New to growing: Need some advice

[KingTut144]

So, i've had my indoor hydro setup going for about a month now... had many hiccups along the way and now i'm in the middle of the [next] problem. Problem... my plants look somewhat yellowish in color and darker in the veins of the leaves. This problem occured overnight after adding a water heater (meant for a 20gal fish tank) putting the water temp up to ~80°F (normally was around 65°-70°F - which i now know what the optimal temp). I've had the Canna nutrient solution in there for 4 days (i change every 7-9 days). I have my suspicions as to what the problem is based on these facts: i had the the water heater plug tucked in between the lid to the reservoir and the tub, thus perhaps allowing light into the nutrient solution. To add though, i've had a bit of light exposed to the reservoir already filtering in through the hole where the water pump's outlet hose and power cord comes out... through the last 2 cycles, i haven't had any problems. My suspicion is that i may have introduced a rapid growth in algae due to the water's temp rising and the addition of light into the reservoir. I'm low on nutrients at the moment so i'm trying to refrain from dumping this cycle and just adding a hydrogen peroxide solution to the mix [of 20 gallons]. **Some other info about the system: General Hydroponics 36 site 600watt air vented hood (currently in VEG cycle) R.O. water Canna Nutrients Part A & B(supposedly with this nutrient solution, no measurement of PPM is required as long as you increase in the specified increments as the plants grow with each nutrient change) Drip Clean Rhizotonic (another Canna product) CALiMAGic SuperThrive Air Temp 72low/80high R. Humidity EDIT: btw, i'm already disliking this whole *everything is one paragraph no matter what* style of the forums... anyway, i planned on going with a 7ml/gal hydrogen peroxide solution (for 20 gal reservoir). Would you agree?

 

[Locked]

First off welcome to MP Tut. I am not a Hydro guy but what you are saying makes sense. I am sure some of our peeps with Hydro experience will chime in soon. Pics always help. Might even want to start a GJ and document your grow so we can help should problems arise along the way. This way we get Bud Porn even if it is smooth sailing from here on out.

 

[KingTut144]

lol @ Bud Porn... i'll consider it... i'll have to talk it over with my associate tho... we are both kind of skeptical about even having a profile, let alone a grow journal... so far, i've been going off my Paul Rosenthaul manual, and a few other books and a lot of common sense.

 

[Hushpuppy]

The first problem I see is the 80degree water. From my experience, water that warm doesn't make the girls happy at all. I run 78-80 in my cloner only, but in my adult plants' rez I only run 65-72. Without seeing any pics we are only making educated guesses from your info, but I understand your wanting to maintain security.

Another critically important aspect for hydro is PH. You may already know this but you didn't mention it. Having a PH meter to keep an eye on the rez water PH is an absolute because the PH WILL CHANGE over time and addition of water and nutes. For hydro the PH must be maintained between 5.4-6.3 with the sweet spot being 5.8.

You will find that when you mix up a fresh batch of nutrients, the PH will be one reading, then after a couple days of it watering the plants where they are taking out both water and nutrients, the PH will "drift" one direction or another depending on your unique variables. When that happens, certain elements of the nutrient mix will become "locked out" because they are only absorbed well by the plants within the PH window. At that point you have to adjust the PH to get it back to the opposite end of the "absorption zone" from where you found it.

For my plants, I have to set my PH at 6.3 and allow it to drift down to 5.3 before adjusting it back up, and this goes on throughout the grow. My Bro has plants that while in veg the PH will drift one direction, and when in flower it will drift the opposite direction.

If the PH is off (and water temps will affect PH as well) then all kinds of problems will start occuring and will appear as deficiencies most often. I hope this helps

 

[pcduck]

Lower your rez temp 80 is to hot.

