Air hose film

Discussion in 'Hydroponic Growing' started by Jrvan143, Apr 14, 2017.

  1. Hey guys I went to check on my girls today I have 2 white widow xl's going and I pulled up on the hose to my bubble bucket and it had a white film on it I was wondering if this was normal or possibly something was wrong and needed to be fixed?


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  2. I don't grow hydro but I'm guessing it's salt/nutrient buildup, in which case it's nothing to worry about. However I wouldn't rule out mold without seeing a pic.
     
  3. I thought maybe algae cause it was a clear hose I just changed it to a really dark blue hose I did t take pics I should have tho


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  4. It's a bacterial/fungal buildup. Are you using any sort of disinfectant and what is your nute temp? That's often the first sign before a full on bloom that can attack ALL of the root mass and kill them. In DWC, even if the nutrients are chilled, you need to maintain an available amount of disinfectant to prevent this from happening. I learned this the hard way, a couple of times, with 8 plants in individual buckets...

    Now I'm using UC Roots which I'll now swear by. It's buffered hypochlorous acid which is essentially bleach. It leaves an available level of chlorine to keep pathogens down. You have to add it every couple of days.

    Some people use H2O2 but it reacts quickly to dying material and organic matter and pretty much breaks down into H2O and O2 within a couple of hours and doesn't leave any residual to continue disinfecting.
     
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  5. I'm using hydro guard right now is that ok?


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  6. Hydroguard is beneficial bacteria - which is what's likely on your air lines. But in an aqueous environment, that beneficial bacteria is food for other BAD bacteria and fungus.

    There are 2 camps with DWC:

    Sterile rez - use a disinfectant and add NO beneficial bacteria of any kind ever. You miss out on the benefits of these beneficials, but you're much more likely to have a crop.

    Beneficials - This camp swears that the right balance of beneficials will keep your roots healthy. But you're taking much more of a risk with your crop.

    - Here's my 2 cents... I've had bad, bad, bad root rot that killed off ALL of the roots. As soon as it even begins to set in, the plants stop growing. You want to go the sterile route way - in my opinion, always. But, I would get a couple of DWC grows under your belt before you go trying beneficials. You REALLY have to have your system dialed in exactly perfect, and you REALLY need to know the right balance of what beneficials, how to know if it's working or not, and how to correct it. It's a very difficult science that needs constant monitoring and attention. It CAN be done, but not easily.

    You want something like UC Roots or Clear Rez specifically with Hypochlorous Acid. You have to make sure that it's for DISINFECTING the rez as opposed to an inoculant like Hydroguard
     
  7. Awesome thanks I'll be picking it up tomorrow then !


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  8. Not to knock what Fennario was saying, but a disinfectant is not as important as you think.. ive had many many DWC harvests without disinfectants with no problems, using only ionic grow/bloom, pk boost, fossil fuel, floralicious (beneficials), and cal-mag. What is more important in my experience is routine reservoir changes (I do once a week) where you completely rinse the res out and replace with a fresh nutrient solution.

    I wouldnt say that it is a "difficult science that requires constant attention". I check my reservior every 2 days and add water to adjust my ph if it has changed, and i monitor my ppm to make sure the nutrient solution isnt too weak or strong. Generally i never have to get much past 1000ppm by mid-late flower.

    My air hoses always have some sort of film or something on them. It really is not a big deal. Just change your air hoses every run, or give them a good cleaning between runs.
    Here is my DWC in veg right now, film on my air line but no worries. Does your plant look happy?

    [​IMG]
     
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  9. Thanks ! I think it looks happy they are only a week and 5 days old and I change my water out weekly also I will take pics later and post them thank you for your response!


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  10. And also, I did not mean disregard what Fennario was saying, because it is certainly factual. All I wanted to do is to share my personal experience that differs from what Fennario has stated.

