I'm a new grower and my first run is dwc with 5 plants (autos), every so often like clock work I get root rot shortly after changing res for the week, I clean my buckets, (lids/netcups i just leave as is seeing idk how I can sterilize/cure them if there's any pythium inside those areas), I have hydrogaurd as well as 3% hydrogen peroxide from walgreens, it seems to me that hydrogaurd isn't preventing as much as I'd like, I use the h2o2 from time when i think i need it but I'm tired of this circus. What type of brands that seasoned growers like yourselves would recommend a end all be all to pythium i heard orca might be great but thats as far as i know, I'll buy what ever it is as long as it's not crazy expensive, thanks!
I did a comparison of a couple different brands, but I haven't tested the Soil Balance. A Textbook Comparison of EarthAlive and Oath Soil Constituents It's not all the used organisms, but its a summary of the organisms used in those products. Also, you need to control the temps.
I’ve tried both h2o2 and Hydrogaurd, but nothing I’ve seen works as good as “Southern AG Garden Friendly Fungicide”. It comes in a small bottle (16 fl oz), but I only use 1 cap full for 20 gallons a few times a week and I’ve never had root rot since. I use RDWC’s and run water chillers at 67°F, so those are both factors to consider as well.
More a matter of not allowing the environment that fosters it in the first place (overwatering) &/or "poor" soil drainage??? Never used anything , haven't had it yet.
Root rot like clockwork? U sure about the diagnosis there Doc? Could it just be stinky water? What kind of set up? I had stinky water in my sips, it turned out to be from the wicks. What I did was switch to 1/2" loose braided nylon (not poly) rope $ 20" sections knotted in the middle with the ends frayed out like frizzy hair for a wick, & check/change the water if needed.
He’s using DWC, which is warm, stagnant water, and a prime breading ground for pythium. The 3 key steps to inhibit pythium in hydroponic grows is cooler water temps (64-67°F), good circulation (RDWC), and an effective fungicide…and the best product for this, by far is “Southern AG Garden Friendly Fungicide”.
Back when I was using DWC I would go for the upper limit of required aeration that keeps the water aerated and moving. Next most important thing was keeping the res cool. 65°F being the highest I'd let it get, with a target of 59°F Didn't use any bleach, h2o2, briefly used beneficials but ultimately came down to keeping the water cold was the best preventative.
@Sdh777 Bacillus amyloliquefaciens is the beneficial organism found in both hydroguard and GFF, but it is a higher concentration in GFF. The EA product I mentioned also contains B.amyloliquefaciens, along with a couple other bennies. @Reo during my last grow, I discovered 18°C (64°F) was detrimental to my semi aero/hydro/nft system. I now run at 20-22° (68-72°F). This (linked) is an interesting article for us hydro growers.
My bad I'm pretty green to this, I thought rdwc was where you have a main res that flows to the rest, but I guess that's ebb and flow method? I'm using airstones so that would be rdwc?