They smell like forest loam, earthy, the good kind of earthy you smell in a healthy aquarium.
Here are a couple pics, Is this the start of root rot?
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H202 will sterilize as well, even adds dissolved o2 with it! I was never a fan of the bleach but it does work. 
You can wash those in fresh water with some H2O2 and agitate the roots and it will help to clean them up. Be aware if you do go with using beneficials adding H2O2 or even bleach will lower populations. The color could be, but it could also be you’re nutrient solution, kind of hard to tell at the moment. Try to stay ahead of it! They look nice and white still, keep it up!
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Welcome back fellow Virginian… I strongly urge you to check out Octopots your next grow. I came back after 20 years and i am supper impressed with them. If you grew hydro before you will like the no hassle the octopots provide.
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I miss my very good female grower who was here and had mind blowing skunk #1 x Romulan fom Virginia… Says Virginia is for lovers lol
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That is a ton of light for such a small space…maybe too much!
Your grow is going well so far…definitely try to keep the water and root temperature as low as you can to avoid root rot(Pythium). Pythium Blight is the worst of the three and almost impossible to get rid of!
Can make a easy DIY evaporative cooler by simply sealing up your res the best you can and get a small fan(4” centrifugal or similar)that blows air into the res…this will cause evaporation and in effect cool the res water temps by up to 10 degrees! 
Also be a great idea to start using a organic digestive…something like this will help consume organic matter and keep your res and grow container algae free…using beneficial bacteria and enzymes to prevent the bad from growing.
Brian(Alaskagrown)
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First pistils showed up 2 days ago.
Added 1ml of 4.5% bleach to the 8 gallons in my system last night as a Prophylactic…
Until I learn more about beneficials, and exactly which strain of bacteria I want to promote, I am going to go the sterilization route. I have maintained large aquariums for over 30 years. In that hobby we used aerobic bacteria for nitrification. I imagine that beneficials are a similar biological process.
Notice the yellow tips of new leaves are yellow, possibly burned. Any Idea what this might be? They appeared prior to the bleach treatment BTW.
One theory is that 3 days ago I dropped the nute ppm from 1200ppm to 800ppm.
Could this be fert burn from before I dropped the nute strength, and I am just now seeing the damage?
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I hope jumpiung in with a questioin for thos who know, When growing hydro do you need additives besides nuts to help the plant roots from Intaking certain nuts to help growth.
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What is you’re ph reading? It almost looks like a toxicity. 800 ppm will likely have more than enough nutrients for it. Drop down to 400-500, and see if that helps. Take you’re ph to about 5.8 as well. Give it a day or two.
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There are additives that can be used. If you look at, let’s say… Advanced Nutrients. They have other additives that are beneficial for plants/roots. Inoculation with microbes are sure to boost nutrient uptake, or allow for optimal uptake anyway. As far as NEED, I would say no. Micro and macro nutrients should suffice.
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Currently the ph is 5.9 but I did drop it to 5.2 a couple days ago, although I got scared and am letting it rise back up on its own. That drop to 5.2 “could” be the culprit, the timing would be about right.
Here is my log for the last 10 days:
VPD control seems to be on target, First dip in temp was the night cycle, which I have programmed for the ambient heat of the day. Second dip was when I went inside the tent for maintenance.
I am really confused about the right ph to run. When I read this FAQ article (here on OG) it says that for hydroponics you will have deficiencies above a ph of 5.5 the range of 5.5 - 6.5 that I commonly see quoted appears to be for SOIL, HYDRO seems to be a different range according to this article.
I am “assuming” that a FAQ on this site has probably been vetted, but am I willing to gamble my grow on it? What to believe. I am looking for collaborating references, would appreciate any links to peer reviewed data if you have any.
See full article HERE
I find other charts on the net that collaborate the 5.8 value, and yet others that support the 5.2 value. I can come up with multiple graphs from reputable sources that could support either value.What to believe??? The sources all appear to be reputable…
Source: pH Adjustment - Blue Planet Nutrients
Source: https://www.commercial-hydroponic-farming.com/ph-hydroponic-nutrient-solutions/
On a side note, should I be circulating nutes through the bucket and providing air during the night cycle? Currently I have the nute pump and air pump on the same timer as the lights, so at night the bucket drains empty (almost like an ebb/flow ebb cycle). I can easily put a check valve in the line to prevent the bucket from emptying into the res through the pump. If so, do I need to run the air at night? Or I should I just let the nutes circulate with air 24/7.
I ask because I seem to remember reading something about not feeding the plants during the night cycle.
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Upon reflection, if I just trust anecdotal observation, when I increased ppm and lowered the ph I saw yellow tips a few days later. So it really could have been either or both. I should know better by now than to change 2 variables at once.
