First cycle in Hydroton, are my plants overwatered?

myke

Well-Known Member
Maybe I have the distance wrong. It could make sense as they perk back up when lights have been out for a while. I don’t see the tail tail signs of light burn but I will measure the light distance and you guys can let me know if I should raise them? Thanks again people !!
Put your thermometer right by the top leaves. Should be room temp no more.
 

Woodsy92

Member
Above and below are pictures of the plants after 18 hours under the lights. Do you think they look better than my previous post? I think so.. maybe!

Gypsy Dog.. I have not measured the light distance yet but will do so tonight and get back to you.

I am also going to up the PPM tonight and report back.

The res is at 275 ppm right now ... what do you guys think I should up it to?

Thank you for your help again! I wish I joined this forum ages ago.
View attachment 4394250
 

Woodsy92

Member
Myke - I agree with you about the roots not spreading out when wet. Maybe this is the problem for me, I had 24/7 feeding so the roots did not develop for the amount of foliage on top cause the wilt as the “day” goes on.

I just don’t understand how I got such good root growth in a DWC where roots are submerged 24/7 but it becomes a problem when using this method of growing.
 

Jypsy Dog

Well-Known Member
You should only up your ppm's 50 at a time... Then check your numbers the next day. Let them tell you.
My plants sag after 18hrs of work. Your don't look bad. Your ppm's are low for me. At that size I would be in the 600's lookin for 700.
 

myke

Well-Known Member
Myke - I agree with you about the roots not spreading out when wet. Maybe this is the problem for me, I had 24/7 feeding so the roots did not develop for the amount of foliage on top cause the wilt as the “day” goes on.

I just don’t understand how I got such good root growth in a DWC where roots are submerged 24/7 but it becomes a problem when using this method of growing.
Most likely because of the air stone running 24/7,
 

myke

Well-Known Member
I agree 5~700 ppm would be about right.
edit to add....You have bugs!!!
 
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Woodsy92

Member
Myke- I hope they are not bugs ! I am fairly sure what you are seeing is fine pieces of plaster board- my extract fan creates such a large negative pressure it sucks tiny bits of plaster onto the plants. I have fixed this now.

What were your ppm's during your grow??

My ppm on the last was 500 in grow and 950 in flower, by this was DWC. At this point I would be happy if the dropping was down to low Ppm’s, it would be an easy fix. I will let you know if I see improvements, it is hanging around 275 right now.

I also already have cycle timers rigged up, I fed 24/7 by choice in the beginning as all I read about Hydroton was you cannot over water. Now I think this is were I went wrong indeed you can over water Hydroton and as already stated

The feed is now set to once in the light cycle for 15 mins. I think the flow rate is far too high and my next job is to slow the rate to a drip.
 

Trout2012

Well-Known Member
I only run my drip rings 2 hours on 2 hours off. I guess a lot of people run 24/7 and are fine. Seems like if you run like that your roots have no reason to establish a good full root system. When I ran Eb and flow I watered only twice a day! The hydroton holds quite a bit of water really.
 

Woodsy92

Member
This is what looks like bugs. But could be plastic.
Haha well looking at your zoomed in version of my picture yes they look awfully like an infestation! I will double check now, it may sound strange to you but the room is newly built and pieces of plaster board do still get sucked through the plug sockets as dust and settles on the plants.

I only run my drip rings 2 hours on 2 hours off. I guess a lot of people run 24/7 and are fine. Seems like if you run like that your roots have no reason to establish a good full root system. When I ran Eb and flow I watered only twice a day! The hydroton holds quite a bit of water really.
I have certainly learnt the hard way that Hydroton does hold onto water longer than you may think, especially when you go off what you read online.

I am already looking forward to next time when I am armed with this knowledge. I think my plants are making a slow recovery, they seem to be drinking and growing again. I do not think I am out of the woods yet but on the right path

I followed advice on increasing the PPMs slowly and continued to feed once on a timer at lights on. I also think changing from H202 to Rhizotonic and eco thrive (bacteria) help the roots recover.

This is how they are looking a few hours into lights on..
 

Woodsy92

Member
Still a little unhappy looking but some looking better than others, I am happy to see some growth again ! I think I still need to slow the flow on the drip rings to put everything right, there is way too much water being delivered in one go.

Thanks again for the help.


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Woodsy92

Member
Not sure if anyone will follow this anymore but the wilting continues... a new symptom I have observed which may help diagnose that the hell is going on. Some of the stems on the most affected plants have bent in an 90 degree angle !! It looks very strange to say the least.. EF6F2740-03D4-4D86-8145-280E9BAE1EB0.jpeg
Note the purple stems, all of my plants have this so I have ruled out genetics.
The plants still look good at the beginning of lights on so I really do not what to pull them. Something is still not right... help me !
 
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