# Musty/Mildew Smell in DWC Bucket......



## spaceface (Apr 17, 2013)

Hey everyone.  I recently had a slight problem with slime in one of my DWC buckets.  After scrubbing with bleach water and adding new airstones everything was fine.  

However, the musty/mildew smell has come back. My water is clean, there is no slime....and the plant "seems" to be healthy.  The roots are white.  I can't figure it out.  Everything is light proof.  I haven't started nutes yet.  I compared bucket A to bucket B, and, bucket A is the only one with the smell.

Any ideas as to what this may be/become of?  As always, I appreciate your taking your time to read as well your help.  Thanks.


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## ShecallshimThor (Apr 17, 2013)

If running just water couple questions to help others answer

What's your ph?
What's the temp in the smelly one and non smelly?
What nutes do you plan on running?


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## trillions of atoms (Apr 17, 2013)

Is your grow area clean?

Or is it in a basement or similar?  Is the air pump sitting where mold/mildew spores could get sucked into it and end up in the water?

Enough arreation?

Water temps?


How big are plants and why no nutes? 

Maybe need to run h202....


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## spaceface (Apr 18, 2013)

trillions of atoms said:
			
		

> Is your grow area clean?
> 
> Or is it in a basement or similar?  Is the air pump sitting where mold/mildew spores could get sucked into it and end up in the water?
> 
> ...



Yes there is enough aeration....At least I think there is.  I have only two buckets going.  Each with about 3 gallons of water in them.  My air pump is 35 watts.  The water bubbles pretty darn good.  My temps in the buckets are in between 70 degrees F - 72 degrees F.  I haven't started nutes yet because they are tiny seedlings and NO MATTER where I look I cannot find a definitive answer when to start nutes in DWC so I just wait until they get the 3 leaf.  I ran h2o2 I gave my pot lid a bath in a h2o2 solution and scrubbed my res with bleach water.  The smell came back, but no slime.  My grow area is in my upstairs home office.  It is clean and my ladies reside in a tent.  My tent is as well properly ventilated.



			
				ShecallshimThor said:
			
		

> If running just water couple questions to help others answer
> 
> What's your ph?
> What's the temp in the smelly one and non smelly?
> What nutes do you plan on running?



Thanks for your reply.  My ph fluctuates from apprx. 5.2 to 6.2 over the course of a few days.  The temps in the buckets are the same.  I'm planning on using Advanced Nutrients  Jungle Juice? line.  (The one with the ape on it.)  I sue the Lucas Formula with it.  I had amazing results last go with a strain called free kush.  The same stuff I got going now.....Only this time I have a problem.

Thanks again for your help.  I appreciate it.


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## trillions of atoms (Apr 18, 2013)

Is the grow area clean?

Is the grow area in an area like a basement?


What's the relative humidity?

Does it smell at all in the grow area like it (or mildew etc) or adjoining areas?


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## trillions of atoms (Apr 18, 2013)

What I'm getting at is if you look around can you think of anywhere where mold/mildew might have formed and is some how traveled to the air pump and into the bucket.  Maybe it's only on one bucket because the spores are only on that side of the room?

If its in a basement cracked foundations can form and you not know it, letting moisture in which can form mold/ mildews.   Clogged condensate pumps on home hvac units are notorious for clogging and causing issues with water damage... Mold n mildew follow....


Just trying to see if its in the grow chamber, adjoining areas might be the cause or maybe just in the airstone(s)


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## pcduck (Apr 18, 2013)

> NO MATTER where I look I cannot find a definitive answer when to start nutes in DWC



If I have a plant in my bucket, I also have nutes.
The smaller the plant the weaker the solution.

That is my definitive answer:aok:


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## Hushpuppy (Apr 18, 2013)

Since you are only smelling the mildew in one bucket, I would say that the fungus had grown roots into some of the tinyest cracks and pores in the bucket wall, and when you cleaned them out, you missed those tiniest bits. Now they are probably trying to come back but are being held in check by the h2o2. There is just enough left there to be able to smell it. I would say to just keep on like you are and every other time you add water, add some h2o2 to keep it in check.

On feeding a seedling; If you look at the first leaves that they got, they are little, round, single blade, pair of leaves. Those are different from the true leaves that form after that. I don't feed my seedlings until I see those round leaves begin to turn yellow, then I feed only about 300ppm for the first week. If I see good growth by the end of the first week, I will up nutes to about 400ppm, and just keep watching the growth and raising the ppm until I get to about 600-700. I hold there until they go into flower.


