Actual mold on roots? Can’t seem to find much info online...

A search for “mold on roots” often brings me to pages which say “it’s just root hairs” or a salt buildup. But I have seen root hairs often, and I am really not sure about this one. This happened soon after I treated my plants for fungus gnats with an azamax dunk. I am pretty confident they’re gone which is the upside! But what does this look like to you guys? I’ve gotten rid of root rot once or twice before using heisenburg tea. I also just added a fresh batch after this pic was taken.
Could perhaps be from the roots drying out. There are two 4 inch air stones under the root mass which are running effectively. Adding another today.

I’m not sure why the images aren’t uploading.

Hey Anne,

What medium are you growing in? If it's in soil it might be beneficial Mycorrhiza. I'm doing a soil grow at the moment where I've purposely added this in and I can visually see the fungal growth on the top of the pots. Most importantly how are the plants looking? Tell tale signs of root rot is the smell and the plants having issues. If they're looking good I don't think it's anything to be concerned with.

Pics are definitely needed.
You uploading off mobile or desktop?

Here are the pics

budau said:

Hey Anne,

What medium are you growing in? If it's in soil it might be beneficial Mycorrhiza. I'm doing a soil grow at the moment where I've purposely added this in and I can visually see the fungal growth on the top of the pots. Most importantly how are the plants looking? Tell tale signs of root rot is the smell and the plants having issues. If they're looking good I don't think it's anything to be concerned with.

Click to expand...

I'm growing in DWC, The plants were previously having issues with nutrients, but I just switched to GH flora series rather than masterblend. Was using masterblend for the calcium nitrate and Epsom salt addition as I am using RO water.
The plants have just started looking better.

Merkn4aSquirtn said:

Pics are definitely needed.
You uploading off mobile or desktop?

Click to expand...

Pics uploaded. Was using mobile and assumed that was the problem so I went to my computer.

I should also add that the other plants in this setup have amazingly white roots, and they have always been together. The roots below the top of these ones looked quite good not too long ago. I tried just using hydroguard and great white last res change, but was for sure not as effective as the tea.

Nastyy.
Im not sure about what you got going on.
I wonder if its just new white hairs forming between your older roots ?
What temp do you have in there (the dwc temp)

Thanks for the pics. That clarifies the situation! You need to hit those roots with hydrogen peroxide ASAP. It looks like a combination of staining from whatever you were using before and some sort of fungal growth in there, likely due to poor oxygenation and/or lack of movement in the water. How often are you cycling the nutes?

Out of interest, why are you adding hydroguard and great white? I've just had a google and they're beneficial bacteria and fungus? But you're growing in hydro, this doesn't really make much sense to me. In soil, fair enough. In hydro you're supplying the plant with exactly what it needs, those additives seem completely pointless to me.

The most important thing in hydro is water circulation, water temps and oxygenation. They're are all linked, if one is out of whack it'll affect the other.

AnneCrank said:

I should also add that the other plants in this setup have amazingly white roots, and they have always been together. The roots below the top of these ones looked quite good not too long ago. I tried just using hydroguard and great white last res change, but was for sure not as effective as the tea.

Click to expand...

What's your DWC setup like? Are they interlinked? Are you using air stones?

budau said:

What's your DWC setup like? Are they interlinked? Are you using air stones?

Click to expand...

I have 3 air stones per bucket. It is a 4 plant rDWC system. I add the bacteria/fungus to prevent the bad root fungus from taking over. It is helpful as long as you change the solution frequently, and continue to add them.

Merkn4aSquirtn said:

Nastyy.
Im not sure about what you got going on.
I wonder if its just new white hairs forming between your older roots ?
What temp do you have in there (the dwc temp)

Click to expand...

I was thinking the same about the new hairs. The water temp is currently 66 F and stays between 66 and 70 at a max.

AnneCrank said:

I have 3 air stones per bucket. It is a 4 plant rDWC system. I add the bacteria/fungus to prevent the bad root fungus from taking over. It is helpful as long as you change the solution frequently, and continue to add them.

Click to expand...

I'm using the Flora series in DWC with nothing else. You're definitely wasting your money with the bacteria and fungus additives. I would eliminate them and add hydrogen peroxide with every res change. Also, are you able to check what the air stone action is like? I suspect the ones you're having issues with might not be getting enough oxygen. Possibly blocked air stones, uneven airline length, air pump not strong enough. Your water temps seem spot on, so you're good there. That aside, how are the plants looking?