First-time grower here, noob needing some help please

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing well,

I'm reaching out to the community and asking for some assistance please. I'm a first-time grower (of this plant), and she's proving a bit tricky. I'm giving her plenty of light (18/6) and have a reliable ppfd meter to ensure I'm within good light levels and distance according to the light manufacturer. She's being fed nutes every other watering (I water until the pot drains, about 1-1 1/2 gallons of water per watering) with proper amounts of nutes according to manufacturer (Neptune's harvest rose and flowering). I use a hydrometer to determine when I need to water her but as of now, about every 2-3 days (hydrometer gets down to around 35%).

From the pics, the leaves are burning and clawing. I'm pointing the finger at the nutes but obviously defer to an experienced grower. Any assistance would be appreciated in advance. It doesn't seem to affect all leaves and I've pruned a couple of them already.
Thank you!

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

Oh, another note - I also condition my tap water before each watering using API (recommended amount for 2 gallons of water per watering) to remove chlorine, heavy metals, but I do not test PH.

420BigBud · Jan 29, 2026

She's drinking plenty of water so I think your nutrient feeding is probably ok. You said you don't ph your water, do you know what ph your water is?

Galgrows · Jan 29, 2026

From the looks of it autoflower is in flower. I'm just guessing cause you say 18/6 and it's obviously flowering. I don't use a water meter to test wettness i lift my pot up cause i know what drier soil feels like compared to wet soil that maybe your issue not allow it to dry back longer before watering and feeding.

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

Unfortunately no. But watering from plant inception using the same source, I'd think I'd be seeing more widespread leaf damage, no?
The burn does seem to continue since newer leaves are experiencing damage, not just lower ones.

TerpBeans · Jan 29, 2026

Im am not familiar with 'API' water conditioner!?

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

Galgrows said:
From the looks of it autoflower is in flower. I'm just guessing cause you say 18/6 and it's obviously flowering. I don't use a water meter to test wettness i lift my pot up cause i know what drier soil feels like compared to wet soil that maybe your issue not allow it to dry back longer before watering and feeding.

Correct on the auto and light schedule.
I've noticed that the top inch is not completely dry when watering using the 'first knuckle, finger test'. Could this be the issue??
On one occasion I did notice her leaves began to droop around the 34% mark and after watering she perked back up so I presumed around 35% was the time to water.

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

TerpBeans said:
Im am not familiar with 'API' water conditioner!?

It's a water conditioner! It's used primarily for fish tanks to condition water prior to putting fish into a tank. This way, the water is removed of chlorine, etc instantly rather than boiling the water or letting it stand for a period of time.

TerpBeans · Jan 29, 2026

Oh okay. Well I have never treated my tap water, city water. Smells of chlorine all the time. Basically fill a 5 gallon bucket, add some Advanced Nutrients and feed the plants.
What types of chemicals are in that to combat the Chlorine?
I would also agree with @Galgrows on giving them another day or two to allow a better dryback before waterings. Thats usually the cause of those fan leaf tips turning downwards.

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

silverrain said:
It's a water conditioner! It's used primarily for fish tanks to condition water prior to putting fish into a tank. This way, the water is removed of chlorine, etc instantly rather than boiling the water or letting it stand for a period of time.

Chlorine in water is not good for plants from my understanding.

silverrain said:
Correct on the auto and light schedule.
I've noticed that the top inch is not completely dry when watering using the 'first knuckle, finger test'. Could this be the issue??
On one occasion I did notice her leaves began to droop around the 34% mark and after watering she perked back up so I presumed around 35% was the time to water.

May I ask, how often do you water at this stage? I can certainly let her dry out a bit this time.

Vetsgrow2 · Jan 29, 2026

TerpBeans said:
Oh okay. Well I have never treated my tap water, city water. Smells of chlorine all the time. Basically fill a 5 gallon bucket, add some Advanced Nutrients and feed the plants.
What types of chemicals are in that to combat the Chlorine?
I would also agree with @Galgrows on giving them another day or two to allow a better dryback before waterings. Thats usually the cause of those fan leaf tips turning downwards.

