First Time Grower - Ever!

[No Pain]

Thanks NP!

I think defol can be a good thing when done properly. I definitely pulled a noob on it and over did it. It's all a learning process though.

I'm finding I really need to watch her pH now. It tends to want to drop and I'm adjusting it a couple of times a day. Once when the lights come on and again before she goes to bed. Doing what I can to get her through this grow.

You did just fine on the Defol. Your right it is all a learning experience . I am still learning new things .

Now on to your ph issue ... What kind of swing are you seeing ? Are you testing you ppm's at the same time ? What are you using to adjust the ph ?

Edited .... Forgot to ask ..did this start after you added cal/mag?

 

[synbad]

You did just fine on the Defol. Your right it is all a learning experience . I am still learning new things .

Now on to your ph issue ... What kind of swing are you seeing ? Are you testing you ppm's at the same time ? What are you using to adjust the ph ?

Edited .... Forgot to ask ..did this start after you added cal/mag?

I've been using cal/mag but only half dosage and it was already happening then, I was hoping going to the full dosage would help but it hasn't.

Above is what I've been following for a nutrient schedule. I'm using GH pH up to adjust.

The drop is significant overnight. I'll adjust the res to 6.0-6.2 before lights out. about 20 minutes after the lights come on in the morn I'll check and it's been around 4.8. I'll adjust it back up to 6.0-6.2 and when I do my evening check it's down to around 5.4, so I adjust it back up. I've not been checking ppm at the same time but I'll start. Right now it's at 1170 ppm.

 

[No Pain]

Okay . I don't know how old that mixing chart is . Here is the latest on the gh web site.

That is a big swing !

Now what I would recommend is first flush to remove excess salts ... Then do a res change using 3/4 of recommended . Since you are using ro water your ph should be about perfect after you mix it ...as long as it's above 5.8 I would leave it alone and monitor it along with your ppm's . But add it in this order cal mag ( 2 teaspoons per gallon), micro (3/4 recommended ) bloom (3/4 recommended ) , grow (3/4 recommended ) . Now just FYI the cal mag is going to boost your ppm's to around 500-600 right off the bat . Also be sure to shake each bottle real good before you add it to your res .

 

[synbad]

Thanks No Pain.

When you say flush first what exactly do you mean, go a day without nutes, just plain ro?

When I was first considering doing a grow I found a "Grow" website with all kinds of info. That's how I came to use GH. Whoever was writing the copy recommended it, said that's what he uses and provided a custom nute schedule that he uses.

 

[No Pain]

Thanks No Pain.

When you say flush first what exactly do you mean, go a day without nutes, just plain ro?

When I was first considering doing a grow I found a "Grow" website with all kinds of info. That's how I came to use GH. Whoever was writing the copy recommended it, said that's what he uses and provided a custom nute schedule that he uses.

Gotcha. Sorry for the late response but I was out of pocket most of the day ... What I mean by flush is us plain water and pour it through the top of your bucket . The object is to get rid of excess salts from the nutes.... See when water level goes down and ppm's go up ph usually goes down and when ppm goes down and water level really doesn't follow ph go up ..that is due to the nute consintration in the water .. Atleast that rings true with my nutes which is the same series gh flora .. For instance if you mixed up one gallon of solution with your nutes at half strength and one gallon at full strength the one that was full strength would have a lower ph because of the buffers they use ..so when you ppm's shoots up and water level drop the solution is more consintrated ...with what you where describing it could be multiple issues and my instructions kinda hit all the bases .

 

[AngryBird]

hope flushing will help !!cheers for lady

 

[synbad]

Gotcha. Sorry for the late response but I was out of pocket most of the day ... What I mean by flush is us plain water and pour it through the top of your bucket . The object is to get rid of excess salts from the nutes.... See when water level goes down and ppm's go up ph usually goes down and when ppm goes down and water level really doesn't follow ph go up ..that is due to the nute consintration in the water .. Atleast that rings true with my nutes which is the same series gh flora .. For instance if you mixed up one gallon of solution with your nutes at half strength and one gallon at full strength the one that was full strength would have a lower ph because of the buffers they use ..so when you ppm's shoots up and water level drop the solution is more consintrated ...with what you where describing it could be multiple issues and my instructions kinda hit all the bases .

Thank you for the information.

Being a noob the only time I've heard flush referred to was in reference to what you do during the last week of flower, just before harvest.

What you've said makes sense. I'll give that a try and let you know how it goes.

 

[Mr. Krip]

I've been using cal/mag but only half dosage and it was already happening then, I was hoping going to the full dosage would help but it hasn't.

Above is what I've been following for a nutrient schedule. I'm using GH pH up to adjust.

