Seeking help identifying problems with hydro

[anferneybra]

Hey there, I have been having a issue with a new place im growing in and am now turning to ICC, months after trying many things myself to fix problems. Tweaking and staying home non stop havent fixed it yet, so here goes.

HYDROPONICS/Aero Ponics/Coco/Soiless/

How long has this problem been going on? 6 months
Are you growing in a PVC grow tent? (example: Hydrohut or any other non brand tents) no
What system are you running? (DWC? Ebb flow? Aero? Water Farm? Flood Tables? and so on...) Two gallon ebb and flow system, 6 plants on each system.
What STRAIN are you growing? Tange
What was the establishing technique? (Were the seed or clone?) Clone
What is the age of your plants? Born 2/24/11
How long have they been in there mixture they are in now?(coco,soiless etc..) in a 4x4rockwool buried in hydroton
How tall are the plants? 4-4.5 feet
What PHASE are the plants in? (seedling, vegetative or flower) are the plants in? 4 weeks into flower
What Technique are you using? 12/12?
What substrate/medium are you using?(Hydroton, RockWool etc.) 4x4 rockwool cube, buried in hydroton
What is the Water temperature? 65degrees F
What color are your roots? White? Brown? Are your roots slimy? White
What Nutrient's are you using?(If growing soiless)GH line
How much of each nutrient are you using with how much water? *Knowing the brand is very helpful* Im using a 5ml/gal grow, 10 ml/gal micro, 15ml/gal bloom, 10ml/gal liquid kool bloom, 3ml/gal SM90, and 15ml drip clean total, for 30 gallon batches, every 5-6 days depending on whats used
How often are you feeding? (If using soiless) every 2 hours for 30 minutes
How often are you giving nutrients? (If using soiless)every watering
If flowering, when did you switch over to using Bloom nutrients? yes, used 15g/10m/5b for veg
What order are you mixing your nutrients? (example: veg nutes 1st, bloom 2nd ect) confusing question?
What is the TDS/EC/PPM you are using? for bloom its between 1600 and 1700
What is the pH of the "Tank"? 5.8 to 6.2
How often are you testing your pH/PPM/EC/TDS? every day
Are you sure your calibration is correct on your equipment? yes
When was your last watering? last night
What is your water temps?65degrees F
When was your last feeding change? (ie. grow-bloom-micro-additional) today for current bloom batch
How often do you clean your system: example: Flush out water replace with clean water and nutrients? weekly
What size bulb are you using? 1K watts
How old is the bulbs you are using? 1 month
What is the distance to the canopy? 1.5 - 2 feet
What is your RH Factor(Relative Humidity)? 0% to 30%
What is the canopy temperature? 78-80degrees F
What is the Day/Night Temp? (Include flucutaion range) day is 80 tops and night is 65 degrees
What is the current Air Flow? (cfm etc.) about 300CFM
Tell us about your ventilation, intake exhaust and when its running and not running ?it runs when temp is above 80 degrees, controller then turns the in/out off, same with night temp, controller tells in/out to turn off when desired temp is hit
Is the fan blowing directly at plants? there are fans blowing directly on the canopy
Is your water HARD or SOFT? hard
What water are you using? Reverse Osmosis (RO)? Tap? Bottled? Well water? Distilled? Mineral Water? RO water starting at 001ppm 6.9ph
If using tap water, what is the ppm/EC/TDS of the water right out of the tap? no using tap water
If using RO,Distilled,mineral water, what is the ppm/EC/TDS without any additives? 001-010 ppm 6.9-7.0ph
Are you using water from a water softener? no
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? no

hey there guys, im having major issues into bloom
I have run this program successfully for almost 8 years, using the same growing methods. I then moved to a new location and am now having to use RO water instead of city water. Other than that, the operation is almost identical to ones i have elsewhere

Things to veg fine and fast, like 3 weeks of veg to 2 to 2.5 feet tall, then pop into bloom. Now once into bloom im getting what seems like a slow transition and then very slow bud growth. Then about 4-5 weeks into bloom they are starting to herm out.
No sign of really any deficiency except some leaf damage from i dont know what but i will get a picture.

I cant think of why they would be stressed enough to herm, but they do. They also have some random pistils dying on like half of the bud. I run this same strain from the same mother in another place and it never herms, buds out dense and does great. Seems that this new house just doesnt like me....

