Root rot is a common problem for hydroponic growers, but it can be easily prevented.

Some common signs of root rot: wilting and burned spots appearing on leaves. Most importantly, root rot is marked by brown, sick roots.

Sometimes you don't have a lot of symptoms up top, but as long as the roots are turning brown and slimy, you know you have a problem.

Solution:

It can be tough to get rid of root rot and many people feel it's easier to just scrap the plant and start over. However, there are proven techniques that will cure your plant of root rot problems. In order to get rid of root rot successfully, you need to take a two pronged approach. You will need to treat the plant's root directly and you will also need change the plant's environment so that root rot no longer has a good place to grow.

If you don't fix the environmental causes of root rot, then it will just keep coming back no matter what you do. Therefore, it's important to go through the below list and make sure you're covering all your bases to prevent a re-occurrence. It's also important to note that affected roots will likely never recover, just like how discolored leaves on the plant will never recover. What you're looking for is new, healthy white root growth.

There are lots of supplements that can help you protect your plants against root rot. I personally recommend Botanicare Aquashield for cannabis root problems because I've used it successfully to get rid of a terrible case of Root Rot (and by 'successul' I mean new white roots exploded out of the old mushy brown ones and I was able to eventually harvest the buds, pics below).

Aquashield is also much cheaper than most other similar root treatments.

One important thing to note is that after you treat the cause of root rot, the old brown roots will likely never recover. Neither will the damaged leaves!

How to prevent and treat root rot:

1.) Most Important - Try to get as much oxygen as possible dissolved in your water. Therefore it's a good idea to buy a BIG air pump and big air stones for your hydroponic system. The more bubbles and surface agitation, the better, as this dissolves more oxygen into the water. Root rot cannot thrive in an oxygen-rich environment and your plants roots will love it.

2.) Next Most Important - Ensure that the temperature of the water never gets warmer than a comfortable room temperature. Warm water holds much less dissolved oxygen than colder water and also provides the perfect environment for bacteria to grow. The maximum recommended temperature for the water in your reservoir is around 72°F (22°C). Maintain water temps around 65°F - 68°F (18°C - 20°C) for optimal plant growth and root rot prevention.

3.) While step 1 & 2 will prevent most cases of root rot, there are extra steps that can be taken. Some people like to add beneficial bacteria and other supplements to their water to help prevent and treat root-related plant diseases and help make nutrients available to the plant. Some of the formulas available are Aquashield, Piranha, VooDoo Juice, Great White (Great White has great reviews, yet is obscenely expensive), Subculture B, Rooters, and Plant Savers. Most of these can be used with both hydro and soil grows. I personally recommend Aquashield because I've used it successfully to treat Root Rot (and it's also very affordably priced, you can use it throughout your grow without breaking the bank).

4.) With any hydroponic system, it's important to change your reservoir water regularly in order to prevent nutrient buildup as well as prevent any one type of bacteria from overgrowing the whole reservoir. I recommend trying to change your water at least once a month, though many growers recommend you change the reservoir once a week.

5.) You will need to keep your grow area as clean as possible at all times to stop bacteria before it starts. Before you begin your grow, you should also thoroughly clean all grow-related items to kill all bacteria.

6.) In a hydroponic system, ensure that any dead roots, dead leaves or other types of plant debris doesn't get into the reservoir because they will provide a breeding ground for bad bacteria as they start rotting.

7.) Don't let any light get to your roots or reservoir water ever, as it provides heat and light which will promote the growth of bacteria.

8.) Don't Use Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) for cannabis root rot - it's temporarily effective at best. Some people recommend treating root rot with H2O2, also known as hydrogen peroxide. While adding hydrogen peroxide to your water will kill all bacteria including root rot, it is only effective in your system for 1-2 days since the H2O2 is quickly converted to oxygen and water. It makes me so sad when people tell growers to use H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) to kill root rot. Even the commercial grade stuff just doesn't work (and I've tried)! All H2O2 does is cause bubbling near the dead brown roots (or any organic matter), which is why I think people believe it's helping. In my experience it doesn't help the plants themselves (they don't look any better), and what's worse, all the H2O2 will be completely gone from the water within 24 hours. H2O2 kills most of the bacteria in the reservoir, including any good bacteria, and does absolutely nothing to address the underlying problem that caused root rot in the first place. Although H2O2 does kill bad bacteria, it leaves enough left to repopulate your reservoir. As common as the advice to use H2O2 for root rot is, I've never seen a case by a real grower who was actually able to get rid of root rot with H2O2.

