New Aeroponic System - Journal shows root progress

More brown sh*t on my roots, 2 members say not to worry if the plants are healthy, I want to know how to get rid of this, water changed weekly, after cleaning res & submerged gear that gets a "slimy" coating of the same (brown algae). I want bright white, roots, correct??? thanks to all that respond, I'm learning FAST!

a better pic of nasty brown on roots

root growth aeroponics 10 14

What kind of system are you using? Are the roots in the water & you have a bubbler putting air into the water, like putting air in a fish tank? Or do your roots hang inside a pipe & have nute water sprayed on them at short intervals?

What kind of water are you using? What kinda nutes? Not enough info.

mM

medMUser;bt4525 said:

What kind of system are you using? Are the roots in the water & you have a bubbler putting air into the water, like putting air in a fish tank? Or do your roots hang inside a pipe & have nute water sprayed on them at short intervals?

What kind of water are you using? What kinda nutes? Not enough info.

mM

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Strain - Sativa Hybrid KGB
# of Plants - 2
Grow Type - AERO (roots reached water-DWC)
Grow Stage - flower started Oct 15
Setup - RUBBERMAID 35 Gallon
Light - two CFL
Nutrients - FOXFARM
Medium - lavarock
PPM - 900
PH - 6
RH - 50% to 55%
Room Temperature - 62 to 78
Solution Temperature - 65 to 69
Room Square Footage - 6
Pests - None Known

medMUser;bt4525 said:

What kind of system are you using? Are the roots in the water & you have a bubbler putting air into the water, like putting air in a fish tank? Or do your roots hang inside a pipe & have nute water sprayed on them at short intervals?

What kind of water are you using? What kinda nutes? Not enough info.

mM

Click to expand...

Again, thanks for the help here. I have a 35 gal. Rubbermaid reservoir (painted black), 2- 6"pots w/4" of Lava rock (1/2"), 2 plants, started as aero, w/ 400GPH pump-running 8 red sprinklers. I clean/ water change weekly. PH likes to go up, I try to keep it at 6.0 , PPM 3-500. I was concerned that the browning of roots, could be a problem, however, I determined the browning was from the GrowBig nutrients. Since switching to Bloom solution of different brand, the algae has stopped growing on everything in the reservior. My browning was from Nuts. NOT from (entirely) light I thought may leak thru the plastic or the lava rocks.

The roots reached the water about 3 weeks ago, now almost 75% of the root-mass is always submerged. (turning into DWC). Could you make any suggestions? This is my first run @ aero/DWC. Should I train the roots to stay out of water a little more. You can find pics of the entire rig in my posts/blog/journal pics. Any help greatly appreciated!

Oct 21 root progress aeroponics DWC

WOw thems some unhealthy lookin roots... I would guess light is getting through our reservoir. Only problems I've had with my roots browning is because I didnt wash my hydroton enough... turns them brownish/orange. My opinion? If the plants are happy.. the plants are happy.. Add some micorrhizae to your babies. Great white keeps healthy roots. Make sure your parameters are correct

I don't think you want the roots in the water. Don't you just want the water on the roots only when your sprayer sprays it on them? As far as I understand, to much water is not good, like over watering soil where the soil mix is muddy & overly wet.

Good luck.

mM

Thats a big negative Meduser... Deep Water Culture.. Long as your water is loaded with airstones you are absolutely fine.

jonashere;bt4611 said:

Thats a big negative Meduser... Deep Water Culture.. Long as your water is loaded with airstones you are absolutely fine.

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You are correct jonashere.

I didn't see any airstones, but I may have missed them.

Clones can be made by putting cuttings directly in water if, like you say, there are plenty of airstones.

It looked to me like the roots were sitting in the water, which without extra oxygen will turn brown.

mM

Please LOOK! Do I see AMBER trichome in this picture?

Could the problem have been from the lava rock? And it doesn't look like the water is being returned to the reservoir.

I understand that areo growers use round supports to hold the plant above the roots & have baskets the roots go in. I didn't know that a medium was used to support to upper part of the plant.

Any way, how did this get solved & what was the problem?

mM

current outdoor journal pics Diablo & VanillaOG (bush)
https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/late-outdoor-coastal-progress-journal-4-strains.198361/

Hey I'm going to make my way round most of these blog posts as they are quite interesting to read.

As for the browning of the roots, this is known as root rot, or better known as pythium. THIS is deadly and what all hydro growers like myself try to stay clear from. The reason it occurs is due to warm water temperatures (68-75F) and low dissolved oxygen in the reservoir. This is a breeding haven for all types of anaerobic bacteria to form.

Now I noticed this was a while ago, but if you ever do find yourself back in hydro here are a few tips to help you avoid this kind of problem.

Since this turned into a Aero/DWC combo, you would need to incorporate some airstones in order to keep the O2 levels in your stagnant water up. I would also invest in a water chiller if you insist on keeping a 'sterile' environment for your roots. That is not introducing 'beneficial bacteria' , but instead using products like H2O2 to keep the bad and good bacteria away.

If a water chiller is not in your future, then I can humbly suggest the use of beneficial bacteria, or as the 'stoners' call it, 'bennies'. Like Jona mentioned above, Great White is a superb product. I use it in combination with Aqua Shield to make a 'Heisenberg Tea' in which I feed weekly into my reservoir or root mass. IT helps keep the anaerobic (bad) bacteria away, and creates a healthy symbiotic relationship with your roots.

Well, there is plenty more I could discuss on the subject, but give me a shout if you ever need any more help in this field.

[I agree with Africangrower and jonas here. There is no problem with your roots residing or hitting your water they will take what they need. Yes you have to keep the water oxygenated an air stone will correct this problem. I keep my airstone on all the time and change my water completely every two weeks. The better condition your water the happier are your roots. Yes you want them to be white and plentiful people like to compare then to fish skeletons. I strongly suspect your biggest issue is the non UV protection of your rubbermaid container this can be corrected by a piece of cardboard covered with aluminum foil on the top of your unit. This will repel the rays back up and not into your unit and might also help with the heat issue. I also imagine that your growth has been stunted at this point. Please reply and let me know how you and your plants are doing. LOL I just noticed the date on this post. Oh well I am sure you have learned alot since then if you get this message let me know how you are doing your concerned grower friend [/COLOR]