Hey I'm pretty new to growing in general and figured I'd start running b4 I walk with hydro. So I would say I'm in my 3rd week of the seedling stage and I'm starting to notice some deficiencies in a few of my plants. Specifically the ones where the roots are touching the water. Could you guys help me around this problem? My inside temp is 80 something and I do my light 18-6 on/off. I have the water ph'd fine. The water temp is around 65-70 degrees if I'm not mistaken. Should I start using some sort of nuts? Here goes some pics. TIA
New to hydro
- Thread starter que1995
- Start date
secretmicrogrow420
Well-Known Member
boss man i think in hydro your supposed to use nutrients 24/7 i hope someone can help you but i would add base nutrients like a micro grow bloom 3 part asap! in hydro your plants only have the food that you give them so if you dont put any nutrients in the water they will have nothing to eat 
i hope this makes sense
i hope this makes sense
Yep makes sense. Ima get done tonight. They look pretty okay for not using any tho ima do alot of trial and error to get good at this. I appreciate the feed badboss man i think in hydro your supposed to use nutrients 24/7 i hope someone can help you but i would add base nutrients like a micro grow bloom 3 part asap! in hydro your plants only have the food that you give them so if you dont put any nutrients in the water they will have nothing to eat
Skillcraft
Well-Known Member
What nutes are you using. Maybe someone will be able to give some insight as to what strength you should be feeding at.
Did they tell you why? If you have water that runs about .25 to .3 ec depending on it's composition you might be able to get away it. I'm assuming they might be lucky.
Anyway I've run General Hydroponics Flora Trio and their CaliMagic. I have used Silicone at times but don't notice a big difference. But that's pretty much all the nutrients I use. Although since about 2014ish I started using DynaGro Foliage Pro for seeds/veg but the Flora trio can take you all the way through flower. So that would be easiest to start with.
You will need a pH pen and an EC or PPM pen. I have a Blue Lab pH pen and some cheap 11.99 pen off ebay or amazon that measures PPM. Apera makes a really sweet kit you should look at if you don't already have those things. @TCH just bought one and I want one LOL. You need to measure your tap water too and decide if you need RO water.
Lots of other people who are much better growers than I am will be around to help you. So hang in there. We have some really amazing growers here. Welcome to RIU.
Update so I added some notes the day u guys told me and this is what I'm coming g out with. I used 20 tsp of cal/mag and I forgot the other one but 20tsp for that also lol. Umm my ppm is around 753 it was at 8 something but I kept adding fresh ph'd water to bring it down to that 753. I didn't know if I should of kept taking out water to add fresh because that would mean less food then I put In I would assume. I'll add pics of the notes I put in when I get home. I've gotten the temp and humidity a bit more controlled also that makes me pretty happy.
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Drop That Sound
Well-Known Member
Generally, "seedlings" have enough nutrients in the seed itself, just enough to make it through the first little growth stage, which isn't all that long really. Probably what they were referring to? Once it has the first set of true leaves, it will start searching out for more nutrients and utilize them. In days though usually, def not 3 weeks, and especially in a hydro system of any kind..
Whats the original starting PPM of your source water? Using tap? What scale is your TDS meter? You probably don't need to be supplementing that much calmag, or even at all. More of a soiless\coco thing, and not so much with bare roots. I haven't bought or used any kind of specific calmag supplement products in over a decade of DWC growing anyway..
800 PPM is high IMO. That's like 80% strength with the nutes I use. I run smaller plants like that around 3-350 for a bit. Then I gradually bump up around 500 or so all through veg, no matter how long of a period. 800 is about the max I ever go with DWC, even in full flower mode with huge plants, with most strains. Maybe higher with a perfect dialed in environment, with c02 enrichment? They never ask for more IME, but many growers push it higher anyway and they still handle it fine. I tend to stay in the "sweet spot" range, where they drink exactly what you're giving them. As in, the water level drops, but the PPM stays about the same, and hopefully your PH gradually rises all at the same time. Thats what I go by, and not any feed charts for the most part..
Whats the original starting PPM of your source water? Using tap? What scale is your TDS meter? You probably don't need to be supplementing that much calmag, or even at all. More of a soiless\coco thing, and not so much with bare roots. I haven't bought or used any kind of specific calmag supplement products in over a decade of DWC growing anyway..
800 PPM is high IMO. That's like 80% strength with the nutes I use. I run smaller plants like that around 3-350 for a bit. Then I gradually bump up around 500 or so all through veg, no matter how long of a period. 800 is about the max I ever go with DWC, even in full flower mode with huge plants, with most strains. Maybe higher with a perfect dialed in environment, with c02 enrichment? They never ask for more IME, but many growers push it higher anyway and they still handle it fine. I tend to stay in the "sweet spot" range, where they drink exactly what you're giving them. As in, the water level drops, but the PPM stays about the same, and hopefully your PH gradually rises all at the same time. Thats what I go by, and not any feed charts for the most part..
What bad about light getting in? I feel like that'll create a dirty reservoir right?
warble
Well-Known Member
Those look very dark. Maybe a little too much nitrogen. Since I don't really see any tip burn, your plants seem to be able to take it. I would hold off on pumping up the PPMs, like Drop that Sound, mentioned. I also agree to cover the holes. You don't want root rot. Keep it clean and change out nutes when the PH starts to get wonky. I try to keep the PH under 6.3 and above 5.8.
'Bout a pound,
Enjoy
'Bout a pound,
Enjoy
Omg yep I definitely have algae in there. What should I do
I hope it's light proof if not ima wrap the whole thing in foil lmao
So when the ph gets low that's when u can tell it's time to feed again? How often should I clean the reservoir? And then is there a meter that tells me EXACTLY how much nitrogen and things of that matter they're getting? If that makes sense
Just clean out the reservoir, mix new nutrients and if you wish you can run chlorine as a preventative. I use pool shock Calcium Hypochlorite as it's also a Ca source. Just search the site for the dilution calculator @Wastei has put up (thanks).