Is This Heat Stress?

[growchick]

HYDRO GROW

Strain - Narcotherapy (autoflowering)
# of Plants - 5
Grow Type - Hydro - DWC
Grow Stage - Vegetation
Light - 600 Watt HPS
Nutrients - General Hydronponics
Medium - Clay Pebbles (rapid rooter plug)
PH - 6.5-7.0
RH - 50% to 55%
Room Temperature -78 to 84
Room Square Footage - 16
Pests - None Known

Problem: My leaf edges are slightly curling up and there are some whitish spots on the leaves. I think it's heat stress - they just went under the big light 7 days ago. The spots/curling started on second day. Prior, they were under a low LED light while germinating. I moved the light up about 8 inches from where it was and added a fan to the room. I tested the ph and brought it down some. Leaves feel cool to the touch but not as plump as I would have expected.

 

[Rifleman]

Looks like it might have gotten a little too warm. Mine have had it happen before, much more extreme than that. Is your light vented? My 600w really heats my tent. If you haven't already, get some Hydroguard and dose at 2ml per US gallon to avoid root rot. If you read through my first journal, linked below, it might help you avoid some of the problems assoc with dwc and heat. Keep a very close eye on ph. As in daily checks. It can get out of whack quickly, and do plenty of harm. BTW FWIW I keep my 600w about 20" from the tops of my plants when they are that young. I'll post some pics below that might help also. Good luck.

 

[growchick]

Looks like it might have gotten a little too warm. Mine have had it happen before, much more extreme than that. Is your light vented? My 600w really heats my tent. If you haven't already, get some Hydroguard and dose at 2ml per US gallon to avoid root rot. If you read through my first journal, linked below, it might help you avoid some of the problems assoc with dwc and heat. Keep a very close eye on ph. As in daily checks. It can get out of whack quickly, and do plenty of harm. BTW FWIW I keep my 600w about 20" from the tops of my plants when they are that young. I'll post some pics below that might help also. Good luck.

Thank you so much! I actually have Hydroguard in my shopping cart - I'll get that ordered and use it. I thought I was noticing the pH going all over the place, too, so I'll definitely keep an eye on that. Thanks again, really!

 

[MickFoster]

Your pH is way too high and a plant that small does not require a 600w light.

 

[growchick]

Your pH is way too high and a plant that small does not require a 600w light.

I actually know that. What I don't know is why my pH is fluctuating so much and what to do to control it. In the past, I never had pH issues with these nutrients. I lived in a different water supply, then, though.

I know the plant doesn't need a 600w light yet, but my budget and space demand one single light. Maybe I should not surf forums while having my morning doobie, but I have to imagine you work at Microsoft. Your response is technically correct but doesn't help me improve my abilities as a grower at all. Thanks, though.



Edit: ps sorry if that was too snarky - worried about my "babies"

 

[growchick]

If you haven't already, get some Hydroguard and dose at 2ml per US gallon to avoid root rot. If you read through my first journal, linked below, it might help you avoid some of the problems assoc with dwc and heat.

Read through your journals - that was immensely helpful, actually. I got hydroguard on the way and I think I will adjust my nute strength down - I noticed in one of your journals you're doing less than the bottles say, and I seem to recall needing to reduce the dosage when I used to grow before. (This is my first grown in like 12 years.) I got a ph tester and ecm tester on the way also - I guess it is the difference in East Coast water vs. Texas water because I never had ph or nute issues where I used to live; like, I never even had to test that, I just kept my reservoir full and added new nutes every 2 weeks.

I can't get the link on your auto kush journal to open for me - what was the yield per plant on that one? I'm curious to see what I might end up with here.

 

[MickFoster]

I actually know that. What I don't know is why my pH is fluctuating so much and what to do to control it. In the past, I never had pH issues with these nutrients. I lived in a different water supply, then, though.

I know the plant doesn't need a 600w light yet, but my budget and space demand one single light. Maybe I should not surf forums while having my morning doobie, but I have to imagine you work at Microsoft. Your response is technically correct but doesn't help me improve my abilities as a grower at all. Thanks, though.



Edit: ps sorry if that was too snarky - worried about my "babies"

I don't work for Microsoft. In your original post you didn't indicate that pH fluctuation was a concern - you just stated that your pH was 6.5 to 7.0 and that you wanted to know if it was heat stress. Also you mentioned that you had switched to the big light 7 days ago which implies that you have a smaller light. Which GH nutes are you using? And yes, you were a little too snarky - I was just trying to help.

 

[growchick]

I don't work for Microsoft. In your original post you didn't indicate that pH fluctuation was a concern - you just stated that your pH was 6.5 to 7.0 and that you wanted to know if it was heat stress. Also you mentioned that you had switched to the big light 7 days ago which implies that you have a smaller light. Which GH nutes are you using? And yes, you were a little too snarky - I was just trying to help.

Yeah, sorry, man.

