Please Help

Hi. Before I start, I am a noob and therefore lack experience! So if anyone can help with suggestions that would be greatly appreciated!
I have been having a problem with my 2 and 1/2 week old plants - they have just recently started to form spots on the lower set of leaves, and they are turning yellowish and curling up. Ive read a similar post my "ILOVEMARYJANE", but could not find the answer I am looking for.
I am using a "grow box" set up, with allumium foil lining it, and a 6 light bathroom vanity fixture with 23watt CFLS 6500K spectrum X4 and 23watt 4100K spectrum X2. My box is approx 5 feet long, by 2 and 1/2 feet wide by about 6 feet tall. There are 5 plants in the set up. The light fixture is on ropes so it can be adjusted to be about 6-8 inches above the plants.
The soil I am using is potting soil, and right now I am using 13-4-5 plant spikes as the fertilizer. I started off using reg. tap water that sat for a day before I used it and now have switched to bottled water to see if it makes a difference.
I have read quite a bit on spotting of leaves and leaves turning yellow, and most likely the cause is an unstable PH balance, or nutrient deficiency. Ive tested the ph balance of the soil and it is around 7. I know this could be a little lower, but I have read that 7 is neutral and should be ok. I have tested the nutrients and the soil is medium in Nitrogen, low in Phosorous, and very low in Potash. I have a hydrometer to measure the humidity, which is around 40% - I know this is dry and am thinking about getting a humidifier? to raise this level. I have a fan in the box to move air around, but not a proper exhaust system to put air in and move it out since I think this will be very hard to do and don't want to spend more money on the set up.
For this reason, I have tried created co2 but using slow drips of vinigar into baking soda.
Am I doing something wrong? Any ideas what I can try to make my plants look healthy once again? They started off very well and now the lower leaves are starting to curl and they dont seem to be growing as fast as they were?
Thanks very much,

Oh yeah and one more thing. I have had lights on the entire time. Am thinking about switching to 20 on and 4 off. COuld this have something to do with it? I also should mention that I have been watering fairly carefully, when the soil is dry in the top couple inches.

Sounds to me like nute burn. I have never used those spikes which you speak of, but it seems it would be hard to give them a weak dosage especially since they are so young. You should also switch to 18/6 and with those CFL's you can keep them about 1" off from the plant. The closer the better.

get some exaust fans in there dude. pc ones are fine. very cheap and can run off a 12v phone charger.i'd say maybe the gases in your grow box needs to be pushed out allowin new air in.i've had problems if u look at my threads n pics etc... don't raise the humidity to much. your cause mould and fungus.othere than this i'd also agree with btt.
peace

yeah man i noticed that as the plants got bigger so did the moisture in the air so should be ok, maybe put a bucket of water in there.
also nutes at 2 weeks! the soil should have enough for the first 3 weeks then start slowly ,and get new air from looking at them alot=) i dont think these nute block things are good as you have no control over exactly how much your baby is getting.

Thanks guys. I went out and bought new soil and changed it with the old soil - this way hopefully it is relatively nutrient free (at least from the spikes) to see if it makes a difference (although the soil contains plant food, so Im not sure what the effect will be) - I have also lowered the lights closer to the plants. Have not set up an exhaust system yet, but am thinking about it and am wondering if I ventilated out of the box into the room, then into the box from the room if this will be sufficient? Its a rented house and I dont want to drill a huge hole in the ceiling to vent to the attic.
Was thinking about drilling a hole the size of a small PC fan and sending air out at the top and then a hole in a side that sends air in?
Any suggestions? The plants seem to be getting worse (ie. yellow spots growing and taking over the first sprouting leaves (they are all yellow and falling off) and the first set of spiked leaves are yellowing and curling and drying out. The top sets of leaves still look very green but it is starting there as well at the tips of the leaves.
Just changed the soil though, so I guess all I can do is wait
Do you think my exhaust system will work/help at all?
thanks again
cheers

i heard pc fans are good (kinnda like the A-team for growers) new soil will not need nutes for a couple of weeks( i use john innes no2, seems to be real good with good drainage) and also seedling use energy from there first set of leaves(non spikey) when there gone (or look like theyre not in use)start with the nutes slowly, if the wee leaves are good then wait.
to do with air circulation. its not just about air movement and smell you really do need fresh air, At night or on a stormy day i open a few windows so as to cause a vacume in the house, within minutes we have fresh air and no complaints of outside neighbour's( i live in a flat). got any pics?
also looking at them alot and being around them really does help! i think mine would be dead if i wasnt in there breathing on them and singing and opening doors. for me I think this is just as important as other things and the more you are in and about them the more you notice going wrong/ right and the more chance youve got to save them.
i noticed with these plants everything takes a couple of days to take affect so if they need nutes give em some and wait! for a couple of days to be sure you are not o- d -ing them. then carry on if needed

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Heres a few pics, first one is the worst one..

