Brown Roots

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grodude

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I purchased a clone that I put into a DWC setup in a 2X2.5ft grow tent. It's been almost 2 weeks and the leaves are a little yellow, but more importantly the roots are turning brown. What could be causing this and what could I do to prevent this from getting worse?

EDIT: I just noticed a mistake in the spreadsheet. I did not adjust the PPM from 214 to 244

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Keep rez temps at ~68 deg F, air stones should have water "boiling"
 
In my humble opinion, you have 2 things possibly happening. The first appears you have too weak of solution and the pH is consistently too high. I would be feeding those kids at around 600ppm (however that is with my nutrients. yours may be different) and maintain a pH between 5.4-6.0, it can drift up and/or down but you need to keep it in that happy range so the plant has full access to the available nutrients.

Second appears to be fungal slime attacking your roots. This is very common with plants grown in hydro due to water temps staying too high and/or an unusually high mildew season outside of your grow space. For example, if you are growing in a house basement, you will be subject to more fungal spore as basements (that aren't fully dried in) tend to hold the atmosphere that fungus likes.

I would first, gently feel the roots to see if they feel slimy or clean. If slimy then you have root fungus. Time for a dip into a pool of H2O2 to kill off the slime. Then look seriously into a way to keep the water cooler. I deal temp is 68f
 
In my humble opinion, you have 2 things possibly happening. The first appears you have too weak of solution and the pH is consistently too high. I would be feeding those kids at around 600ppm (however that is with my nutrients. yours may be different) and maintain a pH between 5.4-6.0, it can drift up and/or down but you need to keep it in that happy range so the plant has full access to the available nutrients.

Second appears to be fungal slime attacking your roots. This is very common with plants grown in hydro due to water temps staying too high and/or an unusually high mildew season outside of your grow space. For example, if you are growing in a house basement, you will be subject to more fungal spore as basements (that aren't fully dried in) tend to hold the atmosphere that fungus likes.

I would first, gently feel the roots to see if they feel slimy or clean. If slimy then you have root fungus. Time for a dip into a pool of H2O2 to kill off the slime. Then look seriously into a way to keep the water cooler. I deal temp is 68f

How do I know that the plant is ready for a stronger nutrient solution? How do I know what's a good level to have it at or if I'm over feeding it?
 
Sorry to not get back sooner... You have to watch your plants for growth and deficiencies. I generally will start with what the nute brand says and see what ppm it is. Then I will cut it down (with straight water) to around 300ppm for seedlings with yellowing "seed leaves" aka cotyledons. This is to get them started. I bump up the ppm each week, as they show growth and positive response to the nutes. If growing from clones that are rooted well, I start them out a little higher, around 400ppm, and then when they get going good (several leaf nodes) I bump it up to around 600ppm.

You may have to experiment a little with you nutes to see how much they want. ALWAYS START OUT LOWER PPM AND BUMP UP GRADUALLY. This will prevent burning the roots. You will see some yellowing of leaves when she gets hungry, but you can generally say if the plant is growing well, you can bump up nutes by 200ppm every 7-10 days until you get to around 600-900ppm depending on the strain of plants. More Indica dominant plants will be hungrier than more Sativa dominant. But if you have hybrids, its hard to know until you have some experience with that strain.

The best way to know you are over feeding is when you see the leaves get really dark green and/or begin to see the very tips of the leaves start to brown like they are being burnt. Hope this helps. don't be afraid to ask questions, we love "talking shot" :)
 
I think I need to drop the nutrient solutions a bit. I also bought hydroguard. I'll do a res change when it arrives today. Maybe aim for 400 PPM?
 
Unfortunately I don't know the GH that well but I understand that it is similar to what I use. Looking at the pictures, the level of growth of the plants looks ok for using a ppm of 400-600 depending on the plant type (some like a lot while others like less). You biggest issue going forward is the temps and pH. In hydro your sweet zone or acceptable pH zone is from 6.0 to about 5.4, and as long as it stays in that area, its ok to allow it to drift. You just don't want it to stay at or beyond either end too long. If the pH goes outside those numbers, you need to adjust them back in soon. (myself for example: I set my pH close to 6.0 and allow it to drift down to 5.3 before adjusting back up. However most people who use GH nutes have to set their pH lower and allow it to rise).
Your temps will also give you challenge. To avoid root damage/death, you need to keep water temps as close to 68f as possible. Hopefully the hydroguard will help offset that some. I would also recommend that you get some kind of insulation to wrap around the buckets to keep the warm air from raising the water temps. Set buckets on stiff panel insulation board. And the Lowes/home depot places should have some insulation that looks like bubblewrap pressed between to sheets of reflective mylar. It comes in 2',3', and 4' tall rolls. You can use this to wrap around the buckets a couple times. That will keep the water cooler longer.
 

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