to all this might be a little helpful for newbies like myself. My hydro is running a fogger 24/7 and my humidity is nailed at 40%. We are heating with natural gas which by its nature makes the air very dry. So I thought no big deal I will just run the fogger all the time to offset and keep the humidity up in my 4x4 grow tent. I noticed my 14 gallon res. which has 7 gallons of nute mix was going thru a gallon a day. So I would make another gallon of nute mix about every day or so to keep the res topped off. Then all of a sudden my ec/ppm went way over 2000ppm and my meter did the (1) which means to high to read. I thought im going straight by the gh 3 part guide. Then after some forum study here I found my plants are either using up the water only, or my fogger is causing excessive evaporazition which is causing a surge in nutrients. I noticed my drip emitters has salt build up. So to the pros out there do you think my thoughts are correct with the plants using the water only. I have started using water only to see if this can bring the ppm back down.
Over nuted
- Thread starter RAR.
- Start date
RAR,
Please explain just what you mean by fogger. Are you talking about using a fogger inside of the hydro growing container to moisturize the roots or a fogger in the grow area to control the humidity in the room?
How does your fogger create the fog?
Where does the water for the fogger come from?
How long have you been using this system and what if any effect has it had on the PPM over what period of time?
I'm asking because according to what little I know about fog is that it is created when the air is saturated with vapor and the vapor begins to condense and forms miro droplets of water hanging in the air. If that is what you are talking aobut versus using a very fine spray head to spray a very fine mist into the air and then onto the roots, I can't see how it could transfer anything except H2O from the reservoir to the roots.
If you are drawing water vapor from the solution reservoir, then of course the ppms are going to skyrocket because the nutrients will be left behind. As to the plants only "drinking the water" without the nutrients too, then you have some thing very seriously out of whack causing total nutrient lock out.
From what little I know about that it would seem most likely to be a very low PH probably 5.0 or lower. If I know how to read the PH versus nutrient uptake charts a high PH only locks out the trace minerals, which would have a minimal effect on the PPM since the major nutrients appear to be even absorbed even better in a high PH or alkaline solution. I'm thinking that you would have noticed nute deficiency before things got that far out of line unless the PH for some reason just went totally out of sight.
Nothing that I can think of happening in a plant would cause it to start drinking only water and ignoring the nutrients so the answer seems like it has to be something external that would cause the plants to starve itself to death while drowning itself trying to get nutrients from the solution.
Good luck because this sounds like it could turn critical quickly.
Great smoking.
Please explain just what you mean by fogger. Are you talking about using a fogger inside of the hydro growing container to moisturize the roots or a fogger in the grow area to control the humidity in the room?
How does your fogger create the fog?
Where does the water for the fogger come from?
How long have you been using this system and what if any effect has it had on the PPM over what period of time?
I'm asking because according to what little I know about fog is that it is created when the air is saturated with vapor and the vapor begins to condense and forms miro droplets of water hanging in the air. If that is what you are talking aobut versus using a very fine spray head to spray a very fine mist into the air and then onto the roots, I can't see how it could transfer anything except H2O from the reservoir to the roots.
If you are drawing water vapor from the solution reservoir, then of course the ppms are going to skyrocket because the nutrients will be left behind. As to the plants only "drinking the water" without the nutrients too, then you have some thing very seriously out of whack causing total nutrient lock out.
From what little I know about that it would seem most likely to be a very low PH probably 5.0 or lower. If I know how to read the PH versus nutrient uptake charts a high PH only locks out the trace minerals, which would have a minimal effect on the PPM since the major nutrients appear to be even absorbed even better in a high PH or alkaline solution. I'm thinking that you would have noticed nute deficiency before things got that far out of line unless the PH for some reason just went totally out of sight.
Nothing that I can think of happening in a plant would cause it to start drinking only water and ignoring the nutrients so the answer seems like it has to be something external that would cause the plants to starve itself to death while drowning itself trying to get nutrients from the solution.
Good luck because this sounds like it could turn critical quickly.
Great smoking.
jmansweed
Owner/Operator J and J Organics
Don, I respectively disagree - High heat, low humidity and CO2 are common ways to increase transpiration within MJ. This creates higher water to nutrient absorption and frequently contributes to a higher EC.
Rar - it's important to add only water to your reservoir when "topping it off" it sounds like there's some salt build up, What kind of shape are the plants in?
I'd suggest trying to develop a schedule in which you change your entire reservoir every few days and add water only in between. Evaporation alone in 40% humidity can cause a rise in EC. Best of luck.
Rar - it's important to add only water to your reservoir when "topping it off" it sounds like there's some salt build up, What kind of shape are the plants in?
I'd suggest trying to develop a schedule in which you change your entire reservoir every few days and add water only in between. Evaporation alone in 40% humidity can cause a rise in EC. Best of luck.
jmansweed,
Either way, we still need a lot more information that we have.
All three of your suggestions are examples of the external issues I was talking about in the next to the last paragraph of my reply. Also, you can always disagree with anything I say, just give information as well. Do you have any specific information and advice on how to solve his crisis in addition to your list of possible external causes fo rthe plants to behave like they appear to be behaving?
Incidentally, 40% humidity isn't that low either if his hydro chamber is basically sealed inside of his tent.
I still need a lot more information on his setup before I can even begin to discuss things intelligently.
