Get rid of “The Slime” aka “Brown Slime Algae” aka “Cyanobacteria” forever!

[TheGreenReaper]

So, you fill a cloner and then leave it filled in perpetuity - years on end?

Of course not, but it seemed like what you were implying.

How do you change the water in your cloners, or are you cloning with the antibiotic in your cloning solution? Could you please explain more about how you utilize the erythromycin on an ongoing basis if the issue is the source water?

...this effects my pH and hence my maintenance time in the garden and potentially uptake if I feed at an off-pH - that's all. I DTW in Coco so I personally dont need to spend money on anything though many hydro folks are no doubt fighting this issue.

If you have to go buy a UV sterilizer this whole thing is pointless and a waste of time and what I thought this thread was about is obviously not what it is about - cause I certainly am not going to use erythromycin if I have a UV sterilizer doing its thing - and why a short term solution (erythromycin) when you can take care of it longer term, AKA - "forever" with something like UV. I also recall someone earlier in the thread talking about UV sterilizers and the shortcomings involved. I would buy R/O before UV as it addresses other areas besides slime.

 

[Sam the Caveman]

sorry there brother but your slightly mistaken a tad..

Im a mycologist and deal with pasteurization on a daily basis..


For you to effectively pasteurize anything at 145'F it would have to be at a steady 145 for a time duration of at least 30mins.

OR... you can pasteurize a bit faster and more effectively at 160'F which is standard pasteurizing temp.


It is possible to "instant" pasteurize which takes 1 second of exposure of high temps that I believe are 245'F... BUT it can not exceed 1 second being at the temp because then you risk sterilizing, which if your trying to pasteurize you most def don't want to reach sterile.

I agree with what your saying here, however I may need to clarify a few things. I'm not trying to pasteurize my container, only the water I use to rinse them off with. Its the tap water that is contaminated with cyanobacteria so by using water to rinse from the hot water heater that maintains 145f to 155f 24/7, I know this water is less likely to be contaminated, if contaminated at all.

Even after a rinsing with hot water, they also get a dunk in a bucket of water with physan20 at a ratio of 1ml/4gallons and even this water gets bubbled with ozone before the addition of physan20. All the water I use from the tap for watering gets bubbled with ozone.

 

[Sam the Caveman]

For a large grow, I would say that using a carbon filter to remove the chloramine in conjunction with a UV sterilizer light that is the right size for the flow of water would be a more practical setup. I would even say this is more practical than using erythromycin with every watering/rez change. However, for cleaning rezs and cloners and impliments erythromycin would be great if you don't have a ozone bubbler.

 

[spearzy]

i had problems with what seemed like cyanobacteria.

everytime i took clones from my aeroponic propagator they were in perfect condition,or certainly seemed to be.

then id put them in rdwc and after a week or so they had see through slime all over the roots.

i gave a friend some which he put into normal dwc standalone pots and he had it too.

i also tried some in an amazon system and even they ended up with this see through slime all over the roots the leaves would then start scabbing and dying off id end up pulling the system to bits cleaning it all with h2o solution and washing the roots off with showerhead.

it would be back within 24-48 hours.

i tried dutchmasters zone,flairform pythoff,h20,canadian express regeneroot and wilt gaurd.

nothing got rid of it.

do you think it could be the same cyanobacteria you had and if so does that mean its in the water?

ive seen some uv sterilisers but read somewhere about them knocking the calcium out of balance in nutrient solutions anyone know anything about that and how to remedy it?

thanks spearzy

 

[paladin420]

I hav yet to need the total antiboby flush..simply stopping the use of H2O2 and adding in bleach everyother day or so..white crisp roots no slime..and I still have the ethromyecin as a back-up.along with pool shock..don't fuck with me 'slime' I hav the interwebz..

