[[THC]DM420]

Hey everyone and hows it been hk?


Well anyway i've got a huge problems on my hands right now as both of my friends hydro tanks are almost dead.

He's been out of town and recently asked me to come over and check on the babies.. WELL... i get here and they're all dead goners looking.. i watered them but he doesnt have a ph kit anywhere :( anyway that was last week.. right now im sitting right next to them and they look alot worse this week.

I'm thinking it's a ph problem, possibly combined with heat problems?

I spent some money putting together a nice fluoro lighting hood with about 250 watts which he has sitting over his plants right now as i'm not in a situation where i can grow currently :( Anyway i think he has them too close but he refuses to let me move 'em.. they are about 10-12 inches above the plant tops, but in addition to my lighting hood with remote ballasts he has 2 T-12 shoplights hanging right there also (my rack is packed together T-8) These shoplights are not modified though and i think the ballasts are creating a big heat problem... his house has no A/C right now and this room feels around 85 at the moment, a little more around the lights. It's 8:30 PM right now, i and this is florida so i doubt its any cooler during the day.


This is my problem, i think... i'm just asking for a second opinion on what to do... i'm thinking screw the electric bill and it needs some AC in here, and that i should also balance the PH in the tanks.. Yes? No?

Another thing is, should i flush the tanks out?
He's using a soil medium above the hydro and the tank water is looking pretty gnarley at the moment, there's fungicide so its not as bad as having algae at least, but i dont think the tanks have been cleaned out yet... this is important as well right?

Well thanks in advance OF's Peace out nuggas :bong:

[HempKat]

Originally Posted by bostrom155

Thanks Hemp, just trying to figure out how to up yield a little, without a new strain, which is in a few months.

Well if you usually go to flower in one gallon, you'll definately get more yield (provided you have good lighting for big plants) if you flower in a 3 gallon just be prepared to make more headroom available. I start in 1 gallon, transplant to 3, and then transplant to a 5 gallon pot before 12/12 and my plants usually end up around 6 feet or so tall. By harvest I wouldn't say the pot is root bound but the roots are down to the bottom and up the sides.

[HempKat]

Originally Posted by green_grow

thanks for all the answers and info, gang. i am still planning out my first grow so the only thing , so far, that has been decided is the size of my cabinet (it's 20" x 27" x 51").
i would have liked more height but that is the absolute maximum height of the space i am growing in. i am leaning towards vegging under some home depot floros, but i may just go with hps all the way. by the way, i am growing a sativa. i am told they are a lot more finicky but i like the sativa high.
it's great to have so many experienced growers to turn to advice; i thank you.

Well that;s the purpose of this thread, to put experience at people's fingertips :smile: I wouldn't say sativas are more finicky though. Sativa's are consider equatorial strains, so the are used to warmer weather and are used to less variation in light/dark times. This likely has to do with why sativa's tend to take about a month longer to finish then the average plant.

If you like the sativa high but don't want the sativa length of flowering or need for different conditions then I would encourage you to try C-99. It's not really a true sativa but rather a hybrid designed to get the sativa like high in less then 90 days.

[HempKat]

Originally Posted by [THC]DM420

Hey everyone and hows it been hk?


Well anyway i've got a huge problems on my hands right now as both of my friends hydro tanks are almost dead.

He's been out of town and recently asked me to come over and check on the babies.. WELL... i get here and they're all dead goners looking.. i watered them but he doesnt have a ph kit anywhere :( anyway that was last week.. right now im sitting right next to them and they look alot worse this week.

I'm thinking it's a ph problem, possibly combined with heat problems?

I spent some money putting together a nice fluoro lighting hood with about 250 watts which he has sitting over his plants right now as i'm not in a situation where i can grow currently :( Anyway i think he has them too close but he refuses to let me move 'em.. they are about 10-12 inches above the plant tops, but in addition to my lighting hood with remote ballasts he has 2 T-12 shoplights hanging right there also (my rack is packed together T-8) These shoplights are not modified though and i think the ballasts are creating a big heat problem... his house has no A/C right now and this room feels around 85 at the moment, a little more around the lights. It's 8:30 PM right now, i and this is florida so i doubt its any cooler during the day.


