Aeroponic Brown Roots

I have my pump running the whole time they are getting light. and then once every 2 hours for 30min. during night cycle. They are doing great

Your point is?

hey fatman, most everything you said is correct, but some forms of brown algae DO NOT require light to grow...

fatman7574 said:

Your point is?

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ha, I missed the whole page 2. page 1 there was still discussion of pump timing lol

lol freeze.. i wondered what you were talking about as well.. i thought you posted in the wrong thread..

Ya I read fatmans response an was like " shit, did I post in the wrong thread?" haha.

thanks alot eneryone for the info

MediMary said:

hey fatman, most everything you said is correct, but some forms of brown algae DO NOT require light to grow...

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Study a bit more grasshopper.

Algae are photosynthetic organisms somewhat like plants in structure at a cellular level, but rather different in many other regards. For a start, many algae are single-celled organisms, and these are the ones that form a slimy layer on solid objects such as a reservoir's walls, pumps etc. Like plants, algae use light to convert water, carbon dioxide, and dissolved mineral nutrients such as nitrate into the organic chemicals they use to build their bodies. No light, no algae. Brown algae as seen in reservoirs is a low light algae but it does require light. It is no different then the brown alage seen in fresh water aquariums with low lighting. Algae need light. Period.

eh fatman, maybe I am wrong, I was under the impression Brown slime algae prefers to make it's food via photosynthesis, but that it is also able to utilize chemical conversion, in other words it doesn't need light.

No, brown algae such as diatoms only need low light levels but they still need some light to drive the photosyntheis that makes the chemical conversions possible. To block all light requires that all light that is not reflected be absorbed. To absorb all light rays that requires a black suface as the color black is a combinations of all colors so it absorbs all light in all wave lengths (colors).

So paint yor reservoir with flat black paint and paint flat white over that. 85% of the light and heat will be reflected from the surface by the flat white paint. The light (and its heat energy) that is not reflected away will penetrate the white paint and be absorbed by the black paint so that no light penertates. All the light that is absorbed by the back paint is converted entirely to heat energy. The alternative is to use Mylar plastic, aluminum foil or Panda wrap.

Krylon Fusion spray paint is made to paint plastic. It is widely available.

fatman7574 said:

No, brown algae such as diatoms only need low light levels but they still need some light to drive the photosyntheis that makes the chemical conversions possible. To block all light requires that all light that is not reflected be absorbed. To absorb all light rays that requires a black suface as the color black is a combinations of all colors so it absorbs all light in all wave lengths (colors).

So paint yor reservoir with flat black paint and paint flat white over that. 85% of the light and heat will be reflected from the surface by the flat white paint. The light (and its heat energy) that is not reflected away will penetrate the white paint and be absorbed by the black paint so that no light penertates. All the light that is absorbed by the back paint is converted entirely to heat energy. The alternative is to use Mylar plastic, aluminum foil or Panda wrap.

Krylon Fusion spray paint is made to paint plastic. It is widely available.

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This is definitely great advice. I painted my reservoirs black but I didnt add the white which I was thinking about because of the reflecting properties. I will do that in the near future.

I have Painted my aeroboxes black then white already and rezzy is a black bucket, water temps never get over 65-68. I'm thinking maybe scratches in the paint is probably letting small pinholes of light in but is that enough light to cause the brown algae? I use house and garden (aquaflakes a&b, root excel, drip clean, top booster, bud xl) techniflora magi-cal, atami bcuzz bloom, botanicare (sweet, silica blast, blast off b1, hydroplex), mad farmers nutz, Ph up& down, M.O.A.B, and superthrive. Anyone see any causes with my nutes? Timers 15 on/75 off, plant look phenomenal but roots started turning brown after I started flowering, but were perfectly white 4 weeks prior in veg. Only change in nutes from veg to flower is addition of hydroplex and bcuzz bloom. Also I am thinking of trying mad farmers oxygenator aka (hydrogen peroxide) to flush with, will this rid the brown? How much should I run with RO water?

