Newbie DWC! Root rot question!

Hey all, it's my first post here and I am needing some input on my current (1st) grow. I have scoured and read and taken in so much info but would like to get some feedback as well.

Currently I have 4 single bucket dwc's going. 5g buckets with slightly over 3g of water in each which puts my water level to about 2" below netpots. I had 4g in each until I started seeing first roots break through the bottom and then I lowered to 3g. (2) 6" long airstones in each bucket which I feel like is enough output. I am just currently using dechlorinated tap water 7.2PH (PH'd to 5.8 and it rises quickly for a couple days then it will just about stabilize at 6.0-6.1) and 180ppm out of faucet. Will invest in an RO system asap. Temps in closet are about 70-74° lights off and up to 84° lights on (know I need an exhaust fan currently working on getting one, I'm having to vent the closet out after work). Humidity 38%-55% (humidifier runs out while at work). Res temps are currently at about 74° which I know is too high and I'm putting in frozen bottles to knock it down a few degrees twice a day. Wanted to invest in chiller but that's not an option quite yet. 1200w (235w from wall) china led for now 24" away from top of plants.

So theres a little info in my setup. When I started everything was going very smoothly healthy white roots coming down to water. I knew I needed to add some beneficials and wanted to go with hydroguard, but went to my local store and they hooked me up with some Organism XL so I went with that so I didnt have to order and wait. I get home and start doing a rez change scrub everything add very light nutes, add in Organism XL (1 TBS per bucket) which I feel was entirely too much and ph it down to 5.8. This stuff turned my res water almost BLACK immediately and was foaming up pretty viciously for the first couple days till it settled and was building a brown film on sides of bucket and netpot where foam was. A couple days after I added the XL I noticed roots starting to get brown and then start to build a gunk on them but plants seemed to still be growing good, but got progressively worse up until my next res change. I knew I needed to act fast cause it definitely seemed like rot was setting in quickly, which I was confused cause it didnt start happeneing until after I added the XL which is supposed to be packed with beneficials and mycorrhizae. So I decided to order some hydroguard and did another rez change as it was starting to get a strange smell. Sprayed my roots down with just distilled water and all the brown gunk came right off with spraying, roots felt fine and not slimey. Scrubbed, cleaned, added a little more nutes up to about .9 EC, PH'd my water. Hydroguard came next day so I dosed a little heavier than what they call for and top fed some through hydroton after having to ph back down to 5.8. 2 days after doing so white roots have started to grow much better all over through netpots, but the brown gunk is collecting again on the previous roots which had it but the new growth is all white and growing quickly.

My question is, should I leave the old roots that are gunking still or should I cut them out and allow the new white growth to take care? I would greatly appreciate any input or feedback from you all as I have been stressing this whole time! (Knew I shoulda went with a super soil grow for my first ahaha) but I truly would like to get hydro down, and I know I need more equipment to make things much easier on myself. Will attach pics from before and after hydroguard and of the plants, and I'm sorry in advance for the blurple pics I've started trying to take them through some led glasses lense and it's a little better than full blurple hahah. And sorry for the lengthy post just wanted to try to get what info I could in! Again thank you to anyone who can help or give any feedback on my situation!

1 TBS of XL per bucket GOD DAMN. That is a lot. I swear by the stuff in my RDWC but I bubble it in a tea with a small teabag filled with Ancient Forest floating around in there, BEFORE I add it to my res. Here is how I would recommend you try using it before you shrug it off, minus the AF which you can add if you want:
1/2 gallon of RO or Distilled water.
ONLY add enough Oregonism xl to turn the water dark, but so you can still see through it. It take VERY little.
It takes very little, like a pinch. Really.
This is your stock jug.
Shake that up and add about 100ml/gal into your buckets.
Your roots will turn cream/yellow, that's for sure.
What tells the tale is the smell. Your roots should smell like cut potatos. Your res will have an earthy, almost dirt smell to it.
Don't worry about the color. Worry if you have slime sticking all your roots together in a bundle, and worry if you water smells like shit.
Been there.

5BY5LEC said:

1 TBS of XL per bucket GOD DAMN. That is a lot. I swear by the stuff in my RDWC but I bubble it in a tea with a small teabag filled with Ancient Forest floating around in there, BEFORE I add it to my res. Here is how I would recommend you try using it before you shrug it off, minus the AF which you can add if you want:
1/2 gallon of RO or Distilled water.
ONLY add enough Oregonism xl to turn the water dark, but so you can still see through it. It take VERY little.
It takes very little, like a pinch. Really.
This is your stock jug.
Shake that up and add about 100ml/gal into your buckets.
Your roots will turn cream/yellow, that's for sure.
What tells the tale is the smell. Your roots should smell like cut potatos. Your res will have an earthy, almost dirt smell to it.
Don't worry about the color. Worry if you have slime sticking all your roots together in a bundle, and worry if you water smells like shit.
Been there.

Click to expand...

Thanks for you input. Ya I went off the back before searching stuff up and it says 2 tbs per 1qt of water or 2tbs per gallon of plant container size so I thought I was cutting way back by doing 1tbs in each of mine hahaha. And I mean my shit went black lol. Seriously considering a tea with the XL and hydroguard, I have EWC already just need maybe some molasses and another air pump so I can bubble it out for a couple days.

You probably dont need an RO system.
Do a calcium carbonate test (water hardness) to see how much of that is calcium.
If youre 130 or less you shouldnt need to use RO.

New healthy roots will grow out of the bad roots. No need to remove root material. Leave the roots alone as much as possible.