Grow Tent OutGassing / Offgassing WARNING!!

[Dab Strudel]

I have a question for you folks, It appears this is the best place for it... I have been studying hydro for 3 years and have lived in NorCal (lets just say not as long). Where Im from we dont seem to give a shit(?) idk but these folks care about life and I love it. I have been taking these folks warnings tword health issues fairly seriously and one of them is BPA.. The thought of the 'plastic in the microwave causes cancer' stuff + BPA warnings + my infatuation with hydroponics = don't you guys think the plastic totes that are being advertised to use (by other growers at least) such as these (not brand specific or style restrictive in my question, just examples) are leaching out, to some negative degree, into our water and into the plant?? Im not sure its something anyone wants to bring up this far into the game, seeing as names like HygroHybrid, VaderOG, MediGrower, and many other folks on youtube alone have advertised using these products for YEARS, But I really care and I would like to clear my conscience of these woes. I wouldnt mind replacing the containers with some 50 gal water safe plastic drums and cutting them down to size, but I dont want to go that far if the Depot HDX totes are safe.

Next is PVC pipe, these folks use it to plumb from bucket to bucket, successfully at that. HygroHybrid is a (fairly) flawless grower so his grows can attest to not dying from off-gassing PVC, he goes a year or longer before he changes his pipes and he has plenty of friends that he's set up with the same setup and he has yet to say 'eh man, I think this PVS is off-gassing in my chit.'. COmments? Thank you folks My FIRST Under Current RDWC session/ first journal coming soon!!


http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1326590
http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-27-Gal-Storage-Tote-in-Black-HDX27GONLINE-5/205978361
http://www.rubbermaid.com/en-US/sho...h-cans/20-gal-roughneck-non-wheeled-trash-can

 

[gugulmale]

Do you think offgassing could cause this ?

 

[Granger2]

It could cause that, but I would ASAP make sure you don't have Root Aphids. Place 1" thick slices of raw potato on surface of the medium. Check undersides daily for a week to see if you can see RA's. Good luck. -granger

 

[MJPassion]

If the tops of your plants are turning white, you are short on iron.
Check your pH...
Then...
Supplement with the full range of micro nutes.

 

[indoorpsychs]

Hello people.It's 2022,almost 2023.Lots of years passed from the start of this post.But i just found it searching 3 months now why my young seedlings,treating them different,with different nutrients and different waterings in different mediums,keep diying second to third set of leaves from iron/sulfur like deficiencies.

 

[Creeperpark]

Do you think offgassing could cause this ?

No, you have a nutrient imbalance. What kind of water are you using? It looks like you have a high hydroxyl content locking out some macronutrients. What kind of soil are you using?

 

[sneezydog]

^^^ 2015 post

 

[Creeperpark]

My bad

Hello people.It's 2022,almost 2023.Lots of years passed from the start of this post.But i just found it searching 3 months now why my young seedlings,treating them different,with different nutrients and different waterings in different mediums,keep diying second to third set of leaves from iron/sulfur like deficiencies.

What kind of water are you using? The yellow leaves are an indication of your pH locking up your nutrients.

 

[indoorpsychs]

My bad

What kind of water are you using? The yellow leaves are an indication of your pH locking up your nutrients.

i am using the same tap water i used to all my grows.i have the analysis of the water and i adjust my nutrients accordingly.my tap is 0.22 ec with 47 ppm of calcium.i was using peat with some nutrients for like 1-2 weeks,plagron light mix and had succesfull grows with it but 3 months now i used 3 different mediums like biobizz light mix even canna coco but same results.hydroxyl i don't even know what that is.

 

[Switcher56]

i am using the same tap water i used to all my grows.i have the analysis of the water and i adjust my nutrients accordingly.my tap is 0.22 ec with 47 ppm of calcium.i was using peat with some nutrients for like 1-2 weeks,plagron light mix and had succesfull grows with it but 3 months now i used 3 different mediums like biobizz light mix even canna coco but same results.hydroxyl i don't even know what that is.