You have added so many things to your resrvoir it is doubtful you will see white roots again. Why are you wasting so much money on supplements. Few ever provide enough gains to offset their costs. Few are designed to be used in combination with other supplements. Your nutrient reservoir sounds more like a soup or stew with so many thigs being used at one time.

hey fatman.. have you ever used floranova bloom?

Yes, it performed worse then Florabloom with Floramciro. The humic and fulvic acids used in FloraNova instead of most of the trace nutrients always vary in concentration and by ratios. They give no guaranteed analysis of the trace nutrients provided other than iron. You never get the same thing twice as there are no regulations governing quality or standards on humic or fulvic acids. They are typiccaly just extracted from brown coal with potassium hydroxide. The concenrations and ratios vary greatly in each piece of coal. There is no routine or required testing of the ratios or concentrations of trace nutrients in the acids used in Floranova or any humic or fulvic acid preparations sold for agricultural use. I suggest if you wish to use a nutrient formula with "humus" that you simply buy GH or An orDutch Master or equivalent 2 Part and add fulvic acid. Then you will have assured levels of known essentila trace nutrients in a usable form. http://www.super-grow.biz/FulvicAcid.jsp Or buy Matrix nutrients from American Agritech.

what would be your recommendation for someone wanting a good NPK nutrient that u wouldnt need other additives, and if you had to limit your additives what would be your main 2?

Currently besides beneficials which I brew from castings and alfalfa tea, I use earth ambrosia and earth nectar and botanicare aquashield( any onpinions on those procducts?)
Currently using AN micro grow bloom.
used to use techna flora bc line.
thats it for my experience for Mainline nutrients NPKs. (sorry not sure if that sounds retarded , im just saying I have only used those two lines of nutrients, not sure how to word it.)

I also have some gravity, which I have never used but was thinking of implementing this go around, and Overdrive by AN as well, once I start flowering.(any life experiences with these products as well?)

running a rdwc, is 27 gal tubs.
thanks for your input, sorry for being a prick in that other thread...

Well ive been using this soup for years and consistently get 2lbs per light, however I know I can do better. I don't use all those nutes together at the same time but use a feeding schedule that changes week to week. Maybe my feeding schedue needs to a lighter mixture because its aero. I use expensive nutrients because I can afford it and do not have time to mix up a homebrew. money is not an issue for me as my turnover is monthly. Thank you the info Im going to weaken my mixture on my week 2 flower room to my clone feed mixture as roots are always white when I run it. How about the hydrogen peroxide on the roots? Will this strip the roots clean? How much have you used peroxide? If anyone has?

The issue with hydrogen peroxide is that it is a one shot disinfectant. It has no residual effect. This maens it disinfects as soon ans it is added but wiy thin minutes it no longer has any disinfectant abilities. Chlorine is capable of the initaial disinfrction plus any nt used up by the initial disfctio actions remanins in the solution as a disinfectant to keep the system sterile typically for 24 hours. Hydrogen peroxide does not and can not do this. Neither hydrogen peroxide nor chlorine should be used to whiten the roots but only to kill the bacteria that cause the roots to become brown.

By the way saying something like 2 lbs per light really isn't an indication of a good yield or an efficient syaytem or iany refection on the cost of the grow, unless you also include the time involved. you are just saying (16 ounces/lb * 2 lb* 28.35 grams/ounce / 1000 watts)= 0.912 grams per watt. However now consider time. If the power cost $0.25/kwh and it took 6 weeks of veg at 16 hrs/day and 6 weeks of budding at 12 hours per day [(0.25 khh* kwh/1000 watts * 1000 watts * 16 hrs/day * 7 days/wk * 6 weeks) + (0.25 kwh * kwh/1000 watts * 1000 watts * 12 hrs/day * 7 days/wk * 6 weeks)/(2lbs*16 ounces/lb* 28.35 grams/ounce]= $294 in electricity for lighting for 2 pounds. $294/(2 lbs * 16 ounces/ lb *28.35 grams/ounce)] = $0.332 gram for lighting costs assuming you use the same lighting throught out but simply change the lighting cycle.

