Fixing root rot: Hydroguard v Southern Ag Garden Friendly Fungicide

Ya this topic had gone on in a lot of threads and still facts are facts. SAG is an inferior product to keep your res healthy. Just because it has so much more live bacteria didn't make it better. It's not even the same strain of bacteria either. It's actually counter intuitive.
In regards to hydroponic applications, don't think there are any hard facts from actual scientific research yet comparing the different strains. If it does exist I would love to read it. Only thing we do have are anecdotal experiences. It is debatable how much more effective. Works for me with reduce dosage. Even if the strain is less aggressive it is still way way cheaper & accessible.

People are using way too much SAG GFF and getting buildup due to excessive concentrations. To put in perspective, 1mL of GFF has 5x more Cfu than an entire 1L bottle of Hydroguard. My theory is with so much bacteria concentration they multiply like crazy, die off when food source depletes and leave gunk behind.

What if people apply the same excessive amount of Hydroguard would buildup still occur? Someone should try dumping several bottles in the reservoir to test.
 

pdasterly

Active Member
In regards to hydroponic applications, don't think there are any hard facts from actual scientific research yet comparing the different strains. If it does exist I would love to read it. Only thing we do have are anecdotal experiences. It is debatable how much more effective. Works for me with reduce dosage. Even if the strain is less aggressive it is still way way cheaper & accessible.

People are using way too much SAG GFF and getting buildup due to excessive concentrations. To put in perspective, 1mL of GFF has 5x more Cfu than an entire 1L bottle of Hydroguard. My theory is with so much bacteria concentration they multiply like crazy, die off when food source depletes and leave gunk behind.

What if people apply the same excessive amount of Hydroguard would buildup still occur? Someone should try dumping several bottles in the reservoir to test.
ive done 6x rate of hydroguard to get ahold of some root issues
 

macsnax

Well-Known Member
In regards to hydroponic applications, don't think there are any hard facts from actual scientific research yet comparing the different strains. If it does exist I would love to read it. Only thing we do have are anecdotal experiences. It is debatable how much more effective. Works for me with reduce dosage. Even if the strain is less aggressive it is still way way cheaper & accessible.

People are using way too much SAG GFF and getting buildup due to excessive concentrations. To put in perspective, 1mL of GFF has 5x more Cfu than an entire 1L bottle of Hydroguard. My theory is with so much bacteria concentration they multiply like crazy, die off when food source depletes and leave gunk behind.

What if people apply the same excessive amount of Hydroguard would buildup still occur? Someone should try dumping several bottles in the reservoir to test.
I don't think it would from personal experience. In the name of science someone should do it though lol
 

Moonmanyyc

Active Member
On Saturday this plant had no protruding roots and the ones inside the pot were all turning brown and barely growing. This is the recovery 5 days later with the city water. The other plant that I'm still using the other water on still has no protruding roots and the ones inside the pot are still brown. Say what you want pal but seeing is believing. I could care less what you think, I'll stick to what results tell me.
Hey RRaider what is it your now using in your dwc system that keeps you roots so nice and white?
 

R.Raider

Well-Known Member
Ohhh, the horrible nightmares of the past in this thread lol. Guess I should just be happy that it is the past now. Been almost a year free of root rot(fusarium in my case).

@Moonmanyyc I'm now using the exact same thing that I was in that pic, which is city tap water(not the same water as where I live). I had to disinfect the living fuck out everything(equipment, floors, benches and anything that could of come in contact with the infected plants/water), tossed out all my plants, started over from new seeds and haul out city water here every week now.

Bottom line dude is I needed a different water source. Didn't matter that I had an r/o unit that took my water TDS down to 0ppm and a UV filter. Most people think that 0ppm is all the same no matter the source but I can tell you first hand that it's not.

By any chance have you moved recently? Do you for sure have a root rot issue or do you maybe just have nutrient stain? My roots don't stay as white as they are in that picture. They eventually turn brownish from the micro nutrients the bigger they get. But they're still healthy as fuck though.
 