 

[Ultra Current]

i had problems with what seemed like cyanobacteria.

everytime i took clones from my aeroponic propagator they were in perfect condition,or certainly seemed to be.

then id put them in rdwc and after a week or so they had see through slime all over the roots.

i gave a friend some which he put into normal dwc standalone pots and he had it too.

i also tried some in an amazon system and even they ended up with this see through slime all over the roots the leaves would then start scabbing and dying off id end up pulling the system to bits cleaning it all with h2o solution and washing the roots off with showerhead.

it would be back within 24-48 hours.

i tried dutchmasters zone,flairform pythoff,h20,canadian express regeneroot and wilt gaurd.

nothing got rid of it.

do you think it could be the same cyanobacteria you had and if so does that mean its in the water?

ive seen some uv sterilisers but read somewhere about them knocking the calcium out of balance in nutrient solutions anyone know anything about that and how to remedy it?

thanks spearzy

Personally i do believe that you have the cyanobacteria. If i were in your position, i would sterilize all my systems with the erythromycin treatments and somehow use different water. You can put it through the UV sterilizer and then add your nutes if you are conserned. If you are not going to use the sterilizer, i would grow the roots nice and big before you place them into the system and use clorine at 1 ppm. My RezdogDD thread in my signature explains clorine on page 5.

 

[spearzy]

Personally i do believe that you have the cyanobacteria. If i were in your position, i would sterilize all my systems with the erythromycin treatments and somehow use different water. You can put it through the UV sterilizer and then add your nutes if you are conserned. If you are not going to use the sterilizer, i would grow the roots nice and big before you place them into the system and use clorine at 1 ppm. My RezdogDD thread in my signature explains clorine on page 5.

thanks for the reply uc

unfortunately for me i might have to use human erythromycin because you cant get it here unless off a vet.

in the us i believe you can just buy it but here in the uk i cant.

dont know if i could just order it from the us to be delivered here?

after looking at your thread i can see yes i used to get astounding results with a brand new cloner just like you and after a while it would become more hit and miss and eventually led to the cyanobacteria overgrowths.

im not sure if its actually in the water or build up over time in the aero proppagator.

after putting in clorox bleach uk it gave me this on yahoo answers,

It's a brand name for sodium hypochlorite bleach, like Domestos or Tesco's Value Bleach.

does that sound as though its the same thing as clorox?

if it is it is what wed call normal household bleach lol.

realy glad you beat this nasty bacteria i lost 3 rounds of clones to it so far then my freind lost his so thats 4 rounds,dont want there to be a 5th hope you can help me with your knowledge and experience of it and hope dont mind helping me


spearzy

 

[Ultra Current]

thanks for the reply uc

unfortunately for me i might have to use human erythromycin because you cant get it here unless off a vet.

in the us i believe you can just buy it but here in the uk i cant.

dont know if i could just order it from the us to be delivered here?

after looking at your thread i can see yes i used to get astounding results with a brand new cloner just like you and after a while it would become more hit and miss and eventually led to the cyanobacteria overgrowths.

im not sure if its actually in the water or build up over time in the aero proppagator.

after putting in clorox bleach uk it gave me this on yahoo answers,

It's a brand name for sodium hypochlorite bleach, like Domestos or Tesco's Value Bleach.

does that sound as though its the same thing as clorox?

if it is it is what wed call normal household bleach lol.

realy glad you beat this nasty bacteria i lost 3 rounds of clones to it so far then my freind lost his so thats 4 rounds,dont want there to be a 5th hope you can help me with your knowledge and experience of it and dont mind helping me


spearzy

Trust me i feel your troubles. That is so frustrating and im sure youve dumped plenty of bleach in your cloner to no effect. Some people can kill it with chlorine and some cant. I know a guy in the UK that has it and if you want to get it from him send me a PM. The only alternative if you want to stillnrun the cloner is to use the EWC tea for cloning. I personally dont do this so i cant ellaborate on that. Your other option that i would really suggest is the old fashion way. I have a cloning thread in my sig and everyone should know how to take clones in rockwool or soil cause its always your backup you can count on when cloners fail. Because your water is so bad make sure you use bottled water or boil your tap. If you get the erythromycin you need to make sure you never use tap again in the cloner or the treatment is pointless. Even though i have cloners, in still clone the old way too to backup my MOMS. Nothing important goes to the cloners. Sorry i cant be of more help.