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## spaceface (Apr 18, 2013)

pcduck said:
			
		

> If I have a plant in my bucket, I also have nutes.
> The smaller the plant the weaker the solution.
> 
> That is my definitive answer:aok:



Awesome!.....Appreciate it Duck. 



			
				trillions of atoms said:
			
		

> What I'm getting at is if you look around can  you think of anywhere where mold/mildew might have formed and is some  how traveled to the air pump and into the bucket.  Maybe it's only on  one bucket because the spores are only on that side of the room?
> 
> If its in a basement cracked foundations can form and you not know it,  letting moisture in which can form mold/ mildews.   Clogged condensate  pumps on home hvac units are notorious for clogging and causing issues  with water damage... Mold n mildew follow....
> 
> ...



Thanks TOA.  My setup is not in the basement and is clean.  I have never ran across any mold mildew in my tent.  However, don't shun me for this.  Because on my part this was pretty asinine.

After my last grow I simply washed the bucket out with soap and water.  I drained my medium.  Which is river rocks.  They sat nasty in the bucket for a while.  

When time came, I boiled them for an hour with a bit of soap.  Then I washed them in the tub with bleach and rinsed well.  The res however, I only washed out with soap and for the real ******* move, I used the same airstone.  

After I first noticed the problem I took it down.  Bathed the net pot lid a h2o2 solution for about 20 minutes.  Scrubbed res and airline with bleach water and reassured that the bucket was indeed light proof.  Cjanged water, put in new bigger airstone.  Smell was gone.  A day or so later it returned but without the slime.  Do you think the hot glue residue left at the bottom of the res from the last airstone has anything to do with it perhaps?  

As far as the air pump being infected with spores.  I think it's fair to rule out that assessment just due to the fact the other bucket is not affected and they are connected to the same pump and share a common line and are within 10 inches of each other.  

Thanks again everyone for posting your insights.


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## spaceface (Apr 18, 2013)

Hushpuppy said:
			
		

> Since you are only smelling the mildew in one bucket, I would say that the fungus had grown roots into some of the tinyest cracks and pores in the bucket wall, and when you cleaned them out, you missed those tiniest bits. Now they are probably trying to come back but are being held in check by the h2o2. There is just enough left there to be able to smell it. I would say to just keep on like you are and every other time you add water, add some h2o2 to keep it in check.
> 
> On feeding a seedling; If you look at the first leaves that they got, they are little, round, single blade, pair of leaves. Those are different from the true leaves that form after that. I don't feed my seedlings until I see those round leaves begin to turn yellow, then I feed only about 300ppm for the first week. If I see good growth by the end of the first week, I will up nutes to about 400ppm, and just keep watching the growth and raising the ppm until I get to about 600-700. I hold there until they go into flower.



Very useful and calming.  Thank you much.  Would you suggest before I change my next solution that I scrub the res one last good time and soak the net pot lid in a h2o2 solution as well?

Also, do you's clean/sanitize your res before every solution change?  Or just give it a simple hot water rinse?


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## pcduck (Apr 18, 2013)

I did not use a rez, I had individual buckets.

I used the same bucket for 4 weeks of veg, plus how many weeks they were in flower without sanitizing my buckets. Just pump them out weekly then add new nutes.

Once the grow/bucket had completed I would immediately clean bucket/air stones/hydroton all in a 10% bleach/water solution.


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## trillions of atoms (Apr 18, 2013)

I just hot rinse everything but with an antibacterial soap.... Rinse and go... After harvest.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 18, 2013)

Have you checked the ppms of the water you are starting with?  Is this city water or well water?


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## Hushpuppy (Apr 18, 2013)

While my setup is a little different(I don't run DWC, mine is a hybrid), I do clean out pretty much like PC and TOA. 

Mold and mildew spores are everywhere in our environment, and one minor thing missed can allow some spore to get in and take off. Typically a good rinse and general cleaning after each run is sufficient to prevent fungal growth. But it seems like once you have a fungal bloom, even if you kill it off, it never completely goes away. Like I said earlier, even the smallest cracks and crevices like the hot glue in the bottom of the bucket or the millions of pores in the airstone can house and protect fungal material. Then it doesn't take but the tiniest bit to be able to smell it.

