What is this White Gunk clogging up my pipes and how do I get rid of it?

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Chen

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So, for the third time this month, I've had to replace my entire system because this white gunk has clogged up all my pipes.

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What is it and how do I get rid of it?

Thanks.
 
That looks like calcium buildup but it could be one of several "rock-like" elements that is able to precipitate out of the solution. This is not uncommon for hydro growers, but usually its not a big problem. If you are having to constantly clean and replace parts due to the build-up then there is a problem.

There are a few possible culprits. One is your source water has too much of that element or you are adding more of the same element that is sufficiently present in the source water, causing the element to precipitate out. Have your source water tested to see what levels of elements are there naturally. You may have to adjust your nutrient concentrations or filter the water.

Another possibility is that the water is going away too fast (through plants and evaporation) and that is causing the concentration of that particular element to go above solution saturation and precipitate out. If you are using small reservoirs of water for your system, the plants and evaporation will quickly remove the water and cause the concentration to spike above saturation and force the heavier elements to precipitate out. Having larger reservoir and/or use an automatic water refill so that the water levels don't drop so quickly.

I have found that using Hygrozyme in my solution prevents nearly all of the element precipitation on hoses and fittings. If you get everything else straight and still have some build-up occurring, you can try that. But look at the other things first before adding Hygrozyme as it is most likely the first culprit. :)
 
Some people are saying it's my nutes (H&G Cocos), which seems unlikely because no one else with those nutes seems to have this problem.

Others are saying that it's my tap water, but I don't know which nutrients to add to RO water to make up for the fact that everything is filtered from it.

And you say that I should only use Hygrozyme as a last resort; why? I also heard of something called Drip Clean.
 
Hygrozyme is really good for binding up free elements and making them available to the plants OR pulling them out of the solution and dragging them to the bottom of your reservoir in the form of "mud". But there is something causing the buildup that needs to be addressed. The hygrozyme would only be a band-aide over the problem. It would slow down the buildup but not prevent it.

Are you using RO water as your source water? if so that eliminates the tap water being the issue.
 
Well thats fosure what appears to be Calcium build up from very "hard" water. Take a sample down to your local pet store and have them test it, if fish can live in it then so can the girls. If thats not an option, get a mail off water sample kit. See whats in your water, or switch over and buy an R/O unit.

If that deposit is hard and not slimy, and your using a coco blend nute line so there is a bunch of Ca added to it already and then if you add cal / mag then you have severely overloaded the water with calcium and it will precipitate out and accumulate very quickly on all your hydro parts...pumps included. Hope you find the problem quickly.....always a PIA when you have a problem you can't seem to get to the bottom of.
 
if its calcium buildup simple add RAW amino acids and it will send it into the plant
 

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