sek311

First off thanks in advance..

Now here is my current status I'm having some major PH issues. I purchased a CAP ebb and grow system and put 8 of my ladies in the system and I left town for one day for work came home to find some sick babies..

system stats
1k hortilux MH 24" from canopy
40gal res (3 day old batch)
RO water 6.2ph @ 23ppm (topped off before I left for the airport)
Media Higromite (stems look awesome even tho they girls look like crap)
75 room temp and res temp 72F
Flora Nova, Foralicious, and PH up was stabilized to 5.8ph 920ppm

So I come home to find my res at 4.2ph, my ladies badly burned and showing deficiencies after 1 day.. I don't understand what could have caused such a big drop in PH. I ran my solution with air stones and a 350gph pump for a hour before pouring it into the res. The local hydrostore guy said to bump my solution to 8 and let it fall down. He's shitting me right?? Any input is welcomed. only good news is I see three ladies with awesome genetics that didn't get phased. found some keepers out of the batch the other gals maybe a bit far along and are headed to compost.

EMj

Hi

The sweet spot is 5.8.

I don't know why the ph dropped so much on you. How big are the plants? How far along? ah shoot just fill out the nursery questionaire form in my sig, we will have more info to go from.

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sek311

Hydro Growers:
1. Are you growing from seed or clones? Seed
2. How old are your plants? 4 weeks from germ
3. How tall are your plants? 8-12"
4. What type of hydro system are you using? ebb and grow
5. What brand/type of nutrients are you using? GH Flora Nova, Floralicious
6. What is the Ph of your nutrient solution? 5.8 at mix
7. What is the PPM/EC of your tap water? RO used PH 6.2 PPM 23
8. What is the PPM/EC of your nutrient solution?
9. What is the temperature of your nutrient solution? 72F constant
10. Does your PPM/EC show a rise or fall when you do your daily PPM check? rise
11. Does your pH show a rise or fall when you do your daily check? fall
12. Do you foliar feed or spray your plants with anything? no
13. What kind of lights do you use and how many watts combined? (HPS, MH, fluorescent, halogen, incandescent "plant lights") 1k MH
14. How close are your lights to the plants? 24" Air cooled hood
15. What size is your grow space in square feet? 48sqft 6'x8'
16. What is the temperature and humidity in your grow space? 75F RH 37
17. Have you noticed any insect activity in your grow space? none
18. How much experience do you have growing? beginner

Found my res at a very low PH 4.2 and I don't understand where the swing came from. First time using this product line. Most of my plants are starting to show small spots and the new growth looks rippled and deformed. Also have some blots of yellow in the leaves. Smaller plants have brown and yellow blots and are drying out. The larger plants have slowed with some yellowing and leaves are starting to curl up. bad times... =( My friend told me with floranova you have to used a paint mixer to mix up the solution is that correct?

xjo

What was the starting ec/ppm and ec/ppm when you measured the next day? Sounds like the starting ec/ppm could've been to high.

Let me shift this over to the nursery for you

Xjo

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sek311

ppm was at 984 according to my notes.

Freakshow68

did you wash your medium before you put the plants into it? calibrate your ph meter?.

better dump that rez and give them a good flush before you do anything else. Also, when I mix my hydro nutes in my 40 gallon rez, i run a water pump in the rez to mix the solution. I add in the nutes, do a quick ph check, add soem adjustment and let it sit and mix for 1/2 an hour or so. Then check it again and adjust accordingly.
You might consider mixing in some tap with your RO water as well to help it remain stable

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tripps

The PH was unstable due to you using straight RO water. RO water has no buffering ability, which is resistance to PH swings, the Calcium in regular water buffers the water, helping keep the PH stable. Use a mixture of tap or well water that gives you an initial ppm of 150-200, and it should eliminate that problem. I have very hard water, 450 ppm, I mix 2/3 RO water with 1/3 well water, and my ph stays pretty stable. I didn't see cal-mag listed, that would have helped, and also helped supply the Ca and Mg the plants need. Good luck.

PS As your EC/PPM was rising, your solution may have been a little too strong for 4 week old seedlings, plants from seed can't take as many nutes as soon as clones can.

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sek311

Hey guys, thank you for taking the time to help my newbie ass. Your sharing of knowledge is appreciated.

@freakshow yes I did wash the media out in small 1 gal portions until the water from my drilled bucket ran clear. And I have calibrated my meter 2 days prior. I will mix some tap in. Thank you for sharing your mixing procedure it is really helpful.

@tripps thank you for your explanation on my RO water being the underlying issue with my ph swing. I'll make sure to bring my mix of H2O to the 150-200ppm mark. I have water so hard you can chew it as well so it shouldn't be much.

Questions
How much cal-mag should I add and should I add it prior to mixing in my nutes? Is it still needed even if I mix with tap? Should I mix my nutes at half dose right now?

Again this site is awesome the open sharing of knowledge is great!

EMj

Ok grab your ppm meter and some fresh RO water. Bring the ppm up to 200 ppm with the cal/mag. Then add your nutrients up to the desired ppm level. For the age of your plants I would say that you should be between 500-600 ppm of grow nutrients. 984 is def too high. Good Luck!

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tripps

I would recommend mixing some tap water at least, there are trace elements in minute amounts that MJ needs that aren't always in nutrients. I do use a little Cal-Mag with mine, even though I start at 150- 200 ppm.

__________________
I may very well be laughing at you, not with you.

"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance-it is the illusion of knowledge"-Daniel Boorstin

"Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." John Gay

Hi! It's me... the girl from the bus...Remember? The last tour? Well...Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is THE BEST...Wisdom is the domain of the Wis (which is extinct).

"If I cannot laugh in Heaven, I do not wish to go there."- Martin Luther

First journal Soil
Second journal Hempy
Third Journal Ebb and Flow