seriously, try aquaponics+nutes. it's the same idea as adding bennies, but you don't have to buy/add anything. root rot is a non-issue in aquaponics. period. once you see how simple it makes hydro, you'll never go back to "regular" hydro. i have dead leaves, broken bits of roots, fish food, fish poop, algae, sometimes dead fish, dead crabs, dead snails, all kinds of decaying organic matter in my system, but it doesn't stay around for long. there is all kinds of microbial stuff going on in my system that you just aren't going to be able to simulate by adding bacteria native to soil. not one drop of H2O2 and no prophylactic bennies. going on 9 weeks now without flushing. water is crystal clear and roots are thriving. so are plants. and fish!
people seem to think it's silly, somehow. i guess they can't get over the fish. whatever. it's not about the fish, it's about a self-regulating microecosystem. that's exactly what you're building in a soil garden, why should it be any different in hydro?
besides, think about all the nutes you throw away when you flush. the nutes don't "go bad," the water does. if the water never goes bad, why flush nutes down the drain? over the course of 9 weeks, i've used 1/9th the nutes most people do (probably less than that since i don't run high ppms). would you expect me to get 1/9 the results?
i ain't no master grower, especially with hydro. i had several miserable attempts at aero, dwc, ebb/flow. without the fish, i would most likely fail again. but that's just a testament to the power of aquaponics. if a hack like me can pull off a respectable grow with aquaponics+nutes, then it's worth some of the people who claim to be grand master growers to try it. their results with aquaponics+nutes are bound to be truly mind blowing. unfortunately, they seem committed to maintaining a sterile lab, oxidizing, flushing, inoculating, and wasting time and resources when there is clearly a better way.
