I put my weakest plants in first as my testers. I figure when I have these smaller weaker ones dialed and growing the larger ladies will go in.

the water is at the bottom of the net.
they are droopy and kinda listless... the tip burning was from veg as I pushed em a little.

You can also see the roots are healthy and white, some of the upper side small feeders are dying back, is this normal?

her is one mostly affected. seems like nute burn but they look so waterlogged.

agian only 1/3 strength ionic and zone at 1ml per gallon. lame pics I know... here you can see some of the smallest feeders up high in the net pot dying back as well. they were def submerged more before the transfer to my uc.

they seem a little better this morn.... maybe lol.

overall picture.

still gonna insulate but really want to work out the bugs, and get these 5 ladies larger before i put in the rest and button it up.

Consider raising the water level up the net pot (about 2" up from the bottom) and distancing your lamps as high as they'll go. Looks to be slight dehydration meets lumen shock based on the way those plants are looking.

Though with that said, they seem to be recovering already.

Could be a micronutrient deficiency. Believe it or not, a chlorine deficiency presents this way, and is more common than most are aware with the trend in RO water usage.

this one looks like maybe needs some Potassium.


Personally, I found that the most important factor for me to have near automatic success with the UC, is letting the pH swing. My first couple of runs I kept the PH as stable as I could, 5.7-5.8 or so, and battled all sorts of issues similar to this. As soon as I started letting it just swing around and do it's thing (within limits of course), I was treated to what's really possible.

Plants just look light bleached to me.

Chaos Theory

I joined just to respond to these pictures...I have the exact same system with the exact same problem. I would post a pic but they would look just like yours! I switched to DWC for THIS show as I do not like washing all the rock in the 'bucket with rocks' system. However my yields have been all over the map with the DWC(Crop#1. 2.2#/1000, Crop#2. 0.6#/1000, Crop#3. 0.5#/1000, Crop#4. 1.1#/1000) and Im ready to go back to buckets but I hate giving up something I know can work (damn that first crop!!).

DWC

Grower XP: Deep Water Culture novice (0.5-2.2# per 1000)
3 gal buckets with Hydroton pro (typ: 2.7# per 1000)
Dirt (I hate dirt!) moderate (1.2-1.8# per 1000)

Strain: OG Kush / Purple Kush
Lights: 500W start ramps up to 1000W by week 3
Water Temp: 66-69F
Room Temp Day: 90F (ranges from 88-92)
CO2: 1000 ppm (from tank, not burner)
Room Temp Nite: 78F
Humidity: 60-75%
pH: 5.9-6.5 (fluctuates)
Nutes: Nutrilife Powder A/B/C (@1000ppm)
Nute Adds: Superthrive, SM90
Water Source: Well (untreated, 300ppm from well alone)
Reservoir Change: Every 5-7 days
Redox: xxx mV (no meter yet)

I have run a few crops through now and can always start well with nice roots, leaves etc but within three weeks of veg ONLY SOME of the plants (~25%) start to show the signs you presented, others are 90% healthy (I only say 90% because I know how they should look!).

Points to note:

1. All Roots (affected and unaffected) start very well but within the three weeks some browning starts to show. New root shoots are present on healthier plants.

2. Affected plants and unaffected plants share same reservoir.

3. ***All plants always appear to be under a little bit of stress on stems. ALL new growth always seems perfect but shortly thereafter the stem starts to show moderate amounts of red. All leaves look like they're stressed a little bit as the leaf stem (petiole) goes red very soon after emerging (again, the new growth is perfect!). Yes, an unhealthy plant will put resources to the new growth centers at the expense of the rest of the plant. It appears the stress gets worse as I up the lumens (digital ballasts 50/75/100)...but only some!

4. Room has very little exhaust as the AC keep the temp and humidity in control (separate humidifiers and dehumidifiers also).

5. Leaves of affected plants appear dark green with deep veins and lower plant leaves will begin to yellow and die. The affected plant will finish very early with horrible yield.

6. Leaves of affected plan shows downward curl on ends.

7. Roots of affected plants are sub par. Brown with what appears to be some root rot. Why aren't all plants affected??? I am currently researching REDOX potential and looking at an ozone treatment system to eliminate any possible bacteria (Pythium?) coming from the well.