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Moonmanyyc

Active Member
Ohhh, the horrible nightmares of the past in this thread lol. Guess I should just be happy that it is the past now. Been almost a year free of root rot(fusarium in my case).

@Moonmanyyc I'm now using the exact same thing that I was in that pic, which is city tap water(not the same water as where I live). I had to disinfect the living fuck out everything(equipment, floors, benches and anything that could of come in contact with the infected plants/water), tossed out all my plants, started over from new seeds and haul out city water here every week now.

Bottom line dude is I needed a different water source. Didn't matter that I had an r/o unit that took my water TDS down to 0ppm and a UV filter. Most people think that 0ppm is all the same no matter the source but I can tell you first hand that it's not.

By any chance have you moved recently? Do you for sure have a root rot issue or do you maybe just have nutrient stain? My roots don't stay as white as they are in that picture. They eventually turn brownish from the micro nutrients the bigger they get. But they're still healthy as fuck though.
I did have a minor issue brown slime but running with Orca and Subculture M now and roots are white as an be. But when I do change res roots are stained a little until day 3 then they are totally white again. I still live in the city and use tap water and try to keep temps 19-20C or under just running 5 gal dwc buckets and same thing last run the bigger my roots got the more the staining you could see but no slime or smell. And had a great harvest 1035 grams dry in my 5x5 tent. But I learned a lot from your input here so thanks bud. Keep in touch
 

WeedSexWeightsShakes

Well-Known Member
i am not having much luck in DWC using GFF but it works great in my flood and drain setup.
maybe it’s my tap water in dwc that doesn’t work well? But I use the same water to clone and have no issues. Maybe too much GFF in my buckets?
Any suggestions?
Might try uc roots and if that doesn’t work I won’t do dwc since it’s just a small hobby grow.
Btw I don’t want to bring in water. So if it doesn’t work then no biggie
 

R.Raider

Well-Known Member
i am not having much luck in DWC using GFF but it works great in my flood and drain setup.
maybe it’s my tap water in dwc that doesn’t work well? But I use the same water to clone and have no issues. Maybe too much GFF in my buckets?
Any suggestions?
Might try uc roots and if that doesn’t work I won’t do dwc since it’s just a small hobby grow.
Btw I don’t want to bring in water. So if it doesn’t work then no biggie
Are you in a rural location or city? If you're in a city than it's highly unlikely a water issue. What are your water temps like? Air pumps/stones? Light leaks?
 

WeedSexWeightsShakes

Well-Known Member
Are you in a rural location or city? If you're in a city than it's highly unlikely a water issue. What are your water temps like? Air pumps/stones? Light leaks?
small city water ppms are like 220. I don’t think it’s a water issue either tho. Water temps have been a range from 68-74 I’d guess. Air stones with a 793gph pump for 3 5 gallon buckets. 2 stones per bucket. I did have some light leaks but I’ve fixed It. Maybe I need to soak my air stones in h2o2 or something just in case? Maybe my stones are contaminated or the auto I have going still has root damage that I haven’t taken care of correctly?
 

R.Raider

Well-Known Member
small city water ppms are like 220. I don’t think it’s a water issue either tho. Water temps have been a range from 68-74 I’d guess. Air stones with a 793gph pump for 3 5 gallon buckets. 2 stones per bucket. I did have some light leaks but I’ve fixed It. Maybe I need to soak my air stones in h2o2 or something just in case? Maybe my stones are contaminated or the auto I have going still has root damage that I haven’t taken care of correctly?
Hmm, tough call. Wouldn't hurt to clean and disinfect everything, especially since you have such a small set up. Sometimes though, depending on how bad the root rot is you might just need a little patience. Usually once a guy fixes the issues he was having it still takes the plants a few days to start to recover. Sounds like you have the most important stuff in check. Just as long as your plants don't have a disease like mine did you should be ok I think. Are you sure it's root rot and not just nutrient stain? Feel free to post a pic or 2 if you want. Amazing group of guys here in this thread...mostly lol.
 

