Get rid of “The Slime” aka “Brown Slime Algae” aka “Cyanobacteria” forever!
il19z8rn4li1
Member
I use rain water and 1 drop of Clorox per 10 gallons.
I clone in rain water also... roots pop in 7-8 days
I clone in rain water also... roots pop in 7-8 days
UPDATE:
ridomil appears to be working.
here is the root zone of one of my plants in the aero system i use for veg:
that was taken on friday morning.
i added ridomil that afternoon.
here is that same plant this evening:
i put the fire extinguisher there for contrast.
as you can see, things are very far from perfect, but there is a marked improvement.
this slime has been the bane of my existence since i got to this location. NOTHING i have tried has slowed it down too much.
it's too soon to draw any hard conclusions, but after 48 hours, this stuff seems to be helping considerably.
so why isn't anybody talking about that on here?
ridomil appears to be working.
here is the root zone of one of my plants in the aero system i use for veg:
that was taken on friday morning.
i added ridomil that afternoon.
here is that same plant this evening:
i put the fire extinguisher there for contrast.
as you can see, things are very far from perfect, but there is a marked improvement.
this slime has been the bane of my existence since i got to this location. NOTHING i have tried has slowed it down too much.
it's too soon to draw any hard conclusions, but after 48 hours, this stuff seems to be helping considerably.
so why isn't anybody talking about that on here?
S
SeaMaiden
Avant, it looks like someone is! Perhaps the ridomil deserves its own thread, eh?
Well, some people in this thread have stated that the erythromycin really did the trick for them. Since erythromycin's action is antibacterial, this supports the contention that these people had a bacterial/cyanobacterial problem.
Erythromycin didn't work for your root slime. Ridomil did. As you stated, since ridomil is antifungal in action, you probably have an oomcyte (fungal) problem. So we're really talking about two different things here.
Thanks for the information. Fascinating.
Will try this out in a couple of days in my ez cloner. I have not used it in awhile because I too got the slime in it starting a couple of months ago and aero cloning is by far the most prolific root producer and does make a big difference throughout the enter life cycle of the plant in my opinion. More yield, stronger stems, more hardy, and bigger plants. Since then I have been cloning in coco and while I can get very nice roots in it as well it is not as quick or as prolific of growth as the aero cloning is and same goes RR's etc. Only one I have not bother with is rock wool and probably won't ever use it.
Easy way to prove "it's the water". Wash your bubbler, ezcloner, etc in the dishwasher with dishwasher soap. Buy sping water in the sealed 2gal containers from the store. Clone with this water. Make sure you don't cross contaminate. Any amount of your "faucet" or RO water touching the cloner can ruin the whole test. Once you have done this and have success, which you will, then it's time to investigate your water. You will have no doubts.
i'm on the fence about it. i'd like to share my little bit of experience with the folks who have so freely shared their knowledge with me, but most of the threads on ICM that deal with the use of synthetics quickly wind up turning uglier than bat day at fenway park with the yankees in town.
anyway here's that same plant after four days:
i'm beginning to believe.
have to check what FRAC says about this stuff though.
you know of anything else with a different mode of action that's effective against oomcytes? this shit is already super resilient. don't want to turn it into a monster.
do you use a water chiller. keep your water at 68 and nothing but roots will grow in it. The problem with antibiotics, is if you use a bacteria culture in your nute mix to break down carbs then you kill it, and don't get the benifit....... maybe. that is what I am wondering.
Also I gave up on rdwc and just went back to dwc. I find top feeding is not good at a certain point. creates hydroton, and nute build up, which is all over your roots. I hate hydro ton. I wish I could buy 50 gallons of glass marbles instead. I stopped using chillers because they use 500 watts and heat up the air and then i have to have more ac, and then add humidity to make up for what the ac sucks out. It is a balancing game.
Also I gave up on rdwc and just went back to dwc. I find top feeding is not good at a certain point. creates hydroton, and nute build up, which is all over your roots. I hate hydro ton. I wish I could buy 50 gallons of glass marbles instead. I stopped using chillers because they use 500 watts and heat up the air and then i have to have more ac, and then add humidity to make up for what the ac sucks out. It is a balancing game.
