How does my 9 day old girl look?

M

markl

Member
I will def clean the tank Sunday She is 21 days old today. Here are some pics.
_DSC2095.jpg_DSC2096.jpg_DSC2097.jpg_DSC2098.jpg

I will also add that I've had my lights on 20-4 since popped up. I'm using 2 125 watt replacement full spectrum 5500K CFL's on lamps in front of the AeroGarden too. Then I put a large sheet of that reflecter stuff across the front.
 
Mr.Natural

Mr.Natural

Active Member
Alright Mark, not bad bro...




These spots are from the PH adjustment burn that I mentioned....Just no more drops in the res and you'll be good...Looks like new growth is fine...The brown leaves will not heal, so dont sweat it...It's all about the new growth now...
Have you done the mods to the res? Air stone? Air pump?
 
N

Newbt

Member
Hmm, those spotted leaves look exactly how my plants looked when I had a magnesium deficiency. I bought some calimagic and it cleared it up. I was using straight distilled water for the first 2 weeks of my grow. I did forget about the rise in ppms meaning a possibility of growth in your rez, I too went through this at about week three the rubber piece from my lid that hung down in the tank had some sort of brown slime(algae?) on it so I cut it off the lid and really cleaned the lid, I also purchased some food grade H2O2 3% and began adding 10ml per gallon on rez change and 1-2ml daily. Another thing to help with that is to check the rez temps and try to keep it around(I think) 65-68f. I too siphon my water out because after your roots take off it will nearly impossible to fully clean your rez.

I am also new to this but since we are using similar grow environments and I am a couple weeks ahead of you on growth time I'm just trying to help through the troubleshooting I've done. I certainly love it when the more seasoned growers stop through to help out. I learned something new that I may try while flowering which is to keep extra nutes solution to top off with, I just had seen through most of my research on autos was to top with ph'd water. hope this helps some.
 
N

Newbt

Member
Mr.Natural said:
Has either one of you guys looked at my old journal?
Click to expand...
I did was one of the journals that helped me when I started, I may read it again tonight just to get a refresh. Please feel free to correct any advice I give like I said I am only going by my personal grow experience which is limited.
 
N

Newbt

Member
I think I know why I didn't mention algae growth or possible root rot, it was because your ph stayed constant. I was led to believe that rise in ppms and big drops in ph were the symptoms. Maybe Mr natural can clarify.
 
Mr.Natural

Mr.Natural

Active Member
My point is someone, including myself has made most of the mistakes you guys are going to run up against...and maybe armed with this info you may avoid the pitfalls...but with perseverance you can get the experience you will need to pull it off with this thing...The tiny res is really the biggest hurdle to overcome....I ended up feeding two to three times a day...Not the best set up....
Post up a journal Newbt...
 
N

Newbt

Member
Mr.Natural said:
My point is someone, including myself has made most of the mistakes you guys are going to run up against...and maybe armed with this info you may avoid the pitfalls...but with perseverance you can get the experience you will need to pull it off with this thing...The tiny res is really the biggest hurdle to overcome....I ended up feeding two to three times a day...Not the best set up....
Post up a journal Newbt...
Click to expand...
I have one going on gc, can't disrespect riu by posting the link but I have the same name there. I've been thinking about a journal here though. I'm using an ag ultra which has almost 1.5gal rez and I can see what your saying the roots are taking over. I had two autos growing in it but one turned out male. I can only imagine how full my rez would be right now with both of them.
 
M

markl

Member
Thanks all. The help is truly appreciated.
Airstone is installed since the start.
Do I need to empty, clean and refill the res every time the PH is off?
Mr. Natural, How do I find your old journal? Can you post a link?

Ok, I emptied, cleaned and refilled the tank with fresh spring water with grow big, big bloom and Camg+ in a little less than 1/2 recommended dose. No sign of root rot or algae. PH 5.8 and PPM 549. Sound good?

Update: After circulating for about 2 hours I rechecked the PH. It rose to 7.1 in that short of a time. What would cause it to go from the 5.8 that it was when I poured it in to 7.1 in 2 hours? I added some PH down (about 10 drops) (I know you said not to, but I had to do something) and got it back to 5.8.

I checked again at 10 PM. PH is up to 6.0 and PPM is 620. I left it alone this time as its still in the "safe" zone. I'll see what she does by morning. She looks very good and happy. No sign of anything bad on the new growth and the spots on old growth has stabilized.
 
N

Newbt

Member
markl said:
Thanks all. The help is truly appreciated.
Airstone is installed since the start.
Do I need to empty, clean and refill the res every time the PH is off?
Mr. Natural, How do I find your old journal? Can you post a link?

Ok, I emptied, cleaned and refilled the tank with fresh spring water with grow big, big bloom and Camg+ in a little less than 1/2 recommended dose. No sign of root rot or algae. PH 5.8 and PPM 549. Sound good?

Update: After circulating for about 2 hours I rechecked the PH. It rose to 7.1 in that short of a time. What would cause it to go from the 5.8 that it was when I poured it in to 7.1 in 2 hours? I added some PH down (about 10 drops) (I know you said not to, but I had to do something) and got it back to 5.8.

I checked again at 10 PM. PH is up to 6.0 and PPM is 620. I left it alone this time as its still in the "safe" zone. I'll see what she does by morning. She looks very good and happy. No sign of anything bad on the new growth and the spots on old growth has stabilized.
Click to expand...
Do you have a calibration solution? If so calibrate your ph meter and ppm meter if possible, just to make sure your meters aren't giving wrong readings(I have to calibrate mine about every 1-2 weeks). I use a two point calibration with gh 7.0 and 4.0 solutions. I also use the gh tds solution for my ppm meter. You can get away with not calibrating your ppm meter(not recommended) but making sure your ph meter is giving correct readings is a must.

