Damn I can kinda smell it too now that i think about it. But with the tea the plant keeps taking up a good amount of water and under the rotten area roots continue to develop pretty fast and super white, is it something i still need to worry about? Maybe I should add more tea?
Cannot figure out cause of rapid ph drop
- Thread starter Malevolence
- Start date
superstoner1
Well-Known Member
As much as I believe in bennies I have a hard time liking the brewed tea. Just always seemed like more troubles came with it.I use aqua shield and pondzyme added straight to res with great results
Malevolence
New Member
I said earlier in this thread or another one I am not impressed with the tea. I also use aquashield and pondzyme and have better results keeping the water clean. the tea is susceptible to too much of this and not enough of that.
Well with the use of the tea, well at least my recipe after 10 days or so the air lines and stones are still completely clean, and seem like the roots growth are in overdrive. Although i can see and smell rot with the tea it just keeps growin, but the ph drop is a bit of an issue.
Aquashield isn't diverse or potent enough to accomplish what the tea does, but its the same concept isnt it. And the enzymes that are created in the tea arent they better suited around a heavily populated res of bennies, opposed to heavier load of enzymes with just aquashield. I mean wont the digestion of dead roots become more of a catalyst for slime without fair amount of diverse bact/fungi.. Ive read u shouldn't use enzymes until your roots are inoculated with myco's for this reason.
Malevolence
New Member
I use 20 - 35ml in a 5g res every 3-4 days. Don't have to be super accurate with it.
The tea has a lot more diversity and a lot more going on in it, but that is not necessarily a good thing IMO. I can only go off my experience with my garden, and all I can say is I have gotten slimed while using the tea, and I have CURED slime with nothing more than Aquashield. Now, most likely I didn't use enough molasses or used too much ancient forest or something... it was probably something I did wrong making the tea (although fuck knows what that could be, seems pretty simple recipe). Using a product like aquahsield takes the 'fucking up' part out of making the tea. I have used the tea several times and it just didn't seem worth the trouble to me. I can also say I have not been slimed while using aquashield unless I either didn't dechlorinate my water or used expired/dead aquashield. Which is something I will say aquashield sucks at... is I have found it rapidly goes bad once you open it, even stored in the cabinet under the sink.
The enzymes will feed microbes which is bad if you already have established rot. Otherwise they will just break shit down and feed the bennies and everything else. Pythium, etc will have to compete with the bennies for food. The other way to go (Heisenberg's way) is to not use enzymes so you starve all the microbes in your res and they die off, and you simply keep replacing the good shit with bennies every few days.
But by all means, continue to brew the tea. I'm not saying it doesn't work, cuz it does. I'm just saying aquashield is easier and I think it works just as well if not even better... or at least it takes out the fucking up the recipe factor if you are prone to being a dumbass stoner like me.
The tea has a lot more diversity and a lot more going on in it, but that is not necessarily a good thing IMO. I can only go off my experience with my garden, and all I can say is I have gotten slimed while using the tea, and I have CURED slime with nothing more than Aquashield. Now, most likely I didn't use enough molasses or used too much ancient forest or something... it was probably something I did wrong making the tea (although fuck knows what that could be, seems pretty simple recipe). Using a product like aquahsield takes the 'fucking up' part out of making the tea. I have used the tea several times and it just didn't seem worth the trouble to me. I can also say I have not been slimed while using aquashield unless I either didn't dechlorinate my water or used expired/dead aquashield. Which is something I will say aquashield sucks at... is I have found it rapidly goes bad once you open it, even stored in the cabinet under the sink.
The enzymes will feed microbes which is bad if you already have established rot. Otherwise they will just break shit down and feed the bennies and everything else. Pythium, etc will have to compete with the bennies for food. The other way to go (Heisenberg's way) is to not use enzymes so you starve all the microbes in your res and they die off, and you simply keep replacing the good shit with bennies every few days.
