Roots Excelurator + sterilizing agent in DWC

Has anyone had luck using H&G roots exceleurator with a sterilizing product such as DM root zone? This product is suppose to be hormone based, not microbial, so I figured it was ok to use in my res. I really don't see any difference after using it aside from a bunch of brownish green gunk that cakes my air stone after a few days. I did try it without using a root zone, and it appeared to make the "feathery" parts of the roots grow really long, but made them all brown and sick looking. After 4 or 5 days the water got too nasty so I had to change and go back to being sterile.

I've since tried it on some new seedlings in a very light nute solution. The seedlings actually seem to avoid growing into the water. The roots just keep circling around the holding baskets (ghetto net pots) and any that grow down and touch the water get slightly discolored and stop growing.

When using just root zone by itself I get thick cord-like roots that are pristine white. I was hoping this product would help my cuttings get a good foothold during their first couple weeks, but it has actually had the opposite effect.

Bottom line, I think this product does what it says and works for a lot of situations, but not for someone running a sterile DWC. Would love for someone to tell me im wrong and perhaps I could learn something.

Google roots excelurator problems. It seems anytime an air stone is involved people have nothing but problems. Its odd because H&G says its good for all hydro setups, but nearly all hydro setups include air stones. Also, I htink there must be something biological going on with the excelurator as well as hormonal. Reason is the "coating" they talk about seems to almost be algea like. I also noticed after I started using it that my run off water would have a distgusting rotting smell after about 8 hours, whereas befor it wouldnt start to rot for days. A rotting smell is always a result of bacteria. Its a little to early for me to say wether or not it is working for me. I am using soil less peat medium.

It says somewhere in the product documentation NOT to use it along with Dutch Master Zone. Not sure why but I am 100% positive I read that somewhere. Prolly the H&G website.

I just bought a bottle of it a couple weeks ago. I am using it for the first time on my current grow which is a DWC grow. The seedlings just sprouted and roots have not come out of the netpots yet so I am unsure if it is causing any probs at the moment. The water smells fine and PH is staying stable so all seems well.

Well in the few days that I have stopped using roots excelurator things have gone back to normal, which is to say, lots of really white and healthy roots have busted out of the pots and are growing into the water. I can already see them starting to thicken. The roots that had previously touched the water died and fell off. I don't know if it's the use of RE with DM zone, or the airstone, or another factor, but for me, roots excelurator not only didn't work, but had the exact opposite effect of killing and shrinking my roots. I now have a bottle that is over 3/4 full and don't know any other growers to gift it to. Since I had such terrible results I don't see me ever using it again, so I think the old tree outside is gonna get an expensive meal.

The reason you guys are having trouble using Roots Excelurator is because you're killing off all the beneficial, AND VERY EXPENSIVE, bacteria! Dutch Master's Zone is a great product if you're trying to keep a bacteria-less root zone, but it will absolutely KILL any and all beneficials you put into your resevoir once you put it in there. Go read DM's website if you don't believe me. IMO, Roots Excelurator is an awesome product. I've been using it for a while. I use Hygrozyme instead of ZONE, and while it's still very expensive, it's worth it. Compost teas are also good choices for keeping the root zone healthy, but can be every bit as expensive as the enzyme formulations. The key here, is to not mix different brands of products with each other without doing homework on them first. In my case, not only did I spend the time researching the websites of products, but when there was a lack of information, I spent the time to email the company, ask the questions I needed answered, and for the most part, got the answers I was looking for. Dutch Master in particular is very hush-hush when it comes to revealing anything about its nutrient line other than what is listed on their FAQ portion of their website. I asked whether their nutrients had any PGR's or fulvic acid in it, and got the old, "like Coca-Cola we can't tell you exactly what's in our...." line. Very frustrating to say the least. I'm currently doing a side by side trial between House and Garden and Dutch Master Gold in flower right now, and should have results to give in about 4 weeks. Currently, it's very hard to tell a difference.

