Perpetual Root Rot Problem HELP NEEDED!!!!!

Hello everyone,

Long time reader but a first time poster... Which is a great tribute to all the amazing posts on here as I've found almost everything I've ever needed in here, without fail.

I have a serious root rot problem but befor I get into the problem itself here are the details about the grow room.

Light
1x900w LED Grow/Flower Light
2x450w LED Grow/Flower Light
1x240w LED Grow/Flower Light
TOTAL= Approximately 2000w of LED light which is about 4000w HID equivalent
Plus 4x23w Fluorescent UVB lights for additional oil production

Grow System: DWC/Drip system
Drip ring system (air pump powered)
Hydroton pebbles in baskets
5Gal buckets (individual water, shared air)
Medium sized air stones in each bucket

Room Setup
CO2 tank with regulator for consistent level of 1,200-1,500 PPM
Air Temp 80F
Water Temp 75F (bit high possibly?)
Humidity 50%

Grow Solution
General Hydro Flora Series 3 part (Grow, Micro, Bloom) on expert schedule
- Rapid Start
- Diamond Nectar
- Floralicious Plus
- Flora Blend
- Liquid Cool Bloom and Flora Nectar during flower
PLUS
Dutch Master Root Zone Conditioner and Silica
Superthrive
House & Garden Drip Clean
PH 5.5-6.5
PPM 1,100-1,400

As you might notice, my entire grow environment is very controlled and within the "recommended" parameters by pretty much any place I've read. Plants were seeded in rapid rooter plugs, then the plugs were put into the hydroton once the roots took.

Here is the problem I have, in two words ROOT ROT and I can't figure it out.

This is not the only time I've had this issue, it has plagued me through several grows and all plants seem to suffer.

What usually happens... I have wonderful root growth and plant development to start and then about 4-6 weeks into the growth the roots start bunching up together and creating large patches of "dead" roots. Once this starts, the cycle is impossible to deal with. I'll see the root rot, so i'll get rid of the bad roots, then the new roots start growing, then the root rot starts setting in again. This is causing tremendous amount of stress on the plants plus I've lost 2 in the last month and it looks like a 3rd plant is on its way to dying. I need to make sure that the rest of the plants mature into harvesting, that is the bottom line for now.

I tried using Orca beneficial bacteria, that didn't work... if anything it actually made the issues worse. I've used H2O2 (35% strength administered at 3ml/gal) and it would keep things from getting worse but there would still be dead plant material. I've used Canazyme (not at the same time with H2O2) and that didn't work. I've tried using Bleach in the water at the rate of 3ml/gal to start and that hasn't helped either. I've used SM90 at the recommended rate and that hasn't helped. I swap out buckets every 2 weeks and clean them from top to bottom with H2O2, Soap and Bleach mixture. Currently I am using an SM90/H2O2/Hygrozyme mixture to try and knock this thing out and make the plants last through bloom... Once this is done, I'll cook the hydroton in boiling water for an hour to kill anything in them.

I did have algae in the past and I eradicated it but this root rot issue seems to be impossible to deal with.

I am pretty much at a loss. I am about 4 weeks into bloom right now and I started with some really nice big plants prior to blooming, now I am worried if I'll be able to harvest anything.

I have no idea what to do or what I can do to help me with the issue.

There are two things that I would like to find out.

First thing that I want to do is prevent this from happening at all. I want nice, pretty and healthy roots that I've had in soil. I am thinking that the "dead rez" approach to hydroponics is the better one, bacteria... good or bad... has a potential of being bad. But I can be wrong on this, would definitely try almost anything to prevent the root rot.

I think that I might have one issue that could be contributing to this... the buckets are food grade buckets (RBST free and safe for food storage) but they are white. So this might be helping with the light penetrating into the bucket solution. I'll try finding black buckets and retrofitting them to my system BUT I wouldn't think this would be causing too many issues... maybe I am wrong on that.

Secondly, any ideas that you guys might have on helping deal with this and helping get the plants through the next 4-6 weeks until they are done flowering, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks.

BBVD aka. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

First, the drip rings are pretty much useless, my 5gals have done much better (and cleaner) without them. EDIT: And, that pumps the water right under the lights, and through the warm air, heating it.

Second, 75F is about five degrees too high, and that's a LOT more than a little; try wrapping your buckets in insulation and placing your air pumps outside of the room/tent so they pull cold air.

Third, when you treat stuff, if you keep using the Floralicious Plus, you will be giving food to the few contaminants left, starting everything over - personally, I feel like Floralicious Plus has been involved in all of my root rot troubles; I just switched back to GH from DG, included Floralicious Plus, and immediately see brown on my roots (though, I feel it's just organic matter, not yet rot).

Fourth, you mention the beneficial bacteria, which is a good step, but you failed to mention how you were applying them; ideally, you should brew those separately, and add them without food so they compete with the bad stuff in HUGE numbers. You can build a vortex brewer, which is ideal, for about $30 + air pump, if you want to go this rout (better than sterile).

You need h202 min 35% grade 750:1 every 4 days in the res. The 3% grade wont work you need too much of it.

bibbles... Thanks for the feedback.

My main reasoning for the drip rings was for the seedlings to be able to get nutrients while they grow. With the root rot issue, I figured any way I can get nutrient to the remaining functioning roots would be a good thing... I agree they are useless as they get clogged all the time and are a pain to clean.

Yeah, I was afraid that the temp might be a bit too warm... I'll see if I can get the temp lowered by getting the airflow from my AC unit to the pumps. It should help deliver a lower temp overall.

I know that Flora Micro turns roots dark, I thought the floralicious was a pain in the butt as well... I think I am done with GH products and will be moving on to House and Garden. While they seem a bit more pricey, I hate not being able to see the start of root rot because the nutrient is coloring the healthy roots the same color and hiding the problem.

I actually haven't brewed the bennies, using Orca in recommended dosage/use... and they didn't say anything about brewing the bennies. I don't mind trying it although after adding the bennies the water seemed foamy so it would make me think they were doing the right thing. In all honesty, after dealing with the whole thing I'd be much more happy with having a "dead rez" than one full of bacteria...


BUDS... the H202 is industrial strength 35% variety administered at about 3ml/gal so I am already doing that... thanks for the feedback though.

One of my plants died so i decided to pull it out of hydroton and perform root-topsy... It seems that one of the places where the bacteria was hanging out the most was in the rapid rooter plugs that I used for seeding. That being said, how do I seed in hydroton directly?

bbvd said:

That being said, how do I seed in hydroton directly?

Click to expand...

Very carefully. Using drip rings, place in the center of 3 rocks, where it'll be moist but not wet, taproot end down if you're picky like that. Do not jostle.

That said, rapid rooters are fine in recirc/drip systems, as long as you never get root rot in the first place.

But you should look into DWC Tea. Follow instructions to a T, and you won't have root rot.

Also sanitize your shit post rot with 10% bleach, rinse well.