CHIEF

I think I had the same thing you are talking about... found it was a cyanobacteria posing as an algae. raised the ph in hours!! tried peroxide, dm zone, aquashield, daily change outs... etc. only thing I found that worked were beneficials. that bacteria doesn't need light and loves oxygen. physan 20 kills it, and was the only thing I could clean with once I got the slime. bleach did nothing. if you do have this bacteria, then I found that sterilizing with physan 20 kills it off, and beneficials (earth worm compost tea, Great White, etc) will keep it from coming back. the slime can't compete with the beneficials once they are established. Hygrozyme, carbs, molasses, etc will all feed the slime so don't use them. The trick to keep the slime away is to add the beneficials to the rez every three days... but not to feed them. if you provide an excess of food for the beneficials, then the slime bacteria will have enough food to prosper. make EWC tea and save it in the fridge for 7-10 days (after that it's unusable). Add the tea every three days to the rez to keep the slime at bay. you will see your ph stabilize. I currently use Great White because I can just add it without brewing the tea... but it's more expensive.

there was a shortage of cannabis in Europe in 2007 because of this bacteria. I now have a vendetta against this stuff, and would be happy to assist you in anyway if the problem reoccurs.

it is commonly misdiagnosed as root rot, but this is because it CAUSES root rot by asphixiating (sp?) roots.

after reading your post a second time... I think you should continue adding the beneficials on a regular schedule and don't feed them in the reservoir. I found that less-than-complete beneficials don't work against this stuff, and neither does cleaning with anything other than Physan 20. You can run 1-2 ml Physan in 30 gal rez for 24 hours to kill the bacteria. Watch the plants closely though once the Physan goes in because just a little too much kills them, and not enough doesn't kill the bacteria. Change out your water... don't add beneficials and run the Physan 20. I also removed the plants and soaked them in a solution while cleaning the rez with Physan, and that worked too. Make sure the physan is completely out of the system or the bene's will not live.

The bacteria will cause your ppms to rise btw.

Hope this is of some use... oh and UV light kills the bacteria too.
caregiver99 Reviewed by caregiver99 on . PH KEEPS RISING! PLEASE HELP!!! Hello, I am running a recirculating top feed drip system in six of the 5 gallon buckets with pure hydroton and a 10 gallon reservoir with ice to keep it cool. Feeding goes on all day with 2 minutes every 10 to help it drain. I am using the three part advanced nutrients with silica, that fulsomething acid, nectarsweet, calmag, wet betty, and supervit. I have a CO2 system. Change the water out regularly. I am using RO water. Here's the problem. A week ago my ph began to rise, I figured it was Rating: 5