This calculation does not take into account pumps, water, nutes, supplements, heating/cooling, ventilation CO2 etc etc etc as applies to your system. This means simple statement you supplied is inadequate for determining the quality of the grow. then there is thae fact that another person might get equal results using $20 worth of nutrients veru sus your $1000 worth of nutrients and supplements usage.

I use two 250 watt lights for every 12 square feet of budding area and get a yield every 6 weeks of just over 1 pound. That means the same yield (2 pounds) in 12 weeks with half the lighting costs. What is important is the number of kilo watt hours needed to produce each gram not just the size of the lights you used and the total yield. As can be seen your system efficiency is likely approx half that of mine. Yes I use less lighting during veg and cloning but I ma disregarding that as I calculated yourcosts on using the samelo ighting wattages. These are just ball park numbers only taking lighting and time into account. But realise your supplied info means little as you at best stated simply that you grew 0.91 grams per watt of lighting out put. I can say I grew 1.81 grams per watt of light out put. Neither really say much as all cost must be considered including nute costs per gram of buds produced.

i wonder how long fatman is going to banned for?
he gets banned at the the growing sites for talking smack to others..

fatman7574 said:

The issue with hydrogen peroxide is that it is a one shot disinfectant. It has no residual effect. This maens it disinfects as soon ans it is added but wiy thin minutes it no longer has any disinfectant abilities. Chlorine is capable of the initaial disinfrction plus any nt used up by the initial disfctio actions remanins in the solution as a disinfectant to keep the system sterile typically for 24 hours. Hydrogen peroxide does not and can not do this. Neither hydrogen peroxide nor chlorine should be used to whiten the roots but only to kill the bacteria that cause the roots to become brown.

By the way saying something like 2 lbs per light really isn't an indication of a good yield or an efficient syaytem or iany refection on the cost of the grow, unless you also include the time involved. you are just saying (16 ounces/lb * 2 lb* 28.35 grams/ounce / 1000 watts)= 0.912 grams per watt. However now consider time. If the power cost $0.25/kwh and it took 6 weeks of veg at 16 hrs/day and 6 weeks of budding at 12 hours per day [(0.25 khh* kwh/1000 watts * 1000 watts * 16 hrs/day * 7 days/wk * 6 weeks) + (0.25 kwh * kwh/1000 watts * 1000 watts * 12 hrs/day * 7 days/wk * 6 weeks)/(2lbs*16 ounces/lb* 28.35 grams/ounce]= $294 in electricity for lighting for 2 pounds. $294/(2 lbs * 16 ounces/ lb *28.35 grams/ounce)] = $0.332 gram for lighting costs assuming you use the same lighting throught out but simply change the lighting cycle.

This calculation does not take into account pumps, water, nutes, supplements, heating/cooling, ventilation CO2 etc etc etc as applies to your system. This means simple statement you supplied is inadequate for determining the quality of the grow. then there is thae fact that another person might get equal results using $20 worth of nutrients veru sus your $1000 worth of nutrients and supplements usage.

I use two 250 watt lights for every 12 square feet of budding area and get a yield every 6 weeks of just over 1 pound. That means the same yield (2 pounds) in 12 weeks with half the lighting costs. What is important is the number of kilo watt hours needed to produce each gram not just the size of the lights you used and the total yield. As can be seen your system efficiency is likely approx half that of mine. Yes I use less lighting during veg and cloning but I ma disregarding that as I calculated yourcosts on using the samelo ighting wattages. These are just ball park numbers only taking lighting and time into account. But realise your supplied info means little as you at best stated simply that you grew 0.91 grams per watt of lighting out put. I can say I grew 1.81 grams per watt of light out put. Neither really say much as all cost must be considered including nute costs per gram of buds produced.

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The mans a genius though lol