like I said, my research led my to believe there was nothing microbal about h&g RE, it is suppose to be hormone based. Of course I started to get suspicious after I saw the deep dirty brown color, but I figured I might as well try it since I bought it. I figured it might not work with the DM zone, but I didn't imagine the combo would actually kill and stunt the roots. I now have a lingering case of root slime which persists despite double the recommended Zone usage, and of course all the normal shit (res temps, air stones, light proof, ect). After ceasing use of roots exc and flushing, my roots showed an initial burst of growth until they once again reached the water, then they started collecting this slime. Now all root growth has stopped. Meanwhile the canopy is looking very healthy and still growing, although slowly. These plants are 6 weeks old and have only the tiniest root structure. Very frustrating. I have had grown in these DWC tubs and homemade net pots for a few months now with no problems, including fending off a previous case of root rot.(which is how I found zone) I dont understand how zone can kill off my root rot the first time, kill off the roots exc, but this slime can live in it like it's nothing. I have a bottle of physan 20 on the way.

Well I culled one of my blue cheese today. It was getting worse and worse, almost no green on it whatsoever. It was the only plant to get RE. I have a bunch of Bubba that didnt get any and they are still doing fantastic. Anyway when I popped the root ball out of the pot I was greeted with a gut wrenching stench. I have smelt root rot befor but this was different. It smelt more like sour with rot as well. Really bizzare smell that I will never forget. The bottom 1/4 inch of roots were abseloutly caked in a brown mucus coating. Other than the roots excelerator, this plant was on the same feeding scheduel as the bubba kush and they are doing fine. I am unsure what is going on. I dont see how a hormone based product that is actually supposed to eliminate root rot could induce it.
One thing that comes to mind is that I didnt realize that RE would kill beneficial bacteria. So for the first two weeks of using RE I was also using AN Voodoo juice. I know now that the RE would kill any beneficial bacteria I was adding but I am thinking that maybe it reacted with it some weired way. I dunno. Anyone else have any experiences with RE?

^ You still have it wrong. RE doesn't kill off beneficial bacteria, Dutch Master's ZONE does. RE is COMPRISED of beneficial bacteria. You may have added too much to your root zone because you also added voodoo juice. Just stick to one or the other next time and you'll be fine. The ZONE killed off not only your RE, but your voodoo juice too. Way to add a bunch of dead stuff to your root zone. It's not RE's fault, but your own. I don't mean to be harsh, just tryin' to help you understand what happened here.

Mcgician said:

^ You still have it wrong. RE doesn't kill off beneficial bacteria, Dutch Master's ZONE does. RE is COMPRISED of beneficial bacteria. You may have added too much to your root zone because you also added voodoo juice. Just stick to one or the other next time and you'll be fine. The ZONE killed off not only your RE, but your voodoo juice too. Way to add a bunch of dead stuff to your root zone. It's not RE's fault, but your own. I don't mean to be harsh, just tryin' to help you understand what happened here.

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You clearly have me confused with Heisenberg. I didnt add any Zone. I dont use any Dutchmaster products.

I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that RE is a bacterial innoculant. Everything I have read and watched has stated it is most definetly NOT a bacterial innoculant and is strictly hormonal based. However, there doesnt seem to be any info out there on behalf of House and Garden.

The main resaon I was led to beleive it is not a bacterial innoculant is because of the Advanced Nutrients video that was released with their CEO saying that RE is the best hormonal based rooting excelerator on the market, and as a result AN would be taking their JumpStart product off the market untill they can come up with something better than RE. He then made it very clear that it is hormone based and not bacterial based and even went as far as to hold up a bottle of their Voodoo juice and say that it does not replace Voodoo.

I highly doubt Voodoo was part of the problem as many people who do not use Voodoo are still having the algea and smell issues that I have had with RE. I have used Voodoo for a long time and it is a fantastic product, I have drastically overdosed by accident in the past with no noticeable effect. The reason I am trying RE is I was hoping to replace Voodoo with it as Voodoo is like 6 times the price of RE after you work out the quantity of solution they both make.

Coals said:

You clearly have me confused with Heisenberg. I didnt add any Zone. I dont use any Dutchmaster products.

I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that RE is a bacterial innoculant. Everything I have read and watched has stated it is most definetly NOT a bacterial innoculant and is strictly hormonal based. However, there doesnt seem to be any info out there on behalf of House and Garden.

The main resaon I was led to beleive it is not a bacterial innoculant is because of the Advanced Nutrients video that was released with their CEO saying that RE is the best hormonal based rooting excelerator on the market, and as a result AN would be taking their JumpStart product off the market untill they can come up with something better than RE. He then made it very clear that it is hormone based and not bacterial based and even went as far as to hold up a bottle of their Voodoo juice and say that it does not replace Voodoo.