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  11. I hear ya and I appreciate it I was gonna go to the store and get it to have on hand just in case it got really bad and I needed it


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  12. I didn't say that it was impossible but rather as a FIRST DWC grow, it was a path that would be less problematic with less fuss. With experience, maybe it can be done. But by in large MOST people's experience with root rot cause them to disinfect. I tried without and failed repeatedly until I disinfected. I'm saying that the surest bet is to disinfect. But if anyone has the time and resources to experiment with beneficials until they get it working - by all means, it can be done. But the general consensus is that it's much more likely to end in root rot.
     
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  13. Im wondering if there was some other factor that affected your grows, because beneficials really shouldnt be an issue as long as you are very regularly rinsing out the reservior and replacing with a fresh solution. Beneficials are exactly what they are named, BENEFICIAL to the roots. It wouldnt have that nickname if it was problematic. (TO OP) Remember a little goes a long way, it is a 'weed' after all. The best way to learn is personal experience and awareness of how these things work


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  15. Sorry OP. Im medicated and thought i was editing my post but really i just replied to it? Lol

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  16. Another question - are you chilling your nutes and if so at what temp?

    You don't want to wait until it gets bad. By the time it happens, it's often too late and less costly to start just over. If it's a crop you're counting on, get it. Don't just go by one person's opinion on it - mine, or otherwise. Do some more digging and you'll see that sterile rez is by FAR the preferred method. Just google sterile rez and you'll both sides of the argument and what most people do.

    If it does hit, the correction is to cut all the dying roots back and run it in plain RO water and H2O2 for a day, then 3 days with RO Water, UC Roots and an enzyme like Cannazyme (DO NOT USE HYGROZYME) to dissolve dead roots. Then for about 2 weeks, RO water, enzyme, and a root stimulator like Rhizotonic. It will likely take most of that 2 weeks to reestablish new roots and the plants will yellow as they cannibalize to make new roots and show signs of other deficiencies.

    In my case, I would get the roots to grow back, the plants would look good, and it came back. It wasn't until I thoroughly disinfected EVERYTHING and then kept up the disinfection schedule. I have good city water too - AND I use an RO (a new one). So, I don't have weird water issues. My background also is in ecology and water treatment engineering with lots of chemistry, biology and microbiology. For 15 years I worked as a Chief Biomed Tech for dialysis clinics, where they have massive RO systems and I was responsible for all of the water testing - and constant microbiological testing of these systems. So, even WITH that knowledge - I still had problems.

    So, yes, it can be done. The probability is against beneficials in DWC. The pathogens can maybe be kept in check, but they'll just be waiting for the first situation where the environment is right - and it takes over. A kink in an air line, the air line at the air pump pops off, a tripped breaker, air pump failure - all of these will likely end up in root rot unless it's a sterile rez. Even then, a bacterial/fungal bloom can overwhelm the disinfectant too - but you're more likely to be ok. Using beneficials is a HUGE risk in DWC - but not impossible.
     
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  17. My temps usually stay between 68-72 on hot days it will get higher


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  18. I was using bubble buckets with no way to chill the nutes and my Rez temps stayed between 71 and 73. Yeah, I tried the ice packs every moment ai could, but within minutes of taking them out it went right back. That and I was mixing my nutes exactly as recommended - which was way too strong. So, no disinfectant, higher than optimal temps and rich nutrient solution.

    But still - MOST DWC grows that attempt beneficials fail and lose the plants. Some succeed, most don't - and the overwhelming consensus supports that.

    Again - if plant loss isn't an issue, then it can be a rewarding gamble. I spent WAY too much in resources battling this than if I had just gone sterile Rez from the get go.


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  19. Where are you getting this knowledge that most grows that have beneficials fail? Seriously i have never had a problem. No battles. Im no expert neither.

    I think the volume of water also has an effect being too much volume = bad. Ime the plants should be able to drink their entire solution volume in a week or less without any topping off.

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  20. [​IMG][​IMG]



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