Sulfur (rotten eggs) Smell in Rez?

[mattdestruction]

I had a dying mother alone in an Ebb & Flow setup using 200ppm General Hydroponics nutes at 1-1-1 in RO water. The mother died, but one of its clones finally rooted two weeks later.

 

I reassembled the Ebb & Flow table (kept the same water in the rez) and noticed that the water smelled slightly sulfuric, like rotten eggs or a nasty fart. I've never noticed this smell before so I'm pretty worried, as this is the best strain I've ever smoked and I'm down to the last cutting. After letting the pumps run for ten minutes, the smell nearly dissappeared, but since it was there and definately in the water, it couldn't have just gone away.

 

The water had one mother plant in it for only one week. I added nutes in the last two days of the mother's life. The rez then sat with the water in it (completely unmoving, but mostly in the dark so no algae) for two weeks.

 

What's the deal with this shit? Should I be worried?

 

Thanks

[Taipan]

I have smelled this before, and it is usually associated with a sick root system. I'd say that the mother plant had sick roots, probably the reason it died. Did you inspect it's roots when you pulled it out? was the roots system soft and fall apart or was it still nice and strong and white? The bacteria and fungi that cause root disease thrive in stagnant water, but can't survive very well in oxygenated water. So I'd say they were thriving in the rez while the water was just sitting there for 2 weeks. Even though the smell went away after running the pump, the bacteria would still be active.

 

It doesn't necessarily mean that your new clone will instantly die, but I would highly recommend dumping the tank and flushing the system and starting fresh. And adding some friendly bacteria like Biobugs, or a bit of sterilising agent like Oxyplus or Pythoff would be a good idea.

 

It is pretty common for mothers to get sick roots once they get to a decent age. By this stage they usually have a huge root system. They are also usually becoming pot or tray bound so the drainage is not working as well. This means the roots become waterlogged a lot easier. One of the first signs of this happening is that they aren't drinking as much as they usually would. As soon as you notice that the level in the rez is not dropping as much as it should, you need to reduce the irrigation times. Treatments of friendly bacteria or sterilising agents can also help, but don't necessarily stop the problem.

[mattdestruction]

The mother had the shit kicked out of her and had been living under halogen lights with plain tap water (softened even) for about a month so her roots were covered in algae.

 

I guess this is what it is then. I put the clone in anyway, diluted the water some, but I can't do a full change until tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the advice.

[SukonmiSkunk]

sounds to me you need to put an airator in the resi mate... with an airator.. the water will never go stagnant no matter how long you leave it...

 

head down to your local petshop.. and buy an aquarium airator.. they are only about $20

 

oh yeah.. and fush the system really well... might also pay to start completely a fresh with new medium and all.. wash everything down, pots and hoses... with warm soapy water and rinse well...

[Stoney]

hey there matt

 

it could be either of the reasons that the lads said as this would explain why ya mum died and so the water is smellin due to root rot or something along these lines

 

but i would be going towards what SS has said if you dont have an airator in ya res then it will go stagnant very quick while you were growing the ruturn water was probably enough to keep ya res water airated but once left it will turn pretty quick

 

i would piss that water off asap

 

cheerz :Dj:

[Pure]

sounds to me you need to put an airator in the resi mate... with an airator.. the water will never go stagnant no matter how long you leave it...

 

head down to your local petshop.. and buy an aquarium airator.. they are only about $20

 

oh yeah.. and fush the system really well... might also pay to start completely a fresh with new medium and all.. wash everything down, pots and hoses... with warm soapy water and rinse well...

 

 

I'd put my bet on that personaly ,

 

 

also I will add a question , are you using any sort of "benificial bactieria" the reason I ask leads back to the sugestion SS made , if you are not providing enough air they will die and they smell pretty fuckin bad , Bio Bugs also make this slimy bubbly layer ontop of the water so thats a good tale sign if your using bio bugs

[bufo marinus]

Yes rotten roots stink, make sure you disinfect and get plenty of air in the rez solution

[Shithappens]

Oxyplus would have slowed this down if you need to shut the system down for a bit..