I'm trying to defy the odds...but - Cannabis Forums Message Boards - Medical Marijuana, Cannabis Club, Dispensary, News

guyfromchi2004 · #1 (**permalink**) Aug-17-2007, 00:28

My friend found some really good "dro" there was a couple of seeds in it,she decided to throw them in some dirt,a week later she was amazed because they started to grow,She gave me 3 plants,one died.I grew hydro before and I noticed a very fast growth rate compared to soil,I took the plants out of the dirt and I transplanted them to my bubbler,in the meantime I sprouted 7 other seeds that I had.Now I have nine plants in a 3 gallon bubbler(the plants that she gave me are about 4 weeks,my sprouted 7 are about 2 and a half weeks old).Right now they are under a warm 42 watt florescent that put out at about 150 and then there is another bulb which is a 15 watt flouro,They are under these light just until they get a little older and I have the 400 watt MH waiting for them alsp for flowering,I have a 360 watt HPS conversion bulb.My Ph is sitting at around5.5 to 6.0.right now it's 5.5.The TDS is sitting at 500,I have hard water coming into my house,it starts at around 350.I added 150food to bring my TDS up to about 520.Today I checked and it was floating between 490 and 500.One thing is odd that I noticed,I have an oakton ph meter I had it since last year,when I test the bubbler bucket,the measurment fluctuates badly,but when I test the ph in the ph meter cap I get an accurate reading.By my mearsurment my plants should be thriving but they are not ,they seem to be sick,could anyone give me a clue to what is going on.The ph is at 5.5 and the tds at 500.Also I am too broke to buy a RO machine and I ca't go to the store all the time buying distilled water,I let my water sit out for 24-t48 hours before use.Someone give me a clue please.I would love to taste that good ole taste of fresh homegrown herb again.TY

palerider7777 · #2 (**permalink**) Aug-18-2007, 11:48

maybe to much nutes right now?? i didn't go up to 500 ppm until the 4th week those look to young for all the nutes but i may be wrong.i would think u should add more ph'd water to bring down the nutes.

Weedhound · #3 (**permalink**) Aug-18-2007, 12:00

didn't we do this already???

I thought I was doing everything right

guyfromchi2004 · #4 (**permalink**) Aug-18-2007, 16:33

I posted it here 1st weedhound,I wasn't getting an answer so I asked again in the disease and sickness board.TY weedhound,I went and finally got ro water

Weedhound · #5 (**permalink**) Aug-18-2007, 19:26

Ok.....excellent. What nutes are you using? Get your CalMag, your RO water and your grow nutes together.....I personally would put my ppms at about 300 since you are starting with water at about 20. I use 150ppm CalMag and `150ppm 1 part grow nutes.

You have plants of different ages together so you'll have to be very careful about overnute/undernute. I'm honestly not sure if you can grow good plants of different ages together in hydro but IF I were going to try it I would use the 300ppms to start. You said you've been keeping your ph between 5.5 and 5.8....excellent....keep doing that. Hope this works for you but realize that you are WAY playing defense here. Good luck.

guyfromchi2004 · #6 (**permalink**) Aug-19-2007, 23:06

I'm using hydrofarm "grow nutrients" it's about a year old.Calmag?Can I use a little bit of epsons salt?

Weedhound · #7 (**permalink**) Aug-20-2007, 00:30

Here's a really good link. I'm not sure what to use because I've always had CalMag but hopefully you can find out whether epsom salts is ok to use here.

International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums - The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles!

guyfromchi2004 · #8 (**permalink**) Aug-20-2007, 20:18

weedhound,I took your advice because it did make a lot of sense.I went and got the cal-mag from the local grow store,20 bucks for a quart!Anyway I started fresh because after getting the R/O water,I didn't realize I needed a suppliment,I thought I was getting adequate micro-nutrients from my veg food,the guy atthe growshop along with weedhound says that if you are using R/O water it is best to suppliment it with "Cal-mag.The R/o water out of the jug is 5.7 10ppm I added 150ppm of Cal-mag and 150ppm of "hydrofarm grow nutrient for hydroponics" for a grand total of 310 ppm.I cross my fingers ,I will keep you'll updated,Also today I clipped off the dead growth and I am starting to tie them over,and cut on my MH bulb,I wanted to wait until they got healthy.These pics are from today before I clipped the leaves

guyfromchi2004 · #9 (**permalink**) Aug-20-2007, 20:22

tweaking the settings on this camera so that the pic is clear

Weedhound · #10 (**permalink**) Aug-20-2007, 20:27

sounds good.

Also sounds like your hydro man is on the ball (so many of them aren't) so he'd be a good source of info for you as well in the future. Just remember......you aren't growing mj.......you're growing tomatos.