My recommendation is to eliminate from an equation, not add to it. Using 3 different mediums, doesn't allow you to figure out the culprit. When I make changes to my grows, it is 1 variable at a time and monitor the results. That is how we learn! I use to say a vaper without a multi-meter is like a doctor without a stethoscope. Can't diagnose shit.

 

[indoorpsychs]

My recommendation is to eliminate from an equation, not add to it. Using 3 different mediums, doesn't allow you to figure out the culprit. When I make changes to my grows, it is 1 variable at a time and monitor the results. That is how we learn! I use to say a vaper without a multi-meter is like a doctor without a stethoscope. Can't diagnose shit.

it's being 3 months and 20 days now from when i started trying to grow with this tent.it wasnt before 2 months and 20+ seeds that i started experimenting with different mediums and nutrients.and i wasn't just bying different stuff.i eliminated one by one the parameters.first it had to be my light,then my ph,then my nutrients,then my medium etc.never thought it could be my tent.before i saw this post here i was thinking of buying ro filter because i didnt built the house,they could have used lead pipes even if it's illegal in europe.

 

[indoorpsychs]

deleted

 

[Creeperpark]

deleted

Tap water isn't consistent. Tap water is always on the upper side of the pH scale that we like. Cannabis grows best when the pH is below 7 having hydrogen exposure for nutrient exchange. All tap water lives above 7 on the pH scale and that is where the hydroxyl content comes from. The difference between the two is below 7 is Hydrogen content, above 7 is the Hydroxyl content. Now the hydroxyl content is what makes pH stable, not hydrogen because hydrogen exchanges. So when a person uses tap water it raises the pH above 7 range in the soil. A pH that wonders above 7 will lock out the iron and turn the tops yellow. Always start clean water.

 

[indoorpsychs]

Tap water isn't consistent. Tap water is always on the upper side of the pH scale that we like. Cannabis grows best when the pH is below 7 having hydrogen exposure for nutrient exchange. All tap water lives above 7 on the pH scale and that is where the hydroxyl content comes from. The difference between the two is below 7 is Hydrogen content, above 7 is the Hydroxyl content. Now the hydroxyl content is what makes pH stable, not hydrogen because hydrogen exchanges. So when a person uses tap water it raises the pH above 7 range in the soil. A pH that wonders above 7 will lock out the iron and turn the tops yellow. Always start clean water.

So you don't know anyone growing without RO???Me and a lot of friends are growing with tap water just fine.Most "soils" are peat based so everyone's ph is droping as the grow progresses,not the other way around.

 

[Creeperpark]

So you don't know anyone growing without RO???Me and a lot of friends are growing with tap water just fine.Most "soils" are peat based so everyone's ph is droping as the grow progresses,not the other way around.

You say "growing with tap water" is just fine, then why are you having so many setbacks? Listen, I can't say anything about people using tap because I don't know anyone, however, I can say that people that start with clean water have super results. Now if you don't want to believe it that's fine and if you want to use tap water that's fine too. Maybe if you only use tap water you may never know. If you are happy with your plants then keep using it. If you want the best you can for the plants then start with RO water fortified with magnesium and calcium

The reason city water treatment systems raise the pH is to keep heavy metals from being leached out from metal pipes and getting into the drinking water. Some old buildings and homes have old metal pipes. When acidic water percolates through the pipes the metal ions are released into the drinking water. (Lead pipes) When the pH is high above 7 the ions stay put and don't end up in the baby's bellies. It's the same in the container with the altered pH. The city has to buffer the water before it can go to the people.

