i have a problem with a hydro grow help please pics

[Zenmaster]

so i started this a couple weeks ago now and everything was goin alright up untill this last week that they really started to turn yellow on the leaf of the leaf and not the vein of the leaf if that makes sense. ive only fed them some aerogarden food and water from the well heres what i got setup sofar

25 gallon tuffbox full of water
pump split to each cup
layer of sponge and lava rocks as medium in the cup

i run the water over them 24/7 cause each time i shut off the pump and they dont have water running over them they die almost instantly.

heres some pics

 

[Ms.Fox]

That looks like a serious algae problem.

 

[Zenmaster]

What is the pH of your water/solution?

i dont have a ph checker except this one for a pool wich only checks ph between 6.8 and 8.2 but the colors of it are always lighter then the lowest point by far so i gotta guess its usually around 5 to 6.

That looks like a serious algae problem.

ive done a few hydro grows before and ive never had a problem like this even with algae so bad it clogs the lines and was there thruout the entire grow

your growing in sponges??? never heard that one before.

in the aerogarden they use a sponge to grow vegitables with in there little machine i just got bigger sponges for this

 

[Tead]

One side note here... it looks like light might be getting in beside your cups. Light in the res causes fungus and algea to grow.

Cheers

 

[eScott]

One side note here... it looks like light might be getting in beside your cups. Light in the res causes fungus and algea to grow.

Cheers

Agreed^
Those holes look so irregular that I bet with any plant weight the cups would fall right thru into the reservoir. Not too mention all the light getting thru.
Invest in a hole-saw for a couple bucks that fits your cups and drill those things out right. You can also use a jigsaw. You can see how Pan did it here with the same res your using...
Pan's Guide to Aeroponics

 

[Zenmaster]

i took some cd's and mylar and covered them up. i'm sure air still flows thru them but no light is gettin thru anymore so the algea should die off soon enough. i really dont think that was my problem tho. i gave them some tomato plant food instead of the aerogarden food and they seem to have perked back up nicely. i'll post some pics soon when i find some batteries.

 

[Zenmaster]

yea some of them dumb kids use em to mess with people its horrible. so is maybe mylar a better deal under them. i did that to cover up the clear hole in the middle but left the cd to keep the mylar from floating off or stickin to the sponge or any of that crazyness thats happend growin this stuff.

 

[Racefan]

The sponges are a problem. They hold moisture too long keeping things too wet which is allowing the algae to grow plus they aren't pourous enough to allow the roots to grow through as fast as you need. That's why they die as soon as you turn off their fresh water source. they start to suffocate and wilt out. Keep the lava rock, get rid of the sponges and your results would pick up drastically. Personally I've never seen algae so bad and I would start over after steralizing everything really well. Any roots into the res yet? if so show a picture of the roots alone please? Roots will tell the true story of the grow.

 

[Zenmaster]

i found some aa's finally lol. heres what they look like today after i gave them some food and filled the bucket a few days ago.

heres the roots

 

[Tead]

should be illegal to have them hanging from the rear view mirror.

Sorry green acres.... I just can't resist...

... AND GET OFF MY LAWN YOU DAMN WHIPPER SNAPPERS!!!

hehe.... again... sorry GA.

Cheers

 

[Tead]

I can't tell for sure from the photo. Are the roots white and fluffy?
Algea and fungus build up on the roots and block intake of neuts (thus causing defencies). The slightest layer of algea on the roots can have a horrible impact on the plant.

Cheers

 

[Ms.Fox]

The way the roots are bound up in the cup just looks like a recipe for disaster. I'm with Racefan, sponges are not a good idea. Have you ever used a sponge to wash your dishes, and then let it sit out overnight a little damp, come in the next morning to a nasty smelly sponge? I would just start all over. Rockwool is really cheap, and so are net cups. Your plants will thank you for it. ;-)

 

[Zenmaster]

yea i should have gotten that stuff but the lava rock i found outside and these were 99 cents and ive used them before with great success. the only layer of algea is at the very top of the sponge were the light is at and i covered that up with mylar. the roots of the plant are very white and fluffy and 1 more tap root busted thru the bottom thismornin into the res. there gettin better every day after i gave them the tomato plant food instead of the aerogarden veggie crap. i dont really want to start over these are some really good bubblegum seeds and i have a very limited supply of them. i just got em off on the wrong foot but i have a good feeling they will pull thru this deal and become some tastey stuff. you guys are awesome thanks for the help on this experament of mine i know the information u give is priceless and i should listen but i really dont want to kill these if i dont haveto.

 

[Zenmaster]

so its been about a week now and another episode of weeds and despite you all tellin me to give up i did not and they have grown a little more now but still have the same yellowing problem. i dont think the sponges are going to kill the plants however the cds and mylar did kinda put a hurtin on em for awhile so i filled the cups up further with lava rocks instead. heres some pics

on that last pic in the back that plant has split and double stemmed itself usually when i have a plant like that it does very well and produces almost twice asmuch as the regular ones. well if anybody has any advice or comments on how to help me a little more on this grow i do not want to quit on ide greatly appreciate it.

 

[Zenmaster]

so its about 4.20 weeks later. weeds is all done but these plants i got goin are doing so much better despite being told to murder these plants n create new ones. i started giving them some tomato plant food and its worked out awesomely for me. i guess i had a severe nitorgen deffiency in the begining or sumhin i dont know. all of these plants have preflowerd female . i polinated this strain and made some femminized seeds . cant wait for the bubble gum to start flowering. if yall got any ideas on how i could make this better i'm open for suggestions. i'm unsure if i should switch to the blue all purpose food that has phosphorous instead of the red tomatoe thats all nitrogen. any help is greatly appreciated. heres some pics of them now.

only started 5 of them but there gettin pretty big and smelling good already.

 

[NE14AJ]

i see that the lid is a light color and i am sure if held up to the light it would shine threw also it looks like light can get threw where your net pots sit , my advise is go get the black lid for that container and make holes with hole saw or dremel with circle cutter and rotozip bit , since i have the same container i know that light can get threw where it raises up on lid i would advise calking around net pots
hydrogen peroxide could help but since alge is already present its going to be tough to fight without total darkness in your tub
goood luck