Hydro Grow Problems

[bustedluck]

Hey guys,

Figured yall might want an update. So I rerechanged my reservoirs the other day, this time using only using 100 PPM equivalent of cal-mag instead of what they recommend on the bottle (you can see from the image below that they really do suggest 1 tbs per gallon but that gets you to like 250 PPM).

Since doing that, I think things might be turning around. They are starting to grow faster again like they were near the beggining. It looks like the stems are starting to turn greener too. PPM is now slowly declining which sounds better too,

I haven't gotten my chillers yet. They are awol and the shipper never provided a tracking number. Amazon just says, sorry its late but on it's way. In any case, the water temp is currently 73 degrees...

What do you guys think, these plants showing any positive signs?

 

[West Hippie]

Hey guys,

Figured yall might want an update. So I rerechanged my reservoirs the other day, this time using only using 100 PPM equivalent of cal-mag instead of what they recommend on the bottle (you can see from the image below that they really do suggest 1 tbs per gallon but that gets you to like 250 PPM).

Since doing that, I think things might be turning around. They are starting to grow faster again like they were near the beggining. It looks like the stems are starting to turn greener too. PPM is now slowly declining which sounds better too,

I haven't gotten my chillers yet. They are awol and the shipper never provided a tracking number. Amazon just says, sorry its late but on it's way. In any case, the water temp is currently 73 degrees...

What do you guys think, these plants showing any positive signs?

The light green in the center says there definitely working there way back .

 

[Sativa1970]

She is growing like a weed now. 250PPM of calmag was way too high. Elevated calmag locks out potassium.

 

[bustedluck]

What do you guys use to track water levels in your pots? I mean I guess I just use a ruler, but curious if there was any specialized tool for this task? Thanks!

 

[Sativa1970]

Basically a wooden dowel dip stick is as high tech as I ever go. The more parts in a machine, the more potential ways it can break. Most of the time I just reach in and feel how many fingers from the net pot to the water level.

 

[West Hippie]

I use a ruler also !

 

[Rogy]

What do you guys use to track water levels in your pots? I mean I guess I just use a ruler, but curious if there was any specialized tool for this task? Thanks!

Simplest water level gauges I've seen were made with fishing line, 2 weights and a bobber. Attach bobber to weight, attach line to bobber, toss it in tank and run line through top, fill tank and attach smaller weight to outside line at bottom. As level drops the outside weight will rise up the side of tank.

 

[Sativa1970]

I drilled a half inch hole in the res lid. Dropped a 3/8 inch dowel, marked in 1 gallon increments into the hole. Bottom of the dowel skewered a piece of foam. Water drops the dowel drops. Until the roots grew under the foam holding it up. Gauge showed 3/4 full when it was all but empty. Had flash backs from my old shop teacher, "KISS" Keep It Simple Stupid. Yep,,, wood ruler....

 

[bustedluck]

Guys I am not getting this. Plants are still not doing great and I have followed the instructions exactly. Is there anything else it could be?

I actually wound up ordering different 1 part nutes that get here tomorrow and should get rid of the variable of having 3 parts to mix.

But I honestly don't get what I am doing wrong here heh.. I'll send some pics a bit later when I can. I just tried diluting the water a bit because the water levels were going down, the PPM was going up and PH was going up (so according to rexers chart that means we should lower EC).

 

[bustedluck]

hey are growing but the leaves are still getting the same issue starting at the tips and they also are curling a bit. Again I'll send pics soon as I can but wanted to mention that these are the nutes I am going to try switching too as I have read good things about plants that were not doing well doing better after the switch.

 

[bustedluck]

OK Guys, so been feeding it the new nutes for a couple of days. Here's how they look (still not great but maybe we need to give it time).

Also, I am getting concerned about root rot. What do you think about these pics? We still looking at nutrient stains or is this root rot? One is the big plant and one is the smaller plant.

Note that my chillers did finally arrive, of course now that their here is getting colder anyway and water temp is only 70 degrees even without the chillers.

Thanks!

 

[Jack420]

She looking way better

 

[bustedluck]

To be clear these are two different plants. And I am not sure either are really doing any better. Yes they are growing but both plants still have brown spots forming at the tips of almost all new leaves and that eventually takes over the leave and kills it.

The one plant is a lot brighter though and might actually be doing better than the other. It's roots seem whiter too but it does still have the leave problem.

 

[013]

Hey Busted, I‘m circling back again……. soil guy so very limited knowledge on hydro but doing sanity check……. TSP = teaspoon 5 mil and the other is TBS = tablespoon 15 mil

I’m surprised current culture chose to make a black reservoir and cover it with a white top. Is that translucent?? Air or oxygenation of water is great for roots and feed water…… but light is enemy of roots & res water…..

some of the roots look fresh other parts appear stained… whether that’s from your nutes or root rot slime IDK.

What does res water smell like??? How often do you change the res?

I’m going to ask @bluter to stop by…..

 

[bustedluck]

Thanks 013,

Fair question but I was definitely correctly understanding the measurements in those terms.

The top is actually more gray than white but the light reflecting makes it look pretty bright. You definitely cannot see through it at all but my water temp was running pretty warm while I was waiting for my chillers.

I don't smell anything except the one pant smells like weed hahaha. The other like a flower or something heh.

I change it once a week.

