BB & SSH Hydro Grow

[robotninja]

Are you using plain tap water? Also whats your Ph currently? Ph could be alittle too high or too low, not sure. Also tap water is generally hard water filled with bad crap. You want to let tap water sit for 24 hours so at least the flouride will evaporate, it's harmfull to your girls.

Not sure exactly whats going on without more info. The roots look healthy though.

 

[Hash Lover]

Unless it is the light the plants look yellow. Are you keeping the bottoms of the pots under water until they start showing roots through the net pot. I try to keep the water high enough to get to the roots that have not come through. If not they might not be getting enough water. Have you given them any nute yet? Here's a good plant problem guide with good photo's.http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=11688

 

[Hash Lover]

I forgot, I have used a ph tester from General Hydroponics that was much, much better than the strips. You put some water and couple drops of the stuff in. It didn't cost much. IMO the strips sucked. Then I got a digital one on ebay really cheap.

 

[greenearth5]

I am using plain ordinary tap water... i do not have access to anything else. The pH is probably around 7.0 I do plan on buying a digital pH/ppm/temp device next week. I just raised the light up so that its 9 inches above the top of the plants (used to be 4 in)

 

[robotninja]

Those test strips are incredibly inaccurate, I would defiantly say that is your problem.

You absolutely need to get a ph/ppm meter/pen asap! It's pretty hard to be successful in hydroponics without. Your ph has to be around 5.8 or your plants will probably die. And if your tap water is above 200 ppm, it's very bad for your plants.

 

[greenearth5]

I do plan on buying a pH meter, another light, ph +/-, and anything else needed...

Any thoughts on what i need?

 

[robotninja]

Assuming your ppm's are high, you will also need Reverse Osmosis water. The cheapest RO machine I have found is at wallmart. Get the Mr. Clean Auto Dry carwash. They are 20$ and replacement filters are 5$, will take tap water down to around 1-20 PPM (depending on hardness).

Or if you got the cash, get a 100$+ RO machine off ebay.

My tap water has about 650 PPM with a Ph of 8.2 or something high like that so I had a similar problem. After the Mr. Clean filter it dropped down to 15 PPM

But I feed my clones that 650 ppm hard water for the first couple weeks and they survived without problems. So I think your problem is in your PH. You said you used the whole bottle of PH down? That sounds like wayyyy to much man, your ph is prolly out of whack.

 

[greenearth5]

It was a small bottle of ph - made for aquariums... prob 8fl oz

I have never heard of RO before.. ill check into this

EDIT: I dont know much about PPM but I do know that I should keep it around 1200 when i start feeding them nutes... I guess if i drop my tap water down to 0 ppm then i am able to add more nutes?

 

[Hash Lover]

You can also use baking soda for ph up, and vinegar for ph down. I use only distilled water and for nutes I use General Hydroponics. I don't have any problems having to keep adjusting my ph. I ph it when I mix The nutes (soil and hydro). I only use about 1/4 tsp or less baking soda to get it where I want it if I need to. Lots of times it is good right after mixing and does not need anything. And don't have to check all week. When I have checked it at the end of the week it has been where it should be. I don't have a big grow so I use about maybe 6 gal a week. I do want to get a filter system though. Robo, I'll have to check out the one at Walmart. I just don't like to use my tap water since it is public water supply. I know I can let it sit but I still don't like the fact that the chlorine was even there. Wish I had some good well water to start with. I don't have a ppm meter yet so I do the first mix and only add plain water if it needs some before changing.

 

[Hash Lover]

It was a small bottle of ph - made for aquariums... prob 8fl oz

I have never heard of RO before.. ill check into this

EDIT: I dont know much about PPM but I do know that I should keep it around 1200 when i start feeding them nutes... I guess if i drop my tap water down to 0 ppm then i am able to add more nutes?

If you could drop your ppm to 0 it's not he fact that you can give them more nutes. But because there is nothing else in there you know there is nothing that is bad for them. And you can give them exactly what is best for them. But you need the right nutes. More than N-P-K, they need micronutrients also.

