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New RDWC grower, already growing algae?

K

kbone123

New member
I set up a single pot RDWC. I have a 15LPM air pump going to a disc-shaped airstone in the pot, but nothing in the reservoir. I have a 396GPH water pump pulling from the pot and bringing it back to the res. It is just sitting in the water to not make too much noise. There is a 2" PVC pipe connecting the two together with uniseals.

After getting it set up, I poured in 18 gallons (max) of tap water (don't have RO), did 1ml/g of Hydroguard, and brought pH from ~9.0 to ~5.9.

I set everything up on Tuesday 11/13 and by last night, Friday 11/16, I came home and smelled something along the lines of when a swimming pool is starting to grow algae. I open the res and sure enough see it being cloudy. The pH went from 5.9 to 7.0 and ppm from 187 to 210 in that time. I poured in another 3ml/g of Hydroguard in a panic, but it has only been 1 night since then, but I have not seen a positive change in that time. Unfortunately, I do not see a date on the bottle of Hydroguard (ordered new from Amazon this month) and so I cannot guarantee if it is still usable.


Currently, my plant is young enough that it hasn't even really rooted outside of the rockwool cube yet, so I have some time to fix this, but I want to be sure of how to fix it.


So what are my best options to make it go away and KEEP IT AWAY?

I'm thinking the following might help, but please don't let me skew your thoughts by writing mine:

1. Buy a bottle of Great White and add some of that.
2. Buy a bottle of H2O2 and add some of that.
3. Buy a second, smaller, air pump and stone just for the res.
4. Bleach (lightly) the system to clean it more thoroughly than I have and reset everything.

Please, any input might help.
 
K

kbone123

New member
I am also just now learning about Venturi for aeration. As I am very happy with the water pump and not happy with my air pump, is this perhaps a better way to go?

Get another 396GPH water pump, 2 Venturi tubes like this one, and just put one in the pot and one in the res.

Is aeration of the res my issue?
 
gaiusmarius

gaiusmarius

me
Veteran
does the rez have an light leaks, black tanks have less problems with algae. a bit of cloudiness can happen when you are mixing certain nutrients, but it should clear up when it's well mixed up.
 
K

kbone123

New member
gaiusmarius said:
does the rez have an light leaks, black tanks have less problems with algae. a bit of cloudiness can happen when you are mixing certain nutrients, but it should clear up when it's well mixed up.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the reply!

The res tote is one of those black totes from the department store with the yellow top. Yellow top would allow for light to get in, but the room itself is never really lit that well to begin with. I can certainly put something on the lid to prevent further light leaks, but I don't believe that is quite the issue here.

In terms of nutes, none have been added yet. Just Hydroguard and pH down.

I'm not home right now, but I put the hose pumping water back into the res in a way that at least let it kind of act as a waterfall of sorts to see if it helps. I also ordered the Venturi injector from eBay and will just connect it to that very same line just as a $5 test of new aeration method.
 
gaiusmarius

gaiusmarius

me
Veteran
well the pumps and air will be good for sure, but algae can't live without light, so you just need to make the rez inside dark and that should stop algae being able to grow.
 
K

kbone123

New member
Thank you both for your input.

Alright, I will cover the lid with aluminum foil later and I will try the Venturi aerator in the rez. The pot inside the tent is already covered and should be good to go in regards to light.

However, am I right in assuming that Hydroguard is supposed to also be taking care of this? Isn't that the whole point? I'm thinking that if it isn't taking care of it, I should replace it. Am I correct on this or is my Hydroguard probably fine?
 
Hydro8

Hydro8

Member
kbone123 said:
However, am I right in assuming that Hydroguard is supposed to also be taking care of this?
Click to expand...

Stuff like algae and pythium are very difficult to kill if they have the conditions to grow in. Like weeds in an empty lot, they will keep coming back if their is bare dirt to grow in. If you have pockets of stagnant water in your system you will get slime.
 
gaiusmarius

gaiusmarius

me
Veteran
also once the algae is growing, you need to change the water out and scrub the tank inside, then have it dark add the air stone and you'll be good.
 
