New Grower. Uneven plant growth and health

[Grownsince95]

Looking better!

What's your water source pH/EC from the tap?

Fwiw I use pond zyme in my res to keep it tasty and have had zero root rot

 

[RootsInWater]

Looking better!

What's your water source pH/EC from the tap?

Fwiw I use pond zyme in my res to keep it tasty and have had zero root rot

Water at tap is roughly
7.5 ph
75ppm
.146 EC

PH in res was about 6.0 when I took those pics earlier

I will look into pond zyme!

I will get RO eventually.

 

[Grownsince95]

Water at tap is roughly
7.5 ph
75ppm
.146 EC

PH in res was about 6.0 when I took those pics earlier

I will look into pond zyme!

I will get RO eventually.

I think that's perfectly good tap water for hydro!

The root rot bacteria plus the plants eating will naturally raise the pH of the water. Sometimes pretty quickly in a stanky rez.

 

[RootsInWater]

I think that's perfectly good tap water for hydro!

The root rot bacteria plus the plants eating will naturally raise the pH of the water. Sometimes pretty quickly in a stanky rez.

I ph’d the water to 6.0 with “general hydro ph down” when I changed the res and the ph has stayed the same in 6 days and doesn’t stink anymore

During this last week, I’ve added 1 gallon of a ph’d to 6.0 higher-nutrient mix, half gallon one day, half gallon yesterday. That brought the ppm from 350 to 450

According to the State Department of Health, the blank and blank sources have a high susceptibility to potential sources of contamination while the blank wellfield and Golf Course Well have low susceptibility. To protect the health of our customers all the City sources are treated with chlorine for disinfection. The City of blank does not add fluoride to its sources. The City does raise the pH of the blank and blank sources to reduce the potential for the water to corrode metal piping.

Summary Table of Water Quality Detections
Substance	Highest Level Allowed (MCL or MRDL)	Highest Level Detected	Range of Level Detected or # Exceed AL	Ideal Goals (MCLG)	Potential Sources Of Contaminant
Regulated at Treatment Plant/Distribution System
Chlorine	4 ppm	0.64 ppm	0.11- 0.64 ppm	Not Applicable	Treatment disinfectant additive
Total Haloacetic Acids	60 ppb	Not detected	Not detected	0	By-product of drinking water chlorination
Total Trihalomethane	80 ppb	4.6 ppb	4.2-4.6 ppb	0	By-product of drinking water chlorination
Nitrate	10 ppm	1.6 ppm	0.7-1.6 ppm	10 ppm	Natural deposits. Runoff from fertilizer use. Leaching from septic tanks/sewage.
Regulated at Consumer's Tap (1)
Lead	15 ppb AL	2.1 ppb	0 Sites exceed AL	0	Household plumbing
Copper	1.3 ppm AL	0.31 ppm	0 sites exceed AL	1.3 ppm

 

[Florida_Mike]

Here is the whole room, going forward I think I want to do individual 5 gal buckets for each plant, I just want the least likely for a leak as this is 10 gallons of water, upstairs. I’ll acquire more over time. So far, I’m happy. View attachment 2383130

Grow room looks good.
Pro tip: Put a good quality
silver tarp on the floor and
about 4-8" up the walls to
effectively make a "pan"
that will contain your entire
reservoir(s) in case of total
system failure, as well as
everyday spills when adding
nutes, water ect. Spills can &
do happen when growing
hydro and it's best to be
prepared. (even water
dripping off from test pens
will potentially stain a wood
floor/carpet.) A tarp is very
cheap insurance.

 

[Grownsince95]

Looks like you did a good job fighting the root rot so it's way more stable now. Onward and upward!!!

 

[ThatGuyInTheDesert]

What's top fed DWC setup?

 

[Grownsince95]

So are you just adding a concentrated solution when you top the res?

