My 3 babies are about 2 week old, growing in DWC under 200W (CFL and HPS). I bought a cheap PH tester since it's the only one I could find in my local stores. It seems to show 6.5 all the time, even after I was adding what seemed like a large amount of ph down solution. For whatever reason, I didn't think about it too much, mostly because they look fine, but have been growing really slow. Today I used a liquid PH tester, and was surprised to see that my PH level was 4 I've fixed it, and for now will use the liquid test, until I get a reliable one. Now for my question, is slow growth a symptom of low PH level?
what are you ph'ing, your run-off? this can sometimes be misleading. if your plants aren't displaying any issues, then you don't have problems. make sure to properly ph everything you put in/on your plants and all should be cool. slow growth at this time of year could be low temps. what are your containers sitting on and what are your lights off temps?
I'm PHing my reservoir... The temps are around 70-75 deg (the reservoir is on the lower end). I just wanna know if the ph is the reason for the slow growth.
Yes. At ph 4 you were locking out all nutrients. Your plants should have been showing signs of defiency. By locking out nitrogen and Phosphorus it was stunting the growth of your plant. By saying that, if your plant was not showing signs of a defiency it could be something else.
Thanks, that's what I thought and was reading too. It's my first time going hydro, soil was so much easier, never even checked my ph there. I hope I'm back on track now, I'll know in a few days....
so you're hydro, your ph should be in the 5.8 range then. 3 plants in how big of a rez? if you're just 2 weeks in veg then you're just beginning to feed unless you're using cuts. i would have a rez size of at least 15 gallons for 3 plants. small rez's with too many plants can cause your ph to drift all over the place.
I am using a small cabinet, I will scrog them so they'll be a little less than 2 feet tall... My reservoir size is 2 gallon... I fed them a little, but made sure the ppm was not higher than 300 http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-room-design-setup/285007-my-new-stealth-cabinet.html
micro, 2 gallons is nothing, you need a bigger rez, that's your problem. your problem won't go away, as the plants get larger, the problem will get worse.
I highly doubt that my reservoir size is the problem, since the roots are barely out of the pots. By flowering time, if I do end up with 3 females, and I see the root space is an issue, I can get rid of the weakest link. Thanks for the help though.
you know, you should probably include more details when asking for help. whatever your problem is, it will get worse. 2 gallons isn't enough for one plant. with 2 gallons, you'll never make it to flower. you should have done some reading before starting this grow. a single healthy plant could drink enough water and consume enough nutes to screw your ph up in a couple hours time. i'll be watching your progress with interest, good luck. i just looked at the link to your grow. you don't even have 2 gallons in your rez. 6 liters, that's almost funny.
The problem was definitely the PH, in the 4 days since I fixed the PH, the plants have more than doubled in size, and are starting to show good roots too. Thanks for the help..