 

[spearzy]

Trust me i feel your troubles. That is so frustrating and im sure youve dumped plenty of bleach in your cloner to no effect. Some people can kill it with chlorine and some cant. I know a guy in the UK that has it and if you want to get it from him send me a PM. The only alternative if you want to stillnrun the cloner is to use the EWC tea for cloning. I personally dont do this so i cant ellaborate on that. Your other option that i would really suggest is the old fashion way. I have a cloning thread in my sig and everyone should know how to take clones in rockwool or soil cause its always your backup you can count on when cloners fail. Because your water is so bad make sure you use bottled water or boil your tap. If you get the erythromycin you need to make sure you never use tap again in the cloner or the treatment is pointless. Even though i have cloners, in still clone the old way too to backup my MOMS. Nothing important goes to the cloners. Sorry i cant be of more help.

thanks uc

yeah i know how to clone using jiffy pellets root riot cubes,but get much better results using aero cloners.

i am going to buy a new cloner untill i get sorted and have started new seeds because i thought it might have been infection carried in the mother.

does it take a while for it to build up? have you used a brand new cloner and had it happen too,or just after so long using them?

thanks spearzy

 

[Ultra Current]

thanks uc

yeah i know how to clone using jiffy pellets root riot cubes,but get much better results using aero cloners.

i am going to buy a new cloner untill i get sorted and have started new seeds because i thought it might have been infection carried in the mother.

does it take a while for it to build up? have you used a brand new cloner and had it happen too,or just after so long using them?

thanks spearzy

Ive had it happened by the second time i used a brand new cloner at a new spot with new water. Just dont use your tap or you lose another cloner.if you have to, boil your water. I dont lose clones in rockwool cubes so.

 

[spearzy]

Ive had it happened by the second time i used a brand new cloner at a new spot with new water. Just dont use your tap or you lose another cloner.if you have to, boil your water. I dont lose clones in rockwool cubes so.

i wonder if it can live in the actual plant so effectivley infecting your mother the actual strain ect?

with me the slime has never showed its face in my cloners always after the clones have been put into the system.

spearzy

 

[Ultra Current]

i wonder if it can live in the actual plant so effectivley infecting your mother the actual strain ect?

with me the slime has never showed its face in my cloners always after the clones have been put into the system.

spearzy

So now we seem to be talking about your DWC. This is getting a bit confusing but if i were in you position, here is what i would do with the information that you gave me so far. After my clones had roots, instead of putting them into the DWC, put them into ebb and flow for a week and grow out the roots further. After that tranfer them to your DWC and you may find that it will work better. This is what i do and i have a log on it in my sig. Its my RezdogDD thread. As far as bleach, clorox bleach contains 6% sodium hypochlorite so if your bleach has those levels then you can use 1mL per 22 gal to give you 1 PPM chlorine and add that every 5-7 days for your personal situation. If your bleach has less chlorine, then adjust the equation accordingly. Hope it works out for you. With a bigger root, your plants might not be as effected. It is possible that you are dealing with something else but if that doesnt work then i would consider the Erythromycin, and a UV sterilizer for your water. If you work hard and do all he testing, you will get to the bottom of your problem. My water sucks and i dont use RO and i dont use UV and as long as i veg in ebb and flow before i put it in DWC, im all good but i always use Clorox Bleach every 7 days at the rate of 2 mL per 44 gallons.

 

[TheGreenReaper]

As far as bleach, clorox bleach contains 6% sodium hypochlorite so if your bleach has those levels then you can use 1mL per 22 gal to give you 1 PPM chlorine and add that every 5-7 days for your personal situation. If your bleach has less chlorine, then adjust the equation accordingly. Hope it works out for you. ...i always use Clorox Bleach every 7 days at the rate of 2 mL per 44 gallons.