8. My other room has the exact same issue however there are two plants of a different strain (i'm told they are sugarshack, aka pinebud) that show NO sign of stress at all where others are affected as above (ie some healthy (8 on a 10 scale) and some not (2 on a 10 scale), pine bub (10/10).


Its the quasi-randomness of the affected plants that has me stumped. I know I'm missing something but I'm at my rope's end and my knot isn't holding!!! Any feedback is much appreciated! : )

Thanks for responding. My lights are up all the way from the moment I txplant. Apprx 51/2-6' above. With r.o water and a starting ec of .5 would they need more food? That's a ppm of 250 roughly. These are all 8-10" tall and have been in veg for a couple weeks before txplant.

Hey Zuesdog, don't give up hope. This is my first run and it's new to me also. I would say that as some things are always the same in growing even though this is a very different system, but I realize you know that. I just wanna send some positive vibes ur way man.

Few yrs ago I used a sunlight tent that offgassed and my plants looked identical to the problem I'm having now. All this gear is Chinese and who knows if something is. I'm thinking it's nute related cuz I'm not using all my lights and they are raised pretty high, also since this system is so simple and nutes are the one issue that can mess up anyone including the seasoned vet! My pond liner makes me nervous as does my a.c housings....lol. I know it's a long shot but well water is know to have seasonal issues. Just run down each plug and see if any new items introduced aren't functioning properly. I wish I could help you more but my u.c experience is zero! As a grower just look at the basics, sometimes it's simple things overlooked but I'm pretty sure you have already.

Hope we can both find an answer.

I have to say after several calls to u.c, and reading so many threads im getting pissed. Not at u.c. of course! They are very good, and have offered much advice. Day 5 now and this problem isnt any better. WTF. My roots look good still. But these fuckin plants look like shit. I put my remaining plants in since the first ones seemed to perk up..... only to fall back into the same shit. My parameters seem pretty good and now im all in on this.

I guess this first rd is a loss because I know they wont produce what they could have with all these early issues.

Here are some more pics....anyone else have an idea? I'd actually be comfortable if it was root rot, then I would know what the fuck was up.

I'd recommend adding 2 ml/gal of CalMag if you're using RO. I don't know about ionic nutes, but on my first UC run with DM Gold my plants did much better once I added CalMag at that strength... :thinking

P.S. Can you snap a couple of photos at lights out so that we can see the true color of the leaves?

thank you shady.. they also seem a little better in the morn but by eve time they are worse again. i added some cal mag at 1ml per gallon when they first went in. then added another 1ml per gallon thurs eve thinking it may need additional since im using ro water.

i really do appreciate all the direction from everyone.

here are new pics lights off.
first 2 are romulan.

raspberry kush the worst one.

some raspberry and ack.

What are the temps in your room? How is your room circulation? When you feel the leafs are they cool and wet feeling? You said they are better in the morning and worsen through the day, Is your room humidity building through the day as well? Are you using RO? I agree with Cal Mag..

Man I hope you get it sorted out.. I had a problem b4 and used half r/o water half tap

All4freedumb
Temp 75.5, circulation is 2 wall mount, 2 floor, 1 lg overhead fan across fixtures and canopy, a max fan 10 venting across the canopy after carbon scrubbing. Leafs are dry and rough and rigid in the veins. Im using r.o. water, humidity is between 45-55 but mostly around 50 day or night.

After some inspection I may have found part of the issue. I used rapid rooter plugs and they trapped moisture against a few of the stalks. It seems the plants started to heal themselves, however...

I took as much of the top 3/4 to 1" of rapid rooter off the root crown, damaging some feeder roots but no cords.... I can see "light" sloughing at the stalk and the tale tell brown ring.

Are rapid rooters bad for uc?

The water roots appear very healthy! but will the feeder roots I damaged cause me rot? (seems most were old and dead already)

Running zone can I still top rinse my net pots w some h2o2 to strip/kill decaying roots and bacteria/pathogens?

pics of roots and stalks to follow, hahahaha..