Root Debris in DWC. Lots of it. What is causing it? How do I fix it? I don't see root rot at all. It's not really as dark as the picture.

Prilyfe13started grow question 21d ago

Why am I getting so much root debris? The pH is always fluctuating and I can't get it to stabilize. Is this the cause of the weird root debris? My other plant isn't doing it with the same mix and same pH swings. I don't see root rot anywhere. No slime nothin. Just light brown.

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Week 9

Roots. Color - Brown

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pHilosophy420answered grow question 18d ago

From everything I can see in your diary the debris and the pH swings are coming from the same two things the plant with the huge root mass is shedding root hairs whenever it gets lifted or shifted even a little and the EC keeps rising because the plant is drinking water faster than nutrients. That combination makes the outer root layer flake off and fall into the water and it also makes the pH move around a lot. Nothing you described looks like rot, no slime, no smell, no mushy roots, and the plant itself still looks healthy. The roots are just reacting to stress and the pH drift is just the reservoir concentrating overnight. Even if you don’t lift the roots often a very large root ball will still shed when it gets moved at all and yours is much bigger than the other plant’s. That’s why one has debris and the other doesn’t The fix is just keeping things stable avoiding unnecessary root movement and letting the plant settle without constantly pulling it out. The issue is mechanical shedding and nutrient concentration drift not disease. Happy growing growmie 👊👍

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ATLien415answered grow question 19d ago

We don't have the huge boon that is soil when doin hydro-tek...we have tighter margins everywhere and more work to do every day. The ultimate organic soil growing takes 3 touches maximum a flower other than watering.....while a basic hydro-tek bare minimum is going to have me touching my plants 3 times daily.... Your ph is swinging wildly. Now the question is why... swinging down is typical with organic matter. A simple fan leaf being in your filter can cause a convergence somewhere near 4... So the amount of root mass seen in the photos could easily get your ph that low, a few dozen times over for sure. Your ph problem is wither your water source or temp IME, which is related to ph but pH IMO is not directly the cause of your issue. Ideally youd be drifting up towards a maximum near 6.2 or so after touching, not drifting down, You're coming in at the bare minimum for absorption of any of the 16, then only going lower. Straight up, expect them to turn (especially the one) any day now. A finicky plant can easily be convinced to cull some root mass with a 4 ph or hot water.

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00110001001001111Oanswered grow question 21d ago

Yes, organic material rotting in your water can definitely impact pH. I'd skim it out as best you can... just add it to the list when you clean/change out reservoir. Some sort of agitation is occuring one way or another.. Poorly buffered hydro fertilizer will fluctuate more wildly, too. Using RO water can exacerbate it... less solutes, more easily swayed... but again, properly buffered products shoud mitigate that.

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