DWC and pythium

[Osash78]

I feel so bad for guys having this issue with the root zone.
I got only one time and it was because of pump failure.
Back in days, I found out that changing ress to offen is not for me.
My water it will become stable in 7 days... why change ress when it comes stable??
This is what I learned with my setups...
I never change res. just adjusting ph for the first week, then just topping with tap water (130ppm)and adjusting ppm according to the situation. At this point, I have a stable ph... My max water temp is around 82F-28oC. And this is a lot...
The smell in the reservoir is like freshly harvested potatoes.
I found out the only airstone is not enough for water movement.
I always put a water pump to agitate/transfer/circulate (depend on setup)
do not need to be powerful... maby put drippers...
Maby in your case better water agitation/movement it will help...
I'm using KISS method, with nutrients... so no additives at all...
Less is more...

[TacticGuy]

I feel so bad for guys having this issue with the root zone.
I got only one time and it was because of pump failure.
Back in days, I found out that changing ress to offen is not for me.
My water it will become stable in 7 days... why change ress when it comes stable??
This is what I learned with my setups...
I never change res. just adjusting ph for the first week, then just topping with tap water (130ppm)and adjusting ppm according to the situation. At this point, I have a stable ph... My max water temp is around 82F-28oC. And this is a lot...
The smell in the reservoir is like freshly harvested potatoes.
I found out the only airstone is not enough for water movement.
I always put a water pump to agitate/transfer/circulate (depend on setup)
do not need to be powerful... maby put drippers...
Maby in your case better water agitation/movement it will help...
I'm using KISS method, with nutrients... so no additives at all...
Less is more...

Yeah it sucks so badly lol.. Hope fully things will stabilize next run!
I see, pump failure would be a quick cause to let the pythium to get a hold, has not happened yet here though, knock on wood.

Hmm very interesting take on the rez change!
I am very scared of salt build ups though, and honestly PH doesnt fluctuate that much when pathogens are not taking a hold that is, it cycles automatically between 5.7 - 6.1, with only using 5.8-5.9 PH'ed tap water in my case, as long as the nutrient strength is not too weak or too strong that is.

Not sure what freshly harvested potatoes smell like, but generally it smells like 2-3 week old aquarium water that is healthy, even then i get brown slime and it eventually turns into rot. And there is no light leaks, and no other forms of algae.

With my setup i can't use a circulation pump due to the root size, it would clog the pump in a short time, but i use one in the top up rez, which never gets any slime or algae, which is a bit odd, same temps, airstone and steriliziation agent, smaller air pump though.

I have not yet tried a dripper setup though, could try that if i figure out a way to get a pump in the rez without tangling the roots! Any suggestions there ?

wow that high water temps also!
Mine is tyically 20-24c, usually 23-24c

Yeah one airstone is too little, i would agree, i run 4x 15cm wide disc airstones in a 50L tote, using 30L nutrient mix, on a 60L/min air pump, the industrial looking type from Hailea, think its called ACO-318 or something.

K.I.S.S method looks interesting, but i cant get a hold of maxi line in my country unfortunately. But i also read that its very similar to lucas formula, which is what i am running, and due to the strong LED's i need some extra calMag, but apart from that i only used superthrive, which is now out of the regimen.
Really wish i could get dry nutrients over here, but none to be found, and too scared to order overseas.

I am also a firm believer in less is more, but i have tried stuff due to the frustration of the outcomes thus far

Thanks for your time!

[Osash78]

I had a hard time to find Maxi fert line in my country to, but one of the grow shops here have it last 2 years...
Yea K.I.S.S. is similar to Lucas formula... can u get GH floranova line?
It is simple to use and I got really nice results... But due to dark colour u will have brown roots... but healthy brown roots(fulvic acid is making root brown and slimy)
U can see a biofilm on roots similar to slime but this is good, not bad as pathogens.
It looks so similar, without bad smell...
Did u try hempy bucket-style? Perlite70/Vermiculite30
It is the same growth rate and vigorous plants as in hydro setups...
Harder to get root problems...
But ... u have to hand water every 2nd day... or set up auto irrigation...
Hempy is my second option after dwc or Ntf/dwc...
Stay cool!!

[TacticGuy]

I had a hard time to find Maxi fert line in my country to, but one of the grow shops here have it last 2 years...
Yea K.I.S.S. is similar to Lucas formula... can u get GH floranova line?
It is simple to use and I got really nice results... But due to dark colour u will have brown roots... but healthy brown roots(fulvic acid is making root brown and slimy)
U can see a biofilm on roots similar to slime but this is good, not bad as pathogens.
It looks so similar, without bad smell...
Did u try hempy bucket-style? Perlite70/Vermiculite30
It is the same growth rate and vigorous plants as in hydro setups...
Harder to get root problems...
But ... u have to hand water every 2nd day... or set up auto irrigation...
Hempy is my second option after dwc or Ntf/dwc...
Stay cool!!

Oh really? Hmm will ask my online grow shop to get the maxi line, seems really neat.
Does the maxi line stain the roots with brown color also ?

no i cant get floranova line either, but i use micro and bloom from GH, of their 3 part, running lucas formula, but from what i have read, micro and bloom is basically the same as floranova, just not as thick in consistency.
Would love the maxi line though for easy storage, longer shelf life, and cheaper.

Yeah there has only once been really bad smell, that was my first attempt in hydro, without chlorine or bennies, and so after that i have been paranoid of pythium.
Maybe i have overreacted, and given up too early on the latter attempt? as i chopped it down before it would go too far, to try not to waste time, you know..
Other than that, the smell have not really been that bad, its mostly slower growth, brown roots with some slime, and foam in the tote(could be due to the strong air pump), which i assumed was microbe activity, which isn't ideal in a sterile system.