 

[Florida_Mike]

I ph’d the water to 6.0 with “general hydro ph down” when I changed the res and the ph has stayed the same in 6 days and doesn’t stink anymore

During this last week, I’ve added 1 gallon of a ph’d to 6.0 higher-nutrient mix, half gallon one day, half gallon yesterday. That brought the ppm from 350 to 450

According to the State Department of Health, the blank and blank sources have a high susceptibility to potential sources of contamination while the blank wellfield and Golf Course Well have low susceptibility. To protect the health of our customers all the City sources are treated with chlorine for disinfection. The City of blank does not add fluoride to its sources. The City does raise the pH of the blank and blank sources to reduce the potential for the water to corrode metal piping.

Summary Table of Water Quality Detections
Substance	Highest Level Allowed (MCL or MRDL)	Highest Level Detected	Range of Level Detected or # Exceed AL	Ideal Goals (MCLG)	Potential Sources Of Contaminant
Regulated at Treatment Plant/Distribution System
Chlorine	4 ppm	0.64 ppm	0.11- 0.64 ppm	Not Applicable	Treatment disinfectant additive
Total Haloacetic Acids	60 ppb	Not detected	Not detected	0	By-product of drinking water chlorination
Total Trihalomethane	80 ppb	4.6 ppb	4.2-4.6 ppb	0	By-product of drinking water chlorination
Nitrate	10 ppm	1.6 ppm	0.7-1.6 ppm	10 ppm	Natural deposits. Runoff from fertilizer use. Leaching from septic tanks/sewage.
Regulated at Consumer's Tap (1)
Lead	15 ppb AL	2.1 ppb	0 Sites exceed AL	0	Household plumbing
Copper	1.3 ppm AL	0.31 ppm	0 sites exceed AL	1.3 ppm

Your water looks really good
compared to a lot of city water
I've seen. You shouldn't need RO
just make sure to let it sit and
off-gas for at least 24hrs b4
using to get rid of the chlorine,
which is injected as a gas. An air
stone in the container (I use a
44gal Brute garbage can) helps
speed the process up and insures
fresh, oxygenated water for your
babies.

They should be able to handle
800-1000ppms by now. If your
ph keeps rising, start it @ 5.8 &
let it drift up to 6.2 b4 resetting
@ 5.8 again, this ensures maximum
uptake of all nutrients.

*Important*. Keep feeding week 4 veg
formula for 2-3 weeks after flipping to
12/12 b4 switching to week 1 of bloom
formula (depending on how much stretch
you want) I usually go 10-14 days.

 

[Florida_Mike]

What's top fed DWC setup?

Top fed DWC is what I use for my mother plants.
The bubbler ring is an "air lift" that uses air to
lift the nutrient solution up to the top ring.

 

[RootsInWater]

So are you just adding a concentrated solution when you top the res?

No so I was using the minimum nutrients because it seemed I burned them when I went up to the next dosage a few weeks ago. Now I think they just had root rot and it had nothing to do with upping the nutes. Basically I had 10 gallons mixed to somewhere around early veg levels, then I had another 1 gallon mixed with late veg nutrients to the proper per gallon amount and topped off the reservoir with it. It was just 1 gallon with late veg nutrient content made for 1 gallon.

 

[RootsInWater]

Grow room looks good.
Pro tip: Put a good quality
silver tarp on the floor and
about 4-8" up the walls to
effectively make a "pan"
that will contain your entire
reservoir(s) in case of total
system failure, as well as
everyday spills when adding
nutes, water ect. Spills can &
do happen when growing
hydro and it's best to be
prepared. (even water
dripping off from test pens
will potentially stain a wood
floor/carpet.) A tarp is very
cheap insurance.

Thank you for the tarp idea, I will do so!

 

[RootsInWater]

Top fed DWC is what I use for my mother plants.
The bubbler ring is an "air lift" that uses air to
lift the nutrient solution up to the top ring.

I want to put rings on top for my next start. I just have tubes running from water pump/manifold up 1 inch into the bottoms of the net pots

 

[Grownsince95]

Did the new

No so I was using the minimum nutrients because it seemed I burned them when I went up to the next dosage a few weeks ago. Now I think they just had root rot and it had nothing to do with upping the nutes. Basically I had 10 gallons mixed to somewhere around early veg levels, then I had another 1 gallon mixed with late veg nutrients to the proper per gallon amount and topped off the reservoir with it. It was just 1 gallon with late veg nutrient content made for 1 gallon.

