Hu$tle Tree$ do you use r/o? if so how new are your filters & how many stages? If the filter is not changed or replaced and cleaned, this breeds bacteria & algee's
if your going to run the buckets again id say give it a good cleaning and stick to a 100-100-200 n-p-k feeding no additives other then a root cleaner. keep your ppm as low as you can to not harm the plants. id do 20% water changes everyweek if you dont allready dump n add new, when setting up my fishtank i had this stuff really bad untell i learn more about it the key is super clean water going into the system from the get and make sure all the spores in the system are all dead befor starting. 7 stage r/o is the only way to go..... i have a r/o that i dont even use any more i buy all my water from a glacier vending machine it runs 2 uv lights and they keep dates of when there filters where changed.
i thought about the uv in the rez and yes i think it would work wonders it dose in reefing setup's the prob is there very spendy i allso think a proten skimmer is needed you should see the crap i get out of my tank that you could never see or think was even there 2 items used in aquarium use that hydro really never thought about...
im glad i steped into the saltwater thing i have learned so much more about water chem it is unbelevable. all take some pic's of what a proten skimmer is and dose along with some corol that i have and kept alive for 2yrs now try n think about keeping a plant alive for 2yrs in a hydro bucket
after reading this..... no wonder ppl have issues
Absolutely, there is good information in the above, but it has to be dissected as you have done.
Root Rot and Pythium
"Root rot" is a generic name for several common opportunistic waterborne diseases that can seriously affect indoor and outdoor crops year round. "Pythium" is the name of one of these diseases and is also used as a generic term for several different root rot and stem rot fungus species (including Pythium, Verticillium, and Phytophthora, and Fusarium). The term “damping-off” is also often used and usually applies to disease in seeds, seedlings and clones.
i take it this is the nasty's we are fighting?Root rot is different then brown slime algae (misnomer name; it is a bacteria and not truly an algae).
Bacterial slime and other horrifying nasties
These are not the beneficial bacteria and fungi that we have already spoken about. These bacteria cause cloudy reservoirs, slimy build up, weird reservoir fuzz, gelatin growths and wild pH fluctuations. These are the reservoir monsters.
When these bad microbes are present at high populations and are happily feeding on organic matter, they use up just about all the oxygen in the nutrient solution, suffocating the plants. They release toxic substances as a biproduct of their life cycle. They also suppress the good microbes at the root zone and cause problems with nutrient uptake and plant growth.
so if you take the organic matter away they cant eat..... in a reef tank you do this by using whats called a skimmer This is a very good idea. I spoke of it, oh maybe 20 pages ago in this thread. Never got around to doing it, even though I have several laying around from my fish aquarium.
Bacteria slime and cloudy reservoirs
Bacteria can make the water cloudy, but tend to produce more of a slime or jellylike, smelly mass in the system.If you have it, you will notice slimy reservoir walls and perhaps an oily slick on the water. Another symptom can be a foamy buildup in the reservoir. If left to their own devices, these bacterial growths will smother the roots, depriving them of oxygen. Some species of anaerobic bacteria thrive in an environment deprived of oxygen and can produce chemical metabolites, such as alcohols, aldehydes, phenols and ethylene, that are toxic to plant roots and to other microorganisms.
so now we have a name for this slime.... sweet I'm no scientist, but I am 90% sure I have concluded right from research that this is brown slime algae. I, also, coined it the term hydro herpe. It never goes away, lol. Found out what it was over a year ago, several pages back again, from reading fish owner chat forums. The slime likes organics and this one from does not even need light. It gets it's energy source from organic matter. That is how I concluded this was the culprit. All descriptions of it match.
Other symptoms of bacterial infections can be fuzzy, cotton like growths, or the growth of fur. Just in case you are wondering, that white fuzzy growth you see at the tip of your roots is desireable. That is not bacteria - That is the good stuff - you should see tiny fine white hairs at thje roots.
All of these nasties require organic matter to feed on. They may be there as the result of a buildup of dead roots and leaves in the root zone, but usually they are the result of adding an organic product to the reservoir. If the conditions are just right, the bacteria will begin to thrive.
note too self: don't add organic product to rez Recently, as experimented and reported on past posts, you can go back to organics as long as you have a UV Sterilizer in your rez or are using EWC Tea for the bene microbe army.
One option is to use no organic additives at all and to rely strictly on chemical nutrients based on fertilizer salts.how bout using a uv lite? Above.We think a better choice is to continue using organic material, but also using an enzymatic addtive like Hygrozyme that will break down the unwanted organic matter in the reservoir . If you would like to use additives such as bat guano, compost or fish-based products, you might consider run to waste instead of a recirculating system.
now i think there just trying to sell shit Absolutely, trying to sell jet fuel, is the case here with this hydro herpe.
What to do if you have a bacterial or fungal infection
You will want to completely clean out your system
good idea Always, best is Physan 20.
if you can, you should remove each plant, rinse it off, perhaps even dip it in an H202 solution. You should trim off any dead roots. you should then clean your entire system using a strong bleach or h202 solution. We suggest soaking everything in bleach for a few hours. You will definately want to soak your pump and any tubing in bleach. again good idea
Make sure you rinse everything very well before putting the plants back in. BAD IDEA
If your plants are damaged, you might want to run the nutrient solution at a lower concentration than usual. good idea
We highly recommend using an enzymatic addditive such as Hygrozyme. . You should also run a stress relief additive like CANNA Rhizotonic. We always suggest using Liquid Karma, BAD IDEA
but if your problem is real bad, you might want to lay off the organics a little bit. you think?
While your roots are really hurting, you may want to foliar feed your plants with Nitrozime or Dutch Master If you haven't already, you should read the section above about inncoulating your system with good microbes. but you said the good one's make bad one?
Keep an eye on your reservoir. Be prepared to clean it out regularly, as soon as any sign of a infections (cloudy water or wild pH fluctuations) occur. Brown slime algae will make your pH rise and root rot (pythium) will make your pH drop.
Remember IT IS MUCH EASIER TO PREVENT a pathogenic attack than it is to deal with it once it has occured!
__________________
