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DWC Question...

Quick question about my DWC. Today when doing a quick pH check of the water I noticed my airstones have a lot of white goo build up on them. Also the same build up was in a few small amounts on the mesh basket itself. Is this normal? If not what is causing the issue and how do I fix it. I'm worried it will clog the air stones completely.

-J
 
did you take pictures of it? was it slimy like algae? i have a throw away tooth brush that i scrub the stone with every other time i swap out nutes.
 
It's white goo...

airstoneyuck.jpg
 
i have not seen that stuff before! how long did you leave the solution in the bucket?
Also i was advised when i bought the buckets to get solid black air lines as the clear ones will let light in and speed the algae growth. that stuff looks gnarly!
 
I change solution out every 7 days and have not noticed this before. Doesn't seem to affecting the plant any as it is still growing strong and the roots are starting to become thick on the bottom of the mesh. I've been looking online for some information and can not find anything. Before anyone ask:

RO Water
Fox Farm Grow Big Hydro
3mL H2O2 every 5 days
4 6inch air stones
pH at 6.0, checked daily

Going to completely re sanitize my bucket, get new air line and new air stones to see if I can't combat it.

-J
 
My tap water is horrible stuff and defines "hard water" in every way possible haha. I have a 5 stage RO filter system that knocks the from tap 700ppm down to 18-20 on average.

-J
 
i need a RO filter my water is at 550ppm, that stuff looks crazy! what is its consistency? hope the steps you are going to take solve the problem!!!
i did a google search and found a Marijuana thread that mentioned this stuff and it was caused by the water temp in the bucket being to hot and light getting in. so i think once you get the solid black hoses you should be good!
 
Basically just a thick white goo. Doesn't seem to be rooted on the air stone as I was easily able to wipe a little bit off with a paper towel. The system has been setup for some time now with no issues until I looked in today and was like "whoa!"

-J
 
I believe it's biofilm, since you're using an organic based nutrient. I would consider it harmless as long as it doesn't clog the stones, and the solution remains aerated.
 
Here is the plant in question... Obviously no ill affects from the goo.

DWCRO.jpg


Same plant from 03 Sep 2011
PeachBhutDWC_03sep2011.jpg


-J
 
I've had the same thing here, don't know what it is, but I had a home made clone box running a heavy calcium well water. Never caused a problem for me, but kinda slimy... I have seen something similar paddling a spring fed river, there was an old artisan well, and it reeked of sulpher, and has slime growin all the way to the waters edge 4 foot wide.
 
That's sounds nasty. Certainly wouldn't be drinking out of there, ever! I still have yet to find anyone that has a solid answer as to what that white goo was. A lot of guesses but nothing that is solid proof.

So far so good, no more goo as appeared since I broke everything down and gave it a deep clean. Bumped up my nute levels as they were a bit low so the growth should start pushing pretty hard soon.

-J
 
I have not. I had an old four port air pump laying around and figured why not just toss them all in! This is my first year with hydro so I have nothing to go on from past grows.

-J
 
My thoughts exactly.. might as well use it. I plan on setting up another DWC and will run two of them over to the new setup. Until then, oxygenated overkill, yes it is!

-J
 
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