# algae on rockwool



## Shocked (Nov 18, 2007)

have a cutting in a cube inside a ziplock bag, and after a week algae is beginning to form on the top.  Is this bad and if so what should i do?  The cutting has not formed roots yet so should i just change the cube?

thanks


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## Growdude (Nov 18, 2007)

Shocked said:
			
		

> have a cutting in a cube inside a ziplock bag, and after a week algae is beginning to form on the top. Is this bad and if so what should i do? The cutting has not formed roots yet so should i just change the cube?
> 
> thanks


 
I put my rockwool cubes in a tray then I can bury them in hydroton so the surface of the rock wool stays dark , thats keeps the algae from forming.


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## lyfr (Nov 19, 2007)

when i got algae on my RW i took a 5% bleach solution and dabbed it on affected AReas w/small paint brush .i would avoid doing it right befor watering so it doesnt get washed to your roots!this may not be the best way but it worked! good luck


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## Shocked (Nov 23, 2007)

In alot of the pics i see on the site here i notice that there is something else in the center of the rockwool, first I thought it was an acorn :|  What are they?


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## lyfr (Nov 23, 2007)

i think your talkin about root plugs/cubes.there used to start seeds/clones rooting befor planting. Rockwool plugs should be used in RW i thing,but i got stuck with clones in oasis cubes... if your talkin about the "acorns" like in my grow!


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## KADE (Nov 26, 2007)

algae will not hurt anything... as long as things dont go out of control... i'm assuming res changes are regular and whatnot.... rockwool and algae isn't a problem.


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## Shocked (Nov 30, 2007)

KADE said:
			
		

> algae will not hurt anything... as long as things dont go out of control... i'm assuming res changes are regular and whatnot.... rockwool and algae isn't a problem.


 


I just read an artical that tested the effects of algae on lettuce in a hydropinc system, particularly a drip system.  It said that algae wasn't harmful for the crop but does hog nutrients and did effect the yield compared to a control set up with-out any algae present.

As for an anti-fungal solution can someone throw me a link to where they bought theirs please.  I've jumped to a couple of sites and my search brings up nothing.  Thanks


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## bombbudpuffa (Nov 30, 2007)

Algae can change the ph too. I think it raises it.(?)


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## KADE (Nov 30, 2007)

It eats nutrients.... obviously...... or it wouldn't grow. But not to any extent that it'll hurt bud production...  the amount of algae that fits on the top of what... a 5'' cube... is miniscule.

Algae increases ph...... but it will stabilize once the top of the rockwool is done being covered by it.


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## Shocked (Dec 1, 2007)

KADE said:
			
		

> It eats nutrients.... obviously...... or it wouldn't grow. But not to any extent that it'll hurt bud production... the amount of algae that fits on the top of what... a 5'' cube... is miniscule.
> 
> Algae increases ph...... but it will stabilize once the top of the rockwool is done being covered by it.


 

True.  Thanks for your comments, I guess not having dealt with all of this before is making me over cautious.  As long as the algae isn't hurtin the plant or messing the rockwool up then all is good.


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## KADE (Dec 1, 2007)

Shocked said:
			
		

> True. Thanks for your comments, I guess not having dealt with all of this before is making me over cautious. As long as the algae isn't hurtin the plant or messing the rockwool up then all is good.


 
yeah, she'll get nasty lookin sometimes.... i just dont see the point on wasting money buying those plastic caps for the wool, when I have no problems neways.... i've been doin it for years and haven't ever had a problem.


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## Shocked (Dec 3, 2007)

Now I have some algae showing on the hydroton.  Should I not worry about this either?  I have done some searches on hydro store sites for antibacterial/antifungus agents and the only thing that ever turns up is rootone and similiar brands.  Could I put a couple of dashes of that into my solution?


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