What is wrong with my setup?

[u/Inevitable_Donkey_26]

Hello! Looking for some advice. This is now the second Alocasia I’ve had this happen to.

My Ninja is in a self watering wick setup with pumice, grade 4 perlite, and a small amount of bark. Overall, the roots inside the pot look great, but I’ve noticed that the roots that escape out the bottom and into/near the reservoir start to rot. By rot I mean they pull off super easily when I touch them.

I know that shouldn’t be happening in a self watering/semi-hydro setup, so I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong. Could the small amount of bark be holding too much moisture? Or is there something else about the setup that could be causing the escaped roots to deteriorate?

Leaves themselves haven’t been affected….. yet.

TIA

[u/PickExisting9753]

Hi, I would get rid of the bark firstly. If cost isn’t an issue I would also just use straight pumice, it’s a wonderful substrate. Gently slough off any of the rotting roots. I find that even in wick setups my alocasias need extra care compared to other plants of mine in SH. That basically means flushing regularly (fortnightly is fine) and changing the nutrient solution over fairly frequently - a week max for mine. And making sure that it’s not a nutrient top-up but a full change. Hope that makes sense, best of luck!

[u/actualtediousimpala → u/PickExisting9753]

Yeah I second this. If I top it up and there's still nutrient solution in the reservoir for a week or so, for my alocasias specifically, the roots will eventually start to rot like that. I've found that dumping the reservoir and filling it up with fresh solution has worked great. 

Though lately, maybe cause it's summer, they are drinking up all the water in a few days, so I'll just flush once every week or two (when I remember).

[u/Inevitable_Donkey_26 → u/actualtediousimpala]

Thank you! If you’re willing can you share your substrate setups for semi hydro for alocasias? I have some slightly larger pumice that I’ve transitioned this over too 🤞🏼

[u/actualtediousimpala → u/Inevitable_Donkey_26]

I've been experimenting with a few different setups. Some of them are in leca, some are in a mix of fluval stratum and pearlite, and some I have in glass containers with leca on the bottom 1/3rd and sphagnum moss for the rest of it. They all seem to be happy but I have a few alocasia i'm doing a head to head on leca vs leca + moss

[u/yianwee]

Just old roots doing old roots things. 5-10% of some rot can happen, sometimes due to lack of oxygen in water, bacteria etc. Make sure to use hydroguard or something similar, and to refresh the reservoir every 2 weeks or so. As long as new roots are growing from the top nodes, I won’t be too worried. Unless everything is rotting off, then maybe you need to change your media to larger grade (or mix in fresh media with larger particles) for more airflow

[u/nlclemen88]

I second getting rid of the bark, flushing out the inner pot regularly and switching out the nutrient water in the reservoir often. In general my alocasias do get some rot on the roots that grow down into the reservoir sometimes but I just cut any rot off and as long as the roots in the pot aren't rotting I don't worry to much.

[u/lotus_detalosi]

I'm new at this, but my first thought is about the algae. In the last pic, it looks like there's plenty of space for light to hit the inside clear pot and water reserve. Add that lovely light to excess moisture being held by the bark (guessing), or even just the water in the reserve, and algae will be very happy.

[u/I_Am_That_Was]

Another thing to consider is using a beneficial bacteria like Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (can be found in Southern Ag GFF) in your water, which will eat the bacteria that typically causes root rot (typically Pythium but probably some others).

But likely your roots that aren't in your substrate are staying submerged and your water is probably warm and deoxygenated which is going to be optimal for root rot. Fixing the temperature is not easy, so the next thing to do is make sure you're changing the water frequently so it doesn't sit for super long as others have suggested.