So that gallon you added was the first with the cal/mag supplement?

 

[RootsInWater]

Your water looks really good
compared to a lot of city water
I've seen. You shouldn't need RO
just make sure to let it sit and
off-gas for at least 24hrs b4
using to get rid of the chlorine,
which is injected as a gas. An air
stone in the container (I use a
44gal Brute garbage can) helps
speed the process up and insures
fresh, oxygenated water for your
babies.

They should be able to handle
800-1000ppms by now. If your
ph keeps rising, start it @ 5.8 &
let it drift up to 6.2 b4 resetting
@ 5.8 again, this ensures maximum
uptake of all nutrients.

*Important*. Keep feeding week 4 veg
formula for 2-3 weeks after flipping to
12/12 b4 switching to week 1 of bloom
formula (depending on how much stretch
you want) I usually go 10-14 days.

Thank you for those charts by the way, I found the pdf and got them printed from staples on nice glossy 11x17 for $2 each for quick reference as you see on the wall lol

 

[RootsInWater]

Did the new

So that gallon you added was the first with the cal/mag supplement?

I did a complete res change when I started the cal mag on Sunday last week. That extra gallon just had the next week or 2 up levels of the flora nutes

 

[Grownsince95]

I want to put rings on top for my next start. I just have tubes running from water pump/manifold up 1 inch into the bottoms of the net pots

No need for rings in that setup. Next time you top up, pour a bunch over the base of the plants to flush the very top of the media. Those air roots in the pot will love u.

 

[Grownsince95]

So my last question is...are you adding the cal/mag first? This is important and actually a big deal because it's alkaline.

Cal/mag is also an EC hog. Whatever you were feeding before, if you want the same level you will have to feed more.

Say you were feeding 400 ppm .8 EC without cal/mag. Your tap water is already 75 ppm...so that's 325 ppm of "other stuff" that you added.

If you now start the cal mag and follow the instructions and add it first, your tap water will jump to about 250-300 ppm depending on the brand before you add anything else. So to get back to the feeding level you had before, you must end up with a total of 625-650 ppm.

@FloridaMike hit it on the head when he said it should be closer to 1000. The happy zone in my grow is 850-1000 in flower but never more than 5 or 6 hundred in veg so your on the right track!

 

[RootsInWater]

I use rings only in coco (my secret sauce)

Do you have the issue of the coco going into the water? That’s what I originally wanted to use but read it’s not the best for hydro because of slipping through the netpot

So my last question is...are you adding the cal/mag first? This is important and actually a big deal because it's alkaline.

Cal/mag is also an EC hog. Whatever you were feeding before, if you want the same level you will have to feed more.

Say you were feeding 400 ppm .8 EC without cal/mag. Your tap water is already 75 ppm...so that's 325 ppm of "other stuff" that you added.

If you now start the cal mag and follow the instructions and add it first, your tap water will jump to about 250-300 ppm depending on the brand before you add anything else. So to get back to the feeding level you had before, you must end up with a total of 625-650 ppm.

@FloridaMike hit it on the head when he said it should be closer to 1000. The happy zone in my grow is 850-1000 in flower but never more than 5 or 6 hundred in veg so your on the right track!

I have been putting the cal/mag first when making the solution, but I made separate batches - 4 gallons, 4 gallons, 2 gallons, then that final 1 gallon I’ve been talking about. I put cal/mag first into each one. Is this cancelling things out when I am adding an already mixed solution to the res? I exchanged another gallon today with the higher dose and putting cal/mag first and ppm is 510 now. Should I slowly work up to 800 by exchanging a gallon out a day?

 

[RootsInWater]

@Grownsince95 @Justlovetogrow @FloridaMike

Thank you for all the advice/tips/suggestions