Please help

G

Gongrow

Member
Hi, everyone I'm new to RIU I have experience in soil, but this is my first hydroponic grow. I've already killed one of my plants. My submersible pump pulled the newly established roots out. Now my question is what are these spots. I've recently switched to distilled water, but one of my older plants are looking worse than ever. My ppm is around 550 and temps are a steady 70/69 in the water with an occasional rise in heat on a hot day. At first I felt it was ppm but I have other plants and a seedling thriving in this environment. Also one of the plants was too close to my light and recieved some burns

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im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
distilled water, although ive not personally used ive heard it can cause issues... not sure why cant recall, I think youd be better off using filtered or drinking water and not distilled.. could be a buffering issue maybe..i really cant recall

question

whats your ph and EC/ppm doing over a time span

for example if your ppm is 550 today, what will it read in two days if you've not added any additional water? same question with the PH


as a rule, manage your reservoir with these principles

ppm goes up or ph goes down = lower ppm (certainly)

ppm goes down and ph goes up = raise ppm (maybe)

tell me about your nutes and how your mixing them as in mls per gallon for EACH bottle your using

have the plants ever been sprayed with anything
 
G

Gongrow

Member
I'm currently using advanced nutrients ph perfect micro, grow, and bloom set. Along with Botanicare ph up and ph down. Okay I thought yesterday was a fluke, but my ppm shot up by 100 last night. Tonight I'm seeing the same thing happen. I forgot to mention I'm using Epsom salts for mag. This little guy is the one I'm having the most trouble with.
 

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im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
ok
im going to take a stab

id say your fertilizer is too high and you may need calcium

id guess youd want to use 5mls calmag along with 1/4 tsp Epsom salt per gallon when your nutes are at full strength

add the calmag and Epsom as suggested and lower your overall mix to 400ppm

in a week when you see the ppm in your reservoir dropping and the ph rising faster then you can start raising the ppm

the closer you egt to perfection the slower the ppm in the reservoir will drop over time...but you want to see it drop not rise or at least not significantly or fast
 
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C

CannaCountry

Well-Known Member
Keep in mind your Calmag is made up of Calcium and Magnesium. Adding epsom salt is adding Magnesium and Sulfur. Be careful not to add too much Mg, or it's going to lock out other nutrients. If it were me feeding Calmag (which I don't, I add both elements individually), I would hold off on the Epsom salt. I don't think your issue at this point is Mg. I believe im4satori is correct in terms of the PPM issue. You certainly shouldn't see it rise...it should fall as your plants feed. I would also pay attention to your pH. I'm not sure what 1 represents ( a whole point or a tenth?) but either way you'll need to watch that it's within the proper range, especially in your type of grow.
 
PKHydro

PKHydro

Well-Known Member
Gongrow said:
Thanks guys I'm headed to the local hydro store tomorrow. I'll post pics in a few days.
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You never mentioned your pH....I don't think it's a cal mag issue, pretty sure that just lockout from your pH being fucked.

Flush that nutrient out of your reservoir and start with fresh water. Just use regular water, not distilled. Start with a lower dose of Nutes for now, (350-400ppm) and get your pH to 5.8 and keep it there. Don't increase ppm until you see signs of recovery (healthy new growth)
 
im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
Gongrow said:
Thanks guys I'm headed to the local hydro store tomorrow. I'll post pics in a few days.
Click to expand...
, let me elaborate

most of the hydro nutes purchased off the shelf are light on calcium.. the reason for this might be because most people have a % of calcium supplied by the source water

so how much calmag (or alternative) one needs depends on there source water... I may not need any, joe schmoe might need 2mls per gallon,
it just depends on the source water and how much calcium is in it to start

the calcium in the products are left slightly low in the event your source water contains enough to balance the ratio or you supplement with calmag.... in your case you've been using distilled water which will be complete void from having any mineral content at all (and why I believe some have ph buffering issues while using it) so therefore your most certainly going to need a calcium supplement (even thou the pics don't scream calcium def)

step off the distilled water, get your calcium supplement =calmag because if using R.O. water you will need it and lower your ppm... watch the reservoir changes and keep a log to track them over time

having said that...5mls calmag might be too much over the long hall, to determine specifically how much id need the % info from the bottles and do some math with how your mixing it

