Cheap Fix For Root Rot! (HYDRO)

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by madamayo, Apr 5, 2012.

  1. Here's my personal solution to root rot for the po' man. It's a $3 fix if you have a dollar store near you, but I expect it would be about $6 at the most. This had my roots looking almost all white this morning, astounding considering yesterday a good 50-60% of my roots were rotted.


    Now this only works if you catch the root rot early, but if you can manage to catch it before a bad situation develops your grow can continue without a hiccup!

    THIS IS NOT A TREATMENT FOR DISEASE OR APHIDS ONLY DEAD ROOT REMOVAL

    Here's a little back story; I grow in Deep-Water Culture. I had some brown algae start to show up on my roots because my rock wool wasn't keeping the light of them. Inevitably algae showed up. After treating for algae and fixing my light issue, growing continued as normal. While checking the reservoir one day I noticed some root rot (earthy smell, brown roots) and immediately panicked because I had no money. After inspecting my res, grow closet, and root basket I determined there were no aphids. So after some thinking, this is what I came up with:

    What you need:
    2 Sterilized Spray Bottles
    1 Bottle Hydrogen Peroxide (3%)
    1/2 gallon of 1/2 Dose Nutrient Water

    How it's done:

    First things first, get your fresh nute solution in one of the spray bottles, and put it in your fridge for about 10-15 to chill it a little.

    Next, fill your second spray bottle about 1/3 of the way H2O2, and the rest plain water.

    Now I took my plant into the bathroom and did this over the tub, but you can do it anywhere you wish (though I recommend your bathroom to avoid possible insects.) I set my root basket in a 1 gal pitcher with a little water from the reservoir in it.

    Now is where you need to start paying attention. Gather up that chilled nutrient water, as well as your bottle of peroxide and water.

    Give the roots a solid soaking with the peroxide water, you will here bubbling. I sprayed them constantly for about 3-5 minutes with the peroxide mixture on one side.

    Next, rinse the roots off with the chilled nutrient mixture by giving them a massive spray of nute water (help ease the stress).

    Rotate the basket and repeat for the other side, or continue this for a maximum of 45 minutes.

    Add slightly less then 1/4 cup of peroxide per 2 gallons of water, and within 24 hours your roots will make a great turn around!

    Might want to treat with the peroxide in your reservoir every couple of days until all the rot is gone.
     
  2. BUMP

    Any input?
     
  3. No input on your specific method, glad it worked! When you have some funds, you might invest in a small tub of Pondzyne, available at hardware stores that sell ponds stuff etc. It's cheap, the tub will last you the rest of your life, and it works well to digest the rotted material and create O2. I also run a DWC, and after a bout of rot found that it is critical to my next grow to throughly clean EVERYTHING with a mix of vinegar and baking soda. It is a great, natural cleaner that kills all the bad stuff off and creates a nice clean res, pump, stones, etc for next time. While I always cleaned everything well between grows, it was the baking soda/vinegar mix that seemeed to make the difference. Since doing that I have had NO root rot problems, and my res can run in the 80s in the summer.
     
  4. #4 madamayo, Apr 7, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 7, 2012
    I actually run Aquashield for my root protection, my issue developed from algae choking out my roots. Hell if that shit is cheaper then the Aquashield and does just as good, I'm game.

    As for cleaning, I clean all of my equipment with 1:10 hot bleach water. I then rinse thoroughly with cold water for about 10-15 minutes. The traces of chlorine left behind from this method is actually beneficial to plant growth, as chlorine is a minuscule but important part of growth. It's cheapest for me, and my mother raised me that cleaning with bleach is like killing with a nuclear bomb; the most effective method. (Ya, my family is pretty Macabre.)

    Will definitely try your method for a few plants though, see how it helps. I also occasionally add H2O2 to oxygenate my water.


    EDIT: Just checked my roots. Full recovery over 48 hours.
     

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