hydroponic neewbie

hi guys,

i have recently started using a walma system. as i am new to this process i have recently noticed that the leaves are stating to turn yellow. i have my 4 plants (autos) in rockwool 4" cubes and this is sat on perlite pebbles. i am using a 250w dual spectrum lamp at 24/0 and using ionic grow nutes at 5ml per 1litre of water. my ph is sitting at about 6.3. i have my pump on 30min on 30min off.

any help would be great. dont want to mess this grow up as ive already had a few set backs so far.

Biggest issue you stated is ph. Way too high, period, but veg likes 5.6-5.8. Fix that then see what happens

Well your first problem is using an "automatic flowering strain". Yes these are easy to grow for beginners i guess but they tend to be lower in THC content and they do not produce nearly the amount of bud a normal plant does. If your worried about the "stages" of growing, dont be. Grow your plants like normal and when you notice calyx development on the nodes just switch the light to 12/12. Its not a very hard process. Now for your set-up- First thing you did right was the rockwool. What i found best is after your seeds sprout just put the seed in a 1 or 2 inch rw cube then bury the cube in your medium once it starts to grow. Ditch the perlite pebbles and go with HYDROTON PELETS, also know as clay pebbles. Perlite will get into your water and make it nasty. I run my drip system 24/7 and have had great results so far, i used cpvc pipe and a small fountains pump to pumo water from the res to the plants. I found this to be the easiest way. I would go with a mixture of fox farm and general hydroponics nutrients, used together these make for a meannnn mixture. Use the GH as your base mix and add the Fox Farm for even better results. here is a pic of my setup, very easy to maintain and produces great results!!!!!

As superstoner says pH is a little off, not terribly off but a few weeks riding at 6.3 will cause a bit of yellowing. 30 on 30 off also seems a little overkill (although some strains do like it), I keep my wilma running 15 minutes on the hour in veg with no issues. I'll bring this down to 10 minutes an hour after a few weeks in flower and remove a few feedings as well after week 6.

Gotta agree, your ph is way too high, it should be at 5.8, it would also help to switch to 20/4 and give your plants a little rest each day.

thanks guys, got my ph to 5.6 and put my cycle time to 20/4. this isnt my first time growing... grew in soil with both fem seeds and autos, got about the same yield out both. i was told that doing in hydro will speed them up and increase the yield?

It is said that hydro is faster than soil, as to yield I can't answer that 'cause I've never grown in soil so can't compare, as to ph of 5.6 it's a little low but should be ok, try to maitain 5.8, that's the ideal for hydro.

thanks deetee, ive kinda screwed up... was using ph strips to test my water and it kept coming up at 6.3 so i kept adding more nutes to bring this down... a week later and i got my electronic ph tester, calibrated it and now my water is reading 3.9, kinda freeking out a bit. what kind off damage is this going to have on my plants?

Try to bring and maintain pH between 5.8-6. Hydro does grow faster with the right nutes. pH problems hound us all ;( If you can spend a little more, try for the nutes that adjust your water's pH automatically. There is one with the name advanced nutrients pH perfect, try googling.