Root rot or Brown algae...? Or both?

[sense of nature]

I recently changed from a drip system( of 10 years), to a DWC set up
I have had nothing but troubles & have yet to make it thru a full cycle w/ out some sorta catastrophic shit happening.
I find it hard to believe that I was lucky for the past 10 years?
I have an idea of what I'm doing .. til this
So the symptoms are : yellowing of lower leaves , crinkling of new growth,& the dying of mass amounts of roots, turning yellow/tannish
res temps are 71 f
Also my Ph has been like a rollercoaster & near impossible to keep stabil .
I've flushed & scrubbed, only for things to b ok for a day or 2 then same shit
I'll post pics in a bit .

 

[sense of nature]

Bump for posted pics ...

 

[krunchbubble]

from the symptoms and looks of your roots, it most likely is root rot....

Ultra Current has the remedy, he has a thread on it......

 

[dusto2k3]

from the symptoms and looks of your roots, it most likely is root rot....

Ultra Current has the remedy, he has a thread on it......

More importantly in this DWC, what are the major contributing factors to what he is experiencing in his setup, Krunch?

 

[joe fresh]

i agree with pythium root rot....

im going through the same thing in soil due to fungus gnats and me brewing a bad batch of tea....

i got a decent thread in my sig about pythium root rot...

Prevention is always better than cure so make sure that you eliminate the conditions that make the growth of this fungal pathogen possible. Keep the rooms clean and dirt-free and also avoid the presence of still air, bacteria, still water and humid air, all of which can contribute greatly to the propagation of Pythium. Make sure that the hydroponic systems are cleaned regularly and also avoid remove materials like rugs, carpets, and sacks etc. which can retain moisture and make it a breeding ground for bacteria.

Keeping the root systems as oxygenated as possible is also a good way by which you can prevent the growth of this fungus. Trichoderma is an excellent way to prevent this rot from setting in; it forms a mould around the root system which makes it possible to ward off other harmful pathogens. You can also use Sensi Zym, Hygrozyme and Cannzym which are enzymatic products as preventive Pythium treatment in your hydroponic system.

If you have the budget, install a Vecton UV sterilization unit to sterilize the water as well as nutrient solution that is used in the hydroponic system. This is a good Pythium treatment method but a little expensive. Otherwise use an anti-fungal product like Guardian Angel, Microbial or Pythoff on the root system to kill the spores. Make sure that you provide enough aeration, maintain the root zone temperature and also use preventive enzymatic products so that the rot goes away once and for all. Pythium infection can really harm the yield of your plants; so avoid this disease to set in using the right preventive methods.

right now im useing a new product called wilt guard, just used first time yesterday...

aparently it stops wilt in its tracks and eliminates pythium, and says if used in conjuction with regen-a-root then optimal results are expected, right now i only have the wilt guard but plan to get the regen-a-root as soon as i can...they are cheap too, application rates at 1ml/L and only 25$ a liter...if it works then this would be an amazing price.....the company name is "canadian xpress", they are from austrailia(i know wierd to be from austrailia and name your company canadian xpress)

 

[sense of nature]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure what would cause it ? Keeping water levels too high?
I'm pretty sure there is enough aeration going around .
Root rot would cause the Ph to roller up n down?

 

[joe fresh]

main causes....not enough DO(dissolved oxygen), bugs, contaminated water/equipment, water temps too high or too low

 

[El Toker]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure what would cause it ? Keeping water levels too high?
I'm pretty sure there is enough aeration going around .
Root rot would cause the Ph to roller up n down?

IME root rot will send the pH down very quickly as low as 4.2. Even if you do a complete water change you may find the pH dropping within a couple of hours I found that DWC works well when the water temps are right, however, once they get a little bit higher the problems start.

An increase in temp leads to a decrease in the amount of Oxygen that the water can hold. Despite the constant claims to the contrary, H202 will do nothing to change that, it works as a bleaching agent by killing the pythium, not by increasing DO. It does nothing to change the environment, so it's a treatment rather than a cure. Using water straight from the tap that is still chlorinated also helps a little.

This can be made worse by having an air pump in a small reservoir of 20l or less, as the pump generates enough heat to raise the temp by a few degrees.

DWC is a great method when the enironment is right, however, when things go wrong it can happen very quickly. That's why I gave up regular DWC and switched to a recirculating DWC-aeroponic hybrid system.

A temporary fix that I found was to lower the water level so that the only the bottom 1cm of root is under the surface. This works best when the surface is constantly bubbling so the roots are constantly being splashed in water and kept wet. Pythium will die in an oxygen rich environment.