DWC Root Slime Cure aka How to Breed Beneficial Microbes

farkface

Member
Question for Heiz or any other Tea-Vets :D

(I tried to read the whole thread but had a hard time finding the right posts).


Is anybody using the tea in Aeroponics? most people still suggest h2o2 for aero, but I am very hesitant to try that stuff again. Maybe I will try it once I get aero setup though.

Would the tea still be effective if filtered through a 1-micron bag before adding to an aero res, or would that basically strip out all the good guys??

Just trying to think of a way to innoculate the aero roots since it looks like air roots benefit tremendously from the Tea, even more than water roots.

Barring that, I wonder if you could innoculate with just a few drips directly onto the bottom stem. Ideally in aero you do NOT want large droplets reaching the roots as that will discourage the fine hairs and turn them into water roots, but maybe a few drops from above wouldn't really make it down far, but could still propogate the microbes/fungi all the way down?
 

Dustybowlz

Well-Known Member
What I did was,
-lifted lid/netpot/plant out of feed bucket and held it over an empty clean bucket.
-whike holding the lid I used a spray bottle to wash off the brown (from roots only, I didn't spray the netpots/hydroton).
-the water that fell into the empty bucket is what I let dry, to observe what was left over. To me, it looks like hydroton sediment.

I notice on my new roots, the hair on the roots attract the brown stuff. The brown washes right off. But since it attracts it, it just makes it was back to the roots again. So far, using tea or An piranha and tarantula haven't shown any difference from 1-4 days in veg.

This time I have been able to keep my water temps under 70* too. No luck.

I washed my hydroton very well but it seems the more you agitate it, the more sediment just flakes off. I wash till water comes clear, but can never wash all the sediment away.
 

hellraizer30

Rebel From The North
100% will foam in 12hr and clear up in 48HR and is a shure fire mix

x2 hand fulls of ancient forest in a sock
x1 tsp mycomadness or great wite
x2 tsp grandmas molassiss
five gallen bucket
x4 air stones
a air pump to run x4 stones
water temps in the 60f
 

BuBoNiC~ChRoNiC

Well-Known Member
I used

x2 hand fulls of Black gold ewc straight into bucket
x1/2 small scoop of ZHO
x30ml of aquashield
x1.5 tbs all natural brown sugar
x3 air stones 2 pumps
water temps 63-70f


edit: use cheese cloth to strain
 

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
What I did was,
-lifted lid/netpot/plant out of feed bucket and held it over an empty clean bucket.
-whike holding the lid I used a spray bottle to wash off the brown (from roots only, I didn't spray the netpots/hydroton).
-the water that fell into the empty bucket is what I let dry, to observe what was left over. To me, it looks like hydroton sediment.

I notice on my new roots, the hair on the roots attract the brown stuff. The brown washes right off. But since it attracts it, it just makes it was back to the roots again. So far, using tea or An piranha and tarantula haven't shown any difference from 1-4 days in veg.

This time I have been able to keep my water temps under 70* too. No luck.

I washed my hydroton very well but it seems the more you agitate it, the more sediment just flakes off. I wash till water comes clear, but can never wash all the sediment away.
AN microbe products cause slime more often than they cure it. You should also thank them for taking a product you can get for $6/oz, separating it into three single products, and charging you a couple hundred dollars.

It could be hydroton settlement, in which case just wash it away, or it could be diatoms. Diatoms will coat the roots and sides of the buckets yet easily disperse when you mess with it. Diatoms do not tend to show up all at once though. It's usually a problem with the tap water.
 

Dustybowlz

Well-Known Member
I could be hydroton settlement, in which case just wash it away, or it could be diatoms. Diatoms will coat the roots and sides of the buckets yet easily disperse when you mess with it. Diatoms do not tend to show up all at once though. It's usually a problem with the tap water.
I use un treated well water.

I've been searching continuously, diatoms, nematoads, I don't know how to know what it is. Im getting the water tested asap. Just having trpuble finding somewhere local .

If it were somthing like a diatom. It would be more dormant in cold, low nutrient water. But blooms would be large if water temp rose even the slightest and you add any nutes.

