The dreaded SLIME - algae?

[quinoa64]

A while back I made a hydro bubbler out of a 2-gallon rubbermaid bowl. Here it is with some lettuce:

I've grown 4 or 5 different crops in there -- lettuce, peppers, tomatoes -- and all of them have eventually ended in root rot. I want to grow buds in hydro, I'm a huge fan, but I have to figure out why the slime keeps maiming and killing my poor plants.

Here's what the roots of those lettuce plants look like yesterday:

The chunky white stuff is beneficial (lactobaccilus, from bokashi starter, thought I'd try it) but the slime is not. Check the brown roots on the left and bottom. It's worse today.

I noticed tonight that there is a light leak -- there aren't enough hyrdroton pellets in the netpots to block all the light. I'm not sure if this is the problem or not. Water temp is 72F. Plenty of bubbles.

What's the best way to block light that is filtering through the medium in the netpots? Would algae cause rot like that?

 

[quinoa64]

I'll probably just throw out the poor lettuces, bleach it all down again, and start over.

In the past I've used coco and filled the netpots, and still got slime. I don't think it's the light leaks, or not JUST the light leaks. But maybe. It's sure as heck something. Maybe I just need to get a black bucket and start over from scratch.

 

[socialist]

Check your water temps with a different thermometer that what your using now. That looks like the water is to warm.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Look up... I wanna say Ultra Current's thread on the 'the dreaded slime algae' which is actually likely a cyanobacteria.

 

[quinoa64]

Look up... I wanna say Ultra Current's thread on the 'the dreaded slime algae' which is actually likely a cyanobacteria.

Found it: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=224658
Great thread once you get past the flame war.

But whoa. Chlorine-resistant bacteria? I seriously hope I never run across chlorine-resistant *anything* in my tap water. I drink that stuff. And it might be fun to try erythromycin just to kick it's ass, but I'm not interested in breeding an antibiotic-resistant strain. Like, oh great, now it's a chlorine- and antibiotic-resistant slime!

So... if I can't beat this stuff with beneficial bacteria/fungus/EWC tea then that's it, coco or soil for me. Not sure why endemic cyanobacteria don't cause problems in coco, but I guess it's a combination of more frequent nutrient changes and lower nutrient levels? I'll ask on the big cyano-thread. Thanks, SeaMaiden!

 

[quinoa64]

Check your water temps with a different thermometer that what your using now. That looks like the water is to warm.

Will do. But 72F is apparently too warm anyway? People seem to think that anything above 68F is slime paradise. I'll chill to 75F in the summer to keep the water oxygenated, but I draw the line at turning on the damn chiller in the winter.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

The water in North Edwards California is like that in a few wells. The whole area is poisoned.

Should you find it's coming from your tap water... I would definitely look into an R/O unit and eventually a whole house R/O. Wow...

Stay Safe!

 

[quinoa64]

Problem solved, I think

Problem solved, I think

I did some additional light-proofing: duct tape around the top of the res, and some duct-tape flaps over the top of the netpots. Will use panda film next time but didn't have any on hand.

I actually feel kind of dumb because once I really looked at the photos I took it was obvious that there was light coming in at the very top of the res.

I also started checking the temp when I get home from work and dropping some ice in to cool to below 68 degrees if necessary. It doesn't take much ice to cool a 2 gallon res a few degrees!

Last but nowhere near least, I set the plants in a bleach bath (5ml in approximately 3 gal) for 30 minutes while I washed everything else in soap and water plus a bleach rinse. Then rinsed roots thoroughly. That was 6 days ago, here's what the roots look like today:

OK, still not root porn, but lots of new growth, all of it nice and white with plenty of fine hairs. The brown "slimed" roots are still there, but there's no new slime at least, and no funk. Ph is stable for the first time in a while. Too soon to tell, but I think it might be licked.