The drop is significant overnight. I'll adjust the res to 6.0-6.2 before lights out. about 20 minutes after the lights come on in the morn I'll check and it's been around 4.8. I'll adjust it back up to 6.0-6.2 and when I do my evening check it's down to around 5.4, so I adjust it back up. I've not been checking ppm at the same time but I'll start. Right now it's at 1170 ppm.

You say you start at a PH of 5.4 and then adjust up? Up to where? What do you use, if anything to PH down?

In hydro, I shoot for a starting PH of about 5.5. Over time, PH will almost always drift up. When it gets to about 6.0, I'd adjust back down.

In the six years I've been growing, I've been through multiple bottles/bags of PH down and I think I may have used PH up twice (the original bottle is still close to full!), and then it was only because I screwed up adding too much PH down when mixing the nutes!

Try going to the full dose of Cal-Mag, just in case it's the lack of buffers in the RO water causing the PH to drop like that.

It could also be things like rotting roots in the res, too high PPM's, type of media, etc.

 

[synbad]

You say you start at a PH of 5.4 and then adjust up? Up to where? What do you use, if anything to PH down?

In hydro, I shoot for a starting PH of about 5.5. Over time, PH will almost always drift up. When it gets to about 6.0, I'd adjust back down.

In the six years I've been growing, I've been through multiple bottles/bags of PH down and I think I may have used PH up twice (the original bottle is still close to full!), and then it was only because I screwed up adding too much PH down when mixing the nutes!

For me, during veg the pH always went up. Once I switched her to flower the pH is always dropping. I use GH nutes and their pH up and pH down to adjust. This last week when I checked her pH in the morning I was finding it around 4.8 and would adjust it up to 6.0-6.2. Just before lights out I would check it and it would be around 5.4 so I'd adjust it up to 6.0-6.2 again. The next morning when I would check it, it would be around 4.8 again so I would adjust it back up.

Would lighting affect pH? I wasn't having this much of a swing until I started playing around with the height of my LED. With that said maybe I'm experiencing what No Pain was referring to with LEDs and Calimag?

 

[synbad]

Good morning all!

So I did a flush yesterday, adjusted my nutes and also raised my LED about 5". Last night when I put her to bed she was at a pH of 6.0. This morning when her light came on I checked her pH and it is at 5.9 and looking stable. Hopefully she stays that way.

Thanks for the guidance NP.

 

[synbad]

Getting close to lights out and her pH is still at 5.9, just a little in the road.....

 

[VladimirPutin]

don't forget to periodically calibrate your ph pen

 

[No Pain]

Getting close to lights out and her pH is still at 5.9, just a little in the road.....

Sounds stable .

 

[synbad]

don't forget to periodically calibrate your ph pen

Hi Vlad!

That's the first thing I did when the pH started acting up, thanks for pointing that out though.

 

[Mr. Krip]

For me, during veg the pH always went up. Once I switched her to flower the pH is always dropping. I use GH nutes and their pH up and pH down to adjust. This last week when I checked her pH in the morning I was finding it around 4.8 and would adjust it up to 6.0-6.2. Just before lights out I would check it and it would be around 5.4 so I'd adjust it up to 6.0-6.2 again. The next morning when I would check it, it would be around 4.8 again so I would adjust it back up.

Would lighting affect pH? I wasn't having this much of a swing until I started playing around with the height of my LED. With that said maybe I'm experiencing what No Pain was referring to with LEDs and Calimag?

The lighting distance should not effect your PH (unless it's growing bacteria in the res).

NoPain was talking about an increased need for Magnesium when lights were closer to the plants.

This is different than what I was referring to which is, with RO water, many of the minerals that act as PH buffers are stripped out, including calcium and magnesium. It's always good practice to add cal-mag with RO. Tap water usually has enough to keep the plants happy so it's often not needed with tap.

But, if you're using the GH PH Up/Down, they should both have PH buffers, so I don't think that will be the issue, although, again with RO it's good practice to continue the Cal-Mag.

You got me stumped on your PH issues, though!

 

[synbad]

Greetings everyone! Been busy here with my son back from spending the summer with his mom and sisters. He brought a friend to spend some time here so I've been very discrete as I've been taking care of my girl. They're out for the day so I'm taking advantage and did my res change today. Since my pH issues have gone away and it's been holding like a rock I decided I'd go a few more days between res changes this time. Hopefully the pH will continue to hold as it has been.

Day 43 of 12/12. Enjoy the flower pics.

 

[AngryBird]

She is beautiful!!!!

 

[synbad]

She is beautiful!!!!

Thanks Birdie!

I was just over at your place, interesting stuff going on. Looking really good!

 

[thebeast27]

She is a beauty good job

 

[synbad]

She is a beauty good job

Thanks thebeast27!