I found what I was looking for in this thread. Good info above, thank you undercurrent.

 

[spearzy]

So now we seem to be talking about your DWC. This is getting a bit confusing but if i were in you position, here is what i would do with the information that you gave me so far. After my clones had roots, instead of putting them into the DWC, put them into ebb and flow for a week and grow out the roots further. After that tranfer them to your DWC and you may find that it will work better. This is what i do and i have a log on it in my sig. Its my RezdogDD thread. As far as bleach, clorox bleach contains 6% sodium hypochlorite so if your bleach has those levels then you can use 1mL per 22 gal to give you 1 PPM chlorine and add that every 5-7 days for your personal situation. If your bleach has less chlorine, then adjust the equation accordingly. Hope it works out for you. With a bigger root, your plants might not be as effected. It is possible that you are dealing with something else but if that doesnt work then i would consider the Erythromycin, and a UV sterilizer for your water. If you work hard and do all he testing, you will get to the bottom of your problem. My water sucks and i dont use RO and i dont use UV and as long as i veg in ebb and flow before i put it in DWC, im all good but i always use Clorox Bleach every 7 days at the rate of 2 mL per 44 gallons.

thanks for bearing with me i havent been well for a few years now and often confuse myself lol.

i wasnt sure if it was in the cloners or in the strain mothers ect as it always seems to rear its ugly head in the system itself which i did say in an earlier post i think.

i will look into the bleach and the erythromycin thanks very much for your help uc.

 

[Phillthy]

i never had a bad issue. never really even saw any slime. but i went from 100% success to about 75% and things take longer to root. the ones that dont have soft stems that get mushy and maybe a touch of slime to them. the water is well water and now my clones yellow super fast whereas when my cloner was new i always had green cuts until rooted. using your method to treat the cloner now. will update when next round of clones go in. thanks UC.

 

[georgeforeman]

alright, let me get this straight...

step 1:
treat cloner with Erythromycin OR buy a new cloner?

step 2:
boil all cloner water

 

[paladin420]

alright, let me get this straight...

step 1:
treat cloner with Erythromycin OR buy a new cloner?

step 2:
boil all cloner water

Not really.start with bleach.then pool shock.then Eryth.then NEW,is how I read It...

As for boiled water??? I doubt you can stop all of the vectors short of a sterile lab.... I just add in Clorex

 

[Hydro-Soil]

As far as I'm aware, a reverse osmosis filter will filter out the biologicals that cause this.

Boiling should work... anyone know the time period required?

Chlorine should work/help with nearly all varieties of this... I'd add a drop of iodine per gallon as well, if going that route.


Personally.... should I get into a grow where the water is infected.... I would switch to hand-watered coco or hempy or dirt (though I'd really be surprised to see myself using dirt. LOL). Some method that doesn't have a large amount of water in it like regular hydro does.

Once your system has been treated.... it can be difficult to not re-infect, over a long period of time. I remember the slime in N. Edwards california.... 3 days it would take to slime the system out, giant gobs of white/yellow snot. Just sick. Wish I'd known about eryth back then. Heh

Great info in this thread folks, thanks much!

Stay Safe!

 

[SeaMaiden]

A lot of growers are stuck on Cl as the only or the best sterilizing agent available. It's not. Isopropyl alcohol is better, even if it's got issues with contact time it's pretty much an instant killer. There are also products like quaternary ammonium compounds (Physan 20) and chlorhexidine, which can be used around sensitive organisms such as tropical reptiles.

 

[paladin420]

A lot of growers are stuck on Cl as the only or the best sterilizing agent available. It's not. Isopropyl alcohol is better, even if it's got issues with contact time it's pretty much an instant killer. There are also products like quaternary ammonium compounds (Physan 20) and chlorhexidine, which can be used around sensitive organisms such as tropical reptiles.

I would hear more..especially about ISO