Strange Slime buildup on roots

[D.I.trY]

so here's what i reckon. instead of adding an enzyme product, e.g. hygrozyme - add a BB product, e.g. vitalink's bioplus. Avoid the gloopy brown stuff intended for soils. They probably have too much food that a hydro colony cannot metabolise and the slime fuckers will accept your invitation of free food.

In your res, and basically wherever you can, add fibrous matt. I used japanese koi filter matting. The principle is simple, you want something water can flow through and a large surface area so the BB can stick on it. They dont float around in the water, they grow anchored on things. We want them to anchor to the roots, so make sure they start by being anchored to some matting.

You can replace ALL your nutrient mix during changes, since they are anchored to your filter and your roots.

If you look back over my recent posts (excluding the deleted ones where i behaved like a DICK) you can see in more detail. Once you've followed these steps and keep ur water aerated so they dont die, you will never see the slime again or pithium. Put in a heater if your water temps are below 25C and see how much your roots love it. Brave words i hear you say?

 

[Connoisseur300]

actually coco works way better than soil... no slime and faster growth with an easier flush... just my

richy... what strain are you cloning out?? is it an easy cloner? sorry for the pun

Thats good to know. Thanks!

 

[richyrich]

actually coco works way better than soil... no slime and faster growth with an easier flush... just my

richy... what strain are you cloning out?? is it an easy cloner? sorry for the pun

Bubba Kush and Cherry ak47. Not really fast ones. Average I would say. Rooting in RW they would take 10-14 days just for the first tap root to show. The amount of roots showing in just 8 days is crazy. When I first used an EZ Cloner (yes it is an original EZ Cloner to the other poster who asked) I got roots like this but never this fast. I have read post where people have swore they got rooting this fast but I was always skeptical. Well I did it, so the skepticism is gone, and this is the first time with no slime. I think I can safely claim victory over the slime at least in the EZ Cloner. I'm still holding my breath on a full on hydro grow, but very optimistic.

 

[richyrich]

Good going guys. Yes, stay away from Hygrozyme and Sensizyme in hydro. I have been advocating against it's use in hydro from 2 years ago since I realized that the organics it breaks down are major accellarants for the slime. I believe you are right, DItrY, that the overabundance of food is too great for the beneficials and the clean up crew shows up (slimy cyanos), lol.

 

[richyrich]

My plants are still recovering. Im slowly seeing new root growth appear daily. Looks like I got it beat! Ill continue to let root growth improve before I move them back into the main grow room. Im currently just letting the beneficial primed res water (minus nutrients of any sort) circulate through my grow system so things should be ready when I reinstall the plants.

Obviously I gotta disagree with Conn300 at this point. You CAN beat it if you act quickly and effectively.

Sounds promising. Can't wait for the updates and results. You are gonna be the first one to have the slime, neutralize it and then put them into a primed beneficial microbe reservoir. This is one to watch; a true test.

 

[Tarbosh]

This has been a long awss thread..... not a fun read either.... biobuckets was a fun long ass read.... this was just a pita....

running biobuckets..... had benes - there is some shit in there that doesnt seem right..... may be what you ppl are talking about..... I have brown buildup in my returns.... and this fuzzy cottonball like stuff floating around my roots..... I just uncover - shake up and down and it goes away..... plants stunted......

however,

to recap..... there are like 3-4 solid suggestions/recommendations for curing the slime.....

and its like people just didnt even go with em..... like they were so used to having the slime, that anything that may save them might drastically alter their perception on life / growing....