I'm using FloraGro, FloraMicro, FloraBloom - General Hydroponics. I started the seeds under an LED light in my kitchen - it's a little aeroponic counter garden I normally grow basil in for cooking (and happens to be killer for seeds and clones). They couldn't stay there once they started showing true leaves. I should have considered I didn't include the same level of detail in this post as I did in my grow journal.

 

[Faic]

I'm surprised you're doing hydro without testers.... I went to hydro so I could use testers cause my soil grow went psychotic. I use GH line too, hydroguard 3cc/gal and silica blast 2cc/gal. Up until now, my ph's have been relatively stable, but whatever this sativa strain is, she's gone to lunch every day for the last week (day 60 of flower today) and I have to adjust every day. I did just get calimag since she also ended up with a definciency cause she's going high ph (6.1 when i checked today) (ph 7.1 house filtered water). Now i'm adjusting to 5.6 and letting the ph climb to 5.9/6.0 before I stabalize it. That and the calimag will get me to her harvest easily.

As far as why this is happening, I'm guessing it's just the plant doing her thing.

Hah. I lived in Texas, I know what risaca water looks like blurbing from a tap.

 

[growchick]

I'm surprised you're doing hydro without testers.... I went to hydro so I could use testers cause my soil grow went psychotic. I use GH line too, hydroguard 3cc/gal and silica blast 2cc/gal. Up until now, my ph's have been relatively stable, but whatever this sativa strain is, she's gone to lunch every day for the last week (day 60 of flower today) and I have to adjust every day. I did just get calimag since she also ended up with a definciency cause she's going high ph (6.1 when i checked today) (ph 7.1 house filtered water). Now i'm adjusting to 5.6 and letting the ph climb to 5.9/6.0 before I stabalize it. That and the calimag will get me to her harvest easily.

As far as why this is happening, I'm guessing it's just the plant doing her thing.

Hah. I lived in Texas, I know what risaca water looks like blurbing from a tap.

I have a ph testing "kit" you know the kind where you put 4 drops in the little vial and wait on it to turn colors. It's like not accurate at all for me because I can't guess where between 6.0 and 6.5 the funky green I see is. So, yeah, I ordered an electronic ph testing stick. Should be here tomorrow. I didn't start with one because I'd never had pH issues before - guess I was lucky or completely oblivious in the past. I'm thinking I'll need some CaliMag also if I can't keep it under 7 - it's over 7 (or at least somewhere way more green than the color match bottle indicates is below 6.5 lol) every morning when I go check on them.

 

[MickFoster]

Your pH for hydro should be between 5.5 and 6.0 - not 6.0 to 6.5 or 7.0. I use the drops and never have a problem. If it turns yellow you're good. Orange is 5.0 and light green is 6.0. I guess if a person was color blind the drops wouldn't work - lol.

 

[growchick]

It was yellow today - I put some pH down in it again last night. I'm just not confident enough, I guess, I'll feel way better when I get the digital tester.

 

[Faic]

Yeah I got some strips with my ph up/down and tossed them. You need to get familair with the chart Rifleman posted with the hydro levels for pH, hydro is so much more sensitive than soil, but I love it. Yeah I didn't realize I should have had calimag all along. I read a post the other day that said it's typical to need cal/mag suppliments in hydro. I got lucky to get so far without I suppose. I'd recommend you get some maybe not right away, but before you're long into flower. Sucks to pay expidited shipping.

Word of advice on your testing pen. Always keep it upright, unless you've paid 80$+ for a waterproof one. My first one zapped out when I laid it down and the residual liquid in the test sensor wicked into the circuit board.

 

[JimmyV]

Growchick,

Dont be too concerned about your ph in hydro! As long as u have a range between your nutes being changed out youll be just fine! As far as the drop testing goes that all I use to use as well but I finally got a bluelab digital one which speeds things up when checking multiple plants. I check my ph every other day and it has never been an issue for me. I have to add water daily to all the buckets and i try to make up that water at 6.0. As your water and nutes get used up of course your ph will go up and your ppm will go down. Thats one reason its ok for your nutes to have a wide range to use. You'll go nuts if you try to follow a certain number all the time.

I didnt see where you stated how big your bucket was. I use an aero garden led to start all my plants from seeds. Once they get to around 6" they get moved to the 5 gallon buckets. But I always leave one in the aero garden for the entire grow. What I find happening with the aero garden every grow is that the ph goes up and down ALL the time. The reason it goes up and down so much is because of the size of the container for the water. Its like 1.2 gallons. Thats a big diff from the 5 gallon buckets the others are in. The plant in the aero garden will usually drink the entire 1.2 in around a day. So when you try to deal with ph its pretty much out the door because theres usually not enough water left at the end of the day for me to even get much of a reading, lol. Thats why I was asking how big your buckets were. Of course that little baby you have isn't drinking that much water yet anyhow but I wanted to