White Powder on hydroton ??? HELP

White Powder on hydroton ??? HELP
OK here is the issue
I noticed the leaves were curling yesterday. Assets and found out that my partner put too much nutrients ppm was 890 so I drained the nutrients and cleaned the whole system from head to toe.
I use these cut out white plastic covers that I put over each clone covering the net pot completely (see youtube video for room layout)
1st.[video]https://www.youtube....h?v=Xe99SWAHBVs[/video]
2nd.[video]https://www.youtube....em-upload_owner[/video]

I was replacing one of the plants because it did not look as healthy as another clone I had while I was doing this I noticed very small specs of white powder on the hydrotone/rockwool cube mix medium I use.
.(I mix it myself ,see attached photo's)
 

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Bugeye

Well-Known Member
I'm curious to see if you get a strong identification on this. I had the same thing a couple years back on some leaves that I was pulling off for harvest. So little and so late it made no difference to me. I tried to research it a little bit and guessed it was a variety of mold or fungus, possibly a white slime mold. Would like to learn more about it in case I ever see it again so I will follow your thread. Good luck!
 

ScoobyDoobyDoo

Well-Known Member
they look like spores to me; which would mean mold. can't be 100% sure though cause the pics are kinda foggy.

your videos don't open either.
 
I'm curious to see if you get a strong identification on this. I had the same thing a couple years back on some leaves that I was pulling off for harvest. So little and so late it made no difference to me. I tried to research it a little bit and guessed it was a variety of mold or fungus, possibly a white slime mold. Would like to learn more about it in case I ever see it again so I will follow your thread. Good luck!
what did you use to get rid of the thing
 

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
what did you use to get rid of the thing
I was just cutting off leaves with scissors the day before harvest so I didn't really have to deal with it (sorry, can't help with solution for you, mine came in at very very end of flowering and very isolated to maybe a dozen leaves). Mine looked like someone had eaten a powdered doughnut over it. Very small and specific pin point growths that looked just like a very small sprinkle of powdered sugar. Scoped it and it sure looked like a growth, not bug related. I suppose you could send it to a lab if needed for positive ID.

Nice grow room you have there!!! Hope this is nothing major for you.
 

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
Do you know what it is? I had something very similar and I was using rain water in an organic grow. Nice to know not to worry about it, but I'd still like to know what it is. Thanks!
 

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
Are you sure? That does not make sense to me and I do have experience with white mineral deposits on lava rocks in grow buckets. A good guess, but i don't think that is what this is.
 

jason1976

Well-Known Member
I build pools for a living man. ive seen it 100 thousand times. water has calcium. city water has higher calcium. I haven't seen your particular hydroton,but ive been using it for as long as I can remember. calcium build up or salt build up will do it. do you add water over your hydroton?
 

keysareme

Well-Known Member
That is for sure calcium.

(Which is good, lovely ladies thoroughly enjoy lots of calcium sources during flower. It all goes to making the bodies of fruit denser.)
 

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
Okay, I could be wrong. Just hard for me to understand how I got the same thing on some leaves that were not sprayed with water in a greenhouse fed by rainwater.
 

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
This picture is representative of the mineral build up I experienced back in my hydro days (not my pic)

hydroton mineral build up.jpg

This looks very different to me than what is in the OP's photos. Since I saw the same isolated pin pricks of white on a leaves that were 4 feet above ground and not watered or sprayed, it still doesn't make sense to me that what I had on the plant were calcium deposits. But I'm here to learn more so I will remain open to your idea and research further.
 

Hardy grow

New Member
The white you are seeing is most likely calcium build up. The mid section of the US has horribly salty water. From east of Arkansas to just west of Colorado. Install a reverse osmosis systems or softener with calcium filters. Going overboard with nutrients also fuels the calcium build up. If I am correct you should only see white on hydroton that does not get completely submerged when your system is filling. It only gets residual moisture from what gets wet below it.
 
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