This is my problem, i think... i'm just asking for a second opinion on what to do... i'm thinking screw the electric bill and it needs some AC in here, and that i should also balance the PH in the tanks.. Yes? No?

Another thing is, should i flush the tanks out?
He's using a soil medium above the hydro and the tank water is looking pretty gnarley at the moment, there's fungicide so its not as bad as having algae at least, but i dont think the tanks have been cleaned out yet... this is important as well right?

Well thanks in advance OF's Peace out nuggas :bong:

Well alas having virtually no hydro experience I can't help you. I'd say definately the temps need to be under control and since you don't know for sure where things are at, if you are supposed to take care of them you would need to get them to a point where you do know what's going on which I think would include flushing things a starting with fresh water and nutes. I'd also recommend that after this grow if the guy doesn't want to use it properly then don't let him use your equipment.

[green_grow]

thanks, hemp.
i should have mentioned that i already have the seeds and they are reefermans nigerian nightmare. 50/50 sativa/indica if i remember correctly. the c99 sounds like my type though. will note that as a strain to try in the future. as for the sativas liking warmer weather, that wont be an issue (i dont think). i expect to have to deal with excess heat, rather than too little.
i dont mind the extra flowering time at all, just want a safe, successful grow.

[Babbabud]

nice to see you back on the job hempkat !
nam myoho renge kyo

[Makavellian]

HEllo old farts. can i have some tips on raising ph? im thinkin of usin some baking soda.. or is it vinegar? im pretty sure its bakin soda. can someone tell me the amount i would use and how i would apply it to my soil plant. and how often i would use it. thanks

[Protostele]

If you haven't planted yet then adding dolimitic lime to your soil would be better as it also provides magnesium for the plants. Vinegar is acidic and baking soda is alkaline.

If you are trying to bring up the ph of your water/nutrients before watering your plants then you would be wise to invest in a ph meter. When I add Pure Blend or most any of my additives the ph of my RO water drops to about 2.8 or less. I find adding a bubbling stone to the bucket for 24-48 hours brings the ph up naturally to at least ph 5.

I have no experince using baking soda so I can't suggest amounts to add other than to use the ph meter and add a little at a time to bring it up to what you want. I use the ph up I had left over from when I did hydro. It isn't organic but I'm not using a lot so I am not worried. I'm not looking for OMRI certification. LOL

I had to bring down my coco mix as the lab said it was 7.2 and my leachate test confirmed this reading. By keeping all water and nutrients a bit on the acidic side I managed to bring it down to 6.8 the last time I checked.

That ph meter has come in handy.

Protostele

[[THC]DM420]

thanks anyway hemp not bad advice.

Well i guess i'll be heading on over to da hydro section

Peace

[Makavellian]

hey protostele thanks for sharing the info and experience.
i have a lot more questions i want to get off my chest.
1. i have about 2 weeks left until i harvest.. and i just found out my pH is a problem.. should i still try to fix this? or is it not worth the hassle since im so close to harvest?
2. ive read that the plant packs on the most weight in the last 2 weeks.. is this somehow connected to the "give plants only water in the last 2 weeks" saying?
3. im going to stop feeding my plants from here on out.. since im going to be watering without nutes .. my question is does the plant stop bulking up since im not feeding it nutes anymore.. or can the plant still pack on weight with just water?
4. how can you detect mold? how do you know your plant has gotten mold.. what do es it look like, or is there type of smell? today when i went to check on my plant i detected a faint moldy-tangerine smell here and there.. and kinda got worried about possible mold problems.

ill have more questions later on when i need some more help.. thanks for listening