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Can erythromycin be used during veg with the plants or is this stricly as a sterilization before growths/cloning. My plants are about a month in veg and I have this slime in my 55gallon rez(ebb and flow setup) Was wondering if its ok for the plants to uptake with normal nutes.
Bumpski for all the new cloner threads 
~
~here a funny one...
I read almost all the post regarding DWC and brown slime. That shit f#$@ed me up so bad I wanted to put a BUD to my head and pull the trigger!! But, momma aint raised no quitter...so...
I read some more...went back to university and took a couple botany classes (already have a physics degree and electrical engineering degree, not that they helped me here)...and...wait for it...
All the hype about chillers, tea, physan20, bleach, praying to god, posting on these forums, nutes etc etc are ALL RIGHT!! and ALL WRONG!! lol...the secret???...
I eventually gave up on RDWC, but not completely, I had to keep some around until I solved the problem ('member what I said a bout mamma!!!)...here it is...
From DAY1 you really need to protect your roots with some form of beneficial fungi (funguy or funji, either is fine, lol). Hydro stores (the biggest rip off business besides government) will sell some brands but never really ever tell you whats in it because then you can go but it for 10 cents on the dollar! But the one that did work (for me, yours may be different) was AQUASHILED from Botanicare. I used this from day one in my DWC and never chilled the water (got up to 83F), never even changed the nutes (just kept and let the extra spill out of an overflow hole (drilled at the right height so as to prevent overfilling). I just kept adding fresh nutes. I end up taking out my 400HP diesel air pump (yes, i'm joking) and went to a 'relatively' tiny one. Lo and behold, white roots all the way through and a great yield. And then I ripped the rest of the DWC system out and sent it to hell with a good kick in the ass.
Remember, all the discussion of brown slime in RWC are likely different types of water molds, diatoms, fungi, and bacterias...or you may have a suite of them and these all come from water wells, your ass (nope, not kidding), your lunch, the dirt outside. One thing I learned in all those botany classes is that these little microbes ARE EVERYWHERE (from your gfs a$$ to your mammas armpit...everywhere)!!! This is why different solutions are working for different people and some are not. However, a shield such as Aquashield can protect from many of these. Another to look at is Trichoderma Harzianum (sold as Rootshield but not at hydro stores, careful it has a shelf life)...
Now I use rockwool cubes (hugos and bigmammas) with a drain to waste system and the rootshield mentioned above. WAY WAY easier.
Thats my take, but hey...do whatever the F#%$ you wanna do! (that was from those bodybuilding twins, lol)
Cheers
MAY THE BROWN SLIME AND ALL ITS FRIENDS TAKE REFUGE IN THE MINDS OF OUR POLITICIANS (oops, I think it already has)
I read almost all the post regarding DWC and brown slime. That shit f#$@ed me up so bad I wanted to put a BUD to my head and pull the trigger!! But, momma aint raised no quitter...so...
I read some more...went back to university and took a couple botany classes (already have a physics degree and electrical engineering degree, not that they helped me here)...and...wait for it...
All the hype about chillers, tea, physan20, bleach, praying to god, posting on these forums, nutes etc etc are ALL RIGHT!! and ALL WRONG!! lol...the secret???...
I eventually gave up on RDWC, but not completely, I had to keep some around until I solved the problem ('member what I said a bout mamma!!!)...here it is...
From DAY1 you really need to protect your roots with some form of beneficial fungi (funguy or funji, either is fine, lol). Hydro stores (the biggest rip off business besides government) will sell some brands but never really ever tell you whats in it because then you can go but it for 10 cents on the dollar! But the one that did work (for me, yours may be different) was AQUASHILED from Botanicare. I used this from day one in my DWC and never chilled the water (got up to 83F), never even changed the nutes (just kept and let the extra spill out of an overflow hole (drilled at the right height so as to prevent overfilling). I just kept adding fresh nutes. I end up taking out my 400HP diesel air pump (yes, i'm joking) and went to a 'relatively' tiny one. Lo and behold, white roots all the way through and a great yield. And then I ripped the rest of the DWC system out and sent it to hell with a good kick in the ass.
