NEW GROWER! Only my third grow need help

[Mellowhaze]

I might evict 2 plants

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

Alkalinity is measured in Ppms not the ph. Two different things.

Well, okay. When I wrote that, I was thinking of alkaline, which is defined as having a pH greater than 7. Parts per million (ppm) describes the concentration of something in water or soil (or air, such as CO2, for example) and can apply to non-alkaline substances.

So, you're correct. Alkalinity is related to pH. It is a measure of a substance's ability to neutralize acids. It's also known as a substance's buffering capacity. It is measured by titration, which involves adding a known amount of acid to a water sample until the sample reaches a specific pH level. It is caused by the presence of alkaline compounds in water, such as bicarbonates, carbonates, and hydroxides. These compounds remove H+ ions from the water, lowering its acidity and increasing its pH. It is these alkaline compounds that are measured in ppm or mg/L. (1 ppm = 1 mg/L)

Thanks for the correction. It gave me an opportunity to do some research and refresh my understanding. This is an interesting subject, but I don't measure pH or ppm for my own growing practices.

 

[Mellowhaze]

This was part of my last grow and like I said buds were very light and airy

 

[b8kd]

Wouldnt that month be dependant on the amount of dirt the size of the plant and the power of the lamp?

Sure, environmental factors and plant strain/age always have an effect on something like that. But it’s an excellent general rule of thumb.

 

[b8kd]

Well it was weird I watered them last nite with 6.7 ph water and this morning I checked the Ph of the soil and the further down you go it got as low as 4.7ph at the bottom

What is the PH of your water before adjusting? I tend to have the opposite occur where the bottom of the pot or my run off reads higher. So either your water naturally has a super low ph and it’s trying to get back to that after some time or something in your soil is buffering the ph and keeping it super low. My best non-expert analysis.

 

[b8kd]

Couple more questions. it looks like you’re using advanced nutrients with ph perfect tech. Is that correct? Do you try to ph the solution to where you want it after mixing it for feeding?

 

[Mellowhaze]

Couple more questions. it looks like you’re using advanced nutrients with ph perfect tech. Is that correct? Do you try to ph the solution to where you want it after mixing it for feeding?

Yes I did actually. After I put all nutes and epsom salt the ph was 5.8 and I needed it at 6.5-6.8

 

[b8kd]

I hope I’m right here with the direction my thinking is going. I have some ideas on why the ph is low as it is as you go farther down the pot. Do you typically have to use “ph up” on your feeding solution after mixing it up to get it to high sixes? I think you just said yes. Meaning the Advanced Nutrients ph perfect tech is buffering your solution to around 5.9 after mixing? And then you’re adding ph up. Well to the best of my knowledge you are creating a battle in your solution and medium. The ph perfect tech will work like hell to keep the solution down if you add ph up. And if you shock it high it will over react from what I’ve learned. It is near impossible to add ph up or down to advanced nutrients ph perfect products and have it do what you want. I did the opposite of you initially and was mad that it kept getting higher no matter what I did. Because I was adding ph down. You’re doing the opposite and getting opposite results. If you’ve been doing this for a long time this may be your issue. Of your using their formula then use their formula and just make sure to not leave mixed solution in a reservoir for over a week before starting fresh. That’s about when their buffers start to run out.

 

[Mellowhaze]

I hope I’m right here with the direction my thinking is going. I have some ideas on why the ph is low as it is as you go farther down the pot. Do you typically have to use “ph up” on your feeding solution after mixing it up to get it to high sixes? I think you just said yes. Meaning the Advanced Nutrients ph perfect tech is buffering your solution to around 5.9 after mixing? And then you’re adding ph up. Well to the best of my knowledge you are creating a battle in your solution and medium. The ph perfect tech will work like hell to keep the solution down if you add ph up. And if you shock it high it will over react from what I’ve learned. It is near impossible to add ph up or down to advanced nutrients ph perfect products and have it do what you want. I did the opposite of you initially and was mad that it kept getting higher no matter what I did. Because I was adding ph down. You’re doing the opposite and getting opposite results. If you’ve been doing this for a long time this may be your issue. Of your using their formula then use their formula and just make sure to not leave mixed solution in a reservoir for over a week before starting fresh. That’s about when their buffers start to run out.

