Hey everyone, i am a first time grower with 1 auto fem northern lights plant, it is a month old from seed and i am having so many problems the last two weeks keeping her alive! At first it was nuteburn, but i corrected that, then i noticed a funky smell and found root rot. I am in a generalhydroponic setup (the dripper style) which i have since modified to be a dwc system. Right now my problem is that everyday, her leaves wilt and start to dry up, i have 3 23w CFLs about 8" from her, my first thought was that since changing her from the dripper to dwc was that i tore too many roots and it needed time to recover, but now it's still happening, so my next thought is that she doesn't like the lack of humidity since changing it. Please help! I don't want to lose this plant!
What is the temperature of your nute solution, and how much oxygen are you supplying to the reservoir via airstones?
I am using a 3w air pump and the temp of the Reservoir is pretty cold right now because i just changed my solution about 30 minutes ago, but my best guess is that it's between 50-60*f
Have you added anything to fix your root rot problem? Unhealthy roots are unable to absorb nutes and oxygen.
For the past 4 days i have been adding 1tsp/g of 3% hydrogen peroxide, which i know is not a good or long term solution, but it's what i have because none of the gardening supply stores near me sell anything for it and i have to order it online. The rot i noticed was white fuzzy mild, not the brown slimy kind. However since i switched to dwc my roots seem brown and clumped together, but they are not slimy. Is this still rot, or staining from the solution?
She is really small too, about 5" above the pebbles. I am guessing that's due to my limited knowledge and bumps in the road with my lighting and nutes.
Without a picture or knowing the nutes you use I can't comment on whether it's root rot or staining. 1 tsp per gallon of 3% hydrogen peroxide won't do anything. When I have had root problems I add 16oz. per gallon to kill all bacteria. This of course will kill all bacteria - good and bad - so you might consider using hydroguard in your rez.
I did buy hydroguard. I'm waiting for it to come in the mail. I'm also using genhydro nutes. I was using 1tsp/g each of flora, micro and bloom, but switched this morning to 1/2tsp/g each to help with trauma. If i add the 16oz/g of the 3% for now until my hydroguard gets here, what do i do? Change the rest every other day? Leave it and still change it weekly?
It appears you're using a waterfarm - I used them for a couple of years with great results. Why did you not fill the top container with hydroton? I looks like root rot. What is the pH of the nute solution? Frankly I don't know if it can be salvaged at this point, but you can try. You are not ready to turn it into a dwc at this point - hook the top dripper back up and consider getting a larger air pump, possibly with at least two outlets - one for your top dripper and the other for an additional airstone in the reservoir. Change your reservoir with the hydrogen peroxide added and pH to 5.5 - check it in 12 hours and see what the drift is - when it rises to a little over 6.0 adjust it back down to 5.5. Always check the pH regularly. If the pH goes down, you definitely have some sort of root rot. I would change the rez every couple of days with the hydrogen peroxide solution - don't add hydroguard until the problem is solved and you see new white growth. Not sure of the feeding schedule for you flora series nutes, but your problem is not from over feeding.
I did have it filled to the top with the pebbles and the plant was settled in that. But i changed it about a week ago to do dwc. I'm using a dripper style pH set so it's hard to tell exactly what it is, i am getting a better set next week. my pH is about 6 normally. I'll switch it back to the dripper again and add the peroxide for now. Should i run my dripper constantly, or only a few times a day? On high or low? I really appreciate the help. I'm so discouraged for killing something that should be easy to grow
I used to change mine over to dwc once the roots were established in the rez but you never want to disturb it and lower it down to do that. When you say dripper style pH - do you mean the drops? The drops are all I use - I'll attach a color chart for you that will allow you to be a little bit more precise. You definitely have to run the dripper constantly on high, especially if you don't have an additional airstone in the rez, because when the dripper is on it's also adding oxygen to the rez, when it's off there will be no bubbles to oxygenate the water. Don't be discouraged - believe me - everyone fails in their first few attempts - I certainly did. You started with a system that requires a little more knowledge than a beginner has, but I'm sure you'll get it. You can pm anytime you need to.
Hopefully the chart I attached will be helpful - assuming you're not color blind. Lol. Contact me anytime and good luck.
Okay. So, i just tested my ph, because I've been told my nutes and pH solution have to set a while before testing and it was around 7 so i added more pH down and replanted her in the pebbles with the dripper on. I also added 32oz of peroxide to my 2gl rez. I'll test my ph again in about 30 minutes, but this is what i have now. Survival worthy? I know she is on a really slippery slope to death, but this is my only NL seed, so i want her to live.(I'm using tinfoil as a makeshift splash ring and to help reflect more light in.)
My only suggestion is to lower the ring down to the hydroton to avoid splashing on the plant. I used a Styrofoam plate over the ring with a hole in the middle for the plant. The white plate will actually reflect more light than aluminum foil.
So, if i were to start a new seed today, what would be my best medium for growing a healthy fast growing plant that isn't going to die like this one? I can't grow outside, and i have to keep power consumption down, so a full tent and all of the filters and high power lights are out of the question, i have 2 fem blueberry, and one auto fem purple haze that i haven't started. I also need a short grow time.
The grow time is strictly based on the strain and genetics.....I grow blue dream, bout 9-10 week flowering time....and I've found that soil is much easier than hydro....and as far as that setup goes mine is as follows....2x2x3 tent....8" air circulator....4" air circulator....300w LED.....and a dehumidifier, but that's only because the humidity in the room my tent is in is like 80 percent naturally lol....anyway, I don't use an exhaust fan or carbon filter because I'm not worried about smell....tent has flaps to open on both sides of it, I use 1 fan to act as an exhaust and the other to provide a gentle breeze to my plant...cheap setup and my electric bill only went up about 40.00 a month...and that's with a 700w dehumidifier running 24/7...point is, unless u can invest the money in getting a decent setup, it's not easy to grow successfully....my set up cost about 300.00 altogether, including nutes, pots and soil...Fox Farm Ocean Forest is my preferred choice, ive heard great things about Happy Frog as well ...good luck to u