Thanks for any thoughts in advance, ill try to add more pics as i go

PS: i went from 3 waterings a night last round, thinking they were missing water, to 6 waterings a night, and seems they are still herming out.....

 

[resinryder]

Pictures will def help. I am questioning your watering duration. You said you water "every 2 hours for 30 minutes". Since you're using 4x4 rw cubes, doesn't that watering frequency keep the rw cubes extremely wet? Are you using a calmag type product due to the ro water usage? Reason I ask is that I also use ro water and for the life of me I can't do without calmag during most of my grow. I've tried with several different nute lines. Using Flora Nova currently. My ro filter removes everything and I start with a ec of .0 everytime.

 

[anferneybra]

Here is a pic of the half dead pistil on a bud.

 

[anferneybra]

the cube is moist, but not soaked most of the time

I have never had a root rot or cube rot problem

being buried in rocks, seems to keep it wicked well

 

[anferneybra]

here are some of the fans from the bottom, middle and top of the plant all about 4 weeks into bloom

also i was using botanicare cal/mag @5ml/gal but thought it maybe causing the leaf problems, so went back to my basic formula that has always worked.

i stopped the cal/mag regimine about 2 weeks ago for all plants.

also the CO2 in the room is only at about 150-200, according to my meter

 

[stonedwarrior]

are you using the same seeds? I was given a pot with around 2000 seeds in it, warned "oh, they COULD hermie"... every fucken one of em did... Good smoke though!

oops, missed your statement about it never herming elsewhere...

 

[resinryder]

the cube is moist, but not soaked most of the time

I have never had a root rot or cube rot problem

being buried in rocks, seems to keep it wicked well

Cool, cool. Was wondering how they were doing with the flooding frequency.
As far as calmag goes. I use a max of 3ml/gallon. Have rarely found a strain, in my hydro setup, that needs more than that. Too much on a strain that does not need it can cause a problem too.
As far as your herm issues I don't have a clue. Everything seems, well, normal and seems the only difference you have is ro water at the new spot.

 

[resinryder]

the cube is moist, but not soaked most of the time

I have never had a root rot or cube rot problem

being buried in rocks, seems to keep it wicked well

Cool, cool. Was wondering how they were doing with the flooding frequency.
As far as calmag goes. I use a max of 3ml/gallon. Have rarely found a strain, in my hydro setup, that needs more than that. Too much on a strain that does not need it can cause a problem too.
As far as your herm issues I don't have a clue. Everything seems, well, normal and seems the only difference you have is ro water at the new spot. Looking forward to seeing what come of this.

 

[Andyo]

too wet

too wet

to wet by far ,I grow in hydroton they get max 3 floods in veg usually 2 and one in flower .
I use a full spectrum nutrient designed by me n used n tweaked for 20 years now .I grew twice in rock wool 20 years back its too wet n ph rises too easily.
I only use rockwool to root cuttings in 2" x 2" x 3 ".A

 

[hup234]

you got something attacking your plants ,hitting lower leafs first...

 

[Marathanman]

If your using the same strain and set up I'd look at what is actually different. The water being one thing. Any light leaks?

 

[anferneybra]

zero light leaks, and im very careful while entering the room

they seem to make it like 3-4 weeks in then start to form bananas out of the top of the cola's

i shouldnt call it a full herm, cause maybe its not

just looks like a stress somewhere, is causing them to make bananas and very slow bud development

yields are like 1/2 of what i get normally....

 

[anferneybra]

moving to watering every hour, feeling the cubes, they are even dry, which means the hydroton must be bone dry....

the only thing i can think is that they maybe want more since this room is bigger with more light, still stumped

also i did a uniform check for bugs around the whole house today, nothing was moving to speak of

i guess thrips or some type of root problem could be the culprit?

 

[paladin420]

Andro nailed it IMMHO. To wet. And I would venture a guess that you RW has gnat larva liven large. Seeing specks in your rez? Your old city water treated with chlorine? Helps keep the little bastards at bay. I don't use RW any longer.. Good luck

 

[anferneybra]

I will be taking this round down soon and will check the root system for any types of larvae, but i give my babies a physan20/azatrol dip at birth and havent had issues with anything as of yet.

As far as too much watering, i just cant see how, they eat up to 8-10 gallons a night with 6 plants feeding 6 times. Then i test the cube/rock about a hour after watering and they seem super dry.

Thanks for the ideas, keep them coming!