DWC Root Slime Cure aka How to Breed Beneficial Microbes

thanks for the reply, but do you have any suggestions on a minimum amout i could use and be effective preventive maintenance. trying new ph perfect nutrients that claim dont need to be adjusted. thanks

1 cup per 10 gal once a week is the smallest amount I have used. It's possible that even less will still be effective.

Quick update. After the physan/zone dose the plants were limp. I flushed with pH adjusted 1ml/gal 50% h202 then dumped. I added 20ml for ~30 gallons of 50% h2o2 and have added 100ppm micro and 100ppm bloom. I have not flooded with it yet but i can see the roots are whiter again and see a few new ones on the table. The plants are reaching up to the lights a lot more again (and its still night time in there!) . So I think i may be getting the slime in check with sterile products. I am going to run chlorinated municipal water, h202, and 400ppm nute solution (200 is tap water) for 2-3 days until the tea is ready. I checked my consumer confidence report and we do not use chloramine so i am not to worried about coming away from my filter system.

I also bleached x 3 and washed x 3 my tea bucket and air stones, then made up a new batch using:
3 gallons distilled water
1/2 scoop Great White
1/4 scoop ZHO
20ml Aquashield
1 cup Ancient Forest in a unbleached sock, ziptied, and dropped in
3 tea spoons molasses
a few pinches of Insect Frass

7Liters of air on 2 air stones. Within 1 hour there is a small amount of foam and the mix smells a little sweet and nice and earthy.

thanks again heis. i started with a half a cup per 5 gallons and still been having to adjust ph , but im now trying smaller amounts. will let you know if i find the sweet spot on a minimum dosage. its really great of you to take the time to help all us fellow ganja growers. all hail heisenberg!kiss-ass

brown algae eats sand?

hornedfrog2000 said:

brown algae eats sand?

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Yes and No. brown algae eats silica and nitrates. Microscopic means you cannot see it. The "silica dust" was a bad analogy, the hydroton adds "dissolved silica" to the nutrient in minuscule amounts and it might also be found in your water supply.The nitrate comes from your N nutrient, whatever that may be...

Diatoms are most responsive to silca/silicates, but DOCs (Dissolved Organic Compounds), nitrates, and phosphates are food sources as well.​

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http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/algaecontrol/a/aa091100.htm

InnaHurry said:

Yes and No. brown algae eats silica and nitrates. Microscopic means you cannot see it. The "silica dust" was a bad analogy, the hydroton adds "dissolved silica" to the nutrient in minuscule amounts and it might also be found in your water supply.The nitrate comes from your N nutrient, whatever that may be...

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/algaecontrol/a/aa091100.htm

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Just to clarify, we consider brown or golden diatoms to be a different problem than the slime. It was observed early in the thread that diatoms feed on silica just as you say, however as far as I know, adding silica does not exasperate a slime problem, but I don't use it. Perhaps Mr Bond can chime in.

Diatoms seem to be a worse problem than slime, and a bit more difficult to get under control using tea. One connection is often the use of well water.

I am not positive as i have not tested or seen a test for myself, but it appears to be one in the same. I cut my liq carbo load, protekt silica from veg and flower...and GH gro nutrient completely as soon as i switch to 12/12. After a sterilization the problem seems to stay away as long as i stay away from those nutrients.

InnaHurry said:

I am not positive as i have not tested or seen a test for myself, but it appears to be one in the same. I cut my liq carbo load, protekt silica from veg and flower...and GH gro nutrient completely as soon as i switch to 12/12. After a sterilization the problem seems to stay away as long as i stay away from those nutrients.

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i just switched to flower but i use protekt silica and gh nutient what should i switch too?

just dont use the protekt or the green bottle of gro. if you did it right they have enough N from the veg stage to sustain flowering.

I've had some great results from using this tea. I have had this DWC system for my last 6 grows and have never had roots this healthy. I do have alot of residue from the tea in the bottom of the buckets and on the airstones. Should I be concerned about this or can I leave it? Thanks

What if you put too much molasses in your tea?
Could I put zho or aquashield directly in to the resi while waiting for the tea to brew if there is already a root rot problem?

ms2010 said:

I've had some great results from using this tea. I have had this DWC system for my last 6 grows and have never had roots this healthy. I do have alot of residue from the tea in the bottom of the buckets and on the airstones. Should I be concerned about this or can I leave it? Thanks

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This generally causes no problems at all in a classic DWC, but if you are concerned you can filter your tea through cheesecloth before using it. Glad to hear you're having good results. Hope you continue to have success.

TheNewGuyy said:

What if you put too much molasses in your tea?
Could I put zho or aquashield directly in to the resi while waiting for the tea to brew if there is already a root rot problem?

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If you feel you added a little too much molasses just brew for a few hours longer, but this is really only a concern for those currently inflicted with slime. Too much molasses can sometimes feed an outbreak, but shouldn't cause one. If you have added way too much molasses then the microbes have used up all the oxygen which will cause a very weak tea or even an anaerobic tea. Anaerobic teas smell very foul. You'll have to start over. If you get any sort of mossey, earthy smell at all then it's fine. That smell is the result of good microbes.

Aquashield and ZHO are two products you can add directly to the res. Neither requires the activation of brewing, although it makes the products last longer of course. I definitely recommend this for someone who is infected and waiting for the first brew to finish.

TheNewGuyy said:

What if you put too much molasses in your tea?
Could I put zho or aquashield directly in to the resi while waiting for the tea to brew if there is already a root rot problem?

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i put the aqua shield and GW in the water while i wait sometimes. Just a little tho. like 1/4 strength.

sup heisenburg, had a question on microbes i thought you might have some insight to.
i've been hearing about using oatmeal as microbe food, but have been using blackstrap for years. supposedly the microbes prefer oatmeal more, whats your opinion on this?

Hey heis can I drop a chunk of the mosquito dunk in my res till my tea is done? I got larvae floating in my res plants don't look happy. what does the sand do for the soil plants? will hydroton pebbles work? thanks for everything.

I crush up mosquito dunks ^ and add the crushed powder, and to the poster above...Insect Frass

Update: i added AS and a half of the small scoop of zho in to the resi last night. Dont think the rot got any worse and tonight I added the tea which had a nice faint earthy smell. I need to get some new nutes though as right now I am using GH A&B with their Multi Zen Protekt silica and also B'cuzz bloom which is organic... Any suggestions on what to switch too>

crazyhazey said:

sup heisenburg, had a question on microbes i thought you might have some insight to.
i've been hearing about using oatmeal as microbe food, but have been using blackstrap for years. supposedly the microbes prefer oatmeal more, whats your opinion on this?

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That's more for the fungi, but some people don't think it is needed. I don't really think Fungi is all that important in an annual plant. If you read on that you will probably find the same.