Anyone know what's going on here?

[friguy]

This problem just started last week. Using half tap water which is running about 7.9 ph and 260 ppm and half ro water which is running about 8.1 ph and 49 ppm. Then I adjust the ph down to 6.8 and averageing 150 to 160 ppm. MG soil 2 weeks old two 26 watt 6500k cfl bulbs per pot. Possibly overwatering?

 

[luciferateme]

looks like overwatering, how often are you watering anyway and what sort of temps are you getting during the day and at night? also how far away have you got the cfls. personally io never use soil with added shite, then i knwo what im adding is what there getting, i hate waiting for the plants to tell me when the nuters in the soil are gone because you just never klnow, its different with all plants vigour.
back off on watering anyway and see how they get on. it looks like the overwatering has released more nitrogen from the soil aswell but im no expert.
probably not but the holes in the bottom of the pot are not blocked up are they?
lu

 

[stonedmetalhead1]

This could also be a PH problem caused by overwatering coupled with cooler medium temps or a bunch of things. Check your run off PH and if necessary top dress with some fast acting lime it is a better product to use for ph adjustment in soil. I've used other ph products but they just don't cut it in soil. Also your R/O water should not have a higher ph, something is wrong.

 

[friguy]

i was watering a half cup every other day but I increased to a quart every three days. I watered yesterday which was the frist watering in three days and I cut my water back to a cup per plant. the soil tested dry in all of them with a stick in the dirt tester. Water was adjusted like before to a 6.8 still a mixture of both tap and ro. the holes should still be clear in the bottom of the pots but I will check anyway

 

[friguy]

This could also be a PH problem caused by overwatering coupled with cooler medium temps or a bunch of things. Check your run off PH and if necessary top dress with some fast acting lime it is a better product to use for ph adjustment in soil. I've used other ph products but they just don't cut it in soil. Also your R/O water should not have a higher ph, something is wrong.

i just tested my water again. I should mention also that I have a water softener. Tap water is 7.4 ph and 224 ppm. RO water is 7.8 ph and 32 ppm. I am kinda of the opinion it is overwatering. Lights are about 2" above plants. My room is about 68 degrees, but on the floor it is about 60. If I put my thermometer in the pot it reads about 80 right under the light

 

[friguy]

Could it be getting to cold at night. The temp of the floor this morning is 58 deg. Nice and warm in the pot under the light though.

 

[grow plenty]

Could it be getting to cold at night. The temp of the floor this morning is 58 deg. Nice and warm in the pot under the light though.

that sounds like your problem...although your canopy temp sounds good, your roots are freezing (not litterally). definatly get those pots off the floor, and if you can get a fan to mix your air, so it wont be as cold down on the floor, peace

 

[friguy]

that sounds like your problem...although your canopy temp sounds good, your roots are freezing (not litterally). definatly get those pots off the floor, and if you can get a fan to mix your air, so it wont be as cold down on the floor, peace

Thanks grow plenty. I wired up my exhaust fan this morning to try to pull more heat from the house through the closet. I will see in a little while if it makes much difference. I will do something to get them up higher and off the floor. Would adding some more lights help. All I have are some 43 watt 2700k bulbs that I was saving for flowering , but I could add those in there too.

 

[luciferateme]

those lights will add a bit more heat alright and the different spectrum wont be a problem, as grow plenty advised plants will cold roots do lock up. i had it on 2 plants and it was a bugger to diagnose. just keep a close eye on the temps. you can get one of those highest/lowest temp meters cheap enough which will give you a good idea. just one other thing you are letting your tap water stand for 24 hours for the chlorine to evaporate and also it lets the water heat up a bit and not give the plants so much of a shock. i hate winters!
good luck with it
lu

 

[giantart]

Looks like cold shock to me - I saw buy a small heater for the space, and an aquarium heater for the reservoir.

 

[friguy]

Thanks for your input guys. I think you maybe right. I haven't watered in several days and I think yesterday when I watered I actually heard one of them say ahh. As always I used room temp water that was adjusted to a ph of between 6.5 and 6.8. I got them off the floor yesterday but the temp at the bottom of the pot is holding around 56. There is no room for a heater in here and my room has a nw facing wall. It's like -10 or some stupid shit outside this morning. I am pretty sure my problems are temp related. Here are some more pics from last night.

