First Grow, AK-48, 5-gallon DWC, 400W

[Tonka]

Looks like you are off to a great start in DWC Schleep. Good luck and keep that rez as cool as possible.

Buy any ph meter. Amazon has a good selection but I would just buy one under $30. They work great and when you break it, you can just get a new one without feeling like you got ripped off. Also remember to buy the calibration solution when you buy a digital ph meter.

 

[Schleep]

Looks like you are off to a great start in DWC Schleep. Good luck and keep that rez as cool as possible.

Buy any ph meter. Amazon has a good selection but I would just buy one under $30. They work great and when you break it, you can just get a new one without feeling like you got ripped off. Also remember to buy the calibration solution when you buy a digital ph meter.

Yeah I'm doing a lot better this time than the previous 3 attempts What pH meter would you recommend under $30? I had a bad experience with a Milwaukee pH meter that never calibrated or read anything other than ~8.0 so I'm a little skeptical of cheap meters.

 

[Schleep]

Here she is on day 22 after sprouting:

I swear the flash on my phone makes the colors look way off. It's not that yellow on the bottom and the pH is closer to piss-yellow than orange.

Right now I'm using distilled water, but I'm thinking I might switch to tap water this weekend when I change the res. What could be the consequences of doing that? I'm a little worried about how much she's leaning to one side, and the brown spots on the lower leaves. You can see them a little better in the previous pictures. I moved the fan so that it wasn't blowing directly on the plant any more, since I thought that could be drying out the air too much and making it wilt.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

The ph looks like its at like 5.5 or so which is prolly ok.... What is the temp in your rez? Also what is the ppm of your tap water? if you are just using distilled water you will want to add cal mag. I would maybe go ahead and prune off those yellow leaves and the tip of that one with the spots on it. Keep it up!

 

[bendoslendo]

That pH looks like 5.0 to me. I might lose, but I'd gladly bet $50 your plant is suffering from deficiency due to overly acidic solution. You want yellow with a slight tinge of orange. Also, I wouldn't post pictures of the solution if they are way off what it looks like in front of you. If that looks like yellow with a tinge of orange to you, well then your in the right spot.

Calibrating your eye: Sometimes its useful to play with the pH drops to get accustomed to the scale. Grab a bucket of water and mix your self a soultion at 6.5, 6.0, 5.5 etc. The solution your testing will never appear to you exactly like a matte or glossy ink print. Make sure you aren't testing under the HPS, use a sunlit window or Daylight (not warm) CFL.

Drip testers are accurate .2+/- if used correctly but cheap testers can be had <$30

Hanna pH Checker
http://www.google.com/products?q=hanna+ph+checker&aq=f

 

[Schleep]

The ph looks like its at like 5.5 or so which is prolly ok.... What is the temp in your rez? Also what is the ppm of your tap water? if you are just using distilled water you will want to add cal mag. I would maybe go ahead and prune off those yellow leaves and the tip of that one with the spots on it. Keep it up!

If that's the case then I definitely think those spots have to do with calcium deficiency. I'm going to switch over to tap water this weekend. It has about 15 PPM.

 

[!!!]

I don't think the cal/mag in tap water is usable by plants. Try calmag at 2-3ml/gallon (many people use 5ml/gal on bigger plants.)

If you have the entire GH Flora series (3 part) then I second the 1-1-1 ratio instead of Lucas, though Lucas formula shouldn't be causing those symptoms.

 

[Deft]

I use Flora nova from seed to bud, works great at all stages at least for the plants I have tried.

Get a PH meter and some cal solution, and a ppm meter.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

If that's the case then I definitely think those spots have to do with calcium deficiency. I'm going to switch over to tap water this weekend. It has about 15 PPM.

wow! 15 ppms seems really low! good stuff...... u may want to add some cal mag whether u go with distilled or tap then

High!

 

[Schleep]

wow! 15 ppms seems really low! good stuff...... u may want to add some cal mag whether u go with distilled or tap then

High!

Turns out its closer to 130 PPMs. I tried to measure it with my meter while it was running out of the faucet, but apparently that is not an accurate way to measure it.

