ppeterson
Member
I'm a first time grower with a hydroponics set up. I have a DWC/topfeed cabinet thats 36" tall x 31" wide x 20" deep. I also use a fogger that came with my set up. I planted 8 seeds, 3 Jacky White, and 5 Fruit spirit 18 days ago. I'm using a 180 watt ufo LED light that is a little less that 3 inches above the tallest plant. it has the whole spectrum but is about 80% red and 20% blue (i know its supposed to be the opposite for vegetative and mostly red for flowering but I didn't find that out til later :/). I have my droppers set to drip at a rate of about 3 drops every 5 seconds. I have a few general questions that I would really appreciate some advice on. heres whats normally going on in the cab.
temperature was a little tough to control at first but it stays at around 77-78F when the light is on because i have an AC unit in the room and i crack the doors to the cab a little to let the cool air in. when the light is off and the doors are shut it can get up to 86F but I've never seen it go higher than that.
my pH level stays pretty consistent at 5.5-6 ( I have a manual pH tester with a solution you add to water from the reservoir in a little vile, shake, and compare color to the chart)
I'm using a nutrient solution called "moon dust" with an NPK of 19-8-13that came with the cabinet. it is supposed to be a proven formula to help plants grow faster with all the nutrients they need through vegitative and flowering. (I don't actually think this is the case). My plants are between 4 and 6 1/2 inches and I read plants that size should have a ppm level between 300 and 500 from water in the reservoir. 2 days ago I added enough solution to get the level to 511 and today I measured it again and it was 351. is this a normal decrease in ppm level in 2 days? also, any suggestions on the right nutrients to buy? (keep in mind I'm a beginner )
as you can see in the first and second picture some of the leaves on 2 or 3 of the plants have some discoloration and I'm still not sure what it is. I tried looking it up and I found that it could be a nitrogen problem. but if I keep my ppm level at around 500 wouldn't that be enough nitrogen? this is one of my biggest concerns.
ALSO. haha. The center plant Jacky white is easily the biggest plant in the group. Its so much bigger than some it made me wonder why its growing so much faster. The LED light I'm using has the 20% of blue lights in a ring in the absolute center of the light AND the biggest plant is directly underneath these blue lights. could this be an explanation? and if it is, would it be a good idea to maybe move some plants around to distribute the light evenly? the only problem I see with this is that the roots are pretty long and I don't know if you're supposed to take the plant out and expose the roots too much.
---I know this a lot of questions and it might sound dumb to some people but hey! its my first time! haha. so any advice anyone can give would be greatly appreciated!
temperature was a little tough to control at first but it stays at around 77-78F when the light is on because i have an AC unit in the room and i crack the doors to the cab a little to let the cool air in. when the light is off and the doors are shut it can get up to 86F but I've never seen it go higher than that.
my pH level stays pretty consistent at 5.5-6 ( I have a manual pH tester with a solution you add to water from the reservoir in a little vile, shake, and compare color to the chart)
I'm using a nutrient solution called "moon dust" with an NPK of 19-8-13that came with the cabinet. it is supposed to be a proven formula to help plants grow faster with all the nutrients they need through vegitative and flowering. (I don't actually think this is the case). My plants are between 4 and 6 1/2 inches and I read plants that size should have a ppm level between 300 and 500 from water in the reservoir. 2 days ago I added enough solution to get the level to 511 and today I measured it again and it was 351. is this a normal decrease in ppm level in 2 days? also, any suggestions on the right nutrients to buy? (keep in mind I'm a beginner )
as you can see in the first and second picture some of the leaves on 2 or 3 of the plants have some discoloration and I'm still not sure what it is. I tried looking it up and I found that it could be a nitrogen problem. but if I keep my ppm level at around 500 wouldn't that be enough nitrogen? this is one of my biggest concerns.
ALSO. haha. The center plant Jacky white is easily the biggest plant in the group. Its so much bigger than some it made me wonder why its growing so much faster. The LED light I'm using has the 20% of blue lights in a ring in the absolute center of the light AND the biggest plant is directly underneath these blue lights. could this be an explanation? and if it is, would it be a good idea to maybe move some plants around to distribute the light evenly? the only problem I see with this is that the roots are pretty long and I don't know if you're supposed to take the plant out and expose the roots too much.
---I know this a lot of questions and it might sound dumb to some people but hey! its my first time! haha. so any advice anyone can give would be greatly appreciated!