Very helpful cause that’s exactly what I been doing. I did not know it would fight itself like that. So best bet is to empty all the self watering bases and let the plants run the pots dry and flush with water then restart with different nutes so I can get the ph where I want it?

 

[amneziaHaze]

That’s with the paper flush with the phone and it is the correct paper

< 15,000 lux – sparse or “stretchy” growth – plant isn’t getting enough light
15,000 – 50,000 lux – a good amount of light for healthy vegetative growth
45,000 – 70,000 lux – the optimal amount of light for cannabis plants in the flowering (budding) stage. If grow lights produce a lot of UV light (such as LEC), stay on the lower side of this range
70,000 – 85,000 lux – a lot of light, some strains thrive at this light level, but some plants (especially auto-flowering and Indica strains) lose their top leaves early under this light intensity. At these levels, lights need to be kept further away for healthy growth
> 85,000 lux – at this light intensity, you’ve hit the plant’s “saturation point” which means your plant can’t use all the light (most strains will experience light bleaching or other major signs of stress at this level!)

depending on the phone it could lie for 10 000lux

 

[Mellowhaze]

< 15,000 lux – sparse or “stretchy” growth – plant isn’t getting enough light
15,000 – 50,000 lux – a good amount of light for healthy vegetative growth
45,000 – 70,000 lux – the optimal amount of light for cannabis plants in the flowering (budding) stage. If grow lights produce a lot of UV light (such as LEC), stay on the lower side of this range
70,000 – 85,000 lux – a lot of light, some strains thrive at this light level, but some plants (especially auto-flowering and Indica strains) lose their top leaves early under this light intensity. At these levels, lights need to be kept further away for healthy growth
> 85,000 lux – at this light intensity, you’ve hit the plant’s “saturation point” which means your plant can’t use all the light (most strains will experience light bleaching or other major signs of stress at this level!)

depending on the phone it could lie for 10 000lux

I have a iPhone 15 pro max

 

[b8kd]

Very helpful cause that’s exactly what I been doing. I did not know it would fight itself like that. So best bet is to empty all the self watering bases and let the plants run the pots dry and flush with water then restart with different nutes so I can get the ph where I want it?

No, I’d suggest using the Advanced Nutrients if you’re ok with giving it a try and not worrying that your ph is lower than you’d like for soil. Their products are well rated. It’ll keep you where you need to be if you don’t jack with the ph. I use their line that’s specifically for coco. The ph will fluctuate and slowly rise by the end of about a week. The longer it sits the weaker the buffering agents become. I was actually on the phone with someone fairly high up in their company two days ago. A gentleman that lives up in Canada. Forget his name. VP or Director of Operations for them. He said the normal tech support guy was on vacation and he was covering for him so I’d probably not get to talk to him again but this one time. And he was amazing. Totally knew his shit. We were working through a little ph issue I was having where it was rising a little higher than I’d like in my reservoir but we got it dialed in now. I’d say do a really good flush using ph balanced RO water, at least three times the volume of your pot, if it’s 5 gallons do 15 and do it slow like you were watering. Don’t pour it all through at once. Give it time to latch onto all those nutrients you’re trying to clean out. And then let it dry back a little and start in with the feedings again. That would be what I’d do. Not sure if it’s 100% by the book but I’d feel good about it.