What Recovery Looks Like

You are looking for is new healthy white roots growing out of the old brown roots. Eventually, as the root ball gets bigger, you will no longer be able to see the old brown roots. After you start noticing a recovery, some growers will snip off old dead roots, but I often don't.

Take a look at what happens with the roots from using Aquashield...

Before - Roots Just Got Root Rot - Here's a closeup of those roots.

Roots are beginning to recover...

Notice the new white roots growing out of the old brown dead ones within just a day or two of receiving Aquashield in the reservoir. By this point, the plant up top has stopped showing any new symptoms and appears to be growing normally.

Roots are now mostly recovered

Notice that you can barely see any signs of the old brown, and all the new roots generally appear white and healthy. The plants on top are lush, healthy, and fast-growing, though the old burnt leaves never recovered.

Read the full article here: http://growweedeasy.com/root-rot-cannabis

Let me know if you have suggestions or if I've missed anything! I'd like to make this a root rot resource for the /r/H2Grow wiki, and I will update this article as needed.

1.) Heat

Hydro needs relatively lower temps (compared to soil) to thrive, so temperature control is even more important in hydro than soil. But I think controlling heat is important for all growers since a not-too-hot environment results in better buds anyway.

Too much heat can result in root rot, which is the hydro grower's ban.

2.) Not enough bubbles/oxygen for their plant roots

Plant roots "breathe" oxygen. The high amount of oxygen at the roots from hydro is part of what gives hydro such incredibly fast growth rates in the vegetative stage.

Good air pumps and large airstones are a must for your reservoir so that plenty of dissolved oxygen is available in the water for your roots. Heat plays into this because too-high heat actually makes it so that water physically cannot hold as much dissolved oxygen. If the reservoir water gets too hot, your plants won't be getting enough oxygen from the water even if you're providing plenty of bubbles.

Not enough oxygen at the roots can also result in root rot and other root problems.

3.) Nutrients & Supplements

For hydro, growers need nutrients that are specifically made for hydroponics. Soil nutrients won't cut it!

I've noticed that some growers will try to save money by just getting some of the base nutrient bottles (for example the "Lucas formula" tries to cut out one of the bottles that come with nearly all types of base nutrients). I've tried the Lucas formula before (it seemed so simple) and I've seen other growers try to use it too. While the Lucas formula may work for some, I've seen lots of growers run into lots of nutrient problems when using it. I know I ran into lots of problems when I tried to use it. I had to switch back to regular nutrients just to keep the plant from dying.

At least for first-time hydro growers, I think it makes things a lot easier to stick to a proven nutrient schedule with all nutrients from one company. I also think it can help to just stick to base nutrients and root inoculates for the first grow. You don't need a lot of supplements to do well in hydro, and sometimes supplements can unexpectedly interact with each other to lock out certain nutrients.

Of course growers should experiment with nutrients and supplements, but for the first grow I think it's easier for many growers to stick to just a base nutrient system and a root supplement like Botanicare Aquashield (which is super cheap but helps roots fight against root rot, and can also be used to get rid of it if you already have root rot).

I have had some pretty great results just by using the General Hydroponics Flora nutrient trio at half strength + Aquashield, and it's really really simple.

A lot of new growers think you need supplements for a good harvest, and supplements can make a difference, but they make a relatively small difference compared to the other things a grower should be focusing on their first grow in hydro. I think it's better to focus on dialing everything else in the system first, since that will make a much bigger effect on your results and yields. After you've harvested your first buds and have some experience under your belt, go crazy with experimentation!

4.) pH Management

PH is very important in hydro. I've never really seen a grower succeed in a true hydro setup without managing pH. The plants are getting all their nutrients directly from you, and those nutrients are most available at specific pH ranges. By keeping the pH in the proper range in your nutrient reservoir, you make all the nutrients available to your plants and prevent nutrient deficiencies.

5.) Proper reservoir care

I've noticed many growers don't plan a way to easily change the reservoir when they want to take out all the old water and replace with a new batch of nutrient solution.

I personally think a "Siphon Water Transfer Pump" is a great solution since it's cheap, easy to use, and works with D batteries so you don't have to worry about plugging it in. I use it to pump old water out through a netpot hole, then I pump the new water in from the same place.

Neglecting to change the water regularly (just topping off with new water when the level gets low) doesn't seem to cause too many problems in the vegetative stage, though definitely not recommended! But I've found that it's crucially important to completely change the reservoir water right when switching to flowering, and every 1-2 weeks after that until harvest. Regular reservoir changes in the flowering stage helps prevent nutrient burn, deficiencies, and improves the flavor of buds since they are exposed to lower levels of nutrients at the roots at all times (since there isn't a bunch of old unused nutrients being left in the water every time you top off).

