Nyarlathotep said:

Welcome to the Farm! Plants look awesome! A couple of observations and tips:


You didn't say where you are. Are you using the EU 700 scale or the US 500 scale?

EC/PPM conversion for different meter types:

• 1 mS/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 500 ppm (US scale)
• 1 mS/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 640 ppm (European scale)
• 1 mS/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 700 ppm (Australian scale)

I shoot for 1200–1400 ppm on the US 500 scale. I don't start seeing burnt tips until I get over 1600–1800 ppm (US scale).

The brown edges are more likely Mg issues. Nutrient burn usually starts at the tips of new growth, while burnt edges on old growth = Mg issues. (Mg is a mobile nutrient; the plant will rob it from older leaves to support new growth.)

I haven't seen you post any pH numbers; let it drift from 5.8–6.2 in veg and 5.9–6.3 in bloom.

I recommend a complete water change once every 7–10 days. (In rockwool, I flush for 1 hour with plain pH'ed water every 7 days.)

There is not much benefit to "living right on the edge of maximum concentration" if you're not running CO₂, in my opinion—especially if you're brand new to hydro.

If you ever decide to switch nutrients, I recommend Greenleaf MegaCrop (1-part) with supplements to everyone. It's dry (you're not paying for H₂O), it's simple to use, it's very economical, and it produces superior results.


Good luck with your grow!

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MileHiGhost said:

Once a week I rinse my roots with just PH water, I usually let it go fer 3-4 hrs then refill with fresh nutrients. Looking good though.
I LOVE me some hydro.
Tried soil once indoor, got 3oz instead of my normal 12-14ozs. That's when I decided to just stay in my lane

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juliando said:

Thanks for the tips.

I was actually wondering about water changes today after I posted this. I havent done anything significant since they started. But everything looks and smells good so I figured it was OK.

2 of these are growing in a synthetic sponge and 1 in rockwool (I think the sponge actually does better)

ph stable around 5.5 (5.1 - 5.8) with ph up/down - no major swings yet.

I just have the Vivosun ph and ec pen meters - typically i do shoot for that 1450 mark - but thats where im seeing the swings because of the small resevoirs and rapid water loss (bringing me up to 1600 or more if Im not checking every day and topping off)

And that EC number doesnt really tell the whole story right? Just basic concentrations, not specific levels.

I can definitely boost the cal/mag a bit, I add about 5ml 'bush doctor' with my feeds. Good info about the tip vs edge burn.

Thanks

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amneziaHaze said:

If you make the nutes good you dont have to do water changes.but if you make a mistake water change is an easy restart.

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Nyarlathotep said:

5.1-5.8 is way too low of a range, 5.5 is rock bottom in pure hydro. I'd advise keeping your pH range at 5.8-6.2. Mg is less available at lower pH which could be the cause of your Mg problems. Another problem with low ph is Fe toxicity if it dips below 5.5pH

I'd also lower the nutes to 1200ppm, that way when it drains and spikes, It'll only be spiking to 1400-1450.

When it/they gets big, it's going to need to be topped up prolly twice per day

Most hydro setups need to be checked and topped up, at least once per day. Last grow my 4x8 tent was using 15-17 gallons per day and I only had a 20 gal reservoir.

With a 30 gal reservoir; I could have set it to be able to take 3 nights and 2 whole days off... ie Top it up right at lights out Thur. That gives you Thur night, friday lights on Fri night,Sat lights on, Sat night; but you absolutely have to be back and reset it before Sun morning lights on. (I was always too much of a worry-wart and sissy to take off without a babysitter). Knowing that it's going to end up with low water, just mix that batch weaker, so it doesn't spike too high.

EC - Right. It only measures the total electrically conductive salts & minerals. The claim is that ec is a better representation of what's in the solution than ppm. Most people in Europe and Aussie use the 700 scale ec. Personally, I've always used US 500 scale ppm. (you never said what country or state your from)

I always advise regular flushes as preventive medicine to ward off problems b4 they start. It prevents algae blooms, nute deficiencies and excesses, molds, bacteria and a host of other shit. I look at it like cheap insurance.... You don't need it until you do; and then you're glad you have it.

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amneziaHaze said:

I Guess if your nute is cheap and volume is small and you dont care that your pumping the nature with all those unused nutes you can do a res change for no reason. I usually stick to changing it for fuckups i managed a few grows with 0-1 water change just refils.as for algea bacteria and other stuff clorine or trichoderma work wonders

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Nyarlathotep said:

Point taken. But your argument is weak at best Mr Haze. There is nothing "eco friendly" about growing cannabis indoors, and not much is cheap about it. Period. And unless maybe you're planting it on a riverbank to prevent erosion, or growing it wild; there's not many eco friendly ways to grow it outside either.

How long did it take you to learn how to grow with 0-1 water change? I'm not here to pick and choose which environmental gods I'm going to please or disappoint today... I'm here to help someone new to hydro have every chance at success, so they don't get frustrated and give up on it.

I have a septic tank which I do not put nutes into, instead they go to my trees and lawn and garden. People over here in the US towns and cities have "sewage treatment" plants that treat sewage prior to release back to the environment.

At the end of the day, you have to choose your battles, you can't fight them all

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Brotofsky said:

Do you have air stones in those reservoirs? I think you are just moments from the same issues in the veg tent too. Flowering is a huge amount of stress on the plant and its nutrient needs change. Its likely the reason that the deficiencies/issues are occurring more obviously.

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juliando said:

I do - the plant thats doing well has its own stone, right underneath it. The other resevoir has 1 stone between the 2 plants.

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juliando said:

I do - the plant thats doing well has its own stone, right underneath it. The other resevoir has 1 stone between the 2 plants.

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