My First system

[jamromhem]

I think there was something growing in it as well... It started going rancid on me.. I cleaned it out and I am restarting it all over. The PH would go from 6.0 to 7+ in a matter of hours.. I am still using citric acid at the moment while I try to find phosphoric acid in the area.. I might end up having to go with sulfuric.. I was hoping the citric would do me good being a little bit safer.

It wasnt quite like a bubble bath bubble... it was more like a foamy film. (my airstones make tiny bubbles) not to mention there was some odd currdled milk type film starting to join it... that is where the starting to go rancid smell started too...

I am hopfully at ground 0 again... I rinced it out. filled it back up.. ran some h2o2 through it. and I have water with nutrients and got it to 6.0 again. It was about an hour ago I got it to 6.0 I will be checking it again here in a minute.

Here is my res right now.. I have 2 fine bubble air stones in the res to keep it nice and airy. The fine bubbles were not popping before and there was a nasty film that was building up... I thought it very odd considering it was only a day old res and there were no plants in it yet lol..

I am hoping a couple doses of H2O2 of the next couple days will help keep it clear and let it stay stable for a bit...

[GpsFrontier]

If it smelled, it was probably a fungus, but could haven been a bacteria too. I don't think you have any plants in the system yet right? If not, I would take apart the system and wash it all with soapy water. Rinse it off, then put some bleach water in a spray bottle, and spray it down with the bleach water a few times. And after taking the pump apart and washing it too, soak the pump in H202. Then after cleaning and sanitizing everything, run some plain water in it with a good amount H2O2 for at least 24 hours (like whole 32 oz bottle with 5 gallons of water). Once you get a fungus in the system, it's very difficult to get rid of. You pretty much just have to take it completely apart, then clean and sanitize it all. Even then just one spore can start it all back up again. If it was bacteria and there was any areas that were missed and they survived, they'll multiply quickly too.

[jamromhem]

thank you for the advice.. I will go add some bleach to it lol.. I have it running with a good amount of h2o2 right now. I will add some bleach and let it run for a day on that.

Then start my rinse cycles. I have a feeling the system is getting moved soon though. I have a spare guest suite that has a full bath and enough clearance under the door to let me pass 1/2" piping and still be able to close the door. I am currently having to remove the water by hand to the point the res is managable and I disconnect the union and pull it all out..

I am going to be starting to set up the new plumbing in the bathroom tomarrow and see about moving it soon after lol. I have to make this manageable with my joint not always wanting to do what I want them to.

EDIT: added about 1/2 gallon of bleach to 7 gallons of water in my res. That can run for a while.. you can definitly tell it is a good bit of bleach from the smell alone lol..

out of curriosity.. how much H2O2 is too much for plants? I am concerned that the seedling I have going might be subject to the same problem. I think it stemmed from a container I was using that I thought was washed out but must have had some unseeable problems..

[GpsFrontier]

I generally add about 5mL (1 tsp) of H2O2 per gallon of water in my systems weekly. But I have been known to use twice that, or even 3 times that at the first sign there is something in the system. Though I don't usually use it with seedlings. I usually wait tell their a few inches tall before adding the H2O2 because seedlings roots are more delicate. But If I do use H2O2 with seedlings, I cut the dose to about 5mL (1 tsp) for "two" gallons. Though because it dissipates so quickly, I would re-add it every other day. Or at least every 3 days. And if I am trying to get rid of a problem with established plants, I'll re-add the H2O2 every couple of days instead of weekly.

[jamromhem]

thanks for the input. I added some h2o2 to the seedlings to try to give them some relief from the problem. I opened the dome I have them in and I could smell the same thing I had before... If I lose the seedlings it will be ok. They are just a few lettuce seedlings about an inch tall. More of a test set than anything. I hope they make it, but if they don't I will live.

[GpsFrontier]

What is your water source, what water are you using?

[jamromhem]

I am using tap water at the moment. I am going to try it as opposed to getting some distilled. With hope it will be decent enough (not knowing what is in it). I bubble it for a while to dechlorinate.