I'd watch them from there, keep a close eye on your ph and see what they do. I've added a subscription to this thread so I'll be back when you update.

BWAHHAHAHAHAHAHA......wh.

guyfromchi2004 · #11 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 10:11

My plants are starting to look worse,what's going on?These plants look so life-less and dull

guyfromchi2004 · #12 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 10:27

I just took my morning measurements,my ph is 5.5 my tds is at 290,which means they are eating right?2 days ago I added 150ppm of cal-mag and 150 ppm of veg food,which brought me to a total of 310 ppm,am I underfeeding or over feeding?This is so frustrating because the other times I grew "dro",I knew less but the plants were happy,theses plants seems extremely sad in optimal conditions.

palerider7777 · #13 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weedhound

Ok.....excellent. What nutes are you using? Get your CalMag, your RO water and your grow nutes together.....I personally would put my ppms at about 300 since you are starting with water at about 20. I use 150ppm CalMag and `150ppm 1 part grow nutes.

You have plants of different ages together so you'll have to be very careful about overnute/undernute. I'm honestly not sure if you can grow good plants of different ages together in hydro but IF I were going to try it I would use the 300ppms to start. You said you've been keeping your ph between 5.5 and 5.8....excellent....keep doing that. Hope this works for you but realize that you are WAY playing defense here. Good luck.

4 ft tall!!!!! and bending them is'nt helping lol my grow is of 2 differnt ages about 3 weeks apart and there all doing great infact the younger ones are just about as big as the older ones so i know it works

palerider7777 · #14 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 11:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyfromchi2004

I just took my morning measurements,my ph is 5.5 my tds is at 290,which means they are eating right?2 days ago I added 150ppm of cal-mag and 150 ppm of veg food,which brought me to a total of 310 ppm,am I underfeeding or over feeding?This is so frustrating because the other times I grew "dro",I knew less but the plants were happy,theses plants seems extremely sad in optimal conditions.

i think with there age they don't need much, but i had mine at around 400 at 3 weeks i kept them at 300 till 3 weeks but if u add to much to soon u will burn then and it takes awhile for them to bounce back my tap/well water is 25 ppmi think the nutes say 1/4 tsp per gal is that what u used??well really iv'e read abunch of diffrent stuff on here from people like stinky, and abunch of others, and they all say diffrent stuff, but all the same if thats understandable lol. sum say to much sum say not enough, and most of what iv'e read is'nt exact.

as iv'e read everywhere to start seedlings either the papertowel or vial with water method, and to keep in a dark place. i started all my seeds in peatmoss plugs in a dome under 2 big cfls and got 100% sprouts in 3 to4 days. so it's not an exact science more of know the basics and trial&error comes into play.although iv'e also read that u don't give nutes only ph'd water for the first week or till they have a good root system showing. i started all mine under the dome and with 1/4 nutes.not to say iv'e never messed up about 2 weeks ago i changed my nutes, but not all the way i really topped the res's off and i forgot about the nutes and ph i had in there and i added the reg 15ml of ph down to 1 res, and within 3 or 4 mins my plants on that res all wilted up, so i checked the res and saw the ph was 2.8 so i rushed and brought it back up to 5.8, and they recovered but just lil stuff like that makes u remember for next time what to and not to do.

some say u have to have 100% dark some say 87% im at about 95%, as sum real dim light is leaking out of the air vent but still dark to where i can't see my hand or anything but looks more like and moon overcast or something. and there budding up real nice so it's a constant learning exp!!!! but iv'e noticed it makes me feel like the first time i started prospecting for gold, and found my first gold nugget, u get hooked and it becomes apart of ur life. as it's a feeling u get that u just know it will be with u the rest of ur life, and u won't get tired of it. it's hard to explain but they say in geology, prospecting,once u get bit by the gold bug ur hooked for life. i take that as a good meaning in life too as once u find that thing u love, u love it for life and i have been bit by the green bug now so now i have 2 loves lol.

palerider7777 · #15 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 11:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyfromchi2004

My plants are starting to look worse,what's going on?These plants look so life-less and dull

did u cut the bottem leafs off and if so why?? oh my bad those are clones aren't they?lol

Weedhound · #16 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 11:50

This IS frustrating. when you knew less what did you do that worked? You've got everything exactly the way you should as far as your nutes, ph, and water. How often are you checking your ph btw?

Can you tell me what your room temps and room humidity is? The last thing I can think of is how warm is the water your plants are in?

If you put in at 310 and its now 290 then yes, they are eating. How often are you having to add water? And when you do are you adding 300ppm water or plain water?

Next set of questions....what kind of lighting and how close is it to your plants?

There is something here that is missing.....but I can't figure out what it is. Any info you have helps....even if you think it's not useful.