Remember, all the discussion of brown slime in RWC are likely different types of water molds, diatoms, fungi, and bacterias...or you may have a suite of them and these all come from water wells, your ass (nope, not kidding), your lunch, the dirt outside. One thing I learned in all those botany classes is that these little microbes ARE EVERYWHERE (from your gfs a$$ to your mammas armpit...everywhere)!!! This is why different solutions are working for different people and some are not. However, a shield such as Aquashield can protect from many of these. Another to look at is Trichoderma Harzianum (sold as Rootshield but not at hydro stores, careful it has a shelf life)...
Now I use rockwool cubes (hugos and bigmammas) with a drain to waste system and the rootshield mentioned above. WAY WAY easier.
Thats my take, but hey...do whatever the F#%$ you wanna do! (that was from those bodybuilding twins, lol)
Cheers
MAY THE BROWN SLIME AND ALL ITS FRIENDS TAKE REFUGE IN THE MINDS OF OUR POLITICIANS (oops, I think it already has)
Fyi, as of the last couple years oomycota (the water molds) is no longer classified as a fungus (I think they found out it doesn't have chitin in its cell walls); it's now classified as a protist (heterokont). I got this question wrong on a midterm and I was choked because why the hell do they still have the 'mycota' attached as most fungi do. God Biology drives me nuts with messed up nomenclature.
"This group was originally classified among the fungi (the name "oomycota" means "egg fungus") and later treated as protists, based on general morphology and lifestyle.[3] A cladistic classification based on modern insights supports a relatively close relationship with photosynthetic organisms such as brown algae and diatoms, within the heterokonts."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oomycete
"Biology of Plant" Raven 7th Ed. pp309-310
I only mention this as it may affect which control vector one uses.
Cheers
"This group was originally classified among the fungi (the name "oomycota" means "egg fungus") and later treated as protists, based on general morphology and lifestyle.[3] A cladistic classification based on modern insights supports a relatively close relationship with photosynthetic organisms such as brown algae and diatoms, within the heterokonts."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oomycete
"Biology of Plant" Raven 7th Ed. pp309-310
I only mention this as it may affect which control vector one uses.
Cheers
if your point is that taxonomy is largely arbitrary and completely artificial, i am inclined to agree with you.
I grow in DIY RDWC and i got root rot as almost everybody .Ridomil save my life and some grow ,this what i do now
1.fill up system add physan 20 let it run for 1 hour
2.flush system and allow it to dry.
3.Refill system add bleach(6%)until reaching 800Ppm.
4.Add vinegar until(PH DROPPER)until reaching 6 don't go lower (very harmful vapor Deadly)
5.Scrub every surfaces flush system.
6.Refill system with RO add some green to your's system.
7.Add Ridomil sl gold .
8.Veg (if you veg longer than 3 week add more Ridomil)
FLOWER
1.Refill system RO add beneficial(for me tea/tarantula/rizotonic.)
2.Add tea 2 time per week or as you want.
ENJOY BONTIFUL HARVEST
1.fill up system add physan 20 let it run for 1 hour
2.flush system and allow it to dry.
3.Refill system add bleach(6%)until reaching 800Ppm.
4.Add vinegar until(PH DROPPER)until reaching 6 don't go lower (very harmful vapor Deadly)
5.Scrub every surfaces flush system.
6.Refill system with RO add some green to your's system.
7.Add Ridomil sl gold .
8.Veg (if you veg longer than 3 week add more Ridomil)
FLOWER
1.Refill system RO add beneficial(for me tea/tarantula/rizotonic.)
2.Add tea 2 time per week or as you want.
ENJOY BONTIFUL HARVEST
interesting stuff.
i have a few questions though.
1. how strong is your physan mix? for cleaning hard surfaces, the label recomends 1 Tbsp/gal (roughly 4 ml/l). that would get expensive in a hurry.
2. are you just letting the ridomil stay in your system? that shit is bad for you to be breathing and touching. i just let it run through the rez for a day, 2 tops. then i flush with clear water before refilling with nutes.
3. you said if you're vegging for longer than 3 weeks, to add more ridomil. do you not change your nutes for 3 weeks? that sounds like an awful long time, especially if you've got root zone issues to begin with.
thanks for clearing that up.
i have a few questions though.
