Life is everywhere, in our water and the air we breathe, there are mircoorganisms. Have you ever opened up a reservoir for a water change and noticed some slipperiness on the edges or a slight discoloration of the water? This is biofilm, and it is a result of the life that is around us constantly coming in contact with a food source, that being your reservoir of mixed nutrients.
Most microorganisms found in biofilms are syntrophic and feed off the products of other microorganisms, combined with other common anaerobic bacteria such as S. marcescens (Pink Mildew) which eats the phosphorus and nitrites/nitrates that are present. The bacteria then grows into colonies and syntrophy can being occurring as other microbes join the party feeding off the initial byproducts. As growers this is not the type of life we strive to cultivate, and thus is an issue that requires mitigation either through changing water more frequently, having a less exposed system, or by use of cleaning products that are available on the market.
It’s easy to clean biofilm in between harvests but what do you do if you start to notice a huge build up in the middle of your grow cycle? What can you add that will kill the biofilm but not harm the plants? Dutchpro has created a product to help growers with this issue with Keep It Clean, a product you can add to your reservoir that will prevent and kill biofilm while preserving the nutritive nature of the reservoir for the plants. Removing and preventing these microbes are important because they feed off of the nutrients that are meant for the plant which not only take away from the harvest, but your wallet as well. It also cuts down on time in between cycles by allowing a faster and more efficient clean-up leading to less downtime in between harvest and placing new plants.
Having a clean reservoir helps prevent pathogens entering the system as well as beefing up the immunity of the roots by not allowing anything to grow on the outside cells. If you’ve ever had root rot then you know that it not a pleasant or easy thing to fix. The best way to deal with it is to prevent it altogether by maintaining a clean reservoir.
Have you ever had to deal with biofilm in your irrigation systems?
@Dutchpro_Nutrients, what goes into the Keep It Clean formula that prevents biofilm? How might a grower expect the Keep It Clean to interact with existing nutrient formulas? Is there NPK in the product?
This sounds quite interesting.
I’m curious to the answers of Nick’s questions. To add onto what Nick asked, how often should this product be added to a reservoir? If a grower is using a nutrient regime that they created specifically for certain cultivars, how can they be assured it will not alter any of the existing compounds? How does this product interact with the plants since it will be likely pushed through the lines and into the substrate?
Our Keep It Clean is a non-nutritive (No NPK) cleaning solution that contains a small amount hydrogen peroxide, when added to a reservoir will kill harmful bacteria, which in turn delays fungi growth due to lack of organic matter/microorganism byproducts for them to eat on. I would expect it to work with other lines without issues, but I can only guarantee zero issue when used in combination with our full line.
The product is added every time to the reservoir is filled, it’s a full time additive for hydro setups. I can not assure any imbalances when used with other nutrient lines, or speak to the differences in feed of different genetics, but I can tell you that it does not affect the plants in any way shape or form, and the substrate will not be damage microbe wise concerning mycorrhizal fungi. If trying with other lines, I would mix it in a separate bucket before adding it to the system just to be sure that there are no negative interactions.
This is a mycelium mat from a grower post harvest using the full Dutchpro line as well as Keep it Clean, he has a clean reservoir and his beneficial fungus was thriving in his rhizosphere.
What percentage of hydrogen peroxide is in your product? What other ingredients are in Keep It Clean?
Seeing as hydrogen peroxide will simply turn into water after a while of sitting in water - especially when exposed to direct light - how is it assured that this product is always working at its maximum capacity? Is there a time limit for how long it can sit in a reservoir (perhaps, assuming that one would set up a reservoir which could last them for a week, for example)?
This is a very interesting product. Just curious as to the specifications of use.
I run half a dozen aerocloners, and get great results using Clear Rez (hypochlorous acid) and changing water every 4 days. Have you done a side-by-side with Keep It Clean and Clear Rez? Is there a stabilizing agent to keep the H2O2 from turning to water too quickly?
Sorry I need to clarify, we recommend adding Dutchpro during a grow cycle when there is a build up of biofilm but it’s not feasible to break down the irrigation setup. I would suggest a week at the max for reservoir change, and if there is some biofilm we recommend running the next reservoir with Keep It Clean. Keep it Clean will be effective for around 7 days in solution with water and everything else mixed in. You are correct, H2O2 will eventually turn into H2O. The concentration of H2O2 is 0.1%. There are no other ingredients added.
