Full journal of my 1st grow. Indoor aeroponics. Big Bud seeds. 400w HPS/MH

[eagleClaw]

So far so good. As you can tell by the pics, the plants are really doing great.

I did my first flush of the system today. I measured the pH and ppm levels to keep those similar in the new water I added. The only key difference in the new water is the temp. Old water in the res was at 27C and the new water is at 18C. I think this shocked the plants a little and they are looking droopy (check out the last pic)

I hope that raising the water temp a little will help the plants perk right back up!

Check out the roots!! again, sorry for the sideways pic

This is the one with the best symetry:

I think this is from the water temp difference:

 

[LimPShoT]

Yeah, mine does leak a little too. It's not a problem the way I have it set up though. It's in the basement in a room with a drain and I top it off every morning with a fresh nute mixed and pH'd chilled gallon of water. That has the added benefit of keeping the res water cooler.

I did put some 3M weatherstripping around the edge and that helped cut down on the leaks big time. I also have the lid weighed down with jugs of water but will replace that with some bungee cords instead. I'll put up the pics after I do that.

bungee cords are a good idea ill try that and maybe a few weight plates, yeah that middle pic looks like it is a mirror image!! quite symetrical.

 

[eagleClaw]

All is looking good and plans are happy.

I'm still working on the temperature levels (they're as high as 87F at plant level) and think I'll be putting together a cool tube for my 400w MH. That should help with the temps at plant level.

Going to try this out: DIY: Best Cool Tube - Grasscity.com Forums Anyone try this before and have good/bad luck with it? Looks simple enough.

I've ordered some H2O2, figure it'll help battle root rot and diseases since my water temps seem to be a little on the high side. Also going to try out a different brand of pH up and have a liter of that on order as well.


Here's the all-star:

 

[eagleClaw]

Bad news!!

I am battling what looks like root-rot. I noticed that the plants were acting like they had some nute lock-out issues. The oldest leaves (bottom most) are turning yellow with some light brown spots.

I've also noticed that the pH in the res keeps rising every time I check.
I was stomped by this for a while and then noticed that the roots look more off-white (almost brown) than they are supposed to. This I think is the dreaded root-rot!!

I've got some H2O2 on order and hopefully it gets here soon. In the meantime I hope my babies hang in there and don't die on me. Too bad I couldn't find any 35% H2O2 in town.


Has anyone used H2O2 and at what dosage? I hear that 1.7mL/gal is a good ratio. Does anyone know how often I have to add it? Should I rinse out my res fully and flush first?

Any help would be appreciated!!!

 

[LimPShoT]

eagle check this thread here https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/130177-root-rot-25-gallon-rubermaid.html

that sucks about root rot, dont get discouraged keep it up. I started to germ (5 seeds) some of my seeds a couple of days ago and already got 2 seeds with taproots man i am excited!

 

[eagleClaw]

Cool, thanks for the heads up LimPShoT!

The plants seem to be doing better. Some of the lower leafs got hit hard and might have to go, but that's alright, the tops seem to be healthy. I see some white roots starting to show up more around the damaged brownish roots, so I take it as a good sign. I'll take some pics and post them later today.

I've been working on keeping the water temp lower and that 35% H2O2 should be coming in the mail anytime now. That should really get the root healing going.

 

[Earl]

I'm sad to read about your root problems, your grow was going pretty well.

Hopefully some cooler weather will help you get the rez temp lower.

I have used up those pen meter like they were disposable.

They always break about midway through flowering phase.

Be very careful with it and don't tap it on the rez or drop it.

If you calibrate at just 7.
then you are not getting the accuracy you want,
You should also calibrate at pH 4

When your pen meter takes a crap,
do your self a favor and get a American Marine PinPoint pH meter
for about $80-$100 on ebay.

Or a Milwakee SM 101

These meters are very accurate,
100 times more accurate than the pen meters,
and the best buy for the money.

Then you can just replace the probe every other grow.

Some strains are more dependent on close tolerance to pH than others.

Never put your pH probe into distilled or RO,
until it has something in it like salt or nutes.

About 2ml/gl is the max load for H2o2,
I like the 1.7 ml figure you are planning.

H2o2 is a band aid
and should not be considered a solution
to your temperature problem.

Moving the pump outside of the rez
will help lower your temps
and blowing some cold air into the rez helps a lot.

Try to keep the rez temp below 69º
after you stop the root rot,
or it will return.

You should also get some enzyme product like Sensizme or Hygrozyme,
so the damaged roots will be eaten and dissolved.
.

 

[eagleClaw]

I'm sad to read about your root problems, your grow was going pretty well.

Thanks! I think it'll be ok. I think that I've lost a few lower leaves and a couple of days of really slow growth with this problem, but I think they will be making a full recovery.

I have used up those pen meter like they were disposable.

They always break about midway through flowering phase.

Be very careful with it and don't tap it on the rez or drop it.

If you calibrate at just 7.
then you are not getting the accuracy you want,
You should also calibrate at pH 4

When your pen meter takes a crap,
do your self a favor and get a American Marine PinPoint pH meter
for about $80-$100 on ebay.