Where would I begin fighting diatoms in my water? What sort of stuff eradicates it and keeps it at bay?
 

SHABOOGY1

Well-Known Member
Question for Heiz or any other Tea-Vets :D

(I tried to read the whole thread but had a hard time finding the right posts).


Is anybody using the tea in Aeroponics? most people still suggest h2o2 for aero, but I am very hesitant to try that stuff again. Maybe I will try it once I get aero setup though.

Would the tea still be effective if filtered through a 1-micron bag before adding to an aero res, or would that basically strip out all the good guys??

Just trying to think of a way to innoculate the aero roots since it looks like air roots benefit tremendously from the Tea, even more than water roots.

Barring that, I wonder if you could innoculate with just a few drips directly onto the bottom stem. Ideally in aero you do NOT want large droplets reaching the roots as that will discourage the fine hairs and turn them into water roots, but maybe a few drops from above wouldn't really make it down far, but could still propogate the microbes/fungi all the way down?
Im not a tea vet but the tea works like steroids for roots in an aeroponic set up!!!
 

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
Where would I begin fighting diatoms in my water? What sort of stuff eradicates it and keeps it at bay?
I know of only one person who fought golden diatoms with tea. He saw significant improvement, but the tea was not a magic bullet for diatoms like it is for the slime. His posts are in this thread somewhere. Diversity is your best bet. You want the most diverse tea possible. BTW, it's not nematodes.
 

Dustybowlz

Well-Known Member
I know of only one person who fought golden diatoms with tea. He saw significant improvement, but the tea was not a magic bullet for diatoms like it is for the slime. His posts are in this thread somewhere. Diversity is your best bet. You want the most diverse tea possible. BTW, it's not nematodes.
Thanks Hies, I feel like the threads "thorn", but don't know where else to ask these questions.

Is there anywhere you know of that I could go to get some info on diatoms in hydro from? Having a lot of trouble finding any info on them on this speciclfic environment. Everything I see is fish tank related and there process is different.
 

sean3

Member
It should also be noted that the downside of using microbes is that the Nematodes in the tea can cause harm to a person, specially if you are using the "compost", its true that it does offer you a diversity of more than 28, 000 types of Nematodes, apart from protozoa and beneficial bacteria but with some nematodes if they comes in contact with your skin (specially wet skin) for those of us that have to deal with reservoirs. You should know that 16,000 of that 28000 are parasitic, Things like Tapeworm roundworm, hookworm are all part of the Nematode family and once inside of humans will show little to no severe symptoms but, the symptoms that do show up is feeling fatigue, nausea,coughing, lack of appetite,(which could be offset by consuming MJ but keep in mind that just because you have an appetite after smoking, it doesnt mean you dont have a tape worm and it doesnt mean u do have it but be a ware of what comes with using it. Before I take this deeper let me say that in MOST cases these worms that form,...as long as they are in your intestines, or stomach can be eradicated with treatment from a doctor or if you choose to use home remedies, Consuming Pumpkin Seeds, Almonds, pineapple juice, pomegranate and/ or raw Garlic on a regular basis, are key items I'd add to my diet as a preventative measure and also to expel the worm if you have it in your system. But with that being said I DONT THINK THAT MUCH emphasis has been given to the amount of care we need to take when administering or dealing with microbes. And of course as you know I have to provide you links to back these things up; Please feel free to give input.
Please look at the Diagram at the bottom of this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taenia_saginata, also you'll see that nematodes are in the same family as these worms.

***1 Key thing that i notice with my tea was that, all though you cant see bacteria, YOU CAN SEE SOME NEMATODES, I first thought that you needed a microscope to see them but no not all require a microscope to see. Nematodes are nonsegmented blind worms with lengths averaging 2 millimeters(not micrometers) so and these attach themselves to each other and once they've attached thousands upon thousands you begin to notice in your tea that you see small hair-like moving particles in the tea, THOSE ARE NEMATODES. If you do not believe this or need further proof please read the section Nematodes in the "Teaming with Microbes" book

