Hows it going on my second run from seed here and noticed these infants with brown root tips. Also a bit droopy any ideas. My first thought was maybe the water is too far away from the bottom of the net pot and it's not getting much splashing so I filled up some water just now. I've also increased the air to increase splashing of bubbles. Water temps ec and pH are bang on so it was the only thing I could think of that was off.
Brown root tips
- Thread starter Beesbuds
- Start date
The only reasons I've seen for brown root tips is root rot.
Over time, roots will gradually get stained by nutrients and the key issue is that the older roots (the ones at the top) are the darkest. The coloration start with white in the tips, going to tan as you go up the root, and then brown at the very top. All roots in the nutrient solution have a similar color and color gradation.
Root rot is a uniform color.
Given that you have only some roots are not pure white and that the plants are very young and that the color is a uniform brown color, I'd get some HydorGaurd in the res as soon as possible.
What's your water temp? I set my chiller at 68° (25°C).
Over time, roots will gradually get stained by nutrients and the key issue is that the older roots (the ones at the top) are the darkest. The coloration start with white in the tips, going to tan as you go up the root, and then brown at the very top. All roots in the nutrient solution have a similar color and color gradation.
Root rot is a uniform color.
Given that you have only some roots are not pure white and that the plants are very young and that the color is a uniform brown color, I'd get some HydorGaurd in the res as soon as possible.
What's your water temp? I set my chiller at 68° (25°C).
The water temp is 19°c this is the first week I've had them in the tote with water and air. Weak nutrient solution. I can't get hydro guard anymore for some reason I can only get silver bullet which is the same thing. I'll put some of that in. I noticed some light is getting down into the res, very little bit could that be a cause of concern? This area is just where I grow them from seed for three or 4 weeks from seed.
OldDude420
Well-Known Member
Are you inducing air into the water below? If so, I take the water all the way up onto the net pot. No reason to not submerge the roots. I would also fill in the net pot with clay balls so you can't see the water or the medium the plant is growing into. If you can see it so can the light which will cause algae. I fill up the net pot till the balls fall out then mound them up to keep the light out of the water. Here's a pic of my plant at start up and a pic of the 1 plant i had that went herm on me.
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19's fine but at 17.8 K uptake starts to be inhibited.
SIlver Bullet - great name! Go for it.
Light in the res is, per conventional wisdom, a no no so plug the leak. I built a top for my res out of ⅜" HDPE (plastic). I held a flashlight on one side and could see the outline so I sprayed it with black acrylic just to make sure no light came through.
[edit]
I was reading a paper on another topic but decided to check out water temperature vs DO level. Good info here.
The paper is "Principles of Nutrient and Water Management for Indoor Agriculture" authored by, among others, Bugbee and Fernandez, the latter being the author of HydroBuddy. What stood out was these statements:
"Continuous replenishment of O2 is therefore necessary to maintain about 8 ppm
dissolved O2 (DO) at the root surface. Previous studies have not found a benefit
from elevating O2 in DWC above 8 ppm by using 100% O2 for aeration."
and
"We have used a bubbling flow rate of 5 L of air per minute in a 50 L container.
This high flow rate has been ample even for long-term crops with dense root
growth. Lower airflow rates may be adequate for smaller, shorter-term crops."
The latter paragraph is the only metric I've seen for the size of the air pump in a hydro res.
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Good advice!
I bought my tent kit from SuperCloset and they recommend filling the res to ½" below the net pot but Gary at PA Hydro (check out his vids on YT) recommends raising the water level so that the net pots are flooded. I chuckled when I heard that because, well, that just makes more sense, doesn't it?!
I'm in the early stages of a grow now and I raised the water level another couple of inches so that the roots were in the water. It worked well.
Great idea I have some black plastic soffit I'll use that. I didn't know that k is inhibited at that temp. Such a small margin for error
Gunna raise the water proper tomorrow
OldDude420
Well-Known Member
Gary is a smart dude/grower. I watched a bunch of his videos and now have a kit from him with 4-13gallon grow pots and 1-13 gallon reservoir.
Once roots are in the water, it's a moot point but I think it is a valid method for starting plants out.
The res I have had a "top feed" feature but the hoses got in the way so I removed them and water the net pots by hand. It's much easier just to raise the water level (doh!).
Agree 100%. I just love his whole attitude.
That's a nice setup. How has it worked out for you?
OldDude420
Well-Known Member
You tell me? Day 103 since placed in hydro net pots and 45 days in flower. I hope you don't mind the pictures? If so, please delete them or tell me and I'll delete them.
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marzig
Well-Known Member
I always run my water up to the bottom of my HydroPods (similar to a net pot) but I haven't tried submerging them.
Have you gotten a new set up yet like you were talking about? I'm loving my new RDWC conversion!
I'll just add to this that I think the issue is resolved. I raised the water right up to the net pot, did a better job at blocking the light, changed the res and added silver bullet. But most importantly it's worth noting that my pH pen was out by a whole digit. So when it said it was six it was actually five. All good now though plants aren't droopy anymore
futurebanjo
Well-Known Member
Just as an extra precaution, I make 'collars' out of tin/aluminium foil to stop a bit more light getting through the tops of the pots:
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