I like mine in the 68 range

While h2o2 is good if you have slimy roots, but if there is no bad stuff to eat they start eating good stuff

 

[KingTut144]

thanks for the help guys.

first off... how did you separate your paragraphs? whenever i press submit, mine just go into one solid chunk of words... '

I let the girls sit there over night it seems to be helping them out a LOT... i don't suspect there's algae in there now, i think it was just a shock of warm water they didn't like.

Oh yeah, i forgot to mention PH... it was advised to me that using the Canna nutrient line the PH was going to be okay as long as i changed out the reservoir every 7-9 days... i plan on getting a PH up/down today anyway before everything closes for Thanksgiving...

 

[KingTut144]

nvm about the paragraph thing... lol... little things like this bother the crap out of a stoner like me haha

 

[Rosebud]

welcome from another Washingtonian. I don't do hydro, but I wanted to say, you found the best place to learn to grow the best dank around.
Enjoy your journey.

 

[pcduck]

it was advised to me that using the Canna nutrient line the PH was going to be okay as long as i changed out the reservoir every 7-9 days.

This is great advice on changing out the rez. As most nute lines do have buffers in them to attempt to get the correct pH, unfortunately peoples' water is not the same This is why a good pH meter it a must in hydro.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

thanks for the help guys.

first off... how did you separate your paragraphs? whenever i press submit, mine just go into one solid chunk of words... '

I let the girls sit there over night it seems to be helping them out a LOT... i don't suspect there's algae in there now, i think it was just a shock of warm water they didn't like.

Oh yeah, i forgot to mention PH... it was advised to me that using the Canna nutrient line the PH was going to be okay as long as i changed out the reservoir every 7-9 days... i plan on getting a PH up/down today anyway before everything closes for Thanksgiving...

I have never heard of hydro nutes that you did not need to check the pH? Is this on their web site or did someone just tell you that? I would recommend getting a decent pH meter and checking your pH. Things like strips are not accurate enough for hydro. You will also need calibration fluids. I only have pH down--I never need pH up.

I never use H2O2 in my res. If I have problems, I would dump it immediately and start over.

Just as a side note, you are probably at far greater risk having a partner than you would be posting a grow journal here.

 

[KingTut144]

I have never heard of hydro nutes that you did not need to check the pH? Is this on their web site or did someone just tell you that? I would recommend getting a decent pH meter and checking your pH. Things like strips are not accurate enough for hydro. You will also need calibration fluids. I only have pH down--I never need pH up.

I never use H2O2 in my res. If I have problems, I would dump it immediately and start over.

Just as a side note, you are probably at far greater risk having a partner than you would be posting a grow journal here.

The PH thing was what someone told from their first-hand experience... they said that within the 7-9 days his PH never got lower then 5.6 (starting from 5.9). I'm using R.O. Water with Calcium Magnesium with the solution... so there's not really a water 'comparison' so to say... I still haven't used the H2O2... i just let the water cool down and now the plants seem to like it... (i wasted a trip to the store getting it apparently)

 

[KingTut144]

Let's just try and change the subject away from the whole partnership thing. I want to stick to the subject of making my precious sea of green a success. ^__^

btw, MJ is legal in WA...

 

[Munkers]

Incase you didnt know, first and formost marijuana is still ILLIGAL, the bill did not yet pass. It is still COMPLETELY ILLIGAL to grow marijuana in washington and colorado both even after this bill passes. Marijuana can only be smoked in the privates of people homes and even if you are caught passing weed it is a class D felony. You also have to be over 21 to possess it. Couple quick notes if you still did not completley review your soon to be new marijuana laws. I dont think *most* people know this and I dont live in either state lol. I also dont like that they get to regulate the thc levels when they finally start to sell legal bud, but I guess they have to have some controll right?

 

[KingTut144]

Incase you didnt know, first and formost marijuana is still ILLIGAL, the bill did not yet pass. It is still COMPLETELY ILLIGAL to grow marijuana in washington and colorado both even after this bill passes. Marijuana can only be smoked in the privates of people homes and even if you are caught passing weed it is a class D felony. You also have to be over 21 to possess it. Couple quick notes if you still did not completley review your soon to be new marijuana laws. I dont think *most* people know this and I dont live in either state lol. I also dont like that they get to regulate the thc levels when they finally start to sell legal bud, but I guess they have to have some controll right?

