Grow Mediums New to dwc need help asap !!

[lykaboss]

I can tell you straight away you don't need a chiller if you run a beneficial bacteria like root assist tea, long as you are keeping your temps within reason, say 77f and under, the Tea will keep it rot free. The chiller would be an un-needed expense. Also consider wrapping your buckets in reflectix from lowes. Its a easy way to insulate your buckets to help keep the temps a few degrees cooler.

I have seen my temps get up to 79f once without an issue, course this is not recommend you want to keep them in the lower 70's if possible but the tea will give you a nice buffer of protection.

 

[shedrit]

Ok thanks lykaboss , i think ima go ahed and gt the tea , ima go to my hydro shop when i gt paid and see what they hv that i can use

 

[lykaboss]

you can order it directly from here http://www.skunklabshc.com/shop.html

Shipping is super fast, 1 bag goes along way for only $24 dollars

 

[DWCocha]

Im with Lykaboss on the tea .Miracle juice for DWC roots lol :Sharing One:

 

[MedGrower]

Im with Lykaboss on the tea .Miracle juice for DWC roots lol :Sharing One:

Hey DWCocha and Lykaboss. I was trying to search for any product that would be in this category and available for me in my location without having to import that stuff.

I found this product, is it anyway in that same "tea" -category you guys are talking about:
http://www.hydrogarden.com/product/06-320-010

As far as I get it, it is just about applying beneficial bacteria to the roots.

 

[shedrit]

Ya i think ima go ahead and order that when i gt paid i hope my baby can hold out until then . Cause im so determined to gt this hydro growing down .

 

[DWCocha]

Hey Med yea it is just bacteria ,but you bubble it with molasses & worm castings for 48hrs in a separate bucket to activate the bacteria ,so they are thriving when added to the res

Im following Groffs recipe - as below

The general idea is to make an Ibiza style nightclub for Bacteria. Lets call it "La Bacteria Loca"

1 - get bucket, for your system I would say you need about 40L, the usual household ones are 20...

2 - Pump up the jam! Insert airstones, hook up the airpump and get the groove on! The more the better. Get the dancefloor going...

3 - Chloride is added to municipal water to kill nasties, so if you can let it bubble for 24h, if in a rush, drop 5-6 cup fulls of worm casting per 20L, free floating and dancing around the bucket. Worm castings has both bacteria, and nice extra minerals the plants will love, so its better to evaporate the chloride before this. Not an issue if using RO water

4 - Make the best effort to keep water at 21ºC (+/- 2ºC) - best reproduction condition for bacteria

5 - 24h after adding the worm castings in, at least 12-24h of bubbling the chloride away, add 2 or 3 tea spoons of bacteria into the mix. This will make the dance-floor very lively with some exotic aerobic dancers...

6 - Drop in 3 tablespoons of unsulphured blackstrap molasses. This is the equivalent of raining ecstasy pills over 'yer typical young horny 20 year olds. The bacteria will go completely bananas over it. They'll feed on that and reproduce like rabbits.

7 - 24h later, you should should see some foam accumulating at the top. This is EXCELLENT!! The bacteria are coming in masses, pun intended. And because we are in emergency root saving mode and not preventative mode, add 2 or 3 teaspoons of bacteria in there AGAIN, plus another 3 tablespoons of molasses (or 100% natural honey) - BUT - wait 24h for the molasses to get consumed. This party will be one heck of a party!

8 - 24 later, you should see a LOT more foam accumulation at the top. Success!! Party almost over - should sell nice and earthy, caramel-ly, woody, you know... nice and foresty, sweet beer even... It must smell pleasant, even if confusing.

9 - If you bought fungi in powder, now is the time to drop some in, 4 tea spoons per 20L. Stop the airpump after 15 minutes. Drain the liquid and remove solids (use panties or a strainer). I prefer panties 'cos I'm slightly kinky and I get an excuse to check my girl's legs ... (but then I have to get her new ones and that really boring... so up to you)

10 - Get your filtered 40L, drop 2 cups per netpot, and straight in 30L... keep around 10L for the next few days, in the fridge! It will be good for about 5 to 10 days. Smell is of the essence. Should smell caroty, fruity, woody. If it smells farty, socky, arm-pitty .... its off, throw it away.

11 - Drop 1 cup per day over the netpot, which is where most bacteria manages to survive the longest, until you're out.

12 - start making more tea!! One thing is prevention, the other is a full-on fight against slime and root rot !

Recommendations. Bad bacteria (anaerobic), the ones that cause slime and rot, also LOVE sugar. So less is more!!! You dont want sugar going in to the main system, but eaten up and depleted by the aerobic bacteria (oxygen loving bacteria) while making tea. No way to actually know, so use this advice as thumbnail direction;

- Basically, the whole process takes 2 to 3 days tops. Take notes. The more foam vs less sugars you use, the better.

- As all nightclubs, "La Bacteria Loca", should have minimal light, if not total dark.

- Water temp is CRUCIAL for bacterial development. The more near to 21ºC, the less sugar needed in the tea. But dont stress too much with this recipe. If you manage to get some nice foam going, you've got a MASSIVELY HUGE army of good guys, and they're 99% guaranteed to win by numbers. But, one battle may not be enough. Start brewing more as soon as you finish one round.

- When you drop the filtered tea in (dont want to funk up the pumps!), it is natural the pH will rise. Let it for a day or two. It may or may not drop naturally down, but just let it go. 2 days after, if needed, pH correct. What I usually do is actually take water from the system, fully loaded with the bad guys, as the base water for making tea. This will vastly improve performance as you will naturally breed anaerobic-specific predating species and already has a lowered starting pH, which also helps in the end.

- STOP USING H202 !! It kills everything then the bad guys can come in and win.

TAKE PICTURES !! Don't be shy! By error and sharing we learn, adapt, adopt and improve! And the best resource for you to look back into 6 months, 1 or 2 years, and actually improve massively. Learn which advice was good or not, what you did good or not etc. Brilliant resource. Love this forum.

OH !! Almost forgot... beneficial tea brewing with worm casting in the mix WILL stain your roots. New growth should always be sparkly white, and you should see that 2 to 3 days after dropping the tea in. But as the roots mature, they will get stained to a beige or even slight maroon tone. This is expected.

 

[MedGrower]

Oh boy that was funny text DWCocha! I copied and saved and study this matter. Seems like a really smart thing to do. I do have cane molasses but no worm castings at all anywhere. I add molasses for couple last weeks of flowering as a little experiment to make bacteria in the res to thrive and eat the remaining nitrates.

 

[shedrit]

Well last night i gt home to a bad case of root rot , and when i touch the roots , they just fall of so i rinsed the roots of with peroxide , and just replanted in the hydroton clay pebbles in a 5 gallon bucket .

I think ima hv to go bk to the drawing bored and gt that tea and a lot more other stuff before i start bk up thanks guys for all your help . Just a small set bk but i will be bk

 

[Grim Reefer]

Hey DWCocha and Lykaboss. I was trying to search for any product that would be in this category and available for me in my location without having to import that stuff.

I found this product, is it anyway in that same "tea" -category you guys are talking about:
http://www.hydrogarden.com/product/06-320-010

As far as I get it, it is just about applying beneficial bacteria to the roots.

Hello Medgrower that is the right stuff but i say its pricey and it only has a few bennies in it. Take a look at this, it might suit you better if your in the UK.
All the ingredients you need to brew batches upon batches of tea to kill root rot and give the plants that great added boost. The owner is very helpful and will talk you through any problems he is also great a brewing teas.
You wont need to buy anymore of this stuff for along long time either unlike that bottle you had up previously.