Hi all. New grower looking for advice.

[thcknott]

Hi everyone. Nice to meet you all and happy to finally get my project off the ground.

I do have a question and hoping someone can help me out. I've been thinking about this for a long time and decided to go hydro for my first time and have spent a pretty penny for the startup.

My setup is:
140cm x 140cm tent.
Plantit Aeros hydro top fed dwc system.
650w Phlizon led light.
Monkey Fan.
Using growth technology "grow" hydro
nutrients at about 30% recommended strength for now and maintaining a ph of approx 5.5 (although it's a fight)

Now, I've been having issues where my leaves are curling down - looks to me like they're overwatered but not 100%. So I've been putting the top fed system on an intermittent timer (5mins on every 2 hours) to try and let the roots get more oxygen.

I'm also now starting to think that this has happened since I upped my grow light intensity to 450w (from 320w) recently. I'm thinking maybe my plants are too young for too much light.

They're on an 18/6 light schedule and are autos. They also look a lot worse than this today but they're currently in their dark phase so I don't want to disturb for a pic. But they're really droopy and don't look great.

 

[Bdubs]

Heat stress, high temp low humidity, pests, root stress or gnats of any numbers you have them in the bucket eating roots, too much splash or water level too high for air pressure to airstones, roots getting too much oxygen or too much air, too high PPM or inconsistent PPM. Too high intensity or too close of light.
!One overlooked thing is higher humidity during night time or no change of humidity from day to night. Where you Want lower humidity at night and a higher humidity during the daylight. If there is no change, tugor pressure struggles.

 

[Bdubs]

But uh, other than a little droop, or maybe a bit too much splash of the medium…they loook hella good to me and I’d let them ride. Monitored for progression.

 

[Bdubs]

Allowing the CO2 reactions in the bucket to escape up and under the leafs/stomata will also help your situation. You have a paper plate over it to block the light. But at some point you want to let it release and work for you. More pebbles to light cover. Use hydrogen peroxide and Ph balanced water to mist, close to the pebbles with nozzle, and spray all around the pebbles in the cup every week. Kill gnats and keep pebbles clean. Sterilized drool down to roots not in the water from water level gap to splash maintained.

 

[Bdubs]

To stabilize your Ph, because you said there is an issue there, you should drop it down!!! Best advise and if anything just do this.

 

[BudRanger1919]

I'm also now starting to think that this has happened since I upped my grow light intensity to 450w (from 320w) recently. I'm thinking maybe my plants are too young for too much light.

Hey friend! I think that seedling is a little small for anything over 100w, she is so young. I think 320w might be a little much for those girls, let alone 450w, but I cant see any serious damage yet which is good news. Like Bdubs said, other than a little twisting/curling they are looking pretty good!
If you were to ask me, I would recommend you begin your troubleshooting with lowering your light intensity for a seedling that young.
How far above your seedling do you have you light?

 

[Bdubs]

I see you said you have a top feeder…like a ring? I mean, you don’t need that. If you run the proper air pressure and good splash you should never need water from the top other than maybe a mist. But no more. A drip ring or similar will just overwater your plants by the same means as running high water level and high air pressure, high splash, overwater.

 

[Bdubs]

The key here is autoflower. You Must keep good root health, consistency, ease of stress on the plant. Those nutes may want to be dropped a bit as well as the intensity.

 

[thcknott]

Heat stress, high temp low humidity, pests, root stress or gnats of any numbers you have them in the bucket eating roots, too much splash or water level too high for air pressure to airstones, roots getting too much oxygen or too much air, too high PPM or inconsistent PPM. Too high intensity or too close of light.
!One overlooked thing is higher humidity during night time or no change of humidity from day to night. Where you Want lower humidity at night and a higher humidity during the daylight. If there is no change, tugor pressure struggles.

This is good info. Never really considered the humidity levels at night needing to be lower but I might have trouble changing that with my current setup - I have noticed when the lights go off, temp drops rapidly and the humidity shoots up - so guess it going the opposite way ain't helping.

 

[thcknott]

Hey friend! I think that seedling is a little small for anything over 100w, she is so young. I think 320w might be a little much for those girls, let alone 450w, but I cant see any serious damage yet which is good news. Like Bdubs said, other than a little twisting/curling they are looking pretty good!
If you were to ask me, I would recommend you begin your troubleshooting with lowering your light intensity for a seedling that young.
How far above your seedling do you have you light?

Light is approx 60cm away. I've taken you're advice thus morning and halved the intensity as they did seem to thrive more with less light. I read too much and always see "more light = good". But I guess not while they're babies.

 

[thcknott]

I see you said you have a top feeder…like a ring? I mean, you don’t need that. If you run the proper air pressure and good splash you should never need water from the top other than maybe a mist. But no more. A drip ring or similar will just overwater your plants by the same means as running high water level and high air pressure, high splash, overwater.

No, it's an aquarium pump pumping water into the top from the centre nute solution bucket. My thinking was to keep the water pumping around the system to provide oxygen to the roots, while keeping them wet and not allowing the water in the system to remain still and keep it flowing.

I've attached some pics from this morning. The little guy is 9 days old and the others are 15 days old.

My plan now is:

Light intensity is already lowered.

