DWC Root Slime Cure aka How to Breed Beneficial Microbes

Doer

Well-Known Member
Here are the new Bens in action. If I follow the proportions, especially not loading too much molasses, I get almost no foam and no weird smell. Just for the folks that haven't tried it yet. This is what it looks like. That is the wire handle of the lava rock box, brewing along with.
photo(14).jpg
 

Nolight

Active Member
Since last night roots have double in size. I have just been using old 1 gallon water jugs, always get foam the 20 hour mark, it always has a smell of dirt and flora nectar. It stops foaming once in the plants,
 

Nolight

Active Member
A bucket seems to risky to brew tea in, There a lot of crap can fall in from your house and you will have some weird crazy things growing in the water...
 

budsMI

Well-Known Member
Buckets have lids ... For small batches I'm using a bucket and for large ones a 20 Gallon trash can(with a lid)....
 

Doer

Well-Known Member
A bucket seems to risky to brew tea in, There a lot of crap can fall in from your house and you will have some weird crazy things growing in the water...
Oh, it's in the grow area. No weird stuff in there. Panda plastic covered. I take the air from the same pump for the buckets. I know what you mean. You wouldn't want this around the dogs for example.
 

budsMI

Well-Known Member
from another site...........Re: White powdery mildew!!!![HR][/HR]I've had success with using a compost tea sprayed on the leaves. I read about this on line and tried it about 5 weeks ago. At first, I thought that the mildew was totally gone but I've had a reoccurrence and just sprayed again but my plants do look green and healthy. My understanding is that the good aerobic bacteria grown in the compost tea compete effectively with the mildew. I used a basic compost tea mix - earthworm castings, seaweed extract and molasses and brewed it for less than a day - about 18 hours - and spray misted the entire plants top and bottom. The compost tea brewer is a simple diy job that cost about $40 all up and was extremely easy to construct (minutes). I'll probably continue spraying a compost tea mixture on them every couple of weeks.
 

ramen86

Well-Known Member
Wow, I cannot believe this thread is still going. I was on here about 2 years ago (around pages 90-100) trying to get help about the slime issues I encountered after first purchasing my UnderCurrent system. I stumbled upon this forum and read about Heisenbergs tea. His method of his tea brewing was an absolute success, and worked 100% for me. But realized that it was a pain in the ass to go out and buy these items from the grow store every single batch, especially seeing as to how I have 16 buckets that are 13 gallons each (over 200 gallons of water) . This is taken from the 2nd paragraph of his first post:

Several root conditions will cause a slimy build up; doesn't mean you have the brown slime. Common root disease is almost always caused by improper res conditions, and they improve greatly when those conditions are corrected. This isn't true of the slime. When to suspect brown slime algae is when you are doing everything right and still can't get rid of it. People who get this try the normal stuff... More bubbles in the water, cool res temps, and h202 treatments. The slime may appear to be gone at first, but comes back strong in as little as 12-36 hours. It starts out subtle like a clear coating of mucus on the roots with no odor. Plants often still appear healthy for a while, but all root production stops. In a very short time it will cover the entire root base and become thicker and sometimes turns yellow. Eventually it strangles the roots which causes pythium to set in, and at that point turns brown and finally has an odor.
What he's saying is that you pretty much have to live with it, as long as you maintain it by brewing and using the tea though, it will keep the slime away from the res. I do not grow in individual DWC buckets, I use an UnderCurrent system, and I was getting really annoyed by the tea brewing. I maintain incredible res/room conditions for any grow. The room never goes above 83 degrees, humidity is always 40% or below, and we have chillers to make sure that our water is always around 65-67 degrees. I went to a friends house recently who had also just purchased the UC system. His indoor environment was nowhere near as maintained as mine. His room was above 90 degrees, his water temperature was about 75, and humidity was over 50%. I asked him if he had any issues with slime, he said "never heard of it, dont know what you're talking about". I was baffled, and didn't believe him. So one by one I looked through every single 13 gallon bucket and saw he was absolutely right. It didn't make sense to me. So I started asking myself "What is he doing that is different than what I was doing?". I finally realized what it was.

I had already placed thick black trash bags around all my buckets (as did he), but the one main thing I DIDN'T do, was cover up the white tubing connecting all the buckets together. He had also placed styrofoam plates on top of the hydroton and tape around the top part of the net pots (where light was still apparently getting in). So I go home and do this. Low and behold, the slime has never came back since (2 years now).