 

[greenearth5]

This is what I have... which i have not used yet

EDIT: so far my plants have goten 100% water.. no nutes... and 24/7 lighting

 

[Hash Lover]

That's good stuff, I use it myself for my soil growing. The only thing is it is made for soil. They also make one that is for hydro and they are not the same. You have no program to go by so you don't really know how much of what to give them. I believe the hydro is faster acting and is made to get used in the time it is in there (your week or so before it is changed). Where the soil mix gets used over a longer period of time. The hydro is also made to not clog pumps and such so that is part of the difference. But with DWC that's not an issue. I'm not saying it would not work and grow plants but we want what is best for our babies don't we ? If you want to do hydro you need to spend the money to get the basic stuff you need. The right nutes and a ph meter are a must. You can grow well without a ppm meter. I don't have one yet but I don't have much hydro going right now. But it is high on my list of things to get. IMO

 

[Hash Lover]

How old are they now? And was that yellowing or was it the light? If it's yellowing it need something. Low dose of nutes at least.

 

[greenearth5]

for the most part the plants are a good green color... one plant is a lil dark green.. but there is a small yellow tent to the bottom leafs

How old are they now? And was that yellowing or was it the light? If it's yellowing it need something. Low dose of nutes at least.

 

[Hash Lover]

Well I'm no expert at this (yet) but if your bottom leaves are starting to turn yellow then they should be starting to use up their stored energy and are wanting more. Of course at some point it is normal for the baby leaves will die off but it seems a little early to me. I use this on young plants and and when cloning. http://www.generalhydroponics.com/genhydro_US/diamondnectar.html I put it in my clone mix right from the start along with a little Superthrive. It can be used in hydro and soil. IMO it has a low dose of nutes and the ones that I want to help them get going. No N just P-K. Good for root and stalk development. But it's like with everything else, people have different ways they like to do things but if we end up with the results we want then we did good right?

 

[greenearth5]

They are starting to turn a more yellow color dude... one plant is drooping and leaning on the rockwool.. it looks like a freakin sponge... I was waiting to get a pH meter before i started to add nutes because if i add to many nutes then it could drop my pH so far down that it puts the plants into shock

Should i risk it?

The picture of the left is of the drooping plant... the colors are more yellow in the picture then in real life... but its close enough

 

[Hash Lover]

That's a tuff call because you don't have nutes made for hydro. If you did I would say use a seedling mix and you should be good. One good thing is you are not very far along and don't have much to lose maybe. Unless you don't have any more seeds. Is your water high enough to get to the bottom of the rockwool at least? If it's not it might not be getting enough water(just a though). I like to start my stuff in a smaller setup myself and transfer when they start showing some good roots. Easy enough in hydro. Like the ones in the pic. I don't have any that small right now to show you but this is what I use. Plus you don't need to use much nutes to fill them. Takes a little less than a gal to fill to where I want. But if you want to try to use something that you have I will try to suggest a mix. I would not use the Big bloom even though it might be the safest since it is organic it's slow acting. You can use it for a foiler spray though hydro or soil. That goes for all of them. That's a quick way to give them something. But, Going by what they call for and cutting it down I would try 1/2 tsp Grow Big with 1/2 tsp Tiger Bloom per gal and say your prayers to the marijuana gods and promise them you will get the right nutes for them. They like that. Now that I stopped to read it The Tiger Bloom say's it can be used for hydro. But they are still so small I would go with the 1/2 tsp to try to be safe. Give it a few days and if all is well bump the Tiger Bloom to 3/4 and then to 1 tsp.

 

[greenearth5]

Here are some pic of the inside of my DWC..... dotn worry about the 2 net pots that are not in the picture because the plants are basically dead

This is an 18 gallon tub but its probably holding 15 gallon water.... I am going to add a little less then 1/2 teaspoon Grow Big & Tiger Bloom per gal for good measure... so ill add 6 teaspoons each directly into my DWC and hopefully it wont fuck up my ph



EDIT: the two plants on the right have a root system that dangles into the water... the other one is just getting water splashed on it by the bubleing of the airstone... should i raise it up more?

 

[greenearth5]

So i just added 6 teaspoons of grow big & 6 of tiger bloom... lets see what this does

 

[Hash Lover]

Personally I would have the water about 1/4 up onto the net pot. You should do that until they have enough roots hanging down. More water won't hurt but to little might. When I have started mine and there were no roots hanging down I would always keep it up there. With a transplant also. I get nice roots coming out of the lower part of the net pot also. The big question here is How did you fit in the container and was it cold ??