Major Blazer
Well-Known Member
So, my first attempt at DWC a few years ago ended with a lost plant due to Pythium aka root rot. I did everything you read on the internet - sterilize, flush, extra regular water changes, new air stones/lines/etc, H202, blah blah. The roots turned to goo after about 1.5 weeks during flower and all was lost. This was in a closet grow using an LED with fairly minimal tent temperatures. Turns out my ex was secretly shutting off the A/C midday to save on electric even though I had told her not to. And I was the one who paid the bills. But alas, she is an ex for a reason.
Living in south FL has major drawbacks bc of heat, especially when your building is 70 years old and lacks proper insulation. These days I am much more careful about monitoring the environment however, shit happens. This time, I am guessing my cat stepped on the A/C remote and shut it off after I left for work. When I came home, the apartment was HOT and the res temps were almost 90 degrees. Two days later, clear signs of root rot.
I did the same stuff you read on the internet as before, but again, I was losing the battle. Just 4 days (about 1 week after initial sings) ago the roots were brown af and starting to stink. In desperation, I drove to the local hydro store where I made what is collectively known as a huge mistake and listened to the advice of "the hydro store guy." He told me to buy this stuff called Wilt-Guard by a company called CX Hydroponics. He recommended that I use it in conjunction with Regen-a-Root by the same company. Neither were cheap and neither bottle says a word about pythium so I thought I was being lied to but I said screw it and took the plunge anyway. I looked around on the web and no real-world info seems to really exist about this product either.
4 days later my plants are flourishing, new root growth is looking AMAZING, and the pythium is going away. I can hardly believe it myself. This plant is in a Veg state and I am hopeful for a full recovery. By no means do I assume to believe that my approach is the best, but here is how I went about using it:
1. Removed plant from DWC system. Using my shower, I flushed the roots and net pot for about 10-15 minutes. This helped the dead root matter to become untangled and fall off.
2. Next, I replaced my airstones with new ones as well as most of my grommets, fittings, and tubing (I have a remote reservoir so there are a few).
3. Then I flushed/cycled the remainder of my system with a water and bleach solution for another 30 or so minutes. I eyeballed the bleach, sorry. It was about 20ml and probably way more than enough.
4. Then I flushed with water and continued flushing until all traces of bleach bubbles were gone. (tip - drop an airstone in a bucket with the water - if there's bleach left over, you will have lots of soap-bubbles. Once the bubbles stop, you should be good.)
5. Next I refilled and PH'd my system with fresh water and CX Hydroponics Wilt-Guard and Regen-a-Root only. PH'd to 5.8 before adding WG and RaR. Also added my Blue Planet Root Magic Mycorrhizae (which btw I had been using the entire time).
6. I poured the res water over the Hydroton a few times.
7. I mixed in my nutrients (using 3-part Blue Planet Nutrients)
8. I waited.
I've been checking my roots daily like a complete spaz to see what is going on and here's what I can tell you:
New root growth is exploding from the bottom of the root system first. This came as a complete surprise to me, as I assumed they'd emerge from the net pots first. Up top, the plants are looking nice and lush green. The rest of the roots are a light tan/yellow - still not 100% but I'm only a few days in. I emailed CX Hydroponics on Sat. asking about what I can/should expect and whether this root development is normal during recovery - I hope to hear back soon.
While nothing is conclusive yet, I am confident that the CX Hydro WG and RaR are really awesome products and definitely will remain in my mix for all future grows. The Pythium is for sure nowhere near the level it was just a week ago and the plant is for sure much healthier looking. I will update this thread until either a) the plant takes a 180 and the root rot wins or b) I am absolutely sure that the root rot is gone completely and is no longer an issue.
If you're suffering from root rot though, give these products a try and please report your findings here.
Oh and in case anybody asks, I keep res temps down passively by adding frozen water bottles to the remote res. This has never been an issue until my place turned into an easy bake oven. Buckets are insulated too!
Living in south FL has major drawbacks bc of heat, especially when your building is 70 years old and lacks proper insulation. These days I am much more careful about monitoring the environment however, shit happens. This time, I am guessing my cat stepped on the A/C remote and shut it off after I left for work. When I came home, the apartment was HOT and the res temps were almost 90 degrees. Two days later, clear signs of root rot.
I did the same stuff you read on the internet as before, but again, I was losing the battle. Just 4 days (about 1 week after initial sings) ago the roots were brown af and starting to stink. In desperation, I drove to the local hydro store where I made what is collectively known as a huge mistake and listened to the advice of "the hydro store guy." He told me to buy this stuff called Wilt-Guard by a company called CX Hydroponics. He recommended that I use it in conjunction with Regen-a-Root by the same company. Neither were cheap and neither bottle says a word about pythium so I thought I was being lied to but I said screw it and took the plunge anyway. I looked around on the web and no real-world info seems to really exist about this product either.
4 days later my plants are flourishing, new root growth is looking AMAZING, and the pythium is going away. I can hardly believe it myself. This plant is in a Veg state and I am hopeful for a full recovery. By no means do I assume to believe that my approach is the best, but here is how I went about using it:
1. Removed plant from DWC system. Using my shower, I flushed the roots and net pot for about 10-15 minutes. This helped the dead root matter to become untangled and fall off.
2. Next, I replaced my airstones with new ones as well as most of my grommets, fittings, and tubing (I have a remote reservoir so there are a few).
3. Then I flushed/cycled the remainder of my system with a water and bleach solution for another 30 or so minutes. I eyeballed the bleach, sorry. It was about 20ml and probably way more than enough.
4. Then I flushed with water and continued flushing until all traces of bleach bubbles were gone. (tip - drop an airstone in a bucket with the water - if there's bleach left over, you will have lots of soap-bubbles. Once the bubbles stop, you should be good.)
5. Next I refilled and PH'd my system with fresh water and CX Hydroponics Wilt-Guard and Regen-a-Root only. PH'd to 5.8 before adding WG and RaR. Also added my Blue Planet Root Magic Mycorrhizae (which btw I had been using the entire time).
6. I poured the res water over the Hydroton a few times.
7. I mixed in my nutrients (using 3-part Blue Planet Nutrients)
8. I waited.
I've been checking my roots daily like a complete spaz to see what is going on and here's what I can tell you:
New root growth is exploding from the bottom of the root system first. This came as a complete surprise to me, as I assumed they'd emerge from the net pots first. Up top, the plants are looking nice and lush green. The rest of the roots are a light tan/yellow - still not 100% but I'm only a few days in. I emailed CX Hydroponics on Sat. asking about what I can/should expect and whether this root development is normal during recovery - I hope to hear back soon.
While nothing is conclusive yet, I am confident that the CX Hydro WG and RaR are really awesome products and definitely will remain in my mix for all future grows. The Pythium is for sure nowhere near the level it was just a week ago and the plant is for sure much healthier looking. I will update this thread until either a) the plant takes a 180 and the root rot wins or b) I am absolutely sure that the root rot is gone completely and is no longer an issue.
If you're suffering from root rot though, give these products a try and please report your findings here.
Oh and in case anybody asks, I keep res temps down passively by adding frozen water bottles to the remote res. This has never been an issue until my place turned into an easy bake oven. Buckets are insulated too!