Problem with Hydroton and need help

[jdogrulz]

I had this in an old thread in lighting and thought I better put it in the correct place.

Ok, guys I think I have figured out the problem, and it is completely my fault. (See Photos)
I did not clean my Hydroton properly.
I did rinse them out until I thought it was clean but after doing some research these guys need some serious cleaning before using.
I just used my tap water which has a high PH, I did not balance them in corrected PH water, and I did not soak them for 24 hrs in 3% hydrogen peroxide solution.
So now it makes sense why the PH keeps going back up on me. The OXY Ring drips down and washes the bad material from the balls into my water and makes my PH skyrocket.

So now that I have figured it out, I need some help with the solution.

1. Should I just kill the plant and start over?
2. Is there a way of transplanting the plant from the current hydroton and put in clean ones without killing it?
3. Try and use a hydrogen Peroxide solution and rinse them off in a dry bucket, which would also sterilize my roots at the same time, but I don't know if it would kill it or not?

Or any other ideas would be highly appreciated.

For right now I have just removed the OXY Ring from the air circuit and just put an air stone on it to keep from washing any more shit down into my new fresh water.

 

[Tokin Roll]

As for the hydroton I would just give it a good flush through the hydroton with ph'd water but, it looks like you are about to experience a potassium deficiency. You may want to use the flush to clean your roots also. Then do a solution change on the refill.

What are you PH'ing your water too?

Solution for Potassium Deficiency in Cannabis​

Note: Sometimes a cannabis potassium deficiency (like all deficiencies) can be triggered by stressful conditions (for example overwatering, heat, transplant , etc) and may clear up on its own after the period of stress is over. If you only see one or two affected leaves near the bottom of the plant, and the problem isn’t spreading, I wouldn’t worry too much about it!

1.) Make Sure It’s Not Light Burn
When a cannabis plant is kept too close to the grow lights, it can get light burn which looks almost exactly like a potassium deficiency. If you’re using powerful lights like an LED or MH/HPS, consider moving the light away a few inches further away to see if that stops the problem from spreading. LEDs or MH/HPS should never be kept closer than 12″ away, and most models should be kept further.


2.) Use Good Sources of Nutrients
Most cannabis growers don’t need to add more nutrients if their leaves are experiencing a nutrient deficiency. In fact, most growers have actually already given plenty of potassium to their cannabis plants, whether they meant to or not. If you’re using quality soil or cannabis-friendly nutrients, you probably don’t need to worry about adding more potassium.

Potassium deficiencies are generally more likely to appear when a grower is using heavily filtered or reverse osmosis (RO) water to feed plants, but as long as you’re giving your plants a good source of nutrients, you probably need to…

3.) Adjust pH to Correct Range
But the reason most growers see potassium deficiencies is because potassium is best absorbed at lower pH ranges. When the pH gets too high, your plant may exhibit signs of a potassium deficiency even if it’s physically there near the roots.

In soil, potassium is best absorbed by the roots in the 6.0 – 7.0 pH range

In hydro or coco coir, potassium is best absorbed by the roots in the 5.5 – 6.5 pH range

4.) Watch Leaves for Recovery
If you suspect your growing cannabis plant has a potassium deficiency, flush your system with clean, pH’d water that contains a regular dose of cannabis-friendly nutrients. Old damaged growth will likely not recover. Watch plant over next few days to make sure that the problem stops spreading to new growth.

Hope this helps.

Stay safe and grow well my friend,
Tok..

 

[Roy Growin]

You can still rinse with H2O2, won't harm the res

 

[jdogrulz]

As for the hydroton I would just give it a good flush through the hydroton with ph'd water but, it looks like you are about to experience a potassium deficiency. You may want to use the flush to clean your roots also. Then do a solution change on the refill.

What are you PH'ing your water too?

Solution for Potassium Deficiency in Cannabis​

Note: Sometimes a cannabis potassium deficiency (like all deficiencies) can be triggered by stressful conditions (for example overwatering, heat, transplant , etc) and may clear up on its own after the period of stress is over. If you only see one or two affected leaves near the bottom of the plant, and the problem isn’t spreading, I wouldn’t worry too much about it!