It is a judgement call as to how much you should do at this point. If you have an extra bucket, you could soak the stinky bucket again with h2o2 and see if that gets it(and soak the airstone as well), or you can just add a little h2o2 at each rez change to hold it down until the end of this run


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## spaceface (Apr 22, 2013)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> Have you checked the ppms of the water you are starting with?  Is this city water or well water?



Sorry for the delay in answering...Busy weekend.  I am using R/O water.  The starting PPM's of the water is 001 ppm.




			
				Hushpuppy said:
			
		

> While my setup is a little different(I don't run DWC,  mine is a hybrid), I do clean out pretty much like PC and TOA.
> 
> Mold and mildew spores are everywhere in our environment, and one minor  thing missed can allow some spore to get in and take off. Typically a  good rinse and general cleaning after each run is sufficient to prevent  fungal growth. But it seems like once you have a fungal bloom, even if  you kill it off, it never completely goes away. Like I said earlier,  even the smallest cracks and crevices like the hot glue in the bottom of  the bucket or the millions of pores in the airstone can house and  protect fungal material. Then it doesn't take but the tiniest bit to be  able to smell it.
> 
> It is a judgement call as to how much you should do at this point. If  you have an extra bucket, you could soak the stinky bucket again with  h2o2 and see if that gets it(and soak the airstone as well), or you can  just add a little h2o2 at each rez change to hold it down until the end  of this run



Thanks Hushpuppy..  I have no problem adding h2o2 to the rez every change.  I assume about 10ml of h2o2 per gallon of water?  Also, the biggest thing I am concerned about when adding the h2o2 is killing off the Aquashield I use.  Will h2o2 kill off the Aquashield?  Again, thank you all who take your time to post and help.

I attached a pic for reference.  The problem is outlined in red.  I'm getting ready to change out my water and am gonna scrub the bucket a bit.


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## pcduck (Apr 22, 2013)

What nutes are you using? and why are you using AquaShield?
As a beginner I would stick with one brand name of nutes and use their's throughout the grow. I would not mix nute companies.


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## spaceface (Apr 22, 2013)

pcduck said:
			
		

> What nutes are you using? and why are you using AquaShield?
> As a beginner I would stick with one brand name of nutes and use their's throughout the grow. I would not mix nute companies.



I use the Advanced Nutrients Jungle Juice line.  I used Aquashield last grow wit the AN nutes and it kept my rez beautiful.  Water was always clean no fungal problems whatsoever beaming white roots....It worked great for me last time.  

Also, I took my bucket down to clean.  I soaked my airstone is straight h2o2 and the thing lit up like an alka-seltzer.  I also noticed on the bottom of my airline at were it was connected, that, there was a pinkish/reddish build up on the line.....Thanks.


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## Hushpuppy (Apr 22, 2013)

I believe the pinkish/reddish slime is actually algae formation. I get a little of it in mine each run but I just wash it out good after each run. How are you liking the jungle juice? I have been using it for over a year now and really like the results with it. I can open my resevoirs and smell them and they smell like fresh rich soil


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## spaceface (Apr 28, 2013)

Hushpuppy said:
			
		

> I believe the pinkish/reddish slime is actually algae formation. I get a little of it in mine each run but I just wash it out good after each run. How are you liking the jungle juice? I have been using it for over a year now and really like the results with it. I can open my resevoirs and smell them and they smell like fresh rich soil



Thanks Hushpuppy!  I finally got rid of the smell and all that...been going great since my last post to this thread.  My lady has really taken off!  I love the jungle juice stuff.  I too like that fresh earthy smell from it!  It does smell exactly like some fresh good soil.  I'm so glad everything is ok now.  Do you use any additives with it Hush?  I got some big bud to use with it this time..


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## Hushpuppy (Apr 29, 2013)

I am glad to hear that yer girl is getting better. I use a couple different things depending on a few things. One thing that I always use is Technaflora's Magical, which is cal/mag additive. I use that all the way through my grow because I grow in coco which requires higher amounts of cal/mag. I also use Thrive Alive when I set clones and when I move them into flowering. I use it just as a booster for the plants.

I have been experimenting with Hygrozyme and so far I have been getting some decent results but the jury is still out on that. It is cool though as it smells just like beer.


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