I ordered some Hygrozyme which should arrive Thursday. One thing I think I need to do is replace the nutrient solution for the tower with just water. I've been a little hesitant to do so because I literally just changed it. Which brings me to another point I've been considering and was going to address at a later date.

I've always felt like maybe I'm using too much nutrient or something. I follow the recommendations on the labels, but I've honestly questioned how this could be economically viable for the cost and amount of nutrients I'm using. The Strawberry tower holds 10 gallons of water. Per the instructions that's between 1 and 3 tsp per gallon. My understanding is that recirculating systems like the tower tend to need more compared a dwc.

I have 4 other normal totes that hold about 5 gallons each. I change the water once a week. Following this out for just the strawberries results in $100 or more in nutrients. I very seriously doubt I'm going to see $100 worth of fruit.

That's definitely root rot.

How are delivering your nute solution to the plants? Is it dripping down like a rain shower or do you have misters in the tower?

Couple things with strawberries is that it's very important to not cover the crown whatsoever. The crown needs to be completely unobstructed. It needs to not get wet and have good airflow or you'll get crown rot, usually starts as some mold first, and then root death, and then root rot.

Second thing is that considering that the plants are so small if you're using your nutes at manufacturer's recommended strength that's probably way too high. It depends on the cultivar but strawberries can be very salt sensitive. So what's your EC you're running them at? I have actually seen from my own experience roots looking fine when above the water level, in a DWC bucket only getting mist from the bubbles popping, and then when they get down into the water they turn brown and die. It was nute concentration related. Some plant's roots, especially young plants, are very sensitive while others you can blast them and they love it. And my experience has been that strawberries are sensitive. I have strawberry plants in some buckets right now, young plants, and I am running them at around 600 EC.

I also use Hydroguard in my DWC buckets and NFT and swear by that stuff. It works great in my systems and is the only beneficials I use. It'll eat away at dead organic material and out compete nasty stuff keeping it at bay but isn't a cure for root rot. Generally you have to clean and sterilize everything, soak your roots in H2O2 or bleach and do a reset.

Transplants can be difficult. I am assuming you started from plugs because who wants to wait several years starting strawberries from seed. Especially in the beginning since the plant is going from soil roots to now needing to develop roots for a hydroponic environment.

Water rains down from the top in a good shower instead of a mist. After the first set died I wondered if the Strawberries were just constantly too wet. For this grow I put the pump on a timer and started with a cycle of 15 min on / 15 min off. Later I changed this to a 15 mins on / 30 mins off which they seem to like better. I think the hydroton must hold on to a lot of water.

I have occasionally noticed that mold around the crown that you mention. As such I decided to take those collars to allow them more air flow. I have also added a fan pointed at the tower. I discovered the Hydroguard while trying to save my first grow and I use it now on everything, including this grow. I also saw a lot of root growth with the Great White.

In regard to the nutrient. I started it out at the recommended strength and the plants seemed to do well for a while with a lot of growth in leaves and flowers. When I saw the early signs of root rot again I read that the nutrient can often allow it to keep growing so I emptied the tower and replaced it with just water.

I also took 6 plants out and put them in a dwc system with just water to see if it made a difference in recovery. 4 of the 6 plants in the DWC container have died and I've lost another 3 or 4 in the tower. I moved the other 2 back to the tower. Every few days I pull the plants, clean anything off the roots, replace the hydroton and re-add them to the tower. Some plants still seem to look pretty healthy but I'm not really seeing ANY new root growth which I find concerning.

I've also been using the Hygrozyme I mentioned previously but I can't honestly say that I see any difference. I am hoping that removing the collars from the plants and adding more air, in combination with the change in the water timer will further hope to aid some kind of recovery. I am continuing to keep the Water Temperature in the 60 to 65 degree range with a PH of 5.8 which I had read was recommended when fighting root rot.