Nute Burn? Nute Def? Root Rot?

[silverhaze]

Hey Guys,
We posted before thinking we had root problems - - but at that point the roots were just a little fuzzy which you've all said is normal. Here we are two weeks later and things look worse. Sorry for the poor photos but what you should see is that the roots now coming out the bottom of the Rockwool (6" cube) have a brownish look to them. In addition, the leaves are showing almost all of the common deficiencies; nitrogen, phosphorus even some of the zinc def photos we've found online and in books are similar. We're trying not to freak out and add lots of new things because our mix has good levels of all the components (same mix we've used in other grows). So then lock out? Ph lock out? Nutrient lock out? Clearly the plants are not absorbing the nutrients from their feed so naturally they look deficient in all of them (maybe). Two weeks ago we flushed with clearex and ph'd water. Five days ago we flushed again with just ph'd RO water (we use RO for everything). Last night we noticed color changes where some inner leaves are bright and outer, larger leaves are actually purple. Seems most like Nitrogen but again it seems the larger problem is that the roots aren't feeding. Any suggestions as to how to get these girls back on track? We're just into week 4 of flower. Plant is Banana Kush, room temps are 65-68 Lights out 75-78 lights on RH 40-45%. Mix is GH 3 part ++. Please give us some advice on how to get those roots drinking again.. Thanks so much!

 

[HydroRocks]

Measure your run off and see what you got. See what the PH of the rockwool is and how saturated the rockwool is with nutrients. You can get salt buildup pretty easy with cubes like that.

 

[silverhaze]

Our feed run off was 5.7 ph (resy at 6.0) - the ppms of the run off was 1700 (on a 500ppm scale BlueLab Combo meter); the resy is at 900ppm. Looks like a lot of build up in the rockwool. Flush again? With clearex?

 

[hiboy]

are u running hygrozyme ?
it cleans that dead shit out.
brown roots was caused by underwatering when the roots were exposed below the cubes, tear that shit out and make sure ur watering enough/
once a day for ten mins on a drip is enough. double or even triple that in flower if your girls are large enough. also for flushing ur cubes at this stage, just get some fresh water at 6 ph and pour a gallon over like 4 to 7 cubes with a wand or a tube connected to a pump. dont let the run off go back into the water ur flushin with
ull see some better results in a week or two for recovey.
check my thread if ya wana c some rw trays goin on
h

 

[hiboy]

another thought, i always stack my cubes on 1 inch coco matts in flood trays.
gives them roots somewhere to go. small roots small plants small buds. i had awesome results with the 8 inch monster cubes, hard to deal with in veg cause we got a small veg room but awesome in flower..
h

 

[NoReason]

I would try to not use 100% RO water because of its non alkalinity.
A 0,2 mS/cm water with bicarbonates inside would keep pH more stable for the buffering effect of these minerals.
Maybe this is not your case, but if your run-off is at pH 6 when you put inside water at pH 5.7, maybe the pH in the medium is a little higher, like 6.3 and this is not so good for the uptake of some minerals.

This is just a suggestion and btw, if you didn't know, don't expose rockwool at pH lower than 5.5 or it will start do ''decompose'' ;)

G'luck

 

[dank_]

Red stems tell me my roots are fucked. IMO it is best to start over. However, in your case I'd finish flowering. I use DutchMaster Gold Zone.

 

[HydroRocks]

Our feed run off was 5.7 ph (resy at 6.0) - the ppms of the run off was 1700 (on a 500ppm scale BlueLab Combo meter); the resy is at 900ppm. Looks like a lot of build up in the rockwool. Flush again? With clearex?

Yep, the Clearex will help break up the salts faster but if you do not have any already just use RO water to help strip out the salts that have built up. When you get it down to around 500PPM you should be clear.

After that stay around 500PPM until things stable again, then you can increase feeding back up slowly. Have to stay on top of things and make sure to flush periodically, usually spot checking will suffice.

Im sure you will be back on track soon!

Cheers!

