HydroNoob

420 Member
Hi.
I'm new to growing cannabis and decided to just get straight into hydro because i like a challenge... With my swinging PH levels i'm starting to doubt that decision...

I wanted to start off small so i'm rolling with a 90L/h airpump in a container with 4L of nutrient solution Ph to 5.5.
From the very beginning i have been battling with rising Ph levels. The Ph would rise to 7-8 over night or while i was at work. I would then Ph it down to 5.5 again and the solution would rise again. I've replaced the nutrient solution 3 times. The last time i tried adding some hydrogen peroxide(3%, 3mL pr. 1L) to combat what i thought was root rot. 24h later the water still looks clear, no smell to it and the Ph has risen to 7-8 again...

I soaked my rockwool and hydroton in 5.5Ph water for 12h before putting them to use and i'm not dripping or running water through either of them, so i don't believe they are the cause of the Ph rise.

I just measured my water temps to 23C (74F) and below are temp(left) and humidity(right) graphs of the last 24h.

Capture.PNG
humidity.PNG


Nutrients:
20181115_180708.jpg


Plant, roots and water (I believe the browning of the leaf is my fault. Left the lamps a bit too close):
20181115_180521.jpg

20181115_180525.jpg

20181115_180313.jpg

20181115_180247.jpg
 
Are u using an enzyme cleaners like hydroguard and z7 or z9

Not familiar with those nutes but at what % of manuf suggested amount are u using, start at 1/4 and max at half strength

Is yer pH pen calibrated

What water, tap or Rh. Have u checked the ppm of the water if it's tap

Roots look good but how far below the net pot is the water, needs to be at least 2" below the net pot or it can drown her

Plant_Diagnosis.PNG
 
No enzymes as far as i'm aware. I don't know if my nutes has any, but they don't seem to advertise any.
I'm using test kit (Ph test kit)
I'm using tap water. It should contain no chlorine or any other additives. I don't know about the ppm. I don't have any way of testing it. Is it essential to have a ppm tester?

I was a bit worried about the distance too. But my concern was that the water would splash onto the Rockwool and hydroton and then drip alkaline water into my solution. The distance is something like ½" to 1" (I'm barley lifting the lid on the last pic to give you an idea of the distance ). I thought that the airpump would prevent the drowning?
 
Drop down yer water level to 2" below the net pot

The bubbles are what keep it wet, too high and you can drown them

Enzyme cleaners are essential to hydro, I'd search one out, one I mentioned, or what is available to you

How long since u did a rezz change??
 
I changed my rezz 24h ago. Cleaned everything and added the hydrogen peroxide. But as I wrote, 12h later the Ph went from 5.5 to 7-8.
I'll try to lower the water level and see what happens. Do you think that the lack of enzymes could cause these extreme rises in Ph?
 
Never go full nutes in hydro

At that age, re do yet rez at 1/4 strength today
See how the pH is

Never go above 1/2 strength untill u are comfortable with growing
 
I did a complete rezz change this morning and noticed that the water looked contaminated (It contained white stuff?)
20181116_073250.jpg


The Ph had of cause risen again.. I added 3mL of 3% hydrogen peroxide pr. 1L and 1/4 of the recommended amount is nutrients. The solution was Ph'ed to 5.5.
The roots are not completely white, but they seem okay to me.
20181116_073519.jpg


I also added less water this time. 3 liters instead of 4. The water level seems to be more appropriate. What do you think?
20181116_102754.jpg
 
How much water is in that tub???

Seems really shallow

The goopies is bad, and why the pH is fluxing

H202 won't help, you need a enzymes cleaner

Search for
Hydroguard
Z7
Z9

Get one ASAP, and look into getting 5gal buckets
 
I think the angle of the photo makes it seem way shallower than it is, but it could definetily by deeper. This here seems to be one of the only enzymes locally available to be:
Enzyme

Could it really be the lack of enzymes that is causing this?

Also, thanks about the tip of the tinfoil.
 
Some updates to my Ph nightmare..
I now unly use 1/4 of the recommended nutes.
I don't use H2O2 anymore.
I bought some enzymes from Canna CANNAZYM, added it to a new mix.
I now use another container with 8L of the solution and a 2" gap between the pot and the waterline.

In the course of 12h it went from 5 to 7-8Ph... I have no idea about what is going on and what om doing wrong.. The Plat still looks okay but I haven't noticed any growth recently.

20181122_081806.jpg
 
Think u need a bigger tub

Taller not wider, 3 gal minimum

Get a pH pen

Try straight pH water to see what it does, may be yer water, is it tap or RO, some tap water can be a pain to balance out

Be sure u go full strength on the enzyme cleaner

Pic of the bubbles would be great as well
 
FWIW, I chased pH like a rabid dog in 15L buckets. Hated the test pens. Cheap crap would never read the same when checked seconds apart. Finally invested in a BlueLab pen and it became easier. Fast reliable, *repeatable* readings.

However I don't check pH anymore. I run Advanced Nutrients pH Perfect and swap the reservoir every 7 to 10 days, or sooner if I've had to replace 12L or more of the 15L I start with each time. Picture perfect plants at 1/3 recommended dosage.
 
I've heard rumors that big plant science is all what you need for growing big cannabis plants, can anyone recommend it or have tried it? My local growshop - is recommending it to me.
It isn't all what ya need. Short sided and kind of glossed over. I'll assure you if you don't know what you are doing even with the fabulous nutes, your shit is gonna be rubbish.
Cannabis been growing in the swamps in Nam without all that ya see. Look at the labels, look at the shapes of the containers. It's partially a gimmick.
I can recommend Fox Farms because I use them and their selection is far superior and cheaper. They do ship!
 
Back
Top Bottom