Water Problems

[StonedCold]

Currently using a bubbler. My hot water has huge excessive amounts of PPM as well as high levels of chlorine and such. I chose to use cold water and let it distill for a day in a separate tub. The next day the water was still painful to touch and stir in some trace amounts of nutes by hand. I got a water heater that maintains a 78 degree temperature for the reservoir. However, 3 days later (today) I see a buildup of some type of material floating and numerous bubbles.
1) Could the heat have cause bacteria buildup?
2) What temperature is normal for feeding your plants ideally?
3) Could light leaking into the reservoir caused this?....

 

[StonedCold]

Sorry, my first time posting pictures. I had to resize since they were too large to attach. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Sticky_Budz]

Currently using a bubbler. My hot water has huge excessive amounts of PPM as well as high levels of chlorine and such. I chose to use cold water and let it distill for a day in a separate tub. The next day the water was still painful to touch and stir in some trace amounts of nutes by hand. I got a water heater that maintains a 78 degree temperature for the reservoir. However, 3 days later (today) I see a buildup of some type of material floating and numerous bubbles.
1) Could the heat have cause bacteria buildup?
2) What temperature is normal for feeding your plants ideally?
3) Could light leaking into the reservoir caused this?....

maybe its the nutes how much did u put in? and u also said u put it in by hand did u stir it around with ur hands and if so did u wash them before u did this? im not really sure about this but im sure u will get some great feed back on this. sorry not much help good luck.

 

[StonedCold]

Very little because they are just out of germination and starting to veg. 1/6th strength nutes I believe.

I did wash my hands before stirring the container. I had nothing large enough to stir, so I just used my arm/hands. Could this perhaps be a problem? I doubt it, but any other feed back is greatly appreciated. I'll try draining the reservoir and see if it helps in the coming hours...

 

[StonedCold]

The water problems are continuing. I check the PH of my reservoir 2 times daily. Every time I check it the PH is 7-7.5. I add PH down, vinegar, lemon juice or something, and it is back to he 6.0 give or take .3.

Could my rising PH be a reason for my reservoir developing this protein or substance buildup?
I'm beginning to think my rockwool wasn't soaked properly, and there remains an abundance of alkaline ph....

I should start a grow journal and title it "Grows Gone Wild" cause this wasn't what I envisioned for the first time...

 

[Sticky_Budz]

hey bro im surprised u havent gotten any help on this. and im sorry that im not much help. but there is a member i know that might be able to help u the name is Kade look her up in the member section and send her a message im sure she would be able to help u. peace and good luck

 

[-X-]

was it a old bubbler wand or new one?

 

[-X-]

if its a new one wand then just change the res.
if its a old wand then all that junk from previous use is coming right out of there.

 

[StonedCold]

DIY bubbler from a rubbermaid with air stones. Made it a few weeks ago and brand new.

I filtered out the buildup of whatever last night. It seems to be under control thus far. I'm going to invest in a fish filter and see if that helps any. I still see an abnormal amount of bubbles in the bucket that remain, like soap suds, rather than just popping upon reaching the surface...

I think I'll get this started under the grow ops and stuff, maybe people will be more keen on helping me when they see pictures of plants. People like babies and no one likes to see them go before they're old and mature and ready....

 

[Sticky_Budz]

hey bro u know i was just thinking lol see the smoke lol anyways i have five fish tanks and when my ph is hi in them i use a ph decreaser. then when i get it to where i want. i use a ph stabilizer to maintian desired ph u want. also u say ur tap water was high on ammonia and chlorine well for ammonia i use ACE or ammonia clear and for chlorine i use start right water safe plus or insto chlor which all this u can get at ur local fish store hope some of this helps if not i tried lol peace man and good luck. have u tried gallon spring water? hey where are the pics of the babies?

 

[StonedCold]

Got my pics under grow journals. Finally started one. It Top44 in the title.

 

[Sticky_Budz]

ok thanx i will go check them babies out. sorry i wasent much help but i tried

 

[AlienBait]

StoneCold, I commented in your journal about the PH issue. I somehow missed this thread.

I have one more suggestion: you will want to get your Resevoir temp down. 78 is too warm. It should be between 68-72 or you risk pithium or root rot.

 

[StonedCold]

Thank YOUUUU! I emptied the one reservoir like I said I did. Ordered PH up/down. The plants will have to deal temporarily with the 7.0ish ph... like 2 days until the mail gets here. I don't want to add a "temporary" solution like lemon juice/vinegar if it will produce that buildup again. Mean time, I am watering the plants by hand with spray bottle and distilled 6.8ph water. I realize these numbers are high, but it shouldn't hurt them for two days. Besides, my first grow is to learn, thats why I didn't germinate an army....:bong:

 

[Sticky_Budz]

i dont know where ur from but if u have a local fish store near u they carry that stuff

 

[AlienBait]

hey bro u know i was just thinking lol see the smoke lol anyways i have five fish tanks and when my ph is hi in them i use a ph decreaser. then when i get it to where i want. i use a ph stabilizer to maintian desired ph u want. also u say ur tap water was high on ammonia and chlorine well for ammonia i use ACE or ammonia clear and for chlorine i use start right water safe plus or insto chlor which all this u can get at ur local fish store hope some of this helps if not i tried lol peace man and good luck. have u tried gallon spring water? hey where are the pics of the babies?

I've never tried the stuff for fish tanks. I've used PH-down for swimming pools and that works for me. Have your tried that on a MJ Hydro grow before? What are the main ingredients? It certainly could be another alternative. If any one has tried it and gotten good results, I'm sure we would all like to know.

However, since this is StonedCold's first ever grow and he is doing hyrdro, I think it would be best if he gets the stuff specifically designed for hydro. He can experiment after he gets through one full cycle of growing and knows what's up.

Mean time, I am watering the plants by hand with spray bottle and distilled 6.8ph water.

That should be fine to keep the rockwool cube moist. You may want to add a tiny (1/8-1/4 strength) bit of nutes as well.

 

[Sticky_Budz]

thats true man.im not a hydro grower just soil.i do use that for my fish tanks so i thought it would be the same for that

 

[AlienBait]

It could be. What is the "active ingredient?"

 

[Sticky_Budz]

It could be. What is the "active ingredient?"

lol ok u lost me there do u mean whats in it? bare with me the kids are in bed so i was able to break the bong out lol.so if u could break that down for me a little better lol. if u want i can get the chart i have that tells u how much for how many gallons but like i said im a soil grower so i dont know if it will work for hydro. u sound like u know what ur doing from the post ive seen in 420 genetics so i dont dout u on ur post.peace :joint: :bongin: :bong1: :smoke1: :banana:

 

[AlienBait]

lol ok u lost me there do u mean whats in it?

Yes, what's in it?

I don't mean to sound like a jerk. I'm sorry if it came off that way. It's just that I don't know of any one who has used fish-tank PH adjuster before. You might be on to something there and it could very well be a cheaper alternative to the stuff you get at a hydro store. If I know what's in it, I might experiment with it on one of my next grows.