People may say "Oh you only get tapeworm from eating food that hasnt been cooked" If we take it back just a tad, I'll make the connection for you,...The food that has been partially cook say..a hamburger...which comes from cows,...and the cows eat's grass that has been on a pasture (microbes being ubiquitous) thats either has or hasnt been treated by a farmer, So now that COW carries it, then that cow takes a dump and in that dump is the eggs of the Tapeworm, which goes un noticed because hey...it is compost. With microbes being ubiquitous, even if the farmer didnt treat his soil this can still happen. My thinkin on that is Farmers probably give their farm's soil a lot of diversity by amending it with things like good quality compost,. Now think like this...if the farmers are gettting quality compost that comes from other places around the world just to give their soil diversity, and then they are adding it to their soil, one can only imagine what species have been taking out of their own habitat and injected somewhere else for the sake of diversity. But not taking the time to find out if the new environment has defenses for these "newly-added" species, MJ is more of a tropical loving plant...find out where your strain comes from and research THOSE microbes that are most likely to be found in that region, and add them.

I didnt make this post to bash the tea, but I did make this post because I noticed I was losing weigh and things werent right with me and this all started after I carelessly added tea...stirr'd water with my bare hands as if it couldnt cause any harm.
 

ramen86

Well-Known Member
It should also be noted that the downside of using microbes is that the Nematodes in the tea can cause harm to a person, specially if you are using the "compost", its true that it does offer you a diversity of more than 28, 000 types of Nematodes, apart from protozoa and beneficial bacteria but with some nematodes if they comes in contact with your skin (specially wet skin) for those of us that have to deal with reservoirs. You should know that 16,000 of that 28000 are parasitic, Things like Tapeworm roundworm, hookworm are all part of the Nematode family and once inside of humans will show little to no severe symptoms but, the symptoms that do show up is feeling fatigue, nausea,coughing, lack of appetite,(which could be offset by consuming MJ but keep in mind that just because you have an appetite after smoking, it doesnt mean you dont have a tape worm and it doesnt mean u do have it but be a ware of what comes with using it. Before I take this deeper let me say that in MOST cases these worms that form,...as long as they are in your intestines, or stomach can be eradicated with treatment from a doctor or if you choose to use home remedies, Consuming Pumpkin Seeds, Almonds, pineapple juice, pomegranate and/ or raw Garlic on a regular basis, are key items I'd add to my diet as a preventative measure and also to expel the worm if you have it in your system. But with that being said I DONT THINK THAT MUCH emphasis has been given to the amount of care we need to take when administering or dealing with microbes. And of course as you know I have to provide you links to back these things up; Please feel free to give input.
Please look at the Diagram at the bottom of this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taenia_saginata, also you'll see that nematodes are in the same family as these worms.

***1 Key thing that i notice with my tea was that, all though you cant see bacteria, YOU CAN SEE SOME NEMATODES, I first thought that you needed a microscope to see them but no not all require a microscope to see. Nematodes are nonsegmented blind worms with lengths averaging 2 millimeters(not micrometers) so and these attach themselves to each other and once they've attached thousands upon thousands you begin to notice in your tea that you see small hair-like moving particles in the tea, THOSE ARE NEMATODES. If you do not believe this or need further proof please read the section Nematodes in the "Teaming with Microbes" book

People may say "Oh you only get tapeworm from eating food that hasnt been cooked" If we take it back just a tad, I'll make the connection for you,...The food that has been partially cook say..a hamburger...which comes from cows,...and the cows eat's grass that has been on a pasture (microbes being ubiquitous) thats either has or hasnt been treated by a farmer, So now that COW carries it, then that cow takes a dump and in that dump is the eggs of the Tapeworm, which goes un noticed because hey...it is compost. With microbes being ubiquitous, even if the farmer didnt treat his soil this can still happen. My thinkin on that is Farmers probably give their farm's soil a lot of diversity by amending it with things like good quality compost,. Now think like this...if the farmers are gettting quality compost that comes from other places around the world just to give their soil diversity, and then they are adding it to their soil, one can only imagine what species have been taking out of their own habitat and injected somewhere else for the sake of diversity. But not taking the time to find out if the new environment has defenses for these "newly-added" species, MJ is more of a tropical loving plant...find out where your strain comes from and research THOSE microbes that are most likely to be found in that region, and add them.