As far as people who are growing in individual DWC buckets, I can only tell you that you are most likely letting light get in, and that if you are using any buckets or netpots other than black ones, you should definently replace them. As far as UC users go, if slime is a constant problem, and you are brewing tea for every single batch, make sure that the piping that is connecting your buckets are either black, or covered with some sort of black tarp. I even covered the manifolds of my UC. Not saying that the tea doesn't work, but I never have to go out and drive to the grow store and spend more money on the ingredients of this tea. Hope this helps!
 

Doer

Well-Known Member
Good point. I'm using 2" PVC connectors, kept short and wrapped with foil bubble wrap just for the insulation. Light tight and insulated is the way to go.

I think, this time, I miscalculated with a few things that will work against root health and favor slime.
- letting the res. temp get too high
- overshooting the nutes ppm
- letting the pH change too fast locally

It changes the pH to introduce the Bens, of course. We are brewing in non-adjusted water. So, this time I introduced another piece of technique, to help me conquer my inner klutz.

After I dose all the root zones with a cup and add the tea, I let the pH settle. Usually it's about 6.4. I know the dose of nitric acid to take it down to 5.8.

I take another bucket and a 264 gph pump and take 5 gals out of the pond. 1/5 of it. I add the ~30 ml of acid, diluted. (20% of 13% strength)

Then, through a valve, I pump that back into the pond, slowly, over the next 10 minutes. The bucket is 3 gals in before the pH begins to move. By the time it slowly finishes, the pH slides to 5.8, no local overshoots.

I going to baby my roots, from now on.
 

budsMI

Well-Known Member
Using ebb n flow with a 55 gallon rez.. Do i need to put a Housing in the rez? If yes..what would be best??
 

Doer

Well-Known Member
The housing is for getting the roots in. They need a place to live. After that it doesn't matter, I guess.

Just make a wire box for a couple of hand fulls of lava rock. Attach something to retrieve it if the res is deep.
 

Slimjimham

Well-Known Member
Would this be beneficial to also put in the water I give to my soil garden as well, im brewing as we speak for my dwc.
I figure it would be, I use house and garden.... How often should I use the tea in soil and at what rate (per 5/10gal rez))
 

budsMI

Well-Known Member
I would say you can add it to soil but I am also new with this Tea.. So wait til someone who knows what they're talking about answers..
 

growinman

Well-Known Member
The housing is for getting the roots in. They need a place to live. After that it doesn't matter, I guess.

Just make a wire box for a couple of hand fulls of lava rock. Attach something to retrieve it if the res is deep.
Quick question: Any idea if there's any reaction in the res/bucket with the wire basket?? I mean does it mess with the pH or anything like that??:confused:

Thanks!!

gman:weed:
 

Doer

Well-Known Member
What type wire? Don't want copper. I used 1/4" mesh galvanized. It is meant to resist corrosion.

So, if a wire corrodes then it does release metalic salts and will increase ppm. And it could change the reading on the pH probe nearby, but not actually change the pH...I don't think...Better might be stainless steel. Maybe not.
 

growinman

Well-Known Member
What type wire? Don't want copper. I used 1/4" mesh galvanized. It is meant to resist corrosion.

So, if a wire corrodes then it does release metalic salts and will increase ppm. And it could change the reading on the pH probe nearby, but not actually change the pH...I don't think...Better might be stainless steel. Maybe not.
yeah, was just a thought. Mines just like yours and I sewed it together with zip ties, lol. I think that the galvy is fine; just thought I'd bring it up.....and will keep an eye on it.

peace
gman

added edit: I think my thought/worry was whether or not it would mess with the biology of the tea....if it would kill it or not.....idk
 

Doer

Well-Known Member
I saw a packaging for fruit, pomegranates, tomato, like that. A stretchy plastic mesh bag.

I just got a sack of tangerines in that.
 

growinman

Well-Known Member
.........so, in a situation........haha. I made Heisenberg's awesome tea and it's been brewing just over 24 now. Then I had a change of plans and I am not going to use it tomorrow like i was(I am ditching my current 12/12 and gonna start another monday or so). I read somewhere at the biggining where Heisenberg says to refidgerate any left over tea).
My question: You think I can just refidgerate what I have now and the beni's and all will be okay in the fridge for a few days, or should I ditch it? I dont mind ditching it other than it was a pita making and getting all set up cool.

Hey thanks for the time!!

peace
gman
 

budsMI

Well-Known Member
The tea in a refrigertor should last up to 10 days..... If it smells funky then it's prolly not good..
 
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