I may have been to eager to chop down and restart to avoid stuff as im thinking about what you are saying. and i actually hope you are right, so i don't pull the plug too early next time.

Nope, i have not tried the hempy system, i would like pure hydro, no actual media except rockwool and hydroton, but if i would go to another system, i would try NFT or Ebb and flow, since roots aren't submerged 24\7 it should at least function as a preventative to root rot.
I have only grown for a few years, 3 runs in soil, which i don't really like indoors due to the risks of pests, and 3 runs in DWC, but i have researched a lot for about 9 years now though.

Thanks for your time man, really appreciate it!

[Osash78]

Hmmm... hard to tell from the picture but for me seems all good
I have overreacted many times. So decided to leave root zone alone... or at least doing almost nothing there. If the plant is doing well I don't mind what is going on in root zone... just keeping things in the acceptable range. Bad smell is always a sign to react...
Here is CookiesKush 1 and a half week from harvest... I will flush with plain Ph-ed water in 5 days. Never had to change the reservoir this run. (it is cold atm) 20-25 oC...
Notice crystal clear water... Roots are covered with biofilm and pinkish Maxibloom clour
Only added regularly enzymes (cannazym) and twice(1st and 4th week) silica (rhino skin). At the start, this was DiY aquafarm/DWC system. In the 2nd week of flowering I noticed hard to mild fish smell from the tank... Did not overreact... instead, I brainstormed abit
Figured out that the roots coming from upper res with hydroton clogged holes. This makes the upper root zone stagnant. SO... I just unplugged the air pump assigned to dripper... leaving upper root zone dry out. But in the main/down ress I put another airstone... The smell disappeared in 2 days... as u can see plants are doing very well.
Now, this is only a DWC system without dripper, with a happy root zone.

[Osash78]

Oh forgot to mention... Gh 3 part is good fert line. Stick with it, do not waste money for other things. (shipping for maxi is a waste if u have GH 3 part...)
Always try to start with low PPM 350 max for seedlings/clones first 2 weeks
High PPM at the start can lead to root problems...

[TacticGuy]

Hmmm... hard to tell from the picture but for me seems all good
I have overreacted many times. So decided to leave root zone alone... or at least doing almost nothing there. If the plant is doing well I don't mind what is going on in root zone... just keeping things in the acceptable range. Bad smell is always a sign to react...
Here is CookiesKush 1 and a half week from harvest... I will flush with plain Ph-ed water in 5 days. Never had to change the reservoir this run. (it is cold atm) 20-25 oC...
Notice crystal clear water... Roots are covered with biofilm and pinkish Maxibloom clour
Only added regularly enzymes (cannazym) and twice(1st and 4th week) silica (rhino skin). At the start, this was DiY aquafarm/DWC system. In the 2nd week of flowering I noticed hard to mild fish smell from the tank... Did not overreact... instead, I brainstormed abit
Figured out that the roots coming from upper res with hydroton clogged holes. This makes the upper root zone stagnant. SO... I just unplugged the air pump assigned to dripper... leaving upper root zone dry out. But in the main/down ress I put another airstone... The smell disappeared in 2 days... as u can see plants are doing very well.
Now, this is only a DWC system without dripper, with a happy root zone.

First off, wow those buds looks amazing bro!

Yeah i guess i have also overreacted here, due to the bad experience first time around actually, when i think back about it!
The pictures i provided, was my last run, where there was no bad smell at all, just "earthy", best i can describe it i guess.
Also in a clear\translucent container, my nute solution is just as clear as the one you have actually, but it looks very dark due to the black container.

So that is cookies kush huh! nice!
Last run i had in Soil was cookies kush, and i crossed it with amnesia lemon ( i believe ), which i called CookiesBush, which is the only run that went well in DWC for me lol, got 197g dry from a 8 year old blurple 240w led, single plant

So cannazym actually work well in DWC ? i never tried enzymes, i may stick to sterile setup, but if it fails next time, i will try cannazym then i guess!

Oooh makes sense that the upper roots may get oversaturated with a drip system and blocked due to the tightness of the hydroton as the main stem expands

Looks great man! hope the run turns out great to the end, i can almost taste it from the images lol!

We learn as long as we live! I appreciate the help very much dude!

[TacticGuy]

Oh forgot to mention... Gh 3 part is good fert line. Stick with it, do not waste money for other things. (shipping for maxi is a waste if u have GH 3 part...)
Always try to start with low PPM 350 max for seedlings/clones first 2 weeks
High PPM at the start can lead to root problems...

For the first week i ran 200ppm nutes for the clone, as roots expanded and got bigger, and looked like she could sustain herself better, i upped to 500ppm, lucas formula, never raised it higher, for the mother she was at 700ppm, 52 days old from seed, 1 week into flower as i cut her down

[Osash78]

No problem man... I'm very happy to help.
I wish u can figure out what causes headache to u.
But yea u have to do mistakes to learn things. And when u figure out one thing soon will pop up new problem
This is the life Now, for example, I have rust spots on one of my ladies for the first time... I have to find out what it is...
I have some ideas... brainstorming...

[TacticGuy]

No problem man... I'm very happy to help.
I wish u can figure out what causes headache to u.
But yea u have to do mistakes to learn things. And when u figure out one thing soon will pop up new problem
This is the life Now, for example, I have rust spots on one of my ladies for the first time... I have to find out what it is...
I have some ideas... brainstorming...

Haha yeah for sure!
Would be boring if everything went perfect too though

Oooh, i had rust spots too, until i upped 150-200ppm of pure calMag in addition to lucas formula, so for my mother i ran 200ppm of calMag, then 500ppm of base nutes, then rust spots dissappeared, i think its mainly calcium deficiency due to LED's!
They say you don't need calMag with lucas formulas, but that's only true with HID's