Cut off Roots?

I am on my 15th day of flower and I’m using an Autopot with 5gallon buckets x 4 plants in a 4x4 tent with HPS 1000 watt. My issue is that the roots have gotten So large that it is impeding the water to bottom feed as efficient as before. Should I cut my roots off at the bottom? They look a little brownish but I think from the nutrients, no rot at all. I just got done using Azomax to get rid of fungus gnats that we’re eating my plants and my roots. Would Not use it again. The gnats are still here and eating my fan leaves. Can H3O3 kill them? How much do I put in a 16 gallon reservoir? Help us appreciated.
Thanks

Are you using the copper disc inside?? And a good layer of aeration/pebbles at the bottom? This is supposed to prevent that from happening.

Fungus gnats don't eat leaf material, they eat fungus. I have tried all available remedies with little sucess.
A layer of sand over your medium will get rid of them.

Yes I'd cut them neat to the bottom of the pot.

I think it's H202 you're thinking of, idk how effective that is.

I have clay pebbles for my medium in each 5 gallon pot. Great aeration so I’m not sure why they are there. Copper ring? No. Should I? If I’m missing something let me know. I’ve never heard of that PopandSons

HydroDan - I was told that is what I had and it was messing up my roots and the way the plant was growing. Like 3 leaves on some fan leaves and twisted bud sites. They just looked like they were dying and chuncks of my leaves were eaten off. Didn’t see anything flying. I had larvae in my water reservoir. That’s why I tried the Azomax.

Yes, H202 I heard could be effective if added to the reservoir.
Thanks for the feedback Star Dog. I will cut the root and let you know how it is going. I will upload some pictures soon.

Your autopot should have a copper coated root control disk to help stop roots going out the bottom of the pot.

Thank you. Is the picture the control disk? Is it just something that goes under the pot like a sheet? Do most grow places have these?

I did cut my roots but they were actually rotten and came off with my hand, no scissors needed. I am running my auto pots for 30 minutes instead of 15 every 3 hours to feed. I tried the 15 but the feeding wasn’t reaching all the roots. When I put my hand into my clay pebbles the water wasn’t going high enough into my pots to touch the end of my fingers. I use Nirvana and Sensizym for roots but still have that. I am actual at day 16 of flower. Is there anything I can do to fix the root rot? Also I still have something eating my leaves. So frustrating. I see no bugs flying and none on the leaves but still large bites. Let me know. I sure appreciate the comments and help you all have given to me!!!!

RickBudsha said:

Thank you. Is the picture the control disk? Is it just something that goes under the pot like a sheet? Do most grow places have these?

Click to expand...

The "root control disk" should have a thin copper layer on it. It usually comes included with the Autopot, but you can also buy it separately from all places that stock the Autopot itself.
The "IWS" system also has these.

It goes in the bottom of the tray and should completely avoid any root froms growing into the tray or valve. For me it worked totally fine (I had plenty of roots at the bottom of my pot, but none were growing outside at all).

RickBudsha said:

I have clay pebbles for my medium in each 5 gallon pot. Great aeration so I’m not sure why they are there.

Click to expand...

You should put about 1 inch of pure Perlite or pure clay pebbles in the bottom of the pot, so the actual grow medium will sit above the water line, and to improve drainage. It will probably also lead to fewer roots growing towards the very bottom.

Do you actually use pure clay pebbles only in your grow (i.e. nothing else like coco, vermiculite or peat)?

Thank you Star Dog!!!! I will put them in today.

I am not familiar with that kind of setup, but I'm using DWC and I have 3 small drains with removable screens to reduce/equalize drain flow and prevent clogs. The feed is above the water level. I also have inline valves to further control drain flow.

I was doing DWC before this set up. I was tired of changing the water in each individual bucket every week so I went with this. It is more automated and does bottom feeding ebb and flow type. First round with this set up and I will put some pictures soon. I will be at 21 days of flower Sunday so I will update with pics.

RickBudsha said:

Thank you Star Dog!!!! I will put them in today.

Click to expand...

I'm awfully sorry bud I've only just seen your post, I'm sure you could find the equivalent on eBay it's used in landscaping/weed control, lol weed control no pun intended.

It's worth bearing in mind that some auto pots need hand watering until roots come out of the bottom or the valve can't recycle, it's been a while but ircc the lowest point of the pot isn't low enough to lower the sump level to the recycle point it needs the roots just to just tipp it over the edge...If the sump was 3mm deeper or the value sat 3mm higher the issue wouldn't exist, or that's the case with my ones.

Thank you. I use my own clones and make sure that the roots hit the water line that I set. I have some pics. The front ones are not doing as good as the back two. Not sure how to fix that other than adding another fan. I have one fan in the corner on my tent but it misses right underneath. That is where the less attractive plants are. These are MAC 11 at day 21 yesterday. Tell me what you think