Since no one has done this, and its exactly what I was looking for, here is a recap of the love shown in the last 30 pages of posts for Bio Bucket growers like myself, with no option of physan 20 to just kill off everything -

1. Cranberry - bless his/her soul..... said he was running bio buckets and ran into this issue..... solution 1, a combination of microbe lift pl http://www.aquaticponds.com/Microbe-Lift-PL-_p_323.html

and microlift ensure

http://www.blueiriswatergardens.com/subcat282.html (has both of em)

which ironically is exactly what rich was continually discoursing about for a few pages of threads...... using beneficials to combat the issue..... thank you cranberry

2. Apparently another wonderful poster said holland had similar issues in 07 in the professional cultivation scene and recommended "neudomuck" - a bacteria specifically designed to combat larva and apparently phototive(sp?) meaning it would compete with the brown turd the more light it had.....

sounds great - if you can find a place to order it from that will ship to the us for a decent price and I can actually order it without having to read another language - let me know!
Until then..... another amazing person posted the article on:

3. Seachem CupriSorb http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=SC3271&child=SC3271&utm_source=mdcsegooglebase&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=SC3271&utm_content=SeachemCupriSorb100mLBag&utm_campaign=mdcse&site=google_base Excellent Post

Excellent Post - simple really cheap stuff apparently worked amazing in aquarium against the slime, but it takes out metals...... like copper and magnesium, k, etc. which means, it will prob be great to use to - you just may have to add back more metals nutes than usual....... still wondering what the effects on benes will be




but im tired.... more tomm..... as of now - will give em more lava to colonize.....

 

[D.I.trY]

but im tired.... more tomm..... as of now - will give em more lava to colonize.....

you could be doing so much better than lava rock. im using something called kockney koi japanese matting. It is commonly regarded as the BEST filter media for ponds because of the same qualities we look for. Some of this stuff, and no fancy bacteria bottled stuff needed. Just give a boost with something like vitalink biopac. There are a million others - something like pond bio-start will protect you too.

 

[richyrich]

you could be doing so much better than lava rock. im using something called kockney koi japanese matting. It is commonly regarded as the BEST filter media for ponds because of the same qualities we look for. Some of this stuff, and no fancy bacteria bottled stuff needed. Just give a boost with something like vitalink biopac. There are a million others - something like pond bio-start will protect you too.

I do believe your suggested koi matting is the best as far as biological filters. I've been doing some reading on it. I wanted to direct you all to a website that sells this stuff and a bunch of other things of interest. Besides the filters/matting, my attention drifted towards the biological media. I am probably gonna buy these and try them out even though a simple dollar fish aquarium filter is doing just fine.

Ultra Bio-Media
Ultra Bio-Media is a sinking media with a very high bio-film surface that is 3 to 5 times greater than other plastic media, such as bio-balls, various mats and foams, beads, ribbon and brush type media, etc.

Superior bacterial adhesion and colonization is achieved due to the surface texture and grade of plastic used.

Additionally, beneficial bacteria is able to build up into a bacterial matrix due to the excellent interstitial spacing within the media.
Ultra Bio-Media
Under a patent pending process, Ultra Bio-Media is seeded with bacteria and barley to kick-start the nitrification process and to contribute to the control of string algae.

Ultra Bio-Media is the premier choice for any biological filtration application, i.e., filter retrofits, bio-reactors, home made biological filters, etc. Possible biological applications of this media are limited only to one's imagination.

While Ultra Bio-Media may be similar in design to the Ultima II Filter media, it is actually a little bit longer and larger in diameter.

Ultra Bio-Media is sold by the cubic foot. 8 lbs. of media is approximately 1 cubic foot of loose media; 4 lbs. of media is approximately 1/2 cubic foot of loose media. Contents may settle during shipping. We sell by weight to eliminate issues that may arise from volume variances that occur between loosely filled boxes that subsequently settle into smaller volumes.
Individual pieces of the Ultra Bio-Media are approximately 1/2" in length by 1/4" in diameter.

Check out the website
http://www.pondpetsusa.com/filter_media/ultra_bio.html

On the flipside; the UV rez is still producing crazy healthy plants at 20+ days now. No sign of slime and this is out of a grow room heavily infested with cyano spores.

 

[D.I.trY]

ahh yeah but the matt im talking about is no ordinary matt The pros use it for their koi, and believe me when uve got £1000 fish to look after you want the best! also its japanese and those guys know their asses from their elbows

I was using some plastic media like that stuff although it wasnt as high tech as that "ultra bio-media" stuff it didnt even compare. The matt made my pond water clear in a few days. Problem with all this pond m,edia stuff is you probably have to buy a large amount and use a relatively tiny amount!