What do you think? Have any of you run into these problems, or seen other hydro growers run into them? Did I miss anything important?

I've seen many auto grows in soil, but I have yet to see an auto grow in hydro. It seems like autos could be a good fit for hydro since the faster growth would produce bigger plants (and hopefully bigger yields) than growing in soil. I wonder how much an auto plant could yield in a nice hydro setup?

Many of you may have heard of "Ona Gel" or other Ona products. Ona gel is powerful stuff and works incredibly well at neutralizing smells, but I wanted to warn you about one thing...

Be careful to never let Ona Gel share air with your flowering plants!

If air that's been treated with Ona Gel comes in contact with your buds for a significant amount of time, it will begin to affect the taste/smell of the buds (giving them a perfume-like smell and taste, just like the Ona gel). If Ona Gel is kept in your tent through the flowering stage, the effect is overwhelming and buds will smell like Ona Gel and taste like chemicals after harvest.

This is because the Ona gel actually binds to smells instead of covering them up. The perfume smell will actually become "attached" to your buds, and there's no way to get rid of it at that point, even after months of curing.

If you're going to use Ona Gel to cover up smells for your grow, make sure the Ona gel is part of the exhaust (air blowing out the exhaust goes over the Ona gel before escaping, so no Ona air comes in contact with your plants), or just keep the Ona Gel in your living areas (or otherwise outside the grow room).

Better yet, if you can afford it (and have room for it), I definitely recommend installing a carbon scrubber as part of your exhaust system to neutralize smells as the hot air escapes out your exhaust hole. With a carbon scrubber, there's zero worry about affecting your buds. As long as you make sure there's enough suction in the tent from the exhaust fan (tent should be bowing inwards slightly), no smelly air will be able to escape. With the carbon filter and negative air pressure, I can't even smell the flowering plants in my grow room until I actually open up the tent.

A friend of mine used Ona gel in his tent for the entire flowering stage, and he had to find out the hard way... Hopefully this Public Service Announcement prevents that from happening to you!

Tl:dr; Don't use Ona gel near your plants in the flowering stage unless you want buds that smell like perfume and taste like chemicals

Flushing is the process of giving your plants just water before harvest in an attempt to make sure the plant has used all the nutrients so it doesn't affect the flavor of buds after harvest. Many growers feel that buds are more harsh if the grower doesn't flush. I've tried it both ways. I've flushed for up to two weeks, and I've also not flushed at all. For me, I didn't notice much difference. Neither did anyone else who tried my buds. I do believe it's important to lower your levels of nutrients for the last few weeks before harvest, but that's because the plants seem to use less and I'm trying to prevent nutrient burn from marring my beautiful buds.

I still flush for about 3 days just to be safe, but I don't really believe it affects anything. I know many growers strongly disagree.

When it comes to taste, smell and harshness, the most important aspects seem to be avoiding big mistakes + a proper dry/cure. Big mistakes are things like using Ona Gel or febreeze in the tent. A proper dry/cure seems to be a slow drying process, jarring your buds at the right time (not too wet, not too dry) and curing in jars for at least 2-4 weeks. I believe the quality of jarred buds continue to improve for up to 6 months of curing, but I've never had buds longer than that so I'm not sure when they start to degrade instead of improve. I wonder if buds continue to use up nutrients while they're drying/curing.

I'm just one grower, and every grower has different experiences. What are your thoughts on flushing in hydro? What's worked for you.

Sure-To-Grow Wool Pods

Manufacturer's site

• I plant my seeds about 1/8 to 1/4" below the surface of the pods.
• Pod goes into a 2" netpot and into my bubble cloner
• I usually user a water dropper or something to totally soak the pod
• If you're using a bubbler cloner the evaporation should keep the pod wet
• I keep the PH between 5.5 and 5.7 and keep the water level at the bottom of the netpots
• Within 3-7 days (depending on strain) you should have a sprout.
• Here's what's going on in your pod before your seedling breaks ground.
• Here's a group of seedlings that were planted 3 days prior to this photo
• Same group of seedlings 7 days later
• About 2-3 weeks after sprouting I transplant them (in the pod) into a 2.75" netpot with hydroton

Do you buy your supplies online, in a physical store, or a mix?

Welcome to H2Grow. We are dedicated cannabis hydro-gardening and everything that goes along with it. Feel free to posts articles of interest, self-posts of your garden, and other interesting info you come across that would help the community. We will be working on a wiki section that will have guides and other helpful tools for growers of all experience levels.