Remove the plates and pile up the clay balls to block light.

Remove the pipes from the top feed and put them in the side simply for water circulation rather than a feeding system.

I've already ordered some hydrogen peroxide solution (growth technology "oxygen"). Which I will start applying to the clay balls and add to the solution.

Thankyou for all the suggestions guys. Very helpful advice.

 

[thcknott]

 

[Beachbumm]

Hi everyone. Nice to meet you all and happy to finally get my project off the ground.

I do have a question and hoping someone can help me out. I've been thinking about this for a long time and decided to go hydro for my first time and have spent a pretty penny for the startup.

My setup is:
140cm x 140cm tent.
Plantit Aeros hydro top fed dwc system.
650w Phlizon led light.
Monkey Fan.
Using growth technology "grow" hydro
nutrients at about 30% recommended strength for now and maintaining a ph of approx 5.5 (although it's a fight)

Now, I've been having issues where my leaves are curling down - looks to me like they're overwatered but not 100%. So I've been putting the top fed system on an intermittent timer (5mins on every 2 hours) to try and let the roots get more oxygen.

I'm also now starting to think that this has happened since I upped my grow light intensity to 450w (from 320w) recently. I'm thinking maybe my plants are too young for too much light.

They're on an 18/6 light schedule and are autos. They also look a lot worse than this today but they're currently in their dark phase so I don't want to disturb for a pic. But they're really droopy and don't look great.
View attachment 2175153

pH is a little low, I'd use 5.8

 

[Bdubs]

When water temperatures rise Ph rises. So the temp of when you mix in the mix bucket vs what the temp gets to in the reservoirs.
Example: I have my starting water at 67-68 degrees. I mix nutrients and then Ph to 5.7-5.8, my reservoir temps usually creep up to 70-71 after a couple days. My Ph rests at 6.1-6.2 and stays steady. Therefore if I were to want to target 5.8 I should mix and ph to 5.4-5.5 at 67-68 degrees water.

If it creeps down or up you have adjustments to make. Otherwise, the initial creep should be from temps, it’s after the water temps get to their typical high in the reservoirs is when you’ll look for unhappy plant roots by monitoring creep up or down of Ph. Or you administer and mix way the reservoirs normal high and there should be very little or no Ph change after a swap.

 

[Beachbumm]

When water temperatures rise Ph rises. So the temp of when you mix in the mix bucket vs what the temp gets to in the reservoirs.
Example: I have my starting water at 67-68 degrees. I mix nutrients and then Ph to 5.7-5.8, my reservoir temps usually creep up to 70-71 after a couple days. My Ph rests at 6.1-6.2 and stays steady. Therefore if I were to want to target 5.8 I should mix and ph to 5.4-5.5 at 67-68 degrees water.

If it creeps down or up you have adjustments to make. Otherwise, the initial creep should be from temps, it’s after the water temps get to their typical high in the reservoirs is when you’ll look for unhappy plant roots by monitoring creep up or down of Ph. Or you administer and mix way the reservoirs normal high and there should be very little or no Ph change after a swap.

Aiming for 5.8 lets it drift up and down and still remain in the zone, he's aiming for 5.5 so when it drifts down he's out of the zone and that's what I think I see in his leaves but maybe I'm wrong it's been quite a while since I've grown hydroponically.

That dwarf red tree, I believe I have the same one at a house I purchase recently, would you happen to know what that was?

 

[Bdubs]

But more plays into Ph creep (after temps stabilize). As the plant uses nitrogen Ph wants to go down. So if you have a lot of light intensity and a lot of nitrogen, Ph would try to creep down. So Ph creep can be nutrients and or intensity.

 

[Bdubs]

Aiming for 5.8 lets it drift up and down and still remain in the zone, he's aiming for 5.5 so when it drifts down he's out of the zone and that's what I think I see in his leaves but maybe I'm wrong it's been quite a while since I've grown hydroponically.

That dwarf red tree, I believe I have the same one at a house I purchase recently, would you happen to know what that was?

It is a Japanese Maple Bloodgood.

 

[Bdubs]

The Ph stabilizing proper is a direct correlation to nutrient strength and intensity of light. So a slight creep up until swap time is proper. If you stay steady until swap its dead on to what the plant wants or needs. So if there is Ph swinging hard, reduce some stuff and the ultimate foal is to read the plant and adjust nutrients and lighting to assist in proper Ph stabilizing. You take the position of controlling the “rhizosphere” in hydroponics. Soil does all this in its own processes coupled with the roots excretion of acids. We see it in hydro as Ph swings when things are off tempo.

 

[Bdubs]

And conversely, when the plant is using more phosphorus the Ph will creep up. So that is why if you get closer to 6.5, it is a battle to keep it down as she is using more phosphorus as that Ph level as it is more available. 6.0 being neutral and desired, hydro does better just below 6. And a Ph down from 6.5 to 5.5 is a major Ph stress. Swap and new mix is recommended if you have major swings that you are having to control with Ph up/down. So adjust other things to assist in keeping it stable. As Ph up and down is not needed unless you are trying to “force feed”.

 

[Beachbumm]

It is a Japanese Maple Bloodgood.

Is this it?
(Sorry op, I won't post again)