1. how strong is your physan mix? for cleaning hard surfaces, the label recomends 1 Tbsp/gal (roughly 4 ml/l). that would get expensive in a hurry.
2. are you just letting the ridomil stay in your system? that shit is bad for you to be breathing and touching. i just let it run through the rez for a day, 2 tops. then i flush with clear water before refilling with nutes.
3. you said if you're vegging for longer than 3 weeks, to add more ridomil. do you not change your nutes for 3 weeks? that sounds like an awful long time, especially if you've got root zone issues to begin with.
thanks for clearing that up.
1. physan 20 2ml/l(next run only bleach at 800ppm/6.0 ph)easy cheap/effective)done this at another place and everything was great so far 4 week in.
2. sorry my bad i flush it after 24 hour(long enouft for systemic action)
3.i flush each 2 week (my bad again)maybe i was to stoned when i post this.
To make long story short in veg i run steril rez and when i switch to flower i introduce beneficial to root mass.
StoopheadFred
Member
Ok cyanobacteria-heads, I've got something that you guys will find interesting.
Sea Green by Beneficial Biologics is a popular product among the farmers here in Washington. Another thread here on icmag (https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=209774) discusses this product, but this post by GeorgeSmiley specifically interested me (https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=5307990&postcount=81)
Here Mr.George discovers that the "secret ingredient" of this product may potentially by cyanobacteria.
So... looking for your input on this! Could it be that certain strains of cyanobacteria are actually a good thing? If so, how can we find out what the beneficial strains are and how do we aquire them? People apparently use this stuff in hydro with great success, and it is known to cause severe foaming when added to res.
Sorry to threadjack, I'll make another thread if the OP wishes but I thought this would be a good audience to pose this question to.
Sea Green by Beneficial Biologics is a popular product among the farmers here in Washington. Another thread here on icmag (https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=209774) discusses this product, but this post by GeorgeSmiley specifically interested me (https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=5307990&postcount=81)
Here Mr.George discovers that the "secret ingredient" of this product may potentially by cyanobacteria.
So... looking for your input on this! Could it be that certain strains of cyanobacteria are actually a good thing? If so, how can we find out what the beneficial strains are and how do we aquire them? People apparently use this stuff in hydro with great success, and it is known to cause severe foaming when added to res.
Sorry to threadjack, I'll make another thread if the OP wishes but I thought this would be a good audience to pose this question to.
I tried to follow thread but got a bit lost.Can this Erythromycin be used in an under current while in flower?I am in 5th week flower and have been having issues with ph dropping like a rock from 6.0 to 4.1 in 12 hrs with AN.have since swithced to CS line.I treated with 5ml/gal h202 for 12 hrs and now have CS nutes in with 7 ml bleach.I don't have any offensive smell but my roots have an orange like tint to em.my ppms now are 920 and ph is 5.6 down from 6.1 last night.
quinoa64
Member
Nice thread, may Ultra Current "guest in peace" for starting it, and alerting us all to the notion that our tap water may be teeming with chlorine-resistant cyanobacteria. The public health implications of this are... what exactly? I drink a lot of filtered tap water. This might explain why my poo smells like my slimy reservoir sometimes. Sorry if that's TMI.
OK, ok, so based on everything I've read here and elsewhere, I'm going to get my gear as clean as possible, and then try to prevent this stuff with beneficials. Probiotics, not antibiotics. AquaShield, EWC tea, that kind of thing. Happier plants, happier me.
And if that doesn't work for DWC with my water, then I'm switching to coco.
BUT WAIT, since coco is a hydroponic medium, why don't we get the dreaded slime in coco grows? Anyone know? Or does it happen there, too?
OK, ok, so based on everything I've read here and elsewhere, I'm going to get my gear as clean as possible, and then try to prevent this stuff with beneficials. Probiotics, not antibiotics. AquaShield, EWC tea, that kind of thing. Happier plants, happier me.
And if that doesn't work for DWC with my water, then I'm switching to coco.
BUT WAIT, since coco is a hydroponic medium, why don't we get the dreaded slime in coco grows? Anyone know? Or does it happen there, too?
