White to clear thick slime on roots

I'm running a NFT system, and recently saw a clear to white slime growing on the roots. I was told it could be pythium, which would be horrible at 4 weeks into flowering and the plants are doing great. I heard several different ways to get rid of it. One was using peroxide (3%) and adding it to the res. another was to buy H2O2 run that through the system for a bit, then adding some "Great White" to the res to help build up the beneficial microbes again. Also heard that I could go and get some acetametaphine and grind up half of one and put it in the res and that would help the plant boost it's immune system. The last idea came from the hydro store guys. One said he does it all the time and it works pretty well.

Problem is I can't get the plant out of the tube because the root system is so bulky, and tangled up inside that it won't come out without ripping roots. After this cycle is done I'm doing a very deep cleaning of everything in the room, but until then how can I keep the slime at bay and keep it from harming the plants?

One product, Dutch Master Zone. Just add it to the rez. I "hear" it kills all the microbes. If you try it, tell me how it works.

++ What is your res temp?
Do your plants look and act normal? If they do, it just might be those beneficial microbes occurring naturally.

One time, in a NFT system like the one you described, I had this funky white fuzzy stuff growing on the roots. The plant was never phased, enhanced if anything.

Not sure what the water temps are in the res, but to the touch they feel cool. If I had to guess, I would say the water temp is around 70 - 75. The plants do seem to be acting normal and they look normal. The only thing with them is that there are some big fan leaves are turning yellow and dying off, but not at an alarming rate though. Hopefully it is just beneficial microbes, but out of fear I added 1 - 1/2 tsp of 3% peroxide to the res without nutes. I'll run this over night and keep my fingers crossed as to hoping the plants aren't dead in the morning.

I have managed to kill it off by dropping the res temps down below 70 degrees for a day or two. My experience with slimes is that they don't really belong in there so its fairly easy to knock it out. Definately check to see if light is getting into the res and root zone.
Try some beneficial microbes which are available from a few companies.

Light definitely does get into the res, and I doubt any gets into the root zone. I have to find out a way to make a lid or cover for the res. The system was poorly built, since it was my first attempt at making one, but next time I'll build a better system. We learn from our mistakes I guess.

echlectica said:

I have managed to kill it off by dropping the res temps down below 70 degrees for a day or two. My experience with slimes is that they don't really belong in there so its fairly easy to knock it out. Definately check to see if light is getting into the res and root zone.
Try some beneficial microbes which are available from a few companies.

Click to expand...

Indeed, there are two temperature ranges which those water molds/slimes love. One at 60=64 Degrees and another at 72-74 degrees.

mold loves low temp, id get a fungus/rot remover chem, and if you got a halogen bulb available, grab it, and make it face the stem right at the base, from 6-12in away, the heat will prevent any more. (make sure its far from leaves)
another option is more light down there, fungus doesnt like like much either

Ok, it's been about 24 hrs. after I added store bought peroxide and the plants are still alive, I was worried it would kill or damage them. The bad thing is the slime is still on the roots. I'll wait a few more days and add more peroxide, if it seems to be holding off more slime growth. I do have a question though. It seems like the PH levels are unstable after using peroxide. I dropped the PH down to 5.8 after adding some peroxide last night. This morning I added more peroxide before work. When I got home and checked the PH level, it was up to 7.4. Does the peroxide cause that to happen, maybe it's a PH up booster? The guy from the hydro store told me yesterday that when the slime starts dying off the PH levels will get out of whack and I would have to check it daily. He didn't say though which way the levels would go, drop down or or go up.