Holy cow dude! First your humidity is not the problem, forget about that. You need to get air flowing! Next thing, replacing the dirt was a pretty radical move! Taking out the spikes would have been better, and less stress too. I think at this point all you can do is wait to see if they survive the transplant.
Drill the hole into the ceiling, you can always patch it later, easy enough.
This is just my simple opinion though, good luck.

i think she looks fine. the spots look like nutes burn. but the lower leaves normally fall off anyways, so dont worry about them.

nice little flowers i think they'll survive they look healthy enough, flush em with water(when lights go on) make sure the water is warmish(and give the soil time to warm too) dont put it to dark wet if it needs water before bed give it a little and again in the morning,
the soil probably has enough nutes for now plus what you've added so plenty of fresh water fresh air and regulay breathing on should do it.
whats you air circulation for the roots like?
make sure no cold floor and space to get fresh air under it (very important) maybe put it on something if not already
Yup i agree cut the hole> if you do you will be able to cover the costs with your hard earned goods if need be.(landlords love when you fix there house)
lol
Hang with your plants now and theyll be there for you later!

farmer.joe said:

and also seedling use energy from there first set of leaves(non spikey) when there gone (or look like theyre not in use)start with the nutes slowly, if the wee leaves are good then wait.

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The last plant i tried growing (turned out to be a male) still had those two leaves, bright green and healthy... they got larger as the plant did and were still alive and healthy. Just thought that might be a little strange. is it common for them not to die off?

dont know if you did or not, but if you could check and see which side of the foil you put on the outside it would help. if you put the shiney side out then you could be creating hot spots which would cause the light from your lamp to reflect and intensify onto leaves in turn causing spots on your leaves. try putting your finger on top of one of the spots as close as possible without touching it and wait a couple minutes if your finger starts to get really hot the its obvious that your plant is getting really hot in that one spot. more than likely its over-fertilization. One more thing try not to transplant unless it is absolutely needed. keep up the good work man. be patient and It will pay off. happy growin/smokin!

not sure about the little leaves dying im not expierienced yet i just got told that by someone in the forums so might need to ask someone else

they're lookin a bit better.. new sets of leaves growin now, im gettin a little more fresh air movin around by leaving the window to the room open and the doors to the grow box. that'll have to do until my pc fans come from eBay. Are those carbon scrubber for smell only? or do they clean the air as well?

"whats you air circulation for the roots like?" this is something that I didnt really pay attention to, so thanks for askin! WHen i had the plants in smaller pots, i put rocks around the drail holes so their would be better air supply to roots, but when I moved them to bigger pots I didnt really think about it and just put the soil in.. the drainage holes of the pot were not able to take it any air because of the built in "dirp gaurd?" to the bottom on the pot. I removed the drip gaurd so that might help -
I have a question about fertilizer. I have this Miracle grow "All purpose Liquid Houseplant Food", NPK = 8-7-6. Is this alright to use? Should I start now? And if it says 10-20 drops per litre, should I use maybe 4 or 5 drops?
Thanks again

My first grow I used a similar nutrient and I just used the recommended amount. If you use 10 drops per liter you will probably be just fine. You might want to consider an air pump with an air stone and put some air in your water. Just mix your nutes in a bucket with the amount of water it takes to water them and airate it for 10 minutes or so, then water them. It seems you are getting better at this. Keep it up.

yep i agree i used weak stuff too (baby bio) i think when people say start slowly with nutes they are using mega strong stuff so id just follow instructions. which soil are you using?

Chronald said:

a 6 light bathroom vanity fixture with 23watt CFLS

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Awsome idea you had there with the vanity fixture. Going to make a note of that one.

Im using"alltreat farms tropical soil". It has a mixture of Sedge Peat, peat moss, compost, vermiculite, and perlite with a slow release fertilizer.. Way better than the potting soil I was using before. good drainage too.

Ive took a few new pics.. To get good air flow to the roots, I took the drip gaurds and turned them upside down, then drilled holes to line up with the holes in the bottom of the pot, then cut "chunks" out so air can come in. I know its hard to picture, lol, but Ive got a pic on here where u can see it.
Never really had a pic of the set-up on here yet either.. There are 2 opening doors at the sides and i made a little plastic window in the center to see in while the doors are shut
Still waiting on my pc fans to get here

URLS for new pics. - anyone have any idea on the strain? btw, nice plants farmerjoe, just looked at your new pics !! makes my mouth water. lol

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set up looks nice, i would move the cfl's a little closer, some say they should be toutching as they give of practically no heat try it out maybe i cm away tops.(you wil need to move them every day or otherday) Ive used HPS 400w the whole time. also reflectors would use more of the light being probuced and will help the sides when larger, abd under buds too. i even got Quality street(candy) lids as reflector lol