yup thats what i got... now if i used h2o2 as a last resort.. how much do i use.. or will that make things worse.. i got gh hydrozime on the way.. mail order sucks.. so i mite not have anything left by the time it gets here.. the leaves are yellow from top to bottom.. roots are dark brown.. looks like N and P diff.. but just changed the rez a couple days ago.. to chems.. and ph is haywire.. took 200cc for 15 gal rez to lower it from 9.2 to 6.0 and 24 hrs latter back to 9.0+.. think i got sumething bad in there.. but hey.. good for the knowledge.. trial and error thing.. i dont mind all this.. kinda fun and really a good family project..
Thanks for the info. Brown roots is normally a sign of algae. By itself, algae poses no threat as it is non-toxic, but its presence invites other problems especially when it is covering roots. Various enzyme products claim to reduce algae by breaking down roots and I have found this to be true. However, I have also found that if you add an enzyme product to roots which are already occupied by algae, the algae population will explode. Enzymes are a good preventative measure in early flowering periods but are not a cure for existing problems. Enzymes definitely have the effect of assisting with nutrient uptake. Unfortunately, algae will benefit from the increased nutrient uptake rate more than sick plants will. In this way, the desired effect that you would like the enzyme to be having on your plants is assisting the algae more than anything else.
The solution I have found to be effective for algae is a simple process. First, the containers should be examined for cracks and loose fittings for light leaks. I put a battery powered lantern in the empty container, shut it, and observe it in a dark room. If anything more than a very thin glow through the growing medium can be seen, there are light leaks and this should be remedied. Aluminum tape works, but for more complete applications I glue panda film to the containers, white side out/black side in.
For the roots themselves, they need to be washed and possibly trimmed. Do not pressure wash the roots as this washes the root hairs off as well. Use lukewarm water and a mushroom brush (brush used to flake the dirt off of fresh mushrooms without bruising the mushroom) or other very soft brush to remove the algae from the roots.
To kill as much leftover algae as possible, clean the system, run the system with a few teaspoons of Physan 20 (consult the label, but don't use one teaspoon/55 gallons as this is too weak) and then run with water.
Physan 20 is relatively safe. Even though it is meant to kill things, it has about the same toxicity as sprayed fertilizer. It says that it kills fish on the bottle, but this is mostly to prevent people from using it in a fish pond or tank. Nobody would spray fertilizer in a fish tank thinking that it wouldn't kill fish, but someone might do this with algaecide if it didn't say not to on the bottle. Of course the standard safety precautions apply, don't spray your eyes with it, etc. It doesn't seem to have much effect at all when dumped on grass and shrubs, which is what I do with the leftover Physan. I suppose that is not the best disposal method, but better than dumping it in the gutter.
As a remedy for the shoot portion of the plant, I would recommend spraying with epsom salts. You can use the bath quality epsom salts available at most every drug store. 1/4-1 teaspoon per gallon should work fine.
H2O2 will not work for algae. H2O2 is much better for controlling pythium in sterile systems which undergo temperature flux from high daytime combined with low nighttime temperatures allowing both forms of the pythium to mature and rapid population growth to take place. I've rarely heard of pythium in controlled indoor hydroponics, the culprit is usually algae misidentified as pythium. I have had pythium in my greenhouse and it does not slowly degrade plants like algae, it kills them within a couple of days left unchecked. This is especially heinous as pythium explosions usually show up on very hot days when plants may already be on the verge of wilting.
But... yea... wash the roots out and seal the containers. I've had this problem a few times. The first time I tried H2O2 and that killed everything. After that I treated with enzyme to prevent it, but it happened again to a bucket not treated with enzyme and I tried to treat with enzyme and grew a huge amount of algae as a result.
One thing I've heard recommended is a UV lamp like the kind used to kill algae in fish tanks. One thing different about hydroponics and fish tanks is you don't care about expensive chelated iron reacting with UV light in fish tanks.
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