I use Vitamin C.. Ascorbic acid powder.

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

TerpBeans said:
Oh okay. Well I have never treated my tap water, city water. Smells of chlorine all the time. Basically fill a 5 gallon bucket, add some Advanced Nutrients and feed the plants.
What types of chemicals are in that to combat the Chlorine?
I would also agree with @Galgrows on giving them another day or two to allow a better dryback before waterings. Thats usually the cause of those fan leaf tips turning downwards.

Good to know, I wasn't sure about chlorine, but was under the impression it's not good for plants. I'll check out the Advanced Nutrients, thanks for the tip and I can certainly let her dry out a bit. Here's the info on API:

API's water conditioners use chemical reducing agents, such as sulfur-based compounds and potentially other proprietary ingredients, to convert toxic chlorine and chloramines into harmless forms.
These products, including API AQUA ESSENTIAL, API STRESS COAT, and API Tap Water Conditioner, work instantly to:

Remove chlorine and neutralize chloramines: This is vital because these chemicals, while safe for human drinking water, are highly toxic to fish and aquatic life, causing gill and tissue damage.
Detoxify heavy metals: The conditioners also neutralize heavy metals like copper, lead, and zinc, which are often found in tap water.

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

Ya'll been great so far, just wanted to say thank you. I grow some of my own pepper plants, tomato plants, and have a couple lemon trees and have had success on all levels. I figured why not turn my attention to a cannabis plant.

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

Grownsince95 said:
Be careful because API is going to raise your pH a lot unless you microdose it. I also keep an aquarium.

Ok good to know, so it may be a PH issue. I do try to dose properly according to instructions so that may be too much (about 1/3 ML for 2 gallons if I remember correctly).

I will cut out the API from waterings immediately based on this and the other post about using tap water.

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

silverrain said:
Ok good to know, so it may be a PH issue. I do try to dose properly according to instructions so that may be too much (about 1/3 ML for 2 gallons if I remember correctly).

I will cut out the API from waterings immediately based on this and the other post about using tap water.

Should a flush be performed with just pure tap water or would it be more detrimental at this point?

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

420BigBud said:
She's drinking plenty of water so I think your nutrient feeding is probably ok. You said you don't ph your water, do you know what ph your water is?

You may have called it from the beginning

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

All - if PH an issue, should a flush be performed sometime soon? Now or should I wait until she dries out a bit more?

Grownsince95 · Jan 29, 2026

silverrain said:
Ok good to know, so it may be a PH issue. I do try to dose properly according to instructions so that may be too much (about 1/3 ML for 2 gallons if I remember correctly).

I will cut out the API from waterings immediately based on this and the other post about using tap water.

I made the mistake of buying the super concentrate one and it's really powerful. I deleted my last comment because I realized you likely have a proper strength one but tbh it's really just unnecessary. The stuff municipalities add to tap water is fine for plants. It's when they raise the pH to combat erosion of lead pipes you have to watch out.

silverrain · Jan 29, 2026

Grownsince95 said:
I made the mistake of buying the super concentrate one and it's really powerful. I deleted my last comment because I realized you likely have a proper strength one but tbh it's really just unnecessary. The stuff municipalities add to tap water is fine for plants. It's when they raise the pH to combat erosion of lead pipes you have to watch out.

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Mine is also the super strength variety. Thank you :)

grayoldnproud · Jan 29, 2026

Did I miss what size pot and what medium.

First-time grower here, noob needing some help please

First-time grower here, noob needing some help please

silverrain

silverrain

420BigBud

Galgrows

silverrain

TerpBeans

silverrain

silverrain

TerpBeans

silverrain

Vetsgrow2

silverrain

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silverrain

silverrain

silverrain

silverrain

Grownsince95

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silverrain

grayoldnproud

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