Nutrient Solution Problem. Have to change ever 4-5 Days. Flood and Drain, PleaseHelp!

Hey guys, I am driving myself nuts trying to figure out what my problem is with this Flood and Drain setup I am running.


I am running a bonticare 4x4 table with a 40gallon reservoir under the table. I have a 345 gph pump that floods the table for 15 mins every three hours only while the lights are on (12/12.) I am running GH Flora Duo nutes, I have 2 8" air stones in the bottom of the tub that holds the solution which constantly run.

When I do a change I drain the tub and scrub as well as clean the pump and tubing all with a light bleach/water solution. Then fill with fresh tap water that is stored in a 265 gallon container,The water has sat for weeks to evaporate chlorine etc. I then add 60ml of FloraKleen and ph to 5.7 and run that for an hr to an hr and a half. Drain and scrub and clean again then fill with more water, add nutes and ph down to 5.7.

after 3-4 days the nute solution becomes very cloudy and stats to have an odor. At about day 5 I have to change and do the above process all over. the water gets so smelly, it smells like fish water. If i missed anything Id be happy to add or if you're missing any info just let me know. Any help would be excellent, I am wasting so much nutes changing every so often. The temp in my room is at a constant 70 and the nute solution stays at about 65-68.

I also forgot to mention I top off with a gallon of water every other day and adjust the ph to 5.7 daily. I have 25 plants in 6" netpots with grow stones.

Either run a sterile res or add beneficial bacteria. Either one should solve your problem.

Could you give me the names of some good products to use for either options. I am sorry, still somewhat of a beginner here but much better off than I was 6 months ago haha. I really appreciate the response. Also, I would ideally like to go with the least expensive option or pretty close to it. Thanks again man.

After doing a little research I was thinking about picking up some Subculture B to add to the reservoir as well as some hydrogen peroxide. Do you think that will help me out? Also, I don't know if I could add this or not but I bought some Orca Liquid Mycorrhizae for my cloner that I could add in to the nutrient solution if you think it will be of benefit. Thanks again.

im pretty sure the peroxide counteracts your benes bro

I thought peroxide would provide extra oxygen in the nutrient solution which would help to establish beneficial bacteria I plan to add (subculture b) Am I wrong?

H2O2 sterilizes, meaning it kills. Run pondzyme, cheap and effective. This water storage you have sitting for weeks, does it have air stones? Sounds like stagnant water.

Is light getting into your reservoir? If it is that smellnis algea and what not. Put a lid on it if you don't already

The storage tank sounds like it could be a problem, put a mixing punp in there and keep the water cold enough 50-60deg.

As far as running h2o2 or bene's lots of different opinions on the subject. I think its a simple choice.

If you run organic based nutes use the bene's.

if you run chem based nutes use h2o2 and keep a sterile rez, and water supply.

Just choose which way your going to do it. I like chem and sterile, no cloudiness or smells,less hassle. IMO.

Nute reservoirs need to be 100% darkened or as close to that as possible. Light into the res can accelerate algae blooms. This includes the lids. Unless superstoner or another hydro expert refutes that I would say this is a big issue. Is your res protected from light intrusion?

The whole idea of the storage tank kills me. I use city tap from faucet to res, and never an issue.

I run nothing but Anchorage AK muni tap water. No sitting out. One time (my first DWC) lugging RO water from our dialysis unit to my house and then up the stairs convinced me that was a fool's errand.

Same here. My first dwc grow I was hauling one gallon jugs from walmart. Screw that.

I have to use a storage tank because the place that I have my grow has no plumbing. So I bought a 265 gallon storage tank for 20 bucks from my buddy and ran 300 ft of hose out to fill it. Figured that was much better than running all of that hose out once a week to swap out my water.

Also I have heard mention of light proofing my reservoir. It is sitting completely under my flood table where no light is hitting it. He'll, I have to use a flashlight to see in it when I ph the solution. So I don't think that is the problem. The only time light gets to it, like for everyone else I'm assuming is when the table actually floods and it is exposed to the 1000w hps bulb about 4 feet above it. But I don't think there is a way around. That...

dankney0801 said:

Also I have heard mention of light proofing my reservoir. It is sitting completely under my flood table where no light is hitting it. He'll, I have to use a flashlight to see in it when I ph the solution. So I don't think that is the problem. The only time light gets to it, like for everyone else I'm assuming is when the table actually floods and it is exposed to the 1000w hps bulb about 4 feet above it. But I don't think there is a way around. That...

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I have seen the 'fish tank water' problem before in a DWC setup. My friend would turn off his circulation pump whenever he changed out his res and sometimes he would forget to plug it back in. He would call me in a panic two or three days later cuz his room smelled like an aquarium. Fortunately he had good aeration going, so he didn't get any rot.

Hydrogen peroxide will cure your problem. 1 - 2 ml per gallon per day. You can also give them straight bleach. It has to be plain chlorox, or some other pure chlorine bleach (non scented.) 1 tsp straight chlorox per 50 gallons every other day for preventative. That brings it up to 1 ppm of chlorine, which is what municipal water systems use for sterilization. Chlorine is a lot more forgiving than hydrogen peroxide.

If you use hydrogen peroxide, use the kind they sell at hydroponic stores.

It doesn't have to be your res that's getting the light. The tables themselves (in the tent/closet/where ever) that have the plants in them are being bathed in light, right? The same tables that fill up with water?

Water + light = algae.

And, fish smell = algae.

Use H2O2...I know for a fact that great white doesn't get rid of algae. Hisenburg tea might, haven't tried it.

Algae is not a huge problem that requires anything added other than covering.

I added in a 1/4 tsp of pond-zyme a few days ago when I cleaned/sterilized everything and swapped out my res. so far ph has stayed right at 5.7 without moving and so far so good on the water still being clear and not smelly. Think that pond-zyme solved my problem.... I would never give my ladies bleach. I'm still somewhat of a noob and that honestly sounds like a horrible idea. That shit cray! Thanks for your help some, and the lack of to others that commented on this post.