 

[NOOOBIENOT]

i can see the slim on the top of your air stone , that rez needs changing every 2nd day for starters , ,ditch the clear -white lid on rez , and to me those plants are beyond worth saving , you should learn how to successfully grow a plant in soil 1st then move to hydro grow in my opinion , hydro is a lot more complicated and more work but once you have a really good understanding of the plant itself then you can move to a hydro grow , hydro growing is a really great way of growing it is just a lot more sensitive to things like nutes, temperature ,sterile environment, etc , i have grown many plants both ways , but i have gone back to growing in soil (tlo style ) as it requires a lot less work and a truly organic smoke, a 2 degree difference on a rez temp can make the difference on a success grow or a lot of head aches and shitty smoke and a small yield , unless you have a lot of time to spend on your grow and the time to maintain a very strict set of rules to grow in water don't waste your time, learn to grow in coco 1st as this is a form of hydro growing , it is half way between soil and a hydro grow , master those skills 1st then hydro , r.o. water is the only water to grow with in my opinion pure clean water is the best way to start for any kind of growing , hydro is 72 degree water constantly, no fluctuating , 200-300 ppm for a smaller plant , rez change every 2-3 days and a sterilized rez not just a rez dump , no light getting in on the roots ,lots of added oxygen to the rez or the buckets you are growing in , air temps 75-79 degree , humid at 50 % , the plant roots need to be splashed water constantly and then the plant will grow some roots that will actually sit right in the water , keep the ppm low on the water as your plants are constantly being fed , the ability to understand what the roots and leaves are trying to tell you is uber important, the secret to any grow is learning what the plant is trying to tell you , it is constantly telling you what it wants , you just need to learn their language , hints are very subtle but they are there. Hydro is a great way to grow no doubt about it , but we need to learn how to walk before we run and hydro is a form of running , consider what you have learnt to this point as a lesson on learning and move on to another fresh grow start , this is the fun in growing -the learning , your 1st 2-3 grows of any kind are the learning curve and expecting to have a successfully grow of any kind is only setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

[bluter]

i can see the slim on the top of your air stone , that rez needs changing every 2nd day for starters , ,ditch the clear -white lid on rez , and to me those plants are beyond worth saving , you should learn how to successfully grow a plant in soil 1st then move to hydro grow in my opinion , hydro is a lot more complicated and more work but once you have a really good understanding of the plant itself then you can move to a hydro grow , hydro growing is a really great way of growing it is just a lot more sensitive to things like nutes, temperature ,sterile environment, etc , i have grown many plants both ways , but i have gone back to growing in soil (tlo style ) as it requires a lot less work and a truly organic smoke, a 2 degree difference on a rez temp can make the difference on a success grow or a lot of head aches and shitty smoke and a small yield , unless you have a lot of time to spend on your grow and the time to maintain a very strict set of rules to grow in water don't waste your time, learn to grow in coco 1st as this is a form of hydro growing , it is half way between soil and a hydro grow , master those skills 1st then hydro , r.o. water is the only water to grow with in my opinion pure clean water is the best way to start for any kind of growing , hydro is 72 degree water constantly, no fluctuating , 200-300 ppm for a smaller plant , rez change every 2-3 days and a sterilized rez not just a rez dump , no light getting in on the roots ,lots of added oxygen to the rez or the buckets you are growing in , air temps 75-79 degree , humid at 50 % , the plant roots need to be splashed water constantly and then the plant will grow some roots that will actually sit right in the water , keep the ppm low on the water as your plants are constantly being fed , the ability to understand what the roots and leaves are trying to tell you is uber important, the secret to any grow is learning what the plant is trying to tell you , it is constantly telling you what it wants , you just need to learn their language , hints are very subtle but they are there. Hydro is a great way to grow no doubt about it , but we need to learn how to walk before we run and hydro is a form of running , consider what you have learnt to this point as a lesson on learning and move on to another fresh grow start , this is the fun in growing -the learning , your 1st 2-3 grows of any kind are the learning curve and expecting to have a successfully grow of any kind is only setting yourself up for disappointment.

there might be info in there somewhere but no one is gonna chew through that block to get at it. try some white space or paragraph breaks.


@bustedluck are you mixing all three nutes together micro - flora - bloom when you feed ?
there's nute issues everywhere and i kept reading how you mixed only one part of the three part system.

 

[bustedluck]

@NOOOBIENOT Thanks but for one I am actually OK with the learning curve and expected it. Not a huge deal. Also, the top is not clear or white, it is very thick and it's gray. The light reflecting off of it makes it look white but it's not clear or see-through in the slightest.

So you must be implying you believe there is root rot, can that be treated. I stated this before but it gets lost in the mass of messages, if I have root rot, it's because the water temp was too high while I was waiting on my chillers to be delivered. That said, the water temp is good now, so if there is a way to treat it I would like to try.

@bluter Originally I was using general hydroponics and mixing all three nutes per the instructions on the bottle. That was the case during the first few sets of photos I posted. That didn't go well and no one was able to figure out the cause, so I decided to ditch general hydro in favor of a 1 part nutrient that you don't have to mix (botanicare pure blend pro, to try and rule out the possibility of me mixing gen hydro stuff wrong). I also switched to botanicare cal mag to keep things consistent. Since then, the one plant has brightened up but they still have the same issues.
Do you think there is root rot too? Any way you know of to treat?

Thanks guys!

 

[bustedluck]

Also, do I seriously need to do a change every 2 days? I have read all over the place that it's more like once a week and the manufacturer says once a week too.

 

[West Hippie]

Also, do I seriously need to do a change every 2 days? I have read all over the place that it's more like once a week and the manufacturer says once a week too.

The bottom pic of roots apear to be taking off, you know me on the top pic hose that gal off in another bucket . 2 days I’ve never unless it stinks or you think the nutrients are off !