WeedSexWeightsShakes

Well-Known Member
Hmm, tough call. Wouldn't hurt to clean and disinfect everything, especially since you have such a small set up. Sometimes though, depending on how bad the root rot is you might just need a little patience. Usually once a guy fixes the issues he was having it still takes the plants a few days to start to recover. Sounds like you have the most important stuff in check. Just as long as your plants don't have a disease like mine did you should be ok I think. Are you sure it's root rot and not just nutrient stain? Feel free to post a pic or 2 if you want. Amazing group of guys here in this thread...mostly lol.
when I get home I’ll snap a pic of the plant and roots. I kind of don’t want to cause it’s embarrassing how pathetic it is lol! I just want to get it figured out so I can grow 3 autos for fun in my veg tent. Thanks for your help. I changed the water yesterday and will be back home tomorrow sometime.
 

R.Raider

Well-Known Member
my real grow is nothing like this lol
Yep that's root rot alright lol. Looks like you're pretty far along in flowering too so not sure if their is anything you can do to turn those ones around at this stage. Only thing I could suggest is to make sure you disinfect all your equipment before putting any new plants in there and to really make sure you keep a close eye on the water temps.
 

WeedSexWeightsShakes

Well-Known Member
Yep that's root rot alright lol. Looks like you're pretty far along in flowering too so not sure if their is anything you can do to turn those ones around at this stage. Only thing I could suggest is to make sure you disinfect all your equipment before putting any new plants in there and to really make sure you keep a close eye on the water temps.
what is the best way to disinfect air stones? Soak in h202?
 

avillax

Well-Known Member
Bump. I bought the Southern AG, took 1 ml, mixed with 20 ml RO water and applied it to my DWC reservoirs at 1ml/gallon today. When should I repeat the dosage? or should I repeat the dosage at all? Frankly, I'm not thinking on doing water changes, why? Because a local pro told me so: he says fertilizer companies promote the do weekly water changes to make money. Doing wwc seems a hasle and a large expenditure of RO water and fertilizers. So far, I have been growing in 2x 11 gal capacity reservoirs for 4 weeks in my balcony without WC without issues. Temps go from 68 - 78F. I keep a fan to lower them and can only keep this acceptable range during winter in my country. My babies haven't shown any problems or deficiencies, except that today I decided to do water changes to start applying the SAG. Before that, I was applying H202 to prevent slime, which, only one of the tanks developed a tiny bit and 10% of that plant's roots have mild slime on it (will this be solved now that I added the SAG? or I need to treat the roots in any way. So now I have done the WC and applied the SAG to the reservoirs, will let you know of developments.
 

macsnax

Well-Known Member
Bump. I bought the Southern AG, took 1 ml, mixed with 20 ml RO water and applied it to my DWC reservoirs at 1ml/gallon today. When should I repeat the dosage? or should I repeat the dosage at all? Frankly, I'm not thinking on doing water changes, why? Because a local pro told me so: he says fertilizer companies promote the do weekly water changes to make money. Doing wwc seems a hasle and a large expenditure of RO water and fertilizers. So far, I have been growing in 2x 11 gal capacity reservoirs for 4 weeks in my balcony without WC without issues. Temps go from 68 - 78F. I keep a fan to lower them and can only keep this acceptable range during winter in my country. My babies haven't shown any problems or deficiencies, except that today I decided to do water changes to start applying the SAG. Before that, I was applying H202 to prevent slime, which, only one of the tanks developed a tiny bit and 10% of that plant's roots have mild slime on it (will this be solved now that I added the SAG? or I need to treat the roots in any way. So now I have done the WC and applied the SAG to the reservoirs, will let you know of developments.
SAG really isn't all that people crack it up to be for treating water. Too much build up of dead colonies. Mix that buildup with you not changing water and your gonna end up with sludge on everything. Give it a go you'll see....... As far as changing water in your dwc? I think it's important, you can only top off so much before it starts getting nasty, discolored, just yuk in there lol. I'm kinda anal to though, I clean my reservoirs every week. Drain what's left and bleach them..... Your better off paying the extra 20 for hydrogaurd though, SAG simply put isn't made for this application. Run it long enough and you'll see why.
 
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