I didnt make this post to bash the tea, but I did make this post because I noticed I was losing weigh and things werent right with me and this all started after I carelessly added tea...stirr'd water with my bare hands as if it couldnt cause any harm.
Hmm...first post and kicks it off bashing the tea. Welcome to rollitup sean3!
 

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
Thanks for your input. This is definitely something we would want to know about. These are my thoughts after researching the threat.


The list of 1600 parasitic nematodes includes those which attack anything at all. If we restrict the list to only those which infect humans it becomes much more narrow. Of this new narrow list, most of them must be ingested to be introduced into the body. Tapeworms, pin worms, roundworms, ect all need to be eaten to cause problems. So be clean and careful and you should be fine. The obvious exception is hookworms which can indeed bore through skin. After they get inside they eventually end up in the intestinal tract and the eggs are spread by feces. So this is a possible threat for those using homemade compost IF infected animal feces is involved somehow AND you present the correct conditions to grow the infectious stage of the larvae. I don't think GH is using wild animal dung, so hookworms are probably not a concern for those using ancient forest. The compost process also tends to kill many nematodes as it heats up. In addition, EWC has been shown to have a suppressive effect on many parasitic nematodes, so the likely hood of 'root eaters' surviving in the tea is low as well. I always use gloves when making the tea and wash my hands anytime after handling the buckets. I would never mix my res with bare hands even if it was sterile simply for fear of my gross human body contaminating the solution. If someone is worried about nematodes they can leave out any compost products and just use bacterial and fungal inoculates, which do not contain any nematodes.

As for specializing the microbes to fit the region of the strain you grow, I think that is a great idea for soil, but for fighting slime in hydro we just care about diversity. We want a blunt force application of microbes and do not really care which ones win out in the end as most of them are dead in a few days anyway. For soil organic growers though, specializing your microbes can have nice benefits.
 

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
I use un treated well water.

I've been searching continuously, diatoms, nematoads, I don't know how to know what it is. Im getting the water tested asap. Just having trpuble finding somewhere local .

If it were somthing like a diatom. It would be more dormant in cold, low nutrient water. But blooms would be large if water temp rose even the slightest and you add any nutes.

Where would I begin fighting diatoms in my water? What sort of stuff eradicates it and keeps it at bay?
I do not know much about fighting diatoms as I have never had that problem. Even though the slime is a relatively rare problem, diatoms are even more so. One poster here was fighting them with tea and having some success, but he quit posting. I do belive he had well water too. If I were you I would try using a different water source that you know is clean and watch for improvement. If your water is the problem you may have to install a RO filter and perhaps even a UV sterilizer to pretreat the water and then treat the res with tea, and even then I can't guarantee it will fix the problem.

Here is the last post from the guy with diatoms
Update on the Diatom dilemma: In vegetative growth I have been able to keep my plants happy with consistent use of the bene tea and res temps 69-72, Awesome!
However, I had some go into flower right before I left town for a couple weeks. While I was gone, my circulation fans were left off and the tea was brewed wrong by my helper, she didn't put air stones back in the brew bucket after mixing! So two weeks later the plants were extremely heat stressed and compromised by sub-grade tea. I actually compounded the problem when i got back by dong a res change with no tea because I saw no visual signs of diatoms or growth in the control res. A few days later plants started dropping like flies. Again, my problem does not manifest as a thick slime, its a thin light to medium brown covering of the roots, which soon weaken and entire plant looses turgor and droops to death. It also appears as extreme K deficiency as they are dying and deteriorating to full limpness. My guess is that has to do with the rapid ph increase that also takes place: the roots being covered in micros that are jacking up the ph, they can't absorb nutrients inside the normal ph range.(just guessing)
To try and treat this rapidly spreading problem, I started by doing a change with normal amounts of tea. When that didn't work I started brewing double and triple batches(using three times as much complete tea) to try and combat the problem. Not much luck, most of those plants are dead, one going limp currently, and the few left have what appears to be severe K deficiency.
 
Top