 

[MakinGoo]

I think 1700 is way 2 hot in week 4 I'm only at around 1000 ppm flush that salt out of them cubes.. I've never used RW b4 tho.. I would juss flush the shit out of them till the ppm get way lower like 500-700 ppm..

 

[silverhaze]

Ok awesome guys - I agree, let's flush em again. HiBoy has recommended 1 gallon at 6.0 (which is my current Resy ph) per 4-7 cubes. I think they need Clearex too to really strip the salts. Should we use RO or Tap? Should we let the cubes dry out before adding more flush water? We have flushed in the past with more like a gallon per cube. When doing that they take a couple of days to dry out again and seem waterlogged. Just not clear on the best flushing method. Thanks HiBoy, HydroRocks, Dank and MakinGoo! you guys rule. Your advice is much appreciated.. I think these girls will finish but yield will likely be low.

 

[hiboy]

Ive only ran rw,
i wouldnt let them dry out in flower, in veg its ok cause ur roots go searching down for water. But in flower your girls will not like it. Rw doesnt dry out very quickly if its placed on a flat surface, but if its lifted off it somehow it will drain faster. Just drench the hell out of em, you cant really over flush them . Do it once a day for a couple days, i would actually flush them with a little base nutes added, like half dose, dont wana malnurish them. Hygrozyme is awesome for breakdown of plant material. i wouldnt run rw without it for sure
h

 

[silverhaze]

I'm going to pick up Hygrozyme tonight. So if I understand you right I should make a special mix with 1/2 strength nutes in RO water adding Hygrozyme - at the recommended dose from the bottle? I also have my cubes on coco mats for air. Let me know if this looks right. Thanks h.

 

[wolftickets500]

1700 is way too much for runoff. try to give your plants a flush with h2o2. i had a similar prob a yr. ago and when i gave em h2o2 they would pirk up for a couple days. then go back to looking bad. if this is the case you have a virus.if not just flush the plants till the runoff is about 300-200 range.

 

[silverhaze]

1700 is way too much for runoff. try to give your plants a flush with h2o2. i had a similar prob a yr. ago and when i gave em h2o2 they would pirk up for a couple days. then go back to looking bad. if this is the case you have a virus.if not just flush the plants till the runoff is about 300-200 range.

Agreed! We've been flushing for four days and we now have just what you said, a run off of about 270-280. I had thought to start them again on a slightly weaker nute solution and strengthen it slowly - thoughts? Roots seem to be growing again and while some leaves still have a purplish look the green is forcing its way back in. Hopefully we'll get back on track.

 

[hiboy]

start of slow with nutes, half dose,
once u set ur cubes in coco matts they wont be moveable, you probably know this.
So space them properly. Things should be starting to look better soon
h

 

[silverhaze]

Thanks HB. I think they're looking better. Will post new photos soon. Much appreciation for your thoughts. SH

 

[silverhaze]

Photo update

Here's where they were last night. Cell Phone photo so color is no good - still a little purple but looking better: Flushed for four days with RO + Clearex + Hydrozyme.

 

[hiboy]

For future runs,
dont cut your coco matts, just place the whole thing in there, It perevents algae from water run off by blockin light that hits the water. Even more importantly, with whole sheets of coco matts your roots will grow below the matt out many inches around the cube, making your plant feel safer to widen up. You can also install covers over them cubes to eliminate algae growth, i do it sometimes,,,, hard to set up if your top feeding or have drippers. They are def. looking better, some are even praying to the lights.. Nice recovery
h

 

[silverhaze]

You know, I've never heard that about using full mats rather than cutting them for the individual cubes. Makes perfect sense. Will definitely try that next time. Cheers,

 

[hiboy]

You know, I've never heard that about using full mats rather than cutting them for the individual cubes. Makes perfect sense. Will definitely try that next time. Cheers,

thats funny cause ive never seen them cut.lol
when u buy them 4x4 they fit perfectly in the tray, pretty sure thats why they are designed that way. You will def. love the style, halfway thru flower peek under a matt, youll trip on what u get down there.
h