First Time Grower

[CaidenHenson]

This is my first time growing so any pointers or feedback on my setup is much appreciated.
Just a little about my setup
I've been growing in a hydroponic system.
I use a 5 gallon bucket and store about 4 gallons of Water, all of which comes purified from the fountain at Walmart. I change this water ever Saturday. Upon changing this water, per the 4 gallons total, I add 16ml of each part of my 2 part nutrient by CaliGrow.
This plant was purchased as a clone from my local dispo, right after getting it I noticed it was infested with Spider Mites. I have successfully gotten rid of this mites with a solution called Plant Defender 3. This so far has seemed to do the trick for me.
Otherwise my grow tent is equipped with a humidifier, I try to keep around 70% for now. I have a fan directly pointed at the plant as well as a fan pushing about 420 cfm of air through the entire tent (no cardon filter yet) I have 2 lights above the plant, they aren't the greatest but I have a new one I'm going to get as soon as my budget allows me too. I have a space heater outside the tent, helping me maintain a temperature around 71°.

I've attached a few pictures to this, some of just my setup, if you have any suggestions or concerns visually, please let me know.
The other pictures show my roots and the star of my plants stem. I have a minor concern with the color of the roots. I've noticed that some of the roots, about half, have started to darken, slightly. It doesn't yet appear like root rot so I'm wondering if this is normal or not?
As far as the start of my plants stem, there is a lot of whiteness almost as if it is growing up it. I thought maybe the Plant Defender 3 would help this, but so far it hasn't. Is this a concern? If so how do I treat it?

 

[013]

never heard of this one before but quick search found a product called crop defender 3 it’s mostly essential oils and serves as miticide, insecticide & fungicide. Is that what you are using? Perhaps that’s spray residual leaving white spots on the stem

Some hydro nutes will slightly stain your roots however many use either a splash of hydrogen peroxide or an enzyme product like hydroguard or flying skull Z7 or Z9 or whatever it’s called to ward off bad water funk.

soil guy here but one of the hydro crew will check in soon

 

[No Pain]

First thing that comes to mind is the water you are using hard water meaning close to 200ppm without anything added and if so is the nutrient line you are using compatible with hard water? Some lines offer nutrients specific for hard water. Second I would raise the day time temperature up to at least 80. As far as the white on your stem i would take a light disinfecting bleach solution and wipe it off, I'm guessing it came about from what you used for the spider mites. As far as the roots i see nice whit new growth and im guessing that the discolored roots are from when you got it . I would add a tad of hydroguard to the bucket or peroxide. For peroxide look up the recommended dose for sterile hydroponics.

 

[bluter]

First thing that comes to mind is the water you are using hard water meaning close to 200ppm without anything added and if so is the nutrient line you are using compatible with hard water? Some lines offer nutrients specific for hard water.

he's using RO water from wal-mart.


@CaidenHenson the staining on the stem is probably just salt residue splashed up from the bucket. it shouldn't affect anything.

have you started a journal yet so folk can follow along ? if not get one up and running. it helps to have everything curated in one spot so you can see what works and doesn't work in your grow.

read everything you can on dwc, there are a number of growers here in that style. follow a few of their journals to get an idea of what works. hydro is one of the steepest learning curves out there. i normally recommend folk start in another media and work their way into hydro. keep following other hydro journals and ask the guys questions as you go.

I use a 5 gallon bucket and store about 4 gallons of Water, all of which comes purified from the fountain at Walmart. I change this water ever Saturday.

those feed water changes become a lot more frequent as the plant matures. make sure you are set for it. you may want to look into getting an RO filter.

Upon changing this water, per the 4 gallons total, I add 16ml of each part of my 2 part nutrient by CaliGrow.

i'm not familiar with your nutes, but start by following the hydro feed schedule. be aware that many growers run a much lower ec in dwc than they would in other media. watch the plant for changes.

aside from the base nutes you should have cal-mag on hand, and it would help to have an enzyme cleaner or h202 in the toolbox as well. you'll need to decide if you are running a live res - enzyme cleaner - or sterile - h202.

This plant was purchased as a clone from my local dispo, right after getting it I noticed it was infested with Spider Mites.

starting from seed is normally a superior method. dispensary plants are always clones, can come from poor genetics or even some crap cooked up in house, and are almost always riddled with mites or other pests.

for a better start next time try one of the forum sponsors. make sure to check out the board discounts they offer.

I try to keep around 70% for now. I have a fan directly pointed at the plant as well as a fan pushing about 420 cfm of air through the entire tent (no cardon filter yet)

it will be alright for one plant but you'll want to solve for that moving forward, especially if you increase your plant count. an extractor fan and carbon scrubber with exhaust exit to outdoor becomes a necessity quickly when growing 3 - 4 plants or more. it's also required if you need to be stealth.

I have 2 lights above the plant, they aren't the greatest but I have a new one I'm going to get as soon as my budget allows me too. I have a space heater outside the tent, helping me maintain a temperature around 71°.

as @No Pain pointed out your temps could come up a bit, and your rh could come down. 70% rh is in the bud rot zone if you maintain it at that level in flower. your current temp is barely decent for veg.

the light could be better but you are addressing it. what you have currently should be ok for a single plant.

I've attached a few pictures to this, some of just my setup, if you have any suggestions or concerns visually, please let me know.
The other pictures show my roots and the star of my plants stem. I have a minor concern with the color of the roots. I've noticed that some of the roots, about half, have started to darken, slightly. It doesn't yet appear like root rot so I'm wondering if this is normal or not?

it just looks like nute staining. keep an eye on your res temps. if you're not using a chiller i'd consider the h202 or enzyme cleaner soon.