Seedling Help (flood & Drain Hydroton)

[fortphoenix]

I finally sprouted a couple seeds (afghan) in rapid rooters!! :) but i have a few questions! I used rapid rooters to germinate/sprout in a dome/tray and used a water bottle to spray and keep everything moist.. then after a week i transplanted to the hydroton. the bottom of the rapid rooters are like 1/4-1/2" from the flood level. I’m using an a/c 400w hps, like 10-12” from the tops on 24/7 and flood every 4 hours in 1 gallon pots. i already know i fucked these seeds up from over watering (they are drooping a bit) and transplant shock, i transplanted them on the 24th and like no vertical growth has occurred but the leaves yellowed a bit so i gave them 200ppm of maxigro and i think they’re just recovering now. but i have 2 more I’m transplanting tomorrow so i want to make sure i don’t mess things up on 2 new ak-48 seedlings, so heres my questions...

1. Once transplanted, should i water the rapid rooter directly? i was using a spray bottle but wasn’t directly watering the plug, just around it. also, should I still be flooding every 4 hours when watering from the top?
2. How often should i water the top? when the plug is like really dry, like a beige color? or when its still kind of moist (light brown)? or should i just not hand-water them myself at all and make the roots stretch to the flood level?
3. Is it safe to transplant into the flood table at such a young (1week) age? some people say to wait till the roots develop but logically i feel like the more roots sticking out the sides and stuff, the more damage can be done and more shock when transplanting. any thoughts?
4. Should i put hydroton on top of the rapid rooter when in the pot or should i leave the rapid rooter uncovered?
5. What could be causing the tips of the taproots to turn brown? the taproots on the afghans were brown and skinny/shriveled. i read some places it could be from light hitting it or under watering and some other stuff too… or maybe my heat mat?
6. Also, i have a thermostatically controlled heat mat. when should i take it off?

Sorry i typed so much but i would really appreciate if you could help me out!!! thank you!!

 

[hiboy]

400 watts 12" is too close that early.
Water direct on the rooter. If ur roots arent soaking when u flood ur plant needs top feeding. Once a day will do. Get a humidifier. 50% minimum.
Hb.

 

[fortphoenix]

400 watts 12" is too close that early.
Water direct on the rooter. If ur roots arent soaking when u flood ur plant needs top feeding. Once a day will do. Get a humidifier. 50% minimum.
Hb.

thanks for the reply but damn, 50% minimum? my humidity is like 35-40% and i have like zero room left in the tent lol ill need to figure something out

 

[fortphoenix]

heres a link to the gallery ... theres 3 different plants, the first 2 pics are of the plant that was the most promising but i think its now over watered. the second 2 pics are of another afghan plant that i never planted, just wanted to see how it would do without being potted for 2 weeks and the last 2 pics are of the plant that seemed like everything was going decent (besides transplant shock) and now it has a slight droop and the cotyledons are turning like yellowish color around the edges and a purplish/gey color in the center of the cotyledons... though i must say i think the new leaves on the plants in the pot grew a tiny bit since last night they are still drooping. any thoughts?

 

[hiboy]

thanks for the reply but damn, 50% minimum? my humidity is like 35-40% and i have like zero room left in the tent lol ill need to figure something out

At least for veg
Get a humidifier or 2
Hb

 

[fortphoenix]

At least for veg
Get a humidifier or 2
Hb

i just looked them up and they're smaller than i thought, thanks for the tip, also, judging by these pics would you say these plants are under or over watered? its hard to tell with seedlings

 

[hiboy]

i just looked them up and they're smaller than i thought, thanks for the tip, also, judging by these pics would you say these plants are under or over watered? its hard to tell with seedlings

Link wouldn't come up. If u see leaves dropping that's a clue to water More.
Hb

 

[fortphoenix]

theres 3 different plants, the first 2 pics are of the plant that was the most promising but i think its now over watered. the second 2 pics are of another afghan plant that i never planted, just wanted to see how it would do without being potted for 2 weeks and the last 2 pics are of the plant that seemed like everything was going decent (besides transplant shock) and now it has a slight droop and the cotyledons are turning like yellowish color around the edges and a purplish/gey color in the center of the cotyledons... though i must say i think the new leaves on the plants in the pot grew a tiny bit since last night they are still drooping. any thoughts?

 

[fortphoenix]

Link wouldn't come up. If u see leaves dropping that's a clue to water More.
Hb

see them now? the problem is they're still so small so its like impossible to tell. if i had to guess on appearance id say they're over watered but then someone told me watering every 4 hours isn't enough for freshly planted seedlings so its hard to say. please look at the pics i reposted and tell me what you think. thank you

 

[hiboy]

I agree I would water more at that stage