Added Silica To Res, Brown Residue On Roots?!

[kittybags]

I'm running a mini DWC with 2 clones, both girl scout cookies. This main clone I'll show you is about 2 weeks young now and has been growing rapidly.

My first res (2 weeks ago) was 4 gallons of RO water, 1 tsp of GH Maxibloom and 1 tsp of GH Calimagic. pH was steady at 5.8. However, after about a week I started noticing some sort of brown/reddish residue forming on the bottom of my reservoir. Not too sure what it was but my roots were fine and my plants were growing so I brushed it off. In the next few days, I decided to just get rid of the res and make sure that I clean it thoroughly and that I rinse off the hydroton.

After cleaning, I refilled the res with 4 gallons of RO water, 2 tsp of GH Maxibloom, 2 tsp of GH Calimagic, and 1 tsp of GH Armor Si (silica). The next morning, there was more of the same brown/red residue on the bottom of my res. But worse! The roots also were covered in that same residue. It didn't seem like slime or root rot for me but I decided to add some H2O2 to my system just as precaution. They are looking slightly better but I just want to see what you guys think.

This smaller, younger clone is also slight affected.

 

[squarepush3r]

Well the first time you noticed the problem, you did not use silica, so I say its safe that the silica is not the issue.

 

[kittybags]

I noticed the brown residue on the bottom of the first res, but the roots were fine. It was only after I added silica that my roots actually got the residue on them.

Not too sure what it was but my roots were fine and my plants were growing so I brushed it off.

 

[DeltaN9ne]

Hey Kittybags,
Did you ever figure out your problem? I'm starting to see the exact same problem on 2 of my plants... the problem in your pics and my plants look different than most root rot/slime algae pics.


I first saw it real bad on one of my plants after a strong feeding of GH micro, so I figured it was just nute stains, but now I'm seeing it on my plant who's only been given quarter strength nutes (the nute solution is still clear) and the most of the browning is on the roots that are just barely poking out of the net pots that have yet to reach the solution.

I'm not ruling out root rot/algae because i know i have high res temps (77F) and a few light leaks that are being addressed tonight, but this does seem a little different.

 

[Benjamin Check]

Always add the silica to the reservoir and clean water first or it makes gunk when it comes in contact with other nutrients. Silica additives are alkaline as he'll and can cause a little bit of jelly type residue. Just add it first and make sure it's fully mixed in before you add the rest of your nutes. I always add silica first, then calimagic, amino blast, then rapidstart/kangaroots/roots excel before I load the nutes in. Never had a problem with gunk.

If you're topping off an existing resi, mix it in water first before you add it to the reservoir or it will cause gunk. It's not harmful though unless you added enough to clog the pump.

 

[sourpuss]

Id add some h2o2 to kill the bacteria causing the rot. Silica will make your res ph go out of wack too. Not sure if your doing the organic hydro thing but if not id use the h2o2. Looks like rot but u might be right and could be something else. High temps... frozen pop bottles full of water work. No expert here just thi gs I e read. Im a Promix guy...

 

[FlaDankster]

Won't silica feed bad bacteria's in hydro?

 

[DONAJTHEIII]

Ok so Ive had this issue before when I made my first ez cloner lol thing was a beaut. as you can see your rez isnt black so its a nice place for growth like your seeing and have you checked your rez temp ? if its high then thats even better lol they love that shit


So what was my solution.

TEA RECIPE NEVER HAD A ROOT ISSUE IN MY EZ CLONER EVER AGAIN. Your system is similar to an ez cloner so this will work too.


RECIPE ( 2 gal.RO WATER)


1)1/4 tsp. a gal of great white
2)handful of GH Alaskan hummus(put this in a pantyhose so it doesnt get in the water)
3)food source for bennies (mollasses etc.)

bubble in 2 gal. for 24-48hours with airstone


Put a couple cups of it in your rez. works better than h202 and ive tried both.


If your super lazy aha Ive had friends who just throw 1/4 tsp of great white and 1/2 tsp of mollases and lets it bubble in 1 gal. of ro water for 15 mins then give it to there ladies and had success with that too.

I just like to do it my way as its always worked magic.



AJAE

 

[coldcanna]

1ml per 30 gallons of water every 4-5 days and plenty of oxygen will keep you in good shape- thats a maxim I learned from Snype