calcium/manganeese def + thrips?

[yamaha_1fan]

I got some various issues in my garden. I looked at the pics in Stitchs guide and it seems like I either have a Calcium or manganeese issue but I cant tell.

Heres the details

How long has this problem been going on? Couple weeks
What system are you running? (DWC? Ebb flow? Aero? Water Farm? Flood Tables? and so on...) Ebb abd floo table
What STRAIN are you growing? Northern Lights
What was the establishing technique? (Were the seed or clone?) Clone
What is the age of your plants?day 40 of 12/12
How tall are the plants?12-20"
What PHASE are the plants in? (seedling, vegetative or flower) are the plants in? flower
What Technique are you using? SOG
What substrate/medium are you using?(Hydroton, RockWool etc.) Hydroton
What is the Water temperature? 75
What color are your roots? White? Brown? Are your roots slimy? unknown
What Nutrient's are you using? How much of each if using multiple? GH nutes
What is the TDS/EC/PPM you are using? 1300
What is the pH of the "Tank"?5.3-5.7 over the last couple weeks
Are you sure your calibration is correct on your equiptment? yes
When was your last watering?
What is your water temps? 75
When was your last feeding change? (ie. grow-bloom-micro-additional) 3 weeks ago
How often do you clean your system: example: Flush out water replace with clean water and nutrients? every 3-4 weeks
What size bulb are you using? 1000
What is the distance to the canopy? 18" was 3 feet
What is your RH Factor(Relative Humidity)?60
What is the canopy temperature?
What is the Day/Night Temp? (Include flucutaion range) 85 day 70 night
What is the current Air Flow? (cfm etc.)
Is the fan blowing directly at plants?
Is your water HARD or SOFT? well water at 70PPM
What water are you using? Reverse Osmosis (RO)? Tap? Bottled? Well water? Distilled? Mineral Water? Well
Has plant been recently pruned, cloned off of or pinched no
Have any pest chemicals been used? If so, What and When?
Are plant's infected with pest's


This actually seems to be a problem I have on most of my grows. I am flushing the table now with straight water














I also have another table with problems. I dont know how good the pics will show it, but I think it is thrip damage. I cant see any bugs but around some of the damages areas, I see this tiny black spots which I read are probably droppings

 

[del...]

looks like thrips...are there little black spots under the leaves? that'll clinch it...

they look bad but they don't seem to bother the flowers. pyrethium spray didn't work and no way will i use chems during flowering but to rid them after harvest, put the flowers on a flat of newspaper and put in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. they'll fall right off onto the paper and a gentle shake immediately after removing from freezer will get rid of most, if not all of the rest. i've had a battle with them going on all summer but instead of chems i control them manually by running my fingers under the leaves and squashing adults and their nymphs...it's more personal satisfaction than doing any actual good for the plant, lol...but they don't cause much harm to the plant as far as i can tell but then again mine are outdoors and thrips have predators to deal with besides me...i'll have to be very careful they don't get inside for the indoor winter grow!

good luck

if you look close under magnification you might see the thrip damage on the leaves...i'll try to get better pics this afternoon when the sun's at a better angle.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

i didnt look under the leaves, I did look on top and there are little black specks around most of the spots.

I dont see any bugs though

Manually squishing the bugs is not an option as I have 800+ plants.


How about the other issue, the mis colored leafs?

Hoping to get an answer on that so i can pick up some supplies on the way home.

 

[Whatever]

i didnt look under the leaves, I did look on top and there are little black specks around most of the spots.

I dont see any bugs though

One of the best things I found for analysis and identification of potential pest issues is one of those self lighted book/reader magnifiers (at like 6x) which you can find at any decent book store. They are the shiznit. If you think you see something take a look bottom side and keep looking in the general area. Little black specs for sure indicates thrips. My experience is once I say the leaf damage I would then find the cream colored larvae crawling around and rarely say the adults. That damage is pretty mild thrip damage if that's what it is. Even in the initial phase it's pretty apparent.

As for the other pics...I think thrips are the least of your worries.

 

[Dr.Snow]

when you confirm you have thrips get some spinosad solution to take care of it. nothing else worked long term for me and i tried almost everything. one brand is monteray garden insect spray. good luck!

 

[stinkyattic]

What else can you tell us about your source water? It's quite soft as it is, and if I were you I would be running CalMag as your first res addition up to ~250 ppm before you add nutes and do the pH. Yes, it seems you need more calcium from looking at that damage.

Thrips are more a problem when you have high temps and low humidity and their damage causes plants to lose water and dessicate. Also, they breed in soil, so if you have soil mothers about, it's a good idea to treat them with pyrethrin and to bomb the room they are in. Thrips REQUIRE soil to pupate, and covering the surface of your pots with a paper plate that has a slit cut to the center to slip over the stem will keep the larvae from dorpping off the leaves and going to complete their life cycle.
If you have no soil plants in your grow, I'm wondering where the thrips came from.