But by all means, continue to brew the tea. I'm not saying it doesn't work, cuz it does. I'm just saying aquashield is easier and I think it works just as well if not even better... or at least it takes out the fucking up the recipe factor if you are prone to being a dumbass stoner like me.
superstoner1
Well-Known Member
I Use 150ml in 50gal res.
Water temp has no effect on anything, matter of fact the roots grow better in 75 degree, they like the warmth better. University studies have shown that pythium can be slowed by colder res temps, but it only slows the pythium out break by 2-3 days it does not prevent or treat it. Slime also grows at any temp. The only slight benefit of colder water is a little more dissolved oxygen, but its not a big diff and with proper air stones not even noticeable.
It takes me 2 mins to set up my tea, 1/2 gallon water in cut open top of gallon jug 3/4 tea molasses, 1/4 scoop great white, 3-5 ml aquashield.. grab tiny bit (1/3 handful) ancient forest throw in knee high stockin and done. set it with air stone for 48hrs. Literately takes 3 mins max. Then after 36-48hrs I put a funnel in top another gallon jug with a coffee filter and it pours right through. Done, lasts 10 days in fridge no prob.
All,
I just wanted to update everyone on my grow. It's been 3 weeks since my last post, and I haven't seen any rapid pH swings since. To recap, I went from 5.8 to 3.2 overnight, 2 days in a row. Now, I do see a slowly decreasing pH over a span of 3-4 days, going from 5.8 to 5.5. Usually by then, I need to add water to my res, so I top it off with a gallon of 6.5 water with nutes and that brings it right back to 5.8. I've continued with the recommended GH Flora nute mix for flowering, which gives me about 900-1000 ppm for the nutes.
I do see quicker swings immediately after a res changed for the first day, which Ive used a pinch or 2 of pH Up to get back to 5.8. Once that initial variation is taken care of, it then follows the slow decline of pH I mentioned above. As I wrote above, it appears that Woodys hypothesis is correct.
I just wanted to update everyone on my grow. It's been 3 weeks since my last post, and I haven't seen any rapid pH swings since. To recap, I went from 5.8 to 3.2 overnight, 2 days in a row. Now, I do see a slowly decreasing pH over a span of 3-4 days, going from 5.8 to 5.5. Usually by then, I need to add water to my res, so I top it off with a gallon of 6.5 water with nutes and that brings it right back to 5.8. I've continued with the recommended GH Flora nute mix for flowering, which gives me about 900-1000 ppm for the nutes.
I do see quicker swings immediately after a res changed for the first day, which Ive used a pinch or 2 of pH Up to get back to 5.8. Once that initial variation is taken care of, it then follows the slow decline of pH I mentioned above. As I wrote above, it appears that Woodys hypothesis is correct.
JohnnySocko
Active Member
just passing by and offering some thoughts (again, just thinking out loud and keeping a open mind)...
...
I'm 100% sure vinegar is a organic food source for certain bacteria, et in aqueous systems...so sometimes I've wondered if using organic acids like vinegar and/or lemon juice adds to the rot problem (as opposed to using overly priced GH's pH down et) ...this is assuming the rot is cyno based (not sure what exactly fuels pyth based rot) ...
....as for trusting pH readings; I don't...well not with a single source cheapo yellow pH pen anyways; calibrated or not, single point 7.0 or 2 (4.0)...I use 2, usually .... also noticed sometimes cal-mag screws with the readings of cheapo pens..not sure why, but certain it sometimes does....
...again, passing by, hopefully adding to but not distracting the thread...
...
I'm 100% sure vinegar is a organic food source for certain bacteria, et in aqueous systems...so sometimes I've wondered if using organic acids like vinegar and/or lemon juice adds to the rot problem (as opposed to using overly priced GH's pH down et) ...this is assuming the rot is cyno based (not sure what exactly fuels pyth based rot) ...
....as for trusting pH readings; I don't...well not with a single source cheapo yellow pH pen anyways; calibrated or not, single point 7.0 or 2 (4.0)...I use 2, usually .... also noticed sometimes cal-mag screws with the readings of cheapo pens..not sure why, but certain it sometimes does....
...again, passing by, hopefully adding to but not distracting the thread...