DWC question.

I have an 18 gallon dwc unit with drip feeding. I noticed this morning that the water is a little smelly and there is this brown snot looking stuff growing at the bottom of the netpots and in the water. Would this be caused by the nuts? or the temp of the res? Im using foxfarm nuts Grow big for hydroponics.

Ok so i figured out that it was algae. Now is there a way to prevent that from happening again ? It clogs up the pup and the drip feeder.

It is imperative to keep light from reaching the nutrients in the bucket. For this reason, it is recommended to use black buckets for DWC. When using white buckets,they can be wrapped with several layers of duct tape or a layer of anti-corrosion pipe tape. Be sure to tape the lids also.

Algae needs light to grow. Ensuring no light makes its way to the nutrients through the bucket is the best way to prevent algae growth. Algae also thrives in anaerobic conditions (lack of oxygen) so be sure that plenty of air is being pumped into the buckets. I dont know the minimum amount, but you should not have any problems if you are pumping in at least 500 cc's/min of air per gallon. 600 cc's/min per gallon will ensure plenty of oxygen is being introduced in the nutrients.

I have 2 decent airpumps pumping air it looks like its pumping alot im not sure on how much exactly. Im using dark blue is that ok? Some tint of light still shines through. It looks like its kinda thin plastic should i spray paint the outside of it black?