These meters are very accurate,
100 times more accurate than the pen meters,
and the best buy for the money.

Then you can just replace the probe every other grow.

Some strains are more dependent on close tolerance to pH than others.

Never put your pH probe into distilled or RO,
until it has something in it like salt or nutes.

Wow, thanks for the advice. I'll keep an extra close eye on the pH meter. If this grow works out, I'll be getting a better pH meter for sure!

About 2ml/gl is the max load for H2o2,
I like the 1.7 ml figure you are planning.

Cool, good to have affirmation that I'm going the correct route.

H2o2 is a band aid
and should not be considered a solution
to your temperature problem.

Moving the pump outside of the rez
will help lower your temps
and blowing some cold air into the rez helps a lot.

Try to keep the rez temp below 69º
after you stop the root rot,
or it will return.

I've been slowly getting my temp issue under control both in the res and at plant level. The res is now at about 75F and close to the same thing at plant level. I need to drop the res another 5 degrees or so and should be sailing!

(I've noticed that the unpleasant smell I used to get when opening the res is no longer there now that I've got the temps under control)

You should also get some enzyme product like Sensizme or Hygrozyme, so the damaged roots will be eaten and dissolved.

Thanks again for the tip. I'll get an order put in for one of these.

::

 

[eagleClaw]

Well, the plants are still recovering from root-rot, but I think they are doing ok now. I am seeing new growth again, and only the very bottom leaves got affected as you can tell from the pictures.

​

Here are what my roots look like now. It was a little hard to capture it in a picture, so I hope you get the idea. What I'm seeing is some good looking white roots and some very brown and dirty looking roots. This is what i assumed to be root-rot.

Here is what we're looking at on Day 19. Probably should be further along, but being we're still looking alive, I'm more than happy.

Here is the good symetry beauty:

Here you can see some of the leaf damage done by the problems I've been having

 

[eagleClaw]

Must have fixed whatever was bothering them. As I woke up this morning, they are looking very healthy and lots of new growth.

I haven't even added the H2O2 yet, it hasn't arrived in the mail yet. Just been working on keeping my water cooler and cleaner and that seems to be the trick. I'll still add some H2O2 when it arrives so the system is a little more forgiving with pH changes.

 

[Earl]

You should avoid using the H2o2 if at all possible.

It will be nice to have some for emergencies,
and it is good for cleaning, just wear gloves
cause it will bleach your skin

You should not mix the enzymes with H2o2.

Keep the rez changes often
and keep the rez cool.

Your doing OK.
don't get over zealous.

.

 

[eagleClaw]

You should avoid using the H2o2 if at all possible.

It will be nice to have some for emergencies,
and it is good for cleaning, just wear gloves
cause it will bleach your skin

You should not mix the enzymes with H2o2.

Keep the rez changes often
and keep the rez cool.
.

Good to know these things. I guess I'll just keep the H2O2 around for emergency and cleaning use only then. Guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it applies here.

The plants are doing pretty good. Still showing some good growth and looking happy. I'll update with some pics later.

 

[Earl]

What is your rez temp ?

 

[eagleClaw]

What is your rez temp ?

It's between 72-75F

 

[eagleClaw]

So, the plants are now at 3 weeks and are looking like they are happy and mostly healthy. I am going to give the water in the res another week and then flush with new water and up the nutes a little.

​

Here is all-star:

Here is the symetry queen, still fairly symetrical:

The good symetry one did start developing some yellowing on it's new leaves in between the veins. Looks to me like zinc deficiency, probably paired with Fe and Mn deficiencies. Those could all be caused by high pH levels. Every morning I check the res and always have to bring it down quite a bit. It likes to creep towards 6.6+ in a day and I try to bring it down towards 5.7 with the crappy pH Down that I got at a pet store. The good stuff should be here tomorrow.

Here is the best pic I could get of the yellowing.

 

[LimPShoT]

there comming along man, cant wait till i get my girls there myself check my grow out if ya like, i will post more pics of my setup this week when i have time.

 

[eagleClaw]

there comming along man, cant wait till i get my girls there myself check my grow out if ya like, i will post more pics of my setup this week when i have time.

Looking good.

I've made a small mod to my setup that pretty much stopped all the leaks I was having out of the res. Instead of having the sprayers stand upright off the pvc pipe, I've turned it so they are now parallel to the ground instead of perpendicular. This makes the spray go straight up and down, not side to side. The roots still get plenty wet, but now there is much less leakage due to the fact that the seam of the lid is not getting sprayed directly.


The plants are doing really well now. They have really taken off and I notice new growth every time I check!

I'll post some pics tonight.

 

[LimPShoT]

sounds like a good idea with the sprayers are you using the same # of sprayers??

 

[eagleClaw]

sounds like a good idea with the sprayers are you using the same # of sprayers??

I'm actually using 10 sprayers, a little overkill, but seems to do the job well.

 

[eagleClaw]

Plants are doing ok I think. Showing some growth as you can tell from the pictures.

I have so far kept off nutes aside from one feeding, but think I'll start easing them into some fox farms nutes. What do you guys think?


All star:

Groupshot (I decided to call the stragler in the lower right hand corner 'Shortbus'):