I have since lowered the ppm, and have let the ph rise naturally, ie returning to conditions from about 1 week ago before the tips started yellowing. I will wait a few days and observe new growth. If the problem clears it tells me at least one of the two variables is the culprit. To prove it out I will then try lowering the ph to 5.2 again and see if the yellow tips return. Hate to stress the plants more but I dont know of any other way to identify my mistake so that I dont repeat it.
If the new growth doesnt clean up, and the ph is ~5.8 and the ppm is ~800, where would I want to look next?
This one looks to be a middle ground between the 2 camps.
Pending above trials I think this is what I will target.
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I know what you mean about the charts. If I could find the correct ones I use to use I will post it. Let’s take the charts out of the equation like you mentioned already and find out for ourselves here. I have issues with the charts myself just based off prior experience. I would have issues at levels under 5.5ish. I would always ph to 5.5-5.8 and allow for a gradual rise (6.5 max)before topping off or changing the Rez to fix conditions.
I never asked what kind of water you were using btw. Is it tap?
You should be close with you’re ph and ppm now, let’s hope for the best. I personally think ppm should be a bit lower due to plant size.
Also, if the roots are at all submerged in nutrients, I would have a air stone in the bucket. I’m use to dwc not so much the Dutch bucket style. They will not feed at night, but they will drown if there is no oxygen in the roots. I always kept my air pumps running 24/7.
(Edit)
Here is just one of older charts in which I went by but this is not it either. I will continue to look!
Side note, there are several grows currently underway that have all their conditions listed. I would go through some and check out what others are running. I can only go off 20 years of experience mostly with deep water culture and what genetics I had. I have yet to run any cannabis that enjoys anything under mid 5 range with ph. I think this will correct you’re issues and if not, I would then keep my ph at 5.8-6.3 and lower my ppm another 200. Lock out can occur with too much and give the same issues. 
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I hope the newbies are taking notes for future refrence …
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@HashstasH It really does concern me about the charts that are mostly used now… I would never ever run under 5.5 because of def issues. The plants will start to curl as well when ph is out of whack… I think maybe we should collectively re evaluate those charts and make a change if needed…🤷❤️
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Feels better lol your right some charts do felxuate and don’t match up Information…
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@OGSince03
I am using tap, it always comes out to 140ppm +/- 10.
The values I record in the log are with the tap solids tared out. Though I have read I should include half of the tap solids. The 50% of tap value is so low, 70ppm, that I suspect its not a critical factor once beyond the seedling stage.
I do plan on doing a res change tonight. Will switch to 50/50 Grow/Bloom for the next week. Going to shoot for 800ppm @ 5.5ph. Then next week switch to 100% Bloom fert.
Also going to spread the branches a bit and put up a trellis net for the branches to grow into, next week hopefully. I kept the lights real low in the beginning, so I have a short bushy plant with a good stout stalk, but a little too much lower density right now. I am actually welcoming the stretch I am starting to see.
Will post before/after later this evening.
I am soaking it up like a sponge, and this thread are definetly part of my notes, it will get archived locally for future ref.
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Currently both the water and air pumps are on the same timer as the lights.
So when the lights go out the nutes drain back into the sump in about 3 minutes, and the air goes off.
As soon as the lights come back on, the nutes start circulating again, the bucket fills again, and the air comes back on.
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Well here’s the issue with using tap. It has calcium and magnesium in it, and you are adding more in with the nutrients. This can cause lock outs… If you’re ppm level is excluding the taps added 1-150, than I would suspect that you’re nutrient level is a bit too high as well.
If it were me. I would do a Rez change.
Then:
(First) Add 300 ppm of veg nutrients
Then add H2O2 to keep roots nice and white.(fish bone)
(Second) Ph to 5.8. ( 6.0 is a good starting point, you can’t go wrong!)
I would not add bloom nutrients yet. If you don’t plan on flowering anytime soon, it’s almost pointless.
Let’s stick with what you have for now at least until we get the issue resolved! Lots of people don’t even use bloom nutrients at all. I can say that I always did, so I’m no deciding factor on the subject. That’s for another days work!
Side note again:
I think with you’re water being drained from the buckets at night you should be fine. I have no first hand experience with ebb and flo set ups, but If I recall correctly they only feed/water during lights on. Maybe someone else with more knowledge than me can chime in!?
I started seeing pistols about 2 days ago, doesn’t that mean I have entered the flowering stage?
This is an auto so I didn’t control the flip
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Ahh!! Indeed! Sexual Maturity for sure when you see those. I failed to realize it was a auto. I still would try to stick with current ratio of veg/bloom as it should be ok until further maturity. Let’s see how she responds. Would you mind giving us a picture to see if there is any noticeable changes to pick up on?!