Quote Originally Posted by hybridlove420
ideally the roots should be white, no matter the medium. brown roots cant be good.

also, if the water is cold enough to cause molassas problems (doubt possible), its probably too cold in the first place. the water should be room temp.
Roots won't always be white. The use of organic nutrients and additives will usually cause browning of the roots and this is no problem; however, the roots in the picture are not in good shape.

Molasses is very likely the culprit here. On these boards, I know of two people who have posted about molasses use in DWC: Weedhound and myself. Both of these attempts were met with horrid results. This is a picture of mine after molasses (note the resemblance?) and here is Weedhound's post. I don't think there is much you can do for them at this point; they'll either grow new roots... or they won't. I stopped using molasses (obviously) and started using Botanicare's Hydroguard. Instead of molasses, pick another carbohydrate supply, I'm using Botanicare's Sweet. It's more expensive than molasses, but it doesn't F%#* my stuff up

You need to drop your pH in a hydroponic setup to circa 5.8 (+/- 0.2). The temperatures are probably not a problem. Cooler water will hold more oxygen, providing a better atmosphere for the roots. Obviously you can go too cold, but I stay around 65degF.