K

kbone123

New member
Hydro8 said:
Stuff like algae and pythium are very difficult to kill if they have the conditions to grow in. Like weeds in an empty lot, they will keep coming back if their is bare dirt to grow in. If you have pockets of stagnant water in your system you will get slime.
Click to expand...

gaiusmarius said:
also once the algae is growing, you need to change the water out and scrub the tank inside, then have it dark add the air stone and you'll be good.
Click to expand...

Alright I can definitely replace the water and scrub the tubs down again (I did do it after setting it up).
 
K

kbone123

New member
As an update in case it helps anyone else in the future, after coming home last night, it seems the extra Hydroguard I added and/or the incoming water line dripping the water into the res like a waterfall was definitely helping.

If I had to guess how cloudy it was compared to previously, I'd say 50%.

However, I went ahead and emptied and disinfected the entire system along with any tools, pumps, meters, etc. that might contact water that goes into the system. I will add 3ml/g of Hydroguard this time just in case.

I also ran over one of the 4 lines for my air pump into a second stone in the rez, but I am excited about the Venturi tube as high quality QUIET water pumps seem to be way easier to find than equivalent air pumps.

Thanks for your help in this thread.:tiphat:
 
K

kbone123

New member
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

So since swapping the water and cleaning out the entire system again 4.5 days ago, the cloudiness and smell came back, but not quite as bad as before.

This time, I can both rule out aeration as well as light leaks. There is plenty of aeration in both tubs and I have the entire tubs covered in foil. The hoses going into the pots are also black and not clear.

I added another 2ml/g of Hydroguard before leaving, but I'm thinking that is the last issue left.

Unless anyone has a better suggestion, I'm going to buy some 30% H2O2 and some great White and will try to make this issue go away permanently.

Is this a normal issue that I'm just not dealing with properly?
 
DrDee

DrDee

Member
Kbone,
If I found that my res water became smelly and cloudy 4/5 days after adding hydroguard...and it happened twice...I'd definitely be replacing that hydroguard. Maybe try that Southern Ag product so many hydro guys are switching to.
JD
 
Bobby Boucher

Bobby Boucher

Active member
Dutch Master Zone has kept my rdwc 100% slime and algae free for years, but wouldn't work in conjunction with your hydroguard.
 
K

kbone123

New member
So I've still been struggling with this. Mostly now though, it's a smell and not anything visual.

First, I've added Hydroguard as previously mentioned, but also made ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the issues were not from light leaks or aeration.
Second, I stopped using Hydroguard and used Great White.
Third, I tried using 35% H2o2 @ 3mL/G.

After adding the Great White and increasing the aeration, the cloudiness seems to go away for the most part, but the smell increased slightly.

I added the H2o2 and the smell got WAY worse. It's gotten a bit better even though I've been adding more every other day, but it hasn't gone away completely.

The other issue that makes me believe the problem has't gone away is that the pH will rise from ~5.8 to ~7.8 within a couple days. I keep lowering it, but it will rise back up again. Is this normal and likely unrelated?

I wish I could set up an RO system, but I'm renting an apartment.
 
Hydro8

Hydro8

Member
You might try trouble shooting for contamination outside the system. Do you have a basement drain, plumbing drain, plumbing leak, moldy shower close by ? Any stagnant water outside by a window or possible air inlet ?

Older bathrooms and shower stalls can hold a massive amount of funky mold hidden behind the walls. Drains can also hold a lot of funk.
 
K

kbone123

New member
Hydro8 said:
You might try trouble shooting for contamination outside the system. Do you have a basement drain, plumbing drain, plumbing leak, moldy shower close by ? Any stagnant water outside by a window or possible air inlet ?

Older bathrooms and shower stalls can hold a massive amount of funky mold hidden behind the walls. Drains can also hold a lot of funk.
Click to expand...

While I don't believe this is the case, I don't doubt it either. The apartment building is old and mostly just minimally maintained.

Is there a middle ground between setting up an RO system and using something incredibly slow like those filters that attach to the faucet?
 
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