Not sure if this will help but it may, if your ppms and ph haven't stabilized when you check. I would flush the rez(empty it) and then fill it with the bottled water you use ph'd to 5.6-5.8. Let your plant drink that clear clean water for 8-24hrs(your choice). Then drain your rez again and add back your nute solution(or a little less). See how things go from there. Try to watch your plant while she is flushing to see if she perks up or luckily even grows, then when you add back the nutes check to see how she reacts. That will let you know if she is ok. Hope this helps.


Here is the link Mr. Naturals journal its a good read. https://www.rollitup.org/aerogardeners/325240-ag-deluxe-150-converting-wifes.html
 
M

markl

Member
Ok, here is some more input.
Yes, I do calibrate my PH and PPM meters.

I flushed and refilled Sunday. Here is where I'm at:
The plain spring water I used was PH of 7.6 and PPM of 227.
I added my Foxfarm and CAmg+ and PHed it down to 5.8. The PPM was 549 when I poured into the tank.
7 hours later (9:45 PM Sunday) the PH was 6.0 and the PPM was 620
At 9:00 AM Monday the PH was up to 7 and the PPM is 564. I took some of the water out of the res and added PH down, shook it up and poured it back in. ( also overnight she grew 1/2 inch)
At 1:30 PM Today the PH was 6.2 and the PPM is down to 488.

From what I've been reading this seems to be a good thing. PPM down and PH up means she is eating the nutes. Right?

If I'm right about that. At what point should I add more nutes? And do I have to do a complete drain, clean and fill to do so?
 
H

hunterdog111299

Active Member
Youll know if she is drinking the water up and using it because the water level in your res will drop. Ive never done any hydro grows myself , but ive done several outdoor grows in containers of soil . I have had some pretty good sized plants , and I mean 6 to 7 feet tall and a good 5 foot diameter by topping and training when they were young. Its not uncommon for a large developing plant to go through a couple gallons of water a day or more under the sun. In your case the more she grows the more water and nutrients shell take up. Yes fast growth = thirsty hungry girls. I don't think your far off in your analysis of what may be happening. If I was you I would pay more attention to what she is telling you and less of what your tds and ph meters are . as long as you keep them in check. She already told you " Hey ive got a cal/mag def," and you listend to her. From the pics I saw you put up after you corrected that she looked much happier. Unlike most human women the ladie jane will tell you exactly whats up if you pay attention to her. Like I said I have 0 experience with hydro but from all the litriture out there on the web Ive spent countless hrs reading , as long as you maintain your ppm and ph , watch her to see how she reacts youll have a good grow. As far as draining every time I havnt read to much into that , but I wouldn't do it every time , but with such a small res you may think about it every 2 or 3 feedings.
 
N

Newbt

Member
Are you sure your spring waters ppm is that high because that is pretty much the equivalent of hard water? as far as adding nutes I do that when I change the reservoir or if my ppms drop to around 250-300,I then just mix up a new batch and refill the res. You could try like Mr natural suggested and keep some extra solution on hand to top off with. I think I'm going to try it to see how it goes, I'm just worried about topping with nutes if it will make my ppm rise higher than needed which could lead to burn.
 
M

markl

Member
Yup Newbt, that spring water is that high. I checked it a couple of times to make sure. I might go back to distilled or Aquafina and see how she likes it. I think I'm going to keep the PPM about at the 5-600 range but start with the lower PPM water. I think she likes the fox farm.

Thanks Hunterdog, I think I'm starting to get the hang of knowing what she likes.
 
N

Newbt

Member
markl said:
Yup Newbt, that spring water is that high. I checked it a couple of times to make sure. I might go back to distilled or Aquafina and see how she likes it. I think I'm going to keep the PPM about at the 5-600 range but start with the lower PPM water. I think she likes the fox farm.

Thanks Hunterdog, I think I'm starting to get the hang of knowing what she likes.
Click to expand...

Sounds good, that's strange about the spring water. The water out of my tap is low 70's, I started my grow using distilled water but switched to tap since I was using so much.
 
H

hunterdog111299

Active Member
Distilled , spring , and tap water are all very different from one another . Distilled water is heated to a steam and then recollected , this removes all impurities and minerals from the water. Spring water is filtered over rocks naturally , and is full of minerals . Tap water can very greatly depending on the type of treatment it receives , where it is drawn from , and how its filtered. Most city municipals add chlorine and other chems to the water , also it is usually highly filtered . The city may also choose to Ion exchange the water or even do reverse osmosis before allowing it to be consumed. I would expect that spring water would have a higher ppm somewhere between 200-400ppm , while distilled will have a very low ppm compared to tap water. Distilled water should be 0-10 ppm Tap water can have a range of 50 - 250ppm depending on the treatment. This is why a lot of pple choose distilled water over spring or tap water. With distilled water you start from a very low ppm , adding only what you want the water to have you have a better knowledge of what exactly is making up your TDS.
 
M

markl

Member
OK, she is 24 days old today. Being an AK-47 Auto, shouldn't she be showing some flowers soon? She is eating and drinking like crazy. She grows an inch almost every day too.
 
M

markl

Member
Here is a couple of pics. I know they are not too clear, but its what I got. If you can see them I think she is getting some white hairs. Tell me if you see them._DSC2101.jpg_DSC2102.jpg
 
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