or the fact that I've been using sensizym religiously this time round. Another thing I did differently this time is a really good flush every res change (2 weeks).

After my last grow cleaning my hydroton was a week long affair. This time round my hydroton looks cleaner than when I started this grow save for a little bit of algae left over from last time. 4 weeks into flower.

Oh yea the spacers are just 1"x1"x2" blocks of Styrofoam insulation and or acrylic pen blanks. Do not use metal or anything organic.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Don't pick a hot new start up nutrient, or a bargain bin one.

If the person actually means Optimum Hydroponix, the brand has been in existence for about 28 years, lol. It's not one of the more popular brands, but a quick web-search shows that it does get used for growing cannabis.

With that having been said, I agree with others. If you're not experienced at growing cannabis, stick with products that are popular enough that you can find completed grow journals to skim through, ongoing journals to follow along with, and have a better chance of one of the subscribers to YOUR journal seeing something and saying, "Yeah, the same thing happened to me when I did that. This is what I did to fix it..."

Or you can do things the hard way. There's still a pretty good chance you'd have a harvest. The probability, "statistically speaking," is a little lower, though, as is the probability that you'll have a happy harvest (if you know what I mean). But, assuming a legitimate nutrient company (yes, in this case), you know how to grow plants in general, have a basic understanding of cannabis' general nutritional needs (there's some variance, so it's not quite a "one size fits all" kind of thing, and what's fine for a lot of plants could severely burn others), and know how to recognize deficiencies/toxicities + what causes them (it's not always a simple lack of a particular element - and might not even usually be) + how to treat such things, et cetera... then you and your plants should be fine.

Probably .

Do you feel lucky?

 

[Dr Fish]

If you use this type air pump, you can always use this kind of filter if you worry about what's in the air..

 

[Dr Fish]

This is what it looked like after a couple years..

 

[pr3tti]

@Gorgothl

No need for expensive water chillers or upgraded air pump. All you need is a $29.95 CAD bottle of hydroponic-friendly algicide to get rid of the white slime.

Go to Homegrown Hydroponics (not sure if you're in Ontario, Canada), get a bottle of Hydro-Sparkle from there. It saved my grow when I had root issues.

What is it
It is a polyquat-based algicide and emulsifier designed specifically against slime and root rot in hydroponic applications. This product isn't sold in the US anymore so only us Canadians can get it.

How it works
It works via a dual mode of attack so microbes will have a much tougher time developing resistance to it then just an oxidizer like H2O2 or bleach. And unlike those options, it does not injure the root system and is harmless to plant cells. It only affects single-celled organisms with cell walls like protists, molds, bacteria, and enveloped viruses.

How to use
I use 5ml per 5gal in DWC on the first sign of infection. Then 2.5ml per week for maintainence. It's only like $29.95 CAD for the 500ml bottle so this will last a long time. MUCH cheaper than Hydro-guard, and you won't be playing microbe war. Extremely useful product. Saved my DWC from rot just 2 weeks ago. I did a shit ton of research and finally found this product and it saved my DWC grow.

Good luck!

 

[Gorgothl]

So an update, maybe a thread closure as well. But the white slime is all gone now. I bought tarantula, threw 19ml in each rez and within days I had brand new white roots all the brown decaying roots were taken care of. Plants are healthy now and have massive root systems also they are in veg for any of those wondering if they can use tarantula during veg.

 

[BedroomFarmer]

Yup, all you needed was an enzyme to keep stuff clean in the rez. AN tarantula is probably the most expensive one available, glad it fixed your issues.

 

[Delps8]

So an update, maybe a thread closure as well. But the white slime is all gone now. I bought tarantula, threw 19ml in each rez and within days I had brand new white roots all the brown decaying roots were taken care of. Plants are healthy now and have massive root systems also they are in veg for any of those wondering if they can use tarantula during veg.

Thanks for posting the solution.
I’m growing Gorilla Glue autos and they’ve been in the res for just over a week (grow journal is here). A couple of days ago, the air hoses felt a little slimy and then I found white spots on one net pot. Just this morning, I was greeted by a blob of white slime on the roots of one plant.
A bottle of Advanced Nutrients 5401-12 Tarantula Liquid Fertilizer, 250 mL, 0.25 Liter is due in from Jeff’s place tomorrow.
And everything was going so well…

 

[Sgtsativa]

It’s fine your a week into veg. Bubble some h202 diluted about 50/50 (or flying skull) with cool clean water for an hour a week . The bacteria is always there your just setting it back too much to grow by flushing with cleaner

 

[Delps8]

It’s fine your a week into veg. Bubble some h202 diluted about 50/50 (or flying skull) with cool clean water for an hour a week . The bacteria is always there your just setting it back too much to grow by flushing with cleaner

A week into veg?! Wow. SLF’s (“short little f…ellas”). And that’s because the five fingered leaves?

If that’s the case, my EC should be a lot higher than 0.5. I was thinking of bumping it to 0.7 but, if these guys are a week into veg, I should have an EC in the 1.6 range. I’ll bump to 1.0 EC and see how they deal with it.

Not enough H2O2 on hand - I think we have a pint bottle. OTOH, Jeff’s guy will be here tomorrow. If that don’t do it, I’ll find a big bottle of H2O2 (the res is 35 gallons to the bottom of the net pots).

 

[Sgtsativa]

I don’t do metric.ppm is what I use in North America doesn’t matter. I don’t know about your setup. 35 gallons you must be doing 7 plants? Doesn’t matter because I do know root rot lol trust me. If you don’t clean every week you’ll get it.usually the last of weeks of flower and your plants shrivel and paralyze in my experience it’s great , waste all the time and fert just to haven die 2 weeks to harvest

 

[Delps8]

Definitely don’t want to have plants die two weeks before harvest! When I swap the res, I take pump as much crap out of the bottom as I can and there are no plants or dirt in the garage so I won’t get anything coming in that way.
I just refilled the res. EC 1.0, 5.8, and 68.

Still can’t get over how “compact” these plants are…