1.) Make Sure It’s Not Light Burn
When a cannabis plant is kept too close to the grow lights, it can get light burn which looks almost exactly like a potassium deficiency. If you’re using powerful lights like an LED or MH/HPS, consider moving the light away a few inches further away to see if that stops the problem from spreading. LEDs or MH/HPS should never be kept closer than 12″ away, and most models should be kept further.


2.) Use Good Sources of Nutrients
Most cannabis growers don’t need to add more nutrients if their leaves are experiencing a nutrient deficiency. In fact, most growers have actually already given plenty of potassium to their cannabis plants, whether they meant to or not. If you’re using quality soil or cannabis-friendly nutrients, you probably don’t need to worry about adding more potassium.

Potassium deficiencies are generally more likely to appear when a grower is using heavily filtered or reverse osmosis (RO) water to feed plants, but as long as you’re giving your plants a good source of nutrients, you probably need to…

3.) Adjust pH to Correct Range
But the reason most growers see potassium deficiencies is because potassium is best absorbed at lower pH ranges. When the pH gets too high, your plant may exhibit signs of a potassium deficiency even if it’s physically there near the roots.

In soil, potassium is best absorbed by the roots in the 6.0 – 7.0 pH range

In hydro or coco coir, potassium is best absorbed by the roots in the 5.5 – 6.5 pH range

4.) Watch Leaves for Recovery
If you suspect your growing cannabis plant has a potassium deficiency, flush your system with clean, pH’d water that contains a regular dose of cannabis-friendly nutrients. Old damaged growth will likely not recover. Watch plant over next few days to make sure that the problem stops spreading to new growth.

Hope this helps.

Stay safe and grow well my friend,
Tok..

Hey Tok,
Man that is some great info and tips. Thank you so much!

This is my first DWC grow so I am sure this will not be my last mistake that I make.

I usually set my water PH between 5.5 - 5.8. But like I said in my last post, it did not matter what I set it to, the next day it would be back up to 8.5-8.9.

So I will do the flush using H2O2, make new water and see what happens.

What about the brown (bad) roots, do I trim those off?

 

[jdogrulz]

You can still rinse with H2O2, won't harm the res

Thanks Roy!

 

[Tokin Roll]

Are you able to get Hydro Guard?
If so it will keep your roots white and healthy

Tok..

 

[LKABudMan]

The brown roots may just be hydroton dust. See if you can spray them clean with some plain water.

 

[jdogrulz]

Are you able to get Hydro Guard?
If so it will keep your roots white and healthy

Tok..

No but I can get TA FlashClean. Do you or anyone have any experience with that?

 

[jdogrulz]

The brown roots may just be hydroton dust. See if you can spray them clean with some plain water.

Thanks budman for the tip, however I did wash the dust off and they were clean, just not the acidity and I did not soak them in PH balanced water.

 

[LKABudMan]

Thanks budman for the tip, however I did wash the dust off and they were clean, just not the acidity and I did not soak them in PH balanced water.

Even washed off it's easy to get dust on the roots. See if the brown sprays off.

 

[Wastei]

The dirty hydroton won't kill anything. It will sort it self out at complete weekly reservoir changes where you're able to empty it out. Water through the netpots daily to speed up the process.

Growing in water cultures you need some preventative measures to combat nasties like anaerobic bacteria like pythium root rot. I've uses regular unscented bleach for decades in hydro with great results.

You need to choose route. Either the bacteria and enzyme route or by using an oxidizer. The goal either way is to clean and keeping the roots pristine white and clean of any biofilm preventing continuous optimal nutrient uptake. The best most affordable commercial product to use in the states is SouthernAG Garden Friendly fungicide. It's way more concentrated than Hydroguard and will last years instead of a couple of grows.

Use the link in my signature to find the chlorine dilution calculator and recommendations for different growing methods. It's the safest and most stable approach if you're not using a water chiller.

Hope that helps and PM me if you have any problems putting in the data in the calculator.

Cheers!