OH yeah, ive been considering getting some blackstrap mollasses both as a nutritional supplement and to feed the little dudes. Ill start with tiny doses - letting you know how i get on, but its still working great as-is

 

[richyrich]

Check out the whole site. They have a whole bunch of stuff. Check these bad boys out.

Ultima II Bead Filters - With "Cyclonic" Backwashing!
This is the next generation of filters and the best tool for Koi ponds. The Ultima II is specifically engineered to meet the environmental demands of fish ponds. The lightweight media is designed for very high flow rates.

The tubular bio-media has low head loss and a very high biofilm surface. The “Y” shape on the inside and wings on the outside afford a protective surface under backwashing, and with the patented backwash system will keep the media from clogging. Ultima II Bead Filters
The same properties have been added to this media in three different sizes with random lengths and diameters to avoid stacking.

The Ultima II tubular bio-media offers the highest surface area for growth of beneficial bacteria. No other backwashable pressurized filter compares. Cleaning the filter is done by internal jets. The Ultima II is also the ideal filter for aquariums where very high flow rates are desired.

Those media things I posted above are only 28 bucks for 1/2 cu. ft.; that is cheap and plenty. Plus they are seeded with some benes already. They have some blue Japanese matting there too. It's pretty pricey at $90. I'm sure other sites have smaller pieces for less.

 

[richyrich]

UV Reservoir Hydro update:

Canopy shot

 

[D.I.trY]

they're sweet, no doubt about that. I wonder would the roots grow through it well? Might block free flow through it. Gotta exhange the water for micro life.

SO the uv works, but what is it -25w? i wouldnt care because i dont believe that energy use destroys the planet.

lol when the website says you can cut the japanese stuff with a circular saw - that sounds a bit serious. stuff cuts with anything with enough effort. I got a circ saw but wouldnt ever bother.

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Who's the man? Check out those roots baby! All 3 DWCs displayed. Im amazed that I beat the slime for once. Those pics were just taken and not a hint of slime to be seen. I do not think every plant will recover but Im estimating about an 80% recovery rate and that's a hell of a lot more than I would have thought when I saw the slime.

I think I can claim success at beating the slime!

 

[richyrich]

they're sweet, no doubt about that. I wonder would the roots grow through it well? Might block free flow through it. Gotta exhange the water for micro life.

SO the uv works, but what is it -25w? i wouldnt care because i dont believe that energy use destroys the planet.

lol when the website says you can cut the japanese stuff with a circular saw - that sounds a bit serious. stuff cuts with anything with enough effort. I got a circ saw but wouldnt ever bother.

I'm still holding my breath on the UV in hydro, but I have never been this far along ever since getting slimed. My UV light is only a meager 13w. They have way stronger ones.

 

[richyrich]

IGT, those are some nasty looking old slimed roots. Very encouraging to see white healthy roots growing from that. They should of been slimed and dying already.

 

[richyrich]

Here are the roots from the UV Reservoir hydro setup


And here is the EZ Cloner with beneficial microbes.

 

[Tarbosh]

does the UV kill beneficials too? or just algae?

 

[mrgreenthumb1]

try gh subculture it works

 

[ItsGrowTime]

does the UV kill beneficials too? or just algae?

UV will kill all living organisms in the water. So you must decide whether to go the UV full sterilization route or the beneficial bacteria inoculation route. Can't do both. Both appear to work.

 

[D.I.trY]

UV will kill all living organisms in the water. So you must decide whether to go the UV full sterilization route or the beneficial bacteria inoculation route. Can't do both. Both appear to work.

Hey man, you absolutely can do both. Otherwise they would NEVER be used in fish ponds where the survival of every fish depends completely on a functioning biofilter!

There is no point to do both though because once youve got BB the UV is completely redundant. I am making a habit of repeating myself alot recently! Remember they grow ON the biofilter you introduce, on your roots, on he sides of ur res etc. ON Everything. Once we get them on the roots we are LARFING!