But I still chose to use the tap water this time just to see how she'd do. Buying gallons of distilled water is going to get expensive when she starts drinking lots of water. I added 10 mL Grow, 15 mL Micro, and 10 mL Bloom to 3.75 gallons of water on Friday night. I checked on her today and she has really taken to the higher PPMs well

Day 26, 550 PPMs, pH ~6.0

I know I need to get the pH down, but I added about 10 drops of pH Down this morning and it almost didn't change, so I'm going to let it "settle" for a bit and check it again later today. I'm wondering what the small brown tips on those lower leaves mean. My guess is that it's a sign of the calcium deficiency (based on this guide) and I should go pick up some CalMag+ today.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

looks like more of a pottasium def than anything. I would let it ride out for a few days your new growth looks great!

 

[Schleep]

looks like more of a pottasium def than anything. I would let it ride out for a few days your new growth looks great!

That was actually my first guess. I think the higher pH may have locked out the K, but the stem is super-solid (and getting bigger every day) so like you said, I'll probably just ride it out and see how the new leaves look in the coming days.

 

[Schleep]

Day 29:

These yellow tips are really bothering me. Any ideas?

 

[CFL_Grow]

This latest update looks great ! Pretty healthy. Must have been a better camera lol, but it makes all the difference...

 

[Schleep]

This latest update looks great ! Pretty healthy. Must have been a better camera lol, but it makes all the difference...

Ha yea I used my DSLR as opposed to my cell phone. It's a lot more trouble but the cell phone doesn't get the colors right at all.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

Day 29:

These yellow tips are really bothering me. Any ideas?

I wouldnt worry to much about it. I also dont know much about the Lucas Formula you are using but it doesnt make much sense to me. anyways your looking good dont worry bout the yellow tips yet. One thing I would say for sure is to buy yourself a digital ph meter. its nice to know your exact ph at any given time instead of eyeballing with drops. good day!

 

[Schleep]

I wouldnt worry to much about it. I also dont know much about the Lucas Formula you are using but it doesnt make much sense to me. anyways your looking good dont worry bout the yellow tips yet. One thing I would say for sure is to buy yourself a digital ph meter. its nice to know your exact ph at any given time instead of eyeballing with drops. good day!

Sorry for the confusion, but I switched over to a 1-1-1 formula based on the recommended values on the back of the GH bottles. I'm sure the Lucas Formula works well, but I don't know enough about the plant and diagnosing problems to head down that road right now. I'd rather stick to the basics during the first grow and then make some adjustments the next time based on what I learn with this one

Also, how bad is it to open the door of the cabinet while the light is off? Will a couple minutes without darkness cause her to become a hermi? The way the light is timed, I'm hardly ever able to change the res while the light is on. If it's REALLY bad to expose her to light while it's supposed to be dark then I'll figure something out, but it seems like a couple minutes shouldn't be too much of a shock, right?

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

oh cool if thats what gh says then thats cool... the plant def looks like its doin good. As far as the light goes, it doesnt matter when the plant is in veg..... in flower it does!

 

[erwingruber]

Hello Schleep ,
Your girl is going fine i am growing in a closet like yours with a 400W sensi's Shiva Skunk.
I am maybe 1 month ahead from you and on the second week of flowering.
You can check my grow log on my sig.

I would say to jump off the GH's feeding schedule with out any fear ,
this is the way that we learn anyway.

I use Useless formula as my veg solution ,
( google it Useless formula or read it here http://www.growkind.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35174 )
(google and read about RezDog's formula too and Lucas formula that you already now)
you can also use the simple and 321 GMB for veg and 123 for flower.

But the most important of all is to learn how to read your plant and your ph and ppm movements
(you must buy digital ph and ppm meters)

Early in my veg period i notice a slight nuteburn.
I remove 10 liters (almost 3 gallons) nutrient solution of my res and
i replace with pure R/O , with this way i lower my ppm's and the nuteburn
didn't spread.

When i induce flowering i read in Lucas post's that when he feed the stretch with N
in early flowering he get one of his best's harvest's so i mix everything and start
making up my schedule while listening my girls so for the first week of flowering
i use 6-6-10 from Useless but i top off my res with 0-8-16 from Lucas .

Anyway i give you this info not to do it my way cause i am so newb in hydro
that i haven't even finish my first grow but to tell you that i think that you must
focus on reading your plants and decide for your own where you like to drive them.

My friend that inspired me to grow hydro give me his recipe and i respect him a lot.
But i grow my way and i listening to my girls.

Have a nice grow i'll be watching

 

[Vdub818]

great ph meter, little more than a cheap hannah champ,but from personal experience spend the little extra. It reads temp and ph. Also reads down to the hundredth (5.82) is what I am for in veg.

http://www.h2odistributors.com/ph-200.asp