Root Rot!

HI everyone

so Iv got my first grow on the go and all is going well until I had a good look around my system tonight and noticed a couple of problems!

Im using an 8 pot flood and drain system with a 70 Litre res.

Im growing 8 flying dutchmen and there about 15 inches tall now.

Im about to switch to 12/12 in the next couple of days.

I noticed that the roots are all growing out the bottom of the pots and area all around the tray the pots sit on.

some of the roots have found there way into the res.

Iv noticed that some of the roots I can see have turned dark brown and have died.

Iv also noticed some slime dripping out of part of my feeding system!

I dit think to much of it as I just though the roots that have found there way out have just died off.

I decided to do some research on this situation and found root rot is probable cause.

I have no pictures of the problem at the moment but will look to get some up if need be.

So my questions are:

How fast will this spread and what sort of damage will this do to my girls?

How can i fix the problem fast?

This is my grow journal if anyone would like to take a look.
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/239178-first-grow-ever-flying-dutchmen.html

All help appreciated

Thanks

Pick uip some Hygrozyme. Clean up you set up the best you can. Follow the directions. Watch you PH it will climb over a short bit, but if you run that for a few weeks you should be fine. Your plants seem to be okay for now.

If you think that it is really bad, then change your water out every day for the first few days and you will see that it will help a bunch.

The roots dying and drying in the tray will happen unless you cover your tray.

from my limited experience:

rotate the pots on the table so that no one plant gets the chance to grow roots into your drain

make sure there is no light hitting water with nutes in it as this leads to algae. this slime that you noticed may be algae

light proof your res

do you have an air pump in your res? is it on full blast? roots can rot from not having enough oxygen in the water but this shouldn't be the case here as you are using an ebb and flow system.

try adding some H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) to your res, this will help to kill off any anaerobic microbes that may be feasting on the roots.

dying roots cause pH to drop.

i wouldn't use any additives until you're sure that this isn't an environmental problem (such as oxygen or algae). using an additive might temporarily fix things but the problem will return if the source isn't found.


i'm new to this but these are what came to mind when i read your situation. if it were me, i would light proof your res and table immediately to stop any possibility of algae. in addition to this i would add a bit of h2o2 to your res water and pump up the air bubbles in your res. hopefully things will look better in a couple days....

good luck man. i'm rootin for ya

Thanks for the input guys
Im going to take all the pots out tomorrow and clean the whole system out.
I am using nutes at about 3/4 strength but the water in the res looks clean and clear
with nothing floating on top apart from some roots which have found there way in.
I will look to cover the top as best as possible and only a few inches at the edge of
the res gets a little light which is like an access point to the pump.
I will look at getting some Hygrozyme or H2O2 ASAP.

Can I cut away the roots coming out of the bottom of the pots?

I will probably need to do this when taking them out any way.

Thanks again

Now Then Lads

Ok I think I may have over reacted slightly to the situation.

I given the girls and the set up a good inspection this morning.

The res water is clean and clear.
There is a small amount of silt at the bottom of the res which is just some remaining dust of the Hydroton Clay Pebbles which has washed through.
water PH is 6.4 whiich is ok.

Here are a couple of pics.

First pic shows the roots in question
second pic shows the slime on the feeder which I have cleaned off and found its just a slight build up due to its slight leak and not really an issue.

Other pics show the root system in the tray the pots are sat on and one of the gap in the res for access to the pump.

I will be keeping a close eye on things and will probably just cut the dead roots out to prevent any further problems.

I dont think I will need to take all the girls out now

Your roots look good, just maintain your setup and you should be fine. Ph should be right around 5.8 if you can. Other then that keep gowin..... <g>

Thanks mate
I will be adjusting the PH down slightly
As this was a new problem I wasnt sure how bad it was.

Thanks for the help guys + Rep to you all

I would oxygenate that res with an airstone or cut those roots off so they dont hang in the water, otherwise u will be treating for root rot sooner or later...
Lookin fine...
Edit:
IIDK what the flood pot setup is, but ussually with flood and drain, roots will only make their way into the res if it isnt draining properly, just wanted to throw that out there, maybe u can angle the posts to drain better? Like I say, IDK how the design is on ur sstem, so maybe just shotty engineering?.

hygrozyme is garbage, expensive garbage at that. i used a whole bottle way back when i had root rot and the only thing it cleaned was my pocket book, all 8 ladies died. use dutch master's "zone", its like hygrozyme on steroids!!!! the shit will cure cancer i think, it literally whitened my roots in a day and a half, plus its half the cost (22$) of hygrozyme, and yoou dont use as much

NEVER OUTGUNNED said:

hygrozyme is garbage, expensive garbage at that. i used a whole bottle way back when i had root rot and the only thing it cleaned was my pocket book, all 8 ladies died. use dutch master's "zone", its like hygrozyme on steroids!!!! the shit will cure cancer i think, it literally whitened my roots in a day and a half, plus its half the cost (22$) of hygrozyme, and yoou dont use as much

Click to expand...

I'm sorry that you had the problems. It has helped me alot, and as it was only $20.00 for the bottle and it has lasted 2 months I don't have issues with it. I will have to give your produce a try and see if it works any better than Hygrozyme.
I hope you didn't use the whole bottle at once! Also, if it is garbage, why would you want to use garbage on steroids? Just kiddin. I will give it a look, just keep in mind many people have success with products that others found less then useful.. All advice should be taken in and compared. That's what we are all here for..

Iv got a large air stone in the res on 24/7
As for the roots there all over the res!
they have gone through every drain hole
apart from the large one at the bottom of the drainer.
All my plants are basicaly self feeding themselves now
They all look good so I dont want to move them to be honest.
I will keep an eye on the roots and if something doesnt look right
I will look for some of that hygrozymestuff and give the roots a dose