 

[indoorpsychs]

You say "growing with tap water" is just fine, then why are you having so many setbacks? Listen, I can't say anything about people using tap because I don't know anyone, however, I can say that people that start with clean water have super results. Now if you don't want to believe it that's fine and if you want to use tap water that's fine too. Maybe if you only use tap water you may never know. If you are happy with your plants then keep using it. If you want the best you can for the plants then start with RO water fortified with magnesium and calcium

The reason city water treatment systems raise the pH is to keep heavy metals from being leached out from metal pipes and getting into the drinking water. Some old buildings and homes have old metal pipes. When acidic water percolates through the pipes the metal ions are released into the drinking water. (Lead pipes) When the pH is high above 7 the ions stay put and don't end up in the baby's bellies. It's the same in the container with the altered pH. The city has to buffer the water before it can go to the people.

I agree with you,ro is the best choice.and i am planning on setting it up.but this is not my problem right now.i was huppy with my grows before i bought this tent with the tap water.In my country our water is exceptionaly good compared to every other european country.I dont drink it,only bottled,but with 0.24 ec is usable.ill atach the most recent analysis of my city's water.the cl is only raised to match my tap water's ec so i can use it and get correct results in hydrobuddy.and to answer your question about my setbacks:i think it's my growtent offgasing..

 

[Creeperpark]

I agree with you,ro is the best choice.and i am planning on setting it up.but this is not my problem right now.i was huppy with my grows before i bought this tent with the tap water.In my country our water is exceptionaly good compared to every other european country.I dont drink it,only bottled,but with 0.24 ec is usable.ill atach the most recent analysis of my city's water.the cl is only raised to match my tap water's ec so i can use it and get correct results in hydrobuddy.and to answer your question about my setbacks:i think it's my growtent offgasing..

Does your new tent have a strong smell and odor? Ok, the way to check it is to pull some plants out of the new tent and put the others in the old tent. If the one in the new tent fails then use the old tent. Liston, putting plants in tents shouldn't affect the plant's soil unless the fumes are active from being freshly made. In the old days(2008) they use cheap plastic that put out a very strong smell and people called it off-gassing. Today the tents are made differently, there's still a smell but it doesn't last. What kind of tent did you get and who is the manufacturer?

 

[indoorpsychs]

Does your new tent have a strong smell and odor? Ok, the way to check it is to pull some plants out of the new tent and put the others in the old tent. If the one in the new tent fails then use the old tent. Liston, putting plants in tents shouldn't affect the plant's soil unless the fumes are active from being freshly made. In the old days(2008) they use cheap plastic that put out a very strong smell and people called it off-gassing. Today the tents are made differently, there's still a smell but it doesn't last. What kind of tent did you get and who is the manufacturer?

The tent doesn't smell too much.It had a clear window that was smelling like beach ball sitting in the sun but i have cut it off.I will set up something so i can test the tent because everything else i could is already tested.Can't think of something else besides ph,ppm,nutrients ratios,watering and light distance wich i have already checked and tent,light and water i haven't checked.I don't want to mention the tents manufacturer yet cause it isn't tested that this is the culprit but ill update when i find the reason whatever that is.Do you think expanded polysterine could be the culprit?I have insulated a window with it and i exhaust through there and it is something i haven't done before.

 

[Creeperpark]

The clear plastic you look through is the problem. Everything I researched pointed to the see-through windows. if you overheat it, most thermo-plastics will give off dangerous gases when heated above a certain temperature. There have been some concerns with plastics off-gassing from building materials in the home. If you can smell plastic then don't use it because when it is heated up it may expel fumes. If it's hurting your plants then it's probably killing you and you don't even know it. You are the only one that can find the answer. Run two tents in different areas old and new and see what happens. Keep us posted because I'm interested in finding out too.

 

[indoorpsychs]

update pics of the survivor plant in and out of the tent and 3 weeks seedlings in and out of the tent.just so everyone is aware that it is still happening.i went to the garden store yesterday and it had garden hose and a lavel over it saying non toxic,doesn't kill plants.you can understand that there are still stuff out there made for gardening that are killing plants.