 

[Mellowhaze]

No, I’d suggest using the Advanced Nutrients if you’re ok with giving it a try and not worrying that your ph is lower than you’d like for soil. Their products are well rated. It’ll keep you where you need to be if you don’t jack with the ph. I use their line that’s specifically for coco. The ph will fluctuate and slowly rise by the end of about a week. The longer it sits the weaker the buffering agents become. I was actually on the phone with someone fairly high up in their company two days ago. A gentleman that lives up in Canada. Forget his name. VP or Director of Operations for them. He said the normal tech support guy was on vacation and he was covering for him so I’d probably not get to talk to him again but this one time. And he was amazing. Totally knew his shit. We were working through a little ph issue I was having where it was rising a little higher than I’d like in my reservoir but we got it dialed in now. I’d say do a really good flush using ph balanced RO water, at least three times the volume of your pot, if it’s 5 gallons do 15 and do it slow like you were watering. Don’t pour it all through at once. Give it time to latch onto all those nutrients you’re trying to clean out. And then let it dry back a little and start in with the feedings again. That would be what I’d do. Not sure if it’s 100% by the book but I’d feel good about it.

I’m definitely gonna do that. So far I dropped my light down to 12” and everything is starting to blow up now and I’m seeing all new growth from everywhere. I cleaned out all my self watering bases and left them dry so the plants can dry the pot out a little and I can start fresh when I’m ready to fill the bases back up. I’m honestly gonna just get an auto drip irrigation system and leave the bases to catch the runoff and just empty the bases when runoff is in there.

 

[Mellowhaze]

I’m definitely gonna do that. So far I dropped my light down to 12” and everything is starting to blow up now and I’m seeing all new growth from everywhere. I cleaned out all my self watering bases and left them dry so the plants can dry the pot out a little and I can start fresh when I’m ready to fill the bases back up. I’m honestly gonna just get an auto drip irrigation system and leave the bases to catch the runoff and just empty the bases when runoff is in there.

I had my light hoisted as high up as I could before to support the grow I got but I figured out from amnesiahaze that I did NOT have enough light or EVEN CLOSE to enough light for flowering

 

[Mellowhaze]

I’m just making rookie mistakes

 

[Mellowhaze]

I’m definitely gonna do that. So far I dropped my light down to 12” and everything is starting to blow up now and I’m seeing all new growth from everywhere. I cleaned out all my self watering bases and left them dry so the plants can dry the pot out a little and I can start fresh when I’m ready to fill the bases back up. I’m honestly gonna just get an auto drip irrigation system and leave the bases to catch the runoff and just empty the bases when runoff is in there.

I just feel like those bases are a breeding ground for bad stuff if your plants don’t uptake it quick enough

 

[b8kd]

Can’t wait to see the changes over the next few weeks. It’s amazing how fast these things grow. Something new to look at every day when all the variables are dialed in. I think you’re gonna see a huge change with that light lowered and the consistent ph level.

 

[Mellowhaze]

Can’t wait to see the changes over the next few weeks. It’s amazing how fast these things grow. Something new to look at every day when all the variables are dialed in. I think you’re gonna see a huge change with that light lowered and the consistent ph level.

I will have an update this weekend. I have one plant that’s acting weird but it is the one I flushed cause of the salt buildup at the bottom. Some of the leaves are getting yellow spots from the inside of the leaf. Don’t got pics yet I had to leave for work but hopefully she bounces back. Idk the nutes I should be focusing on during flower or just stick to the 3 part I sent pics of and keep adding epsom salt

 

[amneziaHaze]

I will have an update this weekend. I have one plant that’s acting weird but it is the one I flushed cause of the salt buildup at the bottom. Some of the leaves are getting yellow spots from the inside of the leaf. Don’t got pics yet I had to leave for work but hopefully she bounces back. Idk the nutes I should be focusing on during flower or just stick to the 3 part I sent pics of and keep adding epsom salt

Without pic cant say what it is but usually 3 part nutes have all she needs

 

[Mellowhaze]

Since I use RO water and after RO my water ppm is about 27 after nutes during flowering stage what should my ppm be looking towards?