id start at 2.5mls and 1/4 tsp Epsom per gallon at full strength mixing ratio (proportionately less if your lowering the ppm/EC so if your mixing half strength nutes youd use half ) and if that's enough that's enough


there is a balance between cation for potassium,calcium,magnesium

what this means is these three minerals compete with each other for uptake so the idea is to balance them... if one of them is out of balance it will affect the other... (hypothetical) so for example you could be experiencing magnesium def caused by excess calcium or the other way around

the only reason your not seeing obvious calcium def at this point is because your over feeding the base nutes...if your ppm was lower youd (eventually) be looking at calcium deficiency as a result of the clean source water combined with the mild lack of calcium in the nutrient product

calcium def usually shows first as rust colored speckles or freckles on the lower or middle plant fan leaves (which I thought I spotted a touch of in one of those pics

if your source water wasn't distilled or filtered and it was from the tap or a well id not suggest the calmag and just wait and see
but knowing your using filtered water sources im confident youll need it

another option might be if your source water isn't good enough , you could cut your source water with filtered water 50/50 (if filtering the water is necessary )
 
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G

Gongrow

Member
Here's a quick update. I'm still having a tiny bit of spotting here or there, but nothing close to what was happening previously. I was short on money so I didn't end up getting cal mag. What I did instead was introduce a 50/50 ratio of distilled and tap water. It's looking a lot better in there as you can see. I'm having a problem right now with a faulty light hanger so a few of my plants are getting heat stressed. I just want to take the time to thank you guys for the much needed advice. I'm sure when I introduce the cal mag it will stop the spotting all together. Anyone have links to a good light hanger?
 

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im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
Gongrow said:
How high is the ppm in spring water generally bud?
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idk but pretty low to almost nothing ... but distilled it literally zero

it may not matter the way your cutting it, but ive heard lots of stories from guys having problems using distilled water

I know you can use the water from a dehumidifier if you cut it so I might guess its ok im honestly not positively sure
 
polishpollack

polishpollack

Well-Known Member
I think the ppm should be more like 750. pale green and yellowing many times means low fert level. I'd raise it if I were you.
 
pinner420

pinner420

Well-Known Member
im4satori said:
, let me elaborate

most of the hydro nutes purchased off the shelf are light on calcium.. the reason for this might be because most people have a % of calcium supplied by the source water

so how much calmag (or alternative) one needs depends on there source water... I may not need any, joe schmoe might need 2mls per gallon,
it just depends on the source water and how much calcium is in it to start

the calcium in the products are left slightly low in the event your source water contains enough to balance the ratio or you supplement with calmag.... in your case you've been using distilled water which will be complete void from having any mineral content at all (and why I believe some have ph buffering issues while using it) so therefore your most certainly going to need a calcium supplement (even thou the pics don't scream calcium def)

step off the distilled water, get your calcium supplement =calmag because if using R.O. water you will need it and lower your ppm... watch the reservoir changes and keep a log to track them over time

having said that...5mls calmag might be too much over the long hall, to determine specifically how much id need the % info from the bottles and do some math with how your mixing it

id start at 2.5mls and 1/4 tsp Epsom per gallon at full strength mixing ratio (proportionately less if your lowering the ppm/EC so if your mixing half strength nutes youd use half ) and if that's enough that's enough


there is a balance between cation for potassium,calcium,magnesium

what this means is these three minerals compete with each other for uptake so the idea is to balance them... if one of them is out of balance it will affect the other... (hypothetical) so for example you could be experiencing magnesium def caused by excess calcium or the other way around

the only reason your not seeing obvious calcium def at this point is because your over feeding the base nutes...if your ppm was lower youd (eventually) be looking at calcium deficiency as a result of the clean source water combined with the mild lack of calcium in the nutrient product

calcium def usually shows first as rust colored speckles or freckles on the lower or middle plant fan leaves (which I thought I spotted a touch of in one of those pics

if your source water wasn't distilled or filtered and it was from the tap or a well id not suggest the calmag and just wait and see
but knowing your using filtered water sources im confident youll need it

another option might be if your source water isn't good enough , you could cut your source water with filtered water 50/50 (if filtering the water is necessary )
Click to expand...
In an effort to balance this I've seen 4:1 by dynagro 2:1 by cutting edge and variations etc of cal to mag. I've seen other advocate 1:1.. what's the status quo other than what the manufacturers are suggesting. Currently using 2:1 with no issues..
 
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