Help_Needed · #17 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 12:56

I'm not anything close to an expert...I'm on my first hydro grow, but I'll still throw in my 2 cents lol.

First, if I understand correctly, you've got 9 plants in a 3 gallon bubbler? I've got 6 plants in a 13 gallon DWC system and I've had people tell my that my res is too small for that many plants. Maybe they're too crowded in there? Not sure on this tho. It's just a thought.

Second, if these are in full veg, 300ppm is probably too low. I've got mine running at 600ppm using the Lucas Formula and the plants are loving it. Also, check your res temps. Even if your pH is right, if the res temps are too hot, the plants can't eat. Same with room temps.

Last you've definitely got a nute imbalance somewhere in there. I'm not good enough to tell you exactly what, but if you post in the sick plant forum, there's a guy named Ganja Guerrilla who's really good at figuring out what nutes you're missing, just by looking at your pics.

P.S. The Lucas Formula is a really simply nute program designed specifically for weed. I switched to it in my second week of growth and I'm really glad I did so.

guyfromchi2004 · #18 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 13:27

Ok when I didn't know better,I used tap water (350ppm)coming out of the tap,I always had my 2 meters (ph and tds)5.0 to 6.0,used the same food,One thing I noticed(with this grow)is when I checked the ph in the bucket,it fluctuated badly.When I took a sample of the res water that's when I got an accurate reading.Now it's different since I have switched to ro water with the cal-mag.Now I am able to take accurate readings straight from the res.My 400 watt MH is about 10 in away from the top of the tallest plant.I know that you said that the different ages concerned you but a couple of the "newest" plants are bigger than the "old" ones.The mix that I have going on now was changed 2 days ago because I didn't know about cal-mag,So I decided to start over fresh.So I haven't added any water yet,When I decide to add water it will be ph'ed ro water without cal-mag.My room that I use does not have fresh air,So I keep the door opened a lot.It's about 85 to 90 degrees in here with the door closed for 10 hrs.3 fans blowing at all times.The only difference between this grow and the last one is (1) The Water (2)the different age of the plants.2 plants are about 3 weeks older than their 7 sisters but you couldn't tell by looking at a couple of them.I will post a pic with the plants numbered and maybe that'll help us out more.Thank God for the internet.And thank you guys for taking the time to help me figure out this problem

Weedhound · #19 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 13:38

If your room temps are 85-90 then the water must be pretty warm too and I think that may be your problem. Plants do not grow very well in temps over 80 degrees (slows down photosynthesis greatly) and if the water is too warm for your roots they won't do well either.

I thought about telling you to increase nutes but I personally would not.....I don't think that's your problem at all. When in doubt....always use less nutes which may not be great but won't kill them as opposed to too many nutes which can kill them pretty quick. They just don't look like a nute def.....I swear it looks like a ph lockout so maybe help needed has a good point going there about water temps and ph.

10 inches is usually ok for your light but just because you have sick plants you might pull it back from them a foot just to reduce stress and because your room is pretty hot itself.

guyfromchi2004 · #20 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 14:01

I just checked the ph and the tds we are sitting at 280 and 5.5

guyfromchi2004 · #21 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 14:06

my ph lockout should be fixed right?Since I swithched to the ro water,I let it go from 5.5 to 5.9.How can I fix ph lockout and how long will it take before the plants recover,should I clip off the dying leaves?

Weedhound · #22 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 14:08

Ok..then the next res change I would take things to 400.....200calmag and 200grow nutes...in the next day or two. I think you're going to have to work on the room and water temps somehow.....not sure what your setup is so can't help you with that part.

Weedhound · #23 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 14:10

That's the part that's weird....your ph is perfect....couldn't be more on the dot. Do you think they have improved at all or do they look worse? How about from yesterday to today...better, same, worse?

palerider7777 · #24 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 14:54

[QUOTE=Help_Needed;1610722]I'm not anything close to an expert...I'm on my first hydro grow, but I'll still throw in my 2 cents lol.

First, if I understand correctly, you've got 9 plants in a 3 gallon bubbler? I've got 6 plants in a 13 gallon DWC system and I've had people tell my that my res is too small for that many plants. Maybe they're too crowded in there? Not sure on this tho. It's just a thought.

i doubt thats a prob now maybe later but there to lil for the res to be to lil now maybe when they get bigger it will get cramped but not now they don't have enough roots yet for that to be a prob

guyfromchi2004 · #25 (**permalink**) Aug-22-2007, 19:27

These are from seed,i'm trying to rule the boys out and then everybody will get some space,I am a little worried about ventilation because it gets kinda hot in here,I have a window next to the light from which I can ventilation but I covered up the window with (3)3 mil bags and and couple of blankets so there isn't any air getting in or going out.Right now I don't have light leaks but if I use that window for a vent won't there be light leaks?

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode