Temp is around 86-88, humidity stays around 40, ph-5.8-6.5. Ever since I moved it into the DWC I have seen NO growth. The problem I'm having with my box(2x2x4) is that I have to keep the air moving because the heat builds up quickly but with the amount of air moving my humidifier doesn't have enough power to push the level above 40% (trying to figure out how to fix this) Day before yesterday was when i put it in the DWC. I've taken a cup and poured some of the reso water over the hydroton to give them some moisture but they dry up almost immediately. The lights are now about 8 inches away to reduce the heat. At first I had them about 3 inches away(2-5000k,2-6500k) One of the cotyledons is slightly curled at the tip. You can't tell so much from the pics, but its also starting to turn a lighter green/yellow around the edges and overall looks pretty dry. The nutes that are in the reso right now are from Technaflora: ROOT 66 and MagiCal at less than half strength. Water level is about an inch below cube. What should I do?
86F with 40% humidity is not bad, not ideal, but not bad, my grow has about 85F and 25% RH and it's still looking strong.... but i grow in soil, so not sure, but i would say perhaps a nute burn issue...
that's what my other guess would be but then again I'm still just a n00b . thanks for the reply! anyone else?
Try placing a small pump in the res with a dripper or even a steady stream of solution going into the hydroton. This will keep it moist until the roots pop through the net pot. If that is not an option, then continue to wet the hydroton with cups of solution as often as possible to ensure that any roots that are in the hydroton do not dry out as this will stunt growth tremendously. Also, keep the pH between 5.8-6.0 and possibly cut the nutrient strength down to 1/3 or 1/4 strength. Seedlings at this stage get a lot of nutrients from the cotyledons and do not require much more until they are well rooted and established. Good luck, Dr. T
I actually did give them only 1/4 strength nutes at first, my mistake on saying I gave them half. Should I drain some of the res water and fill it with phed water only? that should help cut down on the amount of nutes. and yes I will continue to top feed by hand. Do i want to pour the water over the medium too? or only the surrounding hydroton?
First of all... you should have let the plant veg for a bit until a good root system could be seen at the bottom of either the peet pot or rockwool cube that you planted in ... Secondly... the roots, when you transplanted into hydroton.. should be as close to the bottom of your net pot as possible.. Thirdly... your temps and humity are manageable... I myself have grown a very small box and know what you are talking about... the biggest problm.... AERATION of the solution in the DWC... REMEMBER... DWC needs AGGRSSIVE BUBBLING... it helps create a near aeroponic misty behavior and will keep you hydroton damp. It will also keep your roots alive as they grow into and sit in the solution. FINAL ANSWER- Add more air stones... dont mess around with top feed... if you think you nute burned em... flush em and give em a few days... Hope this helps J. Seed
The medium needs to be wet at all times but I am assuming that it holds water much longer than hydroton so the surrounding hydroton will most likely require waterings much more often than the medium in the center. Try to keep the temps down if possible and the humidity sounds fine. Another thing I would suggest is to, if possible, get some Roots Excelurator and add it to your solution through three weeks flower. This will speed up the rooting process and also promote new root growth that is crucial to get your plant well established in its bucket. Good luck bro!
Looks like nute burn, flush and use plain water only until a good root base is established. I agree, I personally don't use any nutes or ph adjusted water until the roots are at least 4 inches long. I start my seedlings in a small bubble cloner with a heater in the water and when the roots are 4 inches long I transfer to a bigger 5 gallon bucket for further vegging with nutes.
ok so i went ahead and drained out about 2 gallons of the res and filled with 2 gallons of phed water before i got responses . Should i go ahead and flush out the whole thing? or do you think the plant will be fine now that i've replaced half of the water? As for transplanting, the roots had already begun to emerge from the medium, i just checked again and i can still a couple small root tips sticking out of the bottom of the medium and the surrounding hydroton has moisture. The plant is technically only getting around an 1/8 or less strength nutes. P.S. I also have 2 of the 20-60 gallon air pumps in my res so I'm pretty confident I have good aerated water. Here's the pump: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Aqua-Culture-20-60-Gallon-Double-Outlet-Aquarium-Air-Pump-1-ct/10532634
Sounds like you may have got it. Like J.Ganjaseed said, make sure you have ample aeration of the solution in the bucket. If the roots are in anaerobic solution, your plant will never flourish. Keep us posted on the progress! Peace
My opinion is to replace all of the water with plain water. You can ph adjust and add nutes after your roots are at least 2 to 4 inches long. Can you see the roots yet?
i can only see a couple roots poking out of the medium. I'll go ahead and flush the whole thing. Later on I'll post some pics of my build so I can get everyones opinion on my design
Let those roots get 2 to 4 " long before feeding it nutes. Here are a couple of charts that have proven to be useful. Make sure you get a ph pen to test ph, accuracy is a must. I have found that during veg and flowering (not seedlings or clones) that a ph of 5.8 is best. As you can see in the chart, some nutes get locked out either way and 5.8 is pretty neutral. Also make sure to use the right conversion numbers and disregard the other two for ppm measurements.
Sounds like it's in shock. I would guess that it's the cotton, nute imbalance, or ph. The leaves have tips that died very quickly. The color indicates quick burn. Something caused it to be in shock very quickly. But it looks like it will recover.
Ok so I completely flushed out the res and poured some of the new phed water over the medium and hydroton. Thanks a million guys, I really appreciate all the help! I will keep everyone posted as this grow comes along.
good onya to all ... INDEED.. NO NUTES UNTIL ESTABLISHED... FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH.. Cotton-- Nice for underwear... dont know about growing medium.. but to each is own.. This is my general technique for starting from seed. Check it! 1. Soak seeds in room temp water over night ( helps promote feminising) 2. Dinner plate, Paper towels, Seeds in towels... keep damp.. seeds should pop in a day... 3. grodan 2 inch rockwool cubes... Dunk in 5.5 ph water to neutralize... 4. Insert white stem root into cube.. Pinch top. 5. 1-2 days.. first leaves pop up... to floro lights for 18-6 after this.. 6. keep moist.. too much water will kill root system. 7. grow until main tap root is poking out bottom. 8. transplant to bubbler system. so... you should have a ph meter.. make sure you are right at 5.5 to 6.0 orangish yellow on the color scale.... AIR AIR AIR... make that pot bubble so when the bubles pop on the surface, it creates a mist..... ALSO.... WATER SOURCE?? Filtered?? PPM check? Salt build up? I use an inline Camping filter that has carbon AND sediment filter.. takes all of the salts and nastys , and some chlorine... my ladys always love fresh , clean , pure , water... Keep us posted !! J. Seed