I was putting the whole thing lightly to say it's legal in WA... i understand the laws... thanks for the vivid details though.

 

[Hushpuppy]

Hey Tut, glad to hear the girls are looking happier. I thought the water being at or above 80 was the issue as it almost killed a few of my girls one time. You will find that most of the advice here comes from personal experience or the experience of another who had a similar problem.

I am not sure why you are not able to break up your writing into paragraphs. I just hit enter twice when I want to start a new paragraph and it double spaces the lines for me.

I agree on the PH pen. I usually have to adjust my PH every other day as it will drift from 6.3 to 4.9 if I wait every 2 days to check it. Any length of time that the PH is out of the absorption zone is time lost for the plant to get the important nutrients for growing and building buds. I use a Bluelab PH pen and like it very much. Its funny that THG only needs PH dn for adjusting as I mostly need and use PH up in mine.

Good luck on your grow and if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask

 

[Locked]

Incase you didnt know, first and formost marijuana is still ILLIGAL, the bill did not yet pass. It is still COMPLETELY ILLIGAL to grow marijuana in washington and colorado both even after this bill passes. Marijuana can only be smoked in the privates of people homes and even if you are caught passing weed it is a class D felony. You also have to be over 21 to possess it. Couple quick notes if you still did not completley review your soon to be new marijuana laws. I dont think *most* people know this and I dont live in either state lol. I also dont like that they get to regulate the thc levels when they finally start to sell legal bud, but I guess they have to have some controll right?

Geez Munkers....

I was putting the whole thing lightly to say it's legal in WA... i understand the laws... thanks for the vivid details though.

It's all good Tut...don't let Munkers scare ya off. I can understand you being not too keen on sharing too much info.

 

[KingTut144]

thanks, Hushpuppy, i will look into the bluelab PH pen... everything seems okay right now though... i guess it's because i only have x7 6" plants right now (a few might be male but haven't matured enough for me to tell) and another x7 feminized newborns soon to be put into a different reservoir. Perhaps i would have a more drastic change in PH if there were more plants taking up the nutrients? the system i have is set up for a 36 site, but only have 7 plants there... as soon as can make some clones, i'll be good to go. As is is now though, the plants are making outstanding progress... they've tripled in size over the past 5 days... EDIT: by the way, the plants' problem cleared up... the high temp water was definitely the problem... they're nice and perky now. ^__^

 

[Munkers]

I was not trying to scare anyone off, just saying his statement about it being legal was wrong, and why.... Sorry if my knowledge of the new laws being put it to play sparked my curiosity to LEARN about it and pass it on to those who dont fully understand. Ill just stick to my post and try not to get anyones blood boiling...

 

[KingTut144]

When cloning from a plant that was previously in Flowering Stage to [now] the cutting going to Veg (24hr light), is it common for the cutting to turn yellow when it's trying to establish roots?
I'm using the last of my Rapid Rooter plugs for this process so they're sitting in a solution comprised of Calcium/Magnesium (because using R.O. water), Rhizotonic (to boost root growth), and SUPERthrive (because hormones).

If i were to take a stab at the cause, i would think that the cutting is still used to the Flowering Nutrients and Micro nutrients and is now deprived of many nutrients because of the exposure to the cloning tray and light cycle, but it seems the whole leaf (throughout the whole collection of 50 clones) is turning a yellow color and my guess is eventually brown if the problem isn't taken care of in the next few days.

 

[KP419]

Incase you didnt know, first and formost marijuana is still ILLIGAL, the bill did not yet pass. It is still COMPLETELY ILLIGAL to grow marijuana in washington and colorado both even after this bill passes.

It is not illegal in colorado and washington!