The battle with root rot!..desperately need advice please before i lose my crop! pics

leonsroach

Well-Known Member
hi guys....like the title says...i have been battling root rot that set in when my water temps were 83 degrees.

since then...i have got my water temps under control (76 degrees...i wish it were lower...but i think 76 is surviveable?? )..however, i am still losing the battle!

until today, i would have said that i have no slimy roots...but just a few minutes ago..i checked out one of my nicer plants only to find that one of its big root masses has gone slimy (see pics)... so what i am wondering is if i am to cut off all of the bad roots, leaving only the nice white ones near the top of the bucket...is that the right thing to do??? will my plants survive it???

please help...i am one step away from becoming a dirt farmer!!...i dont want to have to do that!!!!

any advice appreciated....:spew:
 

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resinraider

Well-Known Member
i get slime all the time even with low res temps... if it doesnt smelll ide jus leave it... use h020 to kill some bacteria and freeze bottled water and throw it in ur res daily to keep temps down.... dont go back to dirt!!!!
 

snocat

Active Member
I cut some roots off a plant,not because of root rot it was because all my roots grew togeather in a tote I was useing and had to seperate them,the plant survived,it didnt do anything for around 2 weeks but it is picking up now and been flowering a few weeks now,I also use h2o2 in my water and havent had any problems with root rot yet. good luck
 

KnewGrew

Member
So that is definitely root rot right?
Sorry, Im a hydro noob and like yourself, I'd like to catch ASAP.
 

growweedtoday

Well-Known Member
Feel free to check out this guide I made about getting root rot. To sum it up, I've had the best luck getting rid of root rot by using this method:

If you have brown roots, cut off the brown parts. Replace tank water and add SM90 or Subculture B to help fight bad bacteria growth. If you've been using SM-90, don't switch to Subculture B or vice versa. Reportedly, SM90 kills all bacteria, so using these two products together is counter-intuitive since the SM-90 will kill the beneficial bacteria too.
 

patlpp

New Member
If U R NOT running organics, a chlorine regime works good. Google chlorine and hydroponics in the same search. ALso I have found Dutch Masters ZONE works well as a on going preventative measure.
 

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
Always be careful when taking advice from someone unless you are sure they are giving advice on your specific growing method. For example, superthrive in your water at this point is most likely to make the slime explode. Same goes from enzyme products, they can sometimes feed the root disease and make things much worse.

You don't need to cut off the roots until they are dead. If the slime just showed up, you should be able to just rinse them and then soak them in a sterilizing solution for a while. After a while, the slime can suffocate the roots and they will turn brown and mushy, and pull away from the mass easily. You def want to remove any roots that have gone that far. You can sterilize with a strong h202 solution, a mild bleach solution, or with a product like physan 20.

After you have sterilized your root zone and all your equipment and res, the trick is keeping the slime/rot from regaining a foothold. You have two options. You can use a product like SM-90 or dutch master zone to help your res stay sterile. OR you can colonize the res with beneficial bacteria, which will displace, starve, and attack the slime/rot. If you chose this route, try a bottle of aquashield and some ZHO powder. Neither are expensive and that will give you a range of both good bacteria and good fungi. The fungi in the ZHO is designed to actually attack and eat slime/rot. Since these are living microbes, you can breed them yourself. I can give you the method should you decide to try it this way.

Bottom line is you have to do something. If you can only get your water temps down to 76 you will still have problems. Good luck.
 
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