Also, there seems to be a significant disagreement over whether you top off with water only, change out solutions or adjust the nutrient mixes to maintain your nutrient strength.
RAR, we need INFORMATION but with a ppm that high I would immediately change out the reservoir and then try to figure out what is causing it. Hopefully you already did that.
Great smoking.
Either way, we still need a lot more information that we have.
All three of your suggestions are examples of the external issues I was talking about in the next to the last paragraph of my reply. Also, you can always disagree with anything I say, just give information as well. Do you have any specific information and advice on how to solve his crisis in addition to your list of possible external causes fo rthe plants to behave like they appear to be behaving?
Incidentally, 40% humidity isn't that low either if his hydro chamber is basically sealed inside of his tent.
I still need a lot more information on his setup before I can even begin to discuss things intelligently.
Also, there seems to be a significant disagreement over whether you top off with water only, change out solutions or adjust the nutrient mixes to maintain your nutrient strength.
RAR, we need INFORMATION but with a ppm that high I would immediately change out the reservoir and then try to figure out what is causing it. Hopefully you already did that.
Great smoking.
T
The Hemp Goddess
Guest
RAR. said:
First of all, IMO, it is a mistake to "go straight by the gh 3 part guide". Differnet plants have different nutrient needs. This is just a guideline and is not written in stone. I have some strains that cannot take those concentrations and some that want more. You have to learn from your plants what they need.
Second, IMO, it is a mistake to top up the res with nute solution every day. Plants do not use all nutrients evenly. You could have an excess of one nutrient and be deficient in another. Your nute solutions could be low in ppms or (as you found out) high in ppm and you do not have any idea what those ppms consist of. I think that your res should be topped up with plain pH'd water between changings. Your res should be emptied, cleaned, and refilled with fresh nute solution every 7-10 days or so.
Where exactly is your fogger located? Why are you using a fogger? They seem a little problematic for a new grower.
surreptitious
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no pics, i also agree with topping off your rez with water, but i pH balance the entire rez after topping off with water. that is just what i do.
surreptitious
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nice setup. i use t5s for my veg spaces, too.
Plants, I set in hydro 21 days ago. "When they were placed there, they were just 2" tall", the growth has been smokin it. I had to set up 3 DWC to break up the growth and make more room, wanted to see what would happen with the DWC's. The DWC's I checked tonight they were at 6.2 ph and 1150 ppm. The purple res was 6.0ph and the ppm were above the 1950 threshold for the hannah meter. My 10th day will be tomorrow so I am going to change out res and nutes tomorrow.
ozzydiodude
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IMO The T5 will produce good buds they just will not be as hard and tight as buds grown under HID's and may take a little longer to reach maturity.
surreptitious
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ozzydiodude said:
ozzy, he doesnt mention whether or not these are clones, but assuming they are will you need to worry about maturity? since they should be equally as old as the mother, correct?
what if you only veg with T5s and flower with HIDs?
ozzydiodude
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I was talking maturity of the buds(triches amber in color) not sexual maturity
IMO by flowering with the HID's you will get the best growth and faster reching of harvest. IME you never harvest in the time frame a breeder gives, you need to add a week or 2.
IMO by flowering with the HID's you will get the best growth and faster reching of harvest. IME you never harvest in the time frame a breeder gives, you need to add a week or 2.
surreptitious
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ozzydiodude said:
ohhh, ok, i see. so, veg'n under T5s and flowering under HIDs will work ok?
yes, i know now about the additional 2 weeks :-/ as i'm in my 5th week of flowering my first batch of clones right now.
T
The Hemp Goddess
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surreptitious said:
That is what I do. I have 2 400W MH that I do not use anymore because I like my T5 sooooooo much for vegging. I flower with 2 600W HPS.
The Effen Gee
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RAR. said:
Not good at all.
Get a 600 or a 400 hps at the very least.
RAR,
NEVER blindly use ANYONE'S system or numbers in hydro. Before you top off your reservoir, ALWAYS check the PH and PPMs first. While THG is very correct that you don't know which nutrient has been absorbed to change the ppm, it will give you some idea of what is going on. For example, if the ppms go down significantly, then you need to either add nutrients or change the reservoir out with new nutrients, which ever you choose, and if the ppms go way up, then you need to replace the H2O without any nutrients or change out the reservoir.
As to the issue of adjusting PH of the added solution or adjusting the entire reservoir, check with your nutrient manufacturer. Some nutrients are designed to control the PH and trying to mess with it before hand will be a hassle, where as some of them do NOT control it at also it makes no real difference when you do it. Personally I always use PHed water to stsart with and then adjust according ot the nutrients.
Great smoking.
NEVER blindly use ANYONE'S system or numbers in hydro. Before you top off your reservoir, ALWAYS check the PH and PPMs first. While THG is very correct that you don't know which nutrient has been absorbed to change the ppm, it will give you some idea of what is going on. For example, if the ppms go down significantly, then you need to either add nutrients or change the reservoir out with new nutrients, which ever you choose, and if the ppms go way up, then you need to replace the H2O without any nutrients or change out the reservoir.
As to the issue of adjusting PH of the added solution or adjusting the entire reservoir, check with your nutrient manufacturer. Some nutrients are designed to control the PH and trying to mess with it before hand will be a hassle, where as some of them do NOT control it at also it makes no real difference when you do it. Personally I always use PHed water to stsart with and then adjust according ot the nutrients.
Great smoking.
