Grow Mediums Hydroponics - Sterile vs Bennies?

[Atulip]

So I've ran both sterile grows and grows with beneficials. Personally, I like sterile, but I've heard bennies is the way to go.

Does anyone have any good info on choosing bennificials over sterile?

 

[yinyang814]

Indoors... go sterile. Less bugs.

 

[Atulip]

Indoors... go sterile. Less bugs.

I didn't think about bugs. But I've never had any indoors with soley hydroponics, only seen bugs running soil. Just algae or root rot. (light getting in the buckets/res/table and/or res temp issues)

 

[JP1]

I run DTW with microbes. I just clean the rez every 2 weeks and use hydroguard to keep the roots clean. I sterilize my tent between grows and use new drippers and lines each grow

 

[BII]

I'm a full hydro, such as DWC, ignorant coco user and have a question: What is sterile hydroponics? Seems would be impossible to attain? Why ever want sterility? Are there actually downsides to adding beneficial microbes in DWC/full hydro, or ever?

Does this refer to real sterility, or to simply not adding nutrients or supplements with live microbes? Or does this refer to rigorously only feeding inorganic salts, nothing organic? How does a grower keep down microbial growth in nutrient-rich water, with lots of dissolved O2/air, with the plant roots shedding organics, etc.? Do you add anti-microbial agents, whether 'natural' or not, or otherwise work to limit microbial growth? For ex., add hydrogen peroxide to the water? Does sterile hydro include sterilizing the media at the start, as one would do for growing microbes (cell culture), making beer, etc.; or even running constant loop water sterilization, such as using UV or filtration"? Is the air supply filtered to remove microbes, as is done with 'clean rooms'?

 

[Atulip]

I'm a full hydro, such as DWC, ignorant coco user and have a question: What is sterile hydroponics? Seems would be impossible to attain? Why ever want sterility? Are there actually downsides to adding beneficial microbes in DWC/full hydro, or ever?

Does this refer to real sterility, or to simply not adding nutrients or supplements with live microbes? Or does this refer to rigorously only feeding inorganic salts, nothing organic? How does a grower keep down microbial growth in nutrient-rich water, with lots of dissolved O2/air, with the plant roots shedding organics, etc.? Do you add anti-microbial agents, whether 'natural' or not, or otherwise work to limit microbial growth? For ex., add hydrogen peroxide to the water? Does sterile hydro include sterilizing the media at the start, as one would do for growing microbes (cell culture), making beer, etc.; or even running constant loop water sterilization, such as using UV or filtration"? Is the air supply filtered to remove microbes, as is done with 'clean rooms'?

Sterile is usually added h2o2 or chlorine to your reservoir. I go with h2o2 every 3 days. Some people may use UV or other sterilization methods, but the most common methods I've seen is added peroxide or chlorine.


I've read some claimed benefits to plant health having the extra dissolved oxygen available. Claims of extra yields and the likes... But I haven't found any real solid info either way, mostly just bro science.

 

[BII]

Of course, actual sterility is not attainable with growers' unsterilized 'open' systems with neither the water or air fully sterilized (and also not the seeds/seedlings/plants or the nutrients used). I presume even extreme sterile hydro is still far from meeting even the most basic clean room, biopharmaceutical, probably even food, etc. sterility standards?

So "sterile hydro" (minimally?) involves adding broad spectrum anti-microbial agents to water supplies to non-specifically/crudely, often just periodically. knock down microbial levels? For those that do this, is this more or even totally about keeping water/feed reservoirs pH stable, not developing bad smells, etc.; not actually about reducing plant exposure to microbes?

Can sterile hydro be combined with beneficial microbe use, such as treat your water with H2O2 and after that's dissipated add commercial pure culture-type beneficial microbe products?

I grow in coco/perlite. Do any coco growers strive for sterile hydro, such as minimally add H2O2 or other antimicrobials to their feed water?

 

[KingRatt]

almost all of my experience is with indoor hydro, but i have always tried to add any organics and beneficial fungi/bacteria when it was useable. The only problems i ever had with bugs(not often) was because i brought them into my garden from being complacent lol. Once early on a clone dealer sold me clones covered in gnats, said they were treated and would die, i believed him, it was along time ago and i was on the hunt for plants eager to get something planted. Bought what i could and brought gnats into my garden. The other time was when i helping a friend clean out his grow space from an ifestation of spidermites, i went home and straight into my tents like an idiot lol. Those were many years ago, over a decade anyway. I have since learned better practices but will still use all the organics and bennies as i have always had great results with them. I also grow both indoors and outdoors now and all soil so i guess ive made up my mind to deal with whatever comes with those mediums. If you check everything before you bring it in yohr grow, and you are thorough, you will greatly reduce the risk of pest amd disease. At the same time, if you are doing indoor hydro you can guarantee your plants safety with enouch clean practices put in place. Sorry for the typos lol just sharing my experience

 

[Atulip]

@BII
Right, so no, we're not talking about a whole sterile room here... That's more appropriate for The Mush Room and/or Grow Room Setup... Just sterile hydroponics in this thread...

No, you don't want to run sterile and bennies at the same time... They'll just kill the bennies. But yes, if you add H2O2 you can hit it with bennies again after a few days as all the excess dissolved oxygen is released by then.

Never done coco, currently doing a purely hydroponic setup.

 

[BII]

Is there consensus, general agreement, that sterile hydro, besides generally maintaining a 'clean' environment, primarily involves adding broad spectrum anti-microbial agents to water supplies to knock down their microbial levels? [Is that all it is? ]

Still would like to know whether it's all about the water or the plants. Is the primary goal keeping water/feed pH stable, not developing bad smells, plumbing not accumulating biofilm, etc. (avoiding common reservoir problems); or is sterile hydro about reducing plant exposure to microbes/pathogens?