Sorry if this has been asked before - i searched, and searched and found nothing. I am running 400w-600w 5 gal DWC lucas formula using the GH PH test kit because i broke my ph meter a month ago. I am having a zinc deficiency on my bubba kush 4 weeks in flowering and am pretty sure its because of my ph being too high, even though it looks good on my ph test kit. Im wondering if the reddish tinge to my res could be affecting color outcome of my ph test kit? I usually PH water then top off, but lately when i do it shows my ph really low after dding nutes.. When i add nutes to my 7.0 ph tap water (after 24 hrs) without adding ph down the tester shows below 5.5. And no matter how much ph up i add it just doesnt want to rise.. Not sure if the GH ph up is weak, the GH micro and bloom are buffering my ph too low, my ph test reading wrong, or lack of macro nutes? All i know is ive had the test color close to 5.8 lately and am still getting zinc deficiency. Thanks for any input.. p.s. already ordered a new ph meter but it wont be here until next wednesday probably..
Pic always Help, What Ppm Are you running? Are you using the Micro ? How many Ml of each are you using per gallon?
Sorry i took so long for pics, had to wait for lights on. But i am using about 15 ml micro and 30ml bloom per gallon. Of course i add less if my ppm gets a bit too high, but right now my ppms are about 2400, shes hungry never had a nute burn issue. I thought about it and i almost think it could be light bleaching instead of a deficiency because it only happened to a couple growing shoots that were pretty much right under the bulb, and my plants really close to my 400w hps about 2-3 inches away. First pic is of the whole plant, second is one of the affected shoots.
Your water could have so many dissolved solids that it's buffering your ph adjusting solution. Try a gallon of reverse osmosis water and see if that changes your situation. If you still don't get any visual change, you may need a new ph meter or nutrients.
your new leaves are curling. Your soil ph is probably off causing lockout, but it doesn't look that bad to me. You plant is a little flat colored overall. It might be the lighting you took the picture under though.
I only use a drop ph test kit. I have never noticed any difference in ferts causing color change on my ph test. I use pink, green, and blue chemical ferts and none cause a difference in the outcome of my PH test.
Thank you so much, this is what i really wanted to know grower. And thanks everyone else for helping too, im pretty sure i need to flush the salts out of my system with some clearex or something too.