I highly doubt Voodoo was part of the problem as many people who do not use Voodoo are still having the algea and smell issues that I have had with RE. I have used Voodoo for a long time and it is a fantastic product, I have drastically overdosed by accident in the past with no noticeable effect. The reason I am trying RE is I was hoping to replace Voodoo with it as Voodoo is like 6 times the price of RE after you work out the quantity of solution they both make.

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If you guys have a question about House & Garden…Just respond to this thread or message me…Let me put this confusion to bed……Roots Excelurator has beneficial bacteria in it….Would you put your secret recipe online? I don’t think so….Here is some info for you……….
This product is without a doubt the most powerful rooting stimulant available. It works by forming a membrane around roots and protecting them from harmful bacteria and fungus. Roots Excelurator will not only protect your plants from harmful root disease, but it will also cure existing cases of root rot.
Derived From: Organic biological organisms, Ammonium Nitrate, and Potassium Hydroxide.
Ingredients Explained: This amazing biological water and/or soil treatment protects the root zone by ridding the plant of unwanted microbial pests. This beneficial root stimulator will easily out perform all other root simulators! Roots Excelurator is packaged in an aluminum canister to preserve organic ingredients and beneficial organisms.
Application: Add 1.1 ml of Roots Excelurator to every gallon of water in the nutrient solution. Administer at every feeding during the first two weeks of the rearing cycle. At 1.1 ml/gallon, Roots Excelurator is the least expensive root stimulant, per dose, on the market.
So the pretty silver bottle is not for looks….This protects the bacteria by staying colder than plastic.

Peace and good luck

masonite420 said:

If you guys have a question about House & Garden…Just respond to this thread or message me…Let me put this confusion to bed……Roots Excelurator has beneficial bacteria in it….Would you put your secret recipe online? I don’t think so….Here is some info for you……….
This product is without a doubt the most powerful rooting stimulant available. It works by forming a membrane around roots and protecting them from harmful bacteria and fungus. Roots Excelurator will not only protect your plants from harmful root disease, but it will also cure existing cases of root rot.
Derived From: Organic biological organisms, Ammonium Nitrate, and Potassium Hydroxide.
Ingredients Explained: This amazing biological water and/or soil treatment protects the root zone by ridding the plant of unwanted microbial pests. This beneficial root stimulator will easily out perform all other root simulators! Roots Excelurator is packaged in an aluminum canister to preserve organic ingredients and beneficial organisms.
Application: Add 1.1 ml of Roots Excelurator to every gallon of water in the nutrient solution. Administer at every feeding during the first two weeks of the rearing cycle. At 1.1 ml/gallon, Roots Excelurator is the least expensive root stimulant, per dose, on the market.
So the pretty silver bottle is not for looks….This protects the bacteria by staying colder than plastic.

Peace and good luck

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Does it cure all rot?
I am growing in Ebb & Gro system, but the medium is rock wool. The system holds standing water in tubes and in the base of the buckets. The rock wool and a number of other mistakes, made this a near fail. Rockwool, overwatering, budding small plants with big plants, in the same solution....excessive for all.
I attached a pic of an example of the roots after the leaves droop and curl in, after looking ok the same day. The roots are brittle, and fall apart. The smell is not horrible, like many describe, but earthy...like camping.
Prior to declaring it dead, I bathed it in H2O2 and gave it fresh light nute additives (Floralisious, thrive alive, sm-90, Hygrozyme, and Diamond Nectar, and even H&G RE. (wasted nutes)
There is no slime on the roots, as many note.

I am at fault. I know I should've flushed my system long ago, of excess salts, but... Is there any cure for this crap now that it's here?
If anyone here is pretty savvy regarding H202 or bleach, please describe the exact process using standards in measuring and comparisons.
This stuff has really hurt me. Ive tried Aquashield, Hygrozyme and watering less. So far, jack...nada.
The reservoir has a nutrient batch, hygrozyme, and sm-90. There is a beaker of 150ml 35% H2O2 sitting by as well.

I am confident that I could now prevent this, but not sure how to stop what's already happening.Help