In any system that circulates nutrient water, scale settles and biofilm forms: in the lines, on the drippers and against the wall of the reservoir. You notice a blocked dripper when one plant falls behind, and by then you have lost a week.
Three kinds of product, doing different jobs
Against inorganic deposits, meaning scale and salts, you have CANNA D-Block and Atami Ata Clean. Against organic fouling and biofilm there is Aptus System-Clean, an oxidative cleaner based on hydrogen peroxide. In between sit the biological cleaners: Bio G Power Bio Clean, built on plant-based soaps, and Ashley Fert Zym, an enzyme product that works on biofilm while the grow is running. Scale and biofilm are two different problems, and a product for one does little about the other.
The oxidative and biological routes exclude each other
This is the important rule on this page. Hydrogen peroxide clears organic material and draws no distinction between biofilm and whatever you added yourself. Put Aptus System-Clean in the same tank as an enzyme product or a bacterial product from Organic and you destroy the latter at the moment you dose it. CANNA advises against combining Cannazym with peroxide for the same reason. So pick a route: clean oxidatively between cycles with an empty reservoir, or keep things clean biologically during the grow.
When to use which
The deep clean belongs between two cycles, with an empty reservoir and a full run through the whole circuit, lines and drippers included. That is where the oxidative route fits, because there is no plant and no culture in the system to damage. During the grow, stay with what is meant for it: D-Block and Ata Clean against deposits, Ashley Fert Zym against biofilm. After an oxidative clean, flush the circuit before you bring feed and root products back in.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know my drippers are fouled?
By the difference between plants. If one lags while the schedule is identical for all of them, check the output at each dripper before you change anything about the feed. A blockage looks like a deficiency from above.
Do I need this if I hand water?
Much less. With no pump, lines or drippers, half the problem disappears. A reservoir holding standing nutrient water still fouls, so that part stays worth keeping clean.
Can I just use bleach?
Better not. It leaves residues that are hard to get back out, and it hits everything biologically active in exactly the same way. The products here are made to be used inside a growing system.