 

[friguy]

Sorry pics didn't post

 

[luciferateme]

the first one is looking a bit better, i know getting the temps right are a pain, thats the main reason i got the mh and hps. i have two grow rooms now and while one is off i i expel the air from the one that is on into that tent to keep temps up a bit while they are in night. have you looked at the aquarium heaters you can get, the little thin mat that goes under the pots and keeps the pot warm, you should be able to get one cheap enough nowadays. other than that one of the 40w space heaters, they are the long tubes you can get(lokks like a metal flourescent) and that should help with temps. if you put a pic of your grow area maybe one of us could help with a better suggestion.
good luck with it.
lu

 

[Hydrotech364]

I think they covered everything,except.With that softening system how high does that thing kick up youre ppm?I would try to get my water in front of that water softener.With PH that high there probably isnt that much sulphur in the water.Smell it and check your ppm.Could be nute lockout.I didnt see any pics at all.Peace

 

[Hydrotech364]

Found the pics,looks like they are locked up.PPM?Before and after nutes.With the softener youre ppm could be 400-800 or more.That doesnt leave much room for nutes @ this stage of life.Always remember high ppm=low ph,Low ppm =high ph.you have to adjust accordingly.Better off with straight unsoft water,now I'll stfu.Peace

 

[friguy]

Here are some more pics. Also some of the closet I am using. It's kinda odd pic number two and number three are out of the same pot. I am gonna get rid of one if it's male later. I did discover that I was pulling cold air from under the bath tub on one side so yesterday I stuffed some insulation up under it and I don't feel any cold air anymore.
This morning the temp was still 56 in there on the floor. It was -18 outside so wtf how can you tell if you did any good. My tub is on one side of the closet and the other side is exterior wall. I will look into the aquarium heater idea and thanks for that. My ppm from my water that could possibly be softened is average about 260 ppm. I don't yet know if it is before the softener or not, I haven't crawled under the house to see. I am getting it out of my hydrant outside. I always let it sit to room temp before I use it.
I mix it with ro water to get about 150 ppm however it came out to 196 ppm last time so it varies. I always adjust the ph to 6.5 to 6.8.
Whats the effect the low temps are gonna have besides the ones I can see now.
I plan on turning on the timer this week.

 

[DirtyDiana]

Hi friguy. I have a thread going also that I started because of drooping leaves. After thinking at first it was over or under watering, I looked at my journal and realized it started happening after my husband suggested I put the plants on the floor, concrete basement flor brrrrrr. I since put them back up on a table and put a heater in there at night time and off and on here and there during the day. This morning the plants were no longer drooping. I noticed yesterday during the day they were good, then towards nighttime, when it got colder, they started drooping again, then heater, then fine. So I came to the conclusion that the roots were too cold. As far as any other issues I dont know, but the cold made my girls wilt and droop and look like wet hanging rags. GOOD LUCK!

 

[friguy]

Hi friguy. I have a thread going also that I started because of drooping leaves. After thinking at first it was over or under watering, I looked at my journal and realized it started happening after my husband suggested I put the plants on the floor, concrete basement flor brrrrrr. I since put them back up on a table and put a heater in there at night time and off and on here and there during the day. This morning the plants were no longer drooping. I noticed yesterday during the day they were good, then towards nighttime, when it got colder, they started drooping again, then heater, then fine. So I came to the conclusion that the roots were too cold. As far as any other issues I dont know, but the cold made my girls wilt and droop and look like wet hanging rags. GOOD LUCK!

Did they look like mine?

 

[DirtyDiana]

Did they look like mine?

Yes, but because my plants are older, fuller and taller, mine looked worse, and being up higher they looked to droop more. I had 99% of people tell me over watering or under, and I after I mentioned the cold, I had one person say THATS THE PROBLEM. I still have people telling me it is over/under watering, but when I do my troubleshooting, the watering does not add up and does not help or do anything different for the plants. But when I change the temp, plants get better. I had an idea it was the temps in the room, but I confirmed it last night when I first turned lights out, went in to check on them a few hours later and man where they sad looking. I put heater on, and several hours later I checked, with lights still out, and they were not so sad, then in the morning they were happy. So........you will have to do some trouble shooting yourself to see if that in fact is your problem. If you change the temp, get them off of the floor and you see a difference, you will know. But that is based on how you are doing with your watering. If you know for a fact that you fed them 3 days in a row with 8 gallons of water, well then you know that is your problem. But if you have tried the troubleshooting to find out if it is in fact the water and dont see your plants getting better, and they get better with temps, then you know, ya know? But yes, mine were looking like yours.

 

[DirtyDiana]

And so you know, I am in Chicago and our temps have been way below normal. My basement temps were getting down to probably below 60, and I cant even imagine what the temps were ON the concrete floor.