Root rot ??

Ok, so I have read everything on here. I have never had root rot in any of my systems until now. In my newest setup. I believe it is due to low DO because I didn't have an airstone in my res. It appears to be at he beginning stages so I bought some HYGROZYME.

water temp is 65-68.

my main question is what is the commonly accepted practice for using this stuff. I read the dosing instructions on the bottle, but it really doesnt tell you how to use it if you are trying to get rid of the problem. Has anyone here had success in killing off the root rot? any help would be greatly appreciated

I had a bad problem. got my rez temps down and started changing the rez water ever 2 days for a week. Added more air and added pure o2 to one of the bubblers. When all was said and done it was due to a light leek. the rez temps went back to 73 and no rot. Sorry not much help

stumps said:

I had a bad problem. got my rez temps down and started changing the rez water ever 2 days for a week. Added more air and added pure o2 to one of the bubblers. When all was said and done it was due to a light leek. the rez temps went back to 73 and no rot. Sorry not much help

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well at least thanks for the input...If I am goint to change the water everyday or every other should i be adding nutes or is it safe to go a week with no nutes to get all the root mess gone?

I set mine up with about half mix nutes and 3/4 cup o2h2. I had so much crap settleing to the bottom it was gross. If you don't have alot of crap in the water. I wouldn't change it out as often. after I started to get new root growth I started cutting the bad rot out and rinsed with tap water before going back to the bucket.

anybody else care to chime in?

you might hit up the bubble head thread. some of those guys know their stuff.

The hygrozyme can be used up to 15ml/gal--I would dose at 10ml/gal at change out. The hygrozyme will not take care of the problem by itself but a great product to add that works wonders with the hygrozyme is aquashield by botanicare at 15ml/gal every 4 days.

Dr. VonDank said:

The hygrozyme can be used up to 15ml/gal--I would dose at 10ml/gal at change out. The hygrozyme will not take care of the problem by itself but a great product to add that works wonders with the hygrozyme is aquashield by botanicare at 15ml/gal every 4 days.

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as of now i have done 2 res changes in 4 days with the hygrozyme and Im going to do one more tomorrow. Things appear to be getting better and it appears to be doing a good job of "eating" the dead root material. I have had to clean goop out of my res which i assume is some of the dead material.

The only thing that confuses me is how this happened I have never run into this before especially not with water temps between 65-68. The only thing i can think of is its because i didn't have an airstone in this particular setup. From now on Ill be using Hygrozyme from day 1! I think it may have prevented this.

seems if you get anything in the rez it can turn to rot fast.

stumps said:

seems if you get anything in the rez it can turn to rot fast.

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hmm, maybe a leaf piece fell in or something. I don't know. I guess i'll have to be more careful next time.

From what I've seen in the bubble head thread it could be from touching something inside the rez. so wash your hands before playing in the rez.

no air stone in the rez? whats your method of moving water around? the only reason why temps at 65-68F are recommended is beacause at these temps water holds dissolved oxygen best, if not constantly moving or bubbluing the water it will become a petry dish. if you dont mind me chiming in like this i consider myself the aauthority on root rot by virtue of having it several times and defeating it everytime with hygrozyme, you are on the right track , once the hzyme starts working it goes after the infected /dead/dying roots, you know the stuff is working when your water starts to actually look worse then when it started. now in any re-circulating hydro system your not going to want to feed your root system that nasty sewage so a daily water change is a must for atleast the first 5-7 days, i know its a lot of work and a lot of hygrozyme, the stuff isnt cheap but this works best, for future reference if you get root rot while plants can still be pulled out, before applying hygrozyme try to pull off any easy to get to slimey brown roots by hand and dunk or spray the hell out of them with a peroxide/water mix, store bought 3% is fine at 30ml per gallon, with this mix you should see any infected roots fizz and bubble up a bit, then rinse as best as you can with plain water then go thru the hygrozyme route, remember the bottle says it is compatable with peroxide but they dont say how much, do use them together, by the 5th day you should see an explosion of new root growth...no nutrients during this time

oxygen oxygen oxygen!! you ever see cleaning products like oxyclean? peroxide is great at disinfecting for the only difference between water and peroxide is an extra oxygen molecule, most chemicals with additional oxygen is great at cleaning, it will never hurt to have a too powerful air pump in your water, i even seen a grow on RIU where this guy had a basket with soil as his medium, cut out a hole in a sponge and put an air stone in the spnge and buried in at the bottom of the pot, you will not believe what the plant looked like. aside from nutrients i believe oxygen is the most vitale part of your grow, well aerated water will have a tremendous impact on overall performance of growth and root health search for "air basket" on RIU for this dude's grow

I bubbled o2 and didn't see much change. But my roots were in bad shape. they came back strong in the end.

Do you guys use hygrozyme all the time? Or just when you start to see root rot?

ToWeRdog and FloWeRGirl said:

Do you guys use hygrozyme all the time? Or just when you start to see root rot?

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If you use it all the time you'll have a much better chance of not getting root rot to begin with. It's good insurance. I have never had issues up until this particular grow, although my other systems all have commercial air pumps and insane air stones ,but i will now use hygrozyme from here on out in all of my systems.

If you only use Aquashield and no hygrozyme . . . will the aquashield eat the dead root matter or do you need to add the hygrozyme? Some Botanicare labels are not exactly straight forward. I have the SB system and some rot. I added Aquashield alone 10ml/gal . Ill see how it works. .

earlier in a post i said "do use them together" meaning peroxide and hygrozyme , i meant to say do not use together, peroxide does not discriminate between good enxymes and bad bacterias, sorry for that

I know that peroxide and clearex will both kill beneficial bacteria. I bought some aquashield and used it last night and thing look so much better this morning. Since the aquashield label does not say, I was wondering if it "eats" the black slimy root mess an turn em into sugars the plant can use. I believe that is how hygrozyme works. . . but is aquashield(formerly hydroguard) doing the same thing or maybe something slightly different. Am I asking the same dumb question? I am new to Aero/hydro and the black rot from hell.

I found this on another forum but it answered my questions about root rot products I was thinking were the same . . . Legal mumbo Jumbo . . I guess Hydroguard now aquashield had to change their packaging.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=3072261

-BOP-
"This is correct. hydroguard/AS are the same product. it was all legal mumbojumbo is what made them have to pull it and change the label. It is a bacteria that colonizes the resevoir, so things like algae, and mold can't colonize and take over your medium. hygrozyme and nitrozyme and things like that are enzymes that break up micro nutrients and additives or materials in your medium so they are more accessible to your roots. At least this is my understanding of those two products. I use Aquashield in hydro and it keeps the res nice and clean!" -EOP-

but from user experience . .. do any Old Souls know if the beneficial bacteria in Aquashield "eats" the dead rotting matter and turn it into plant food like hygrozyme says. Or is it preventative, for BEFORE you get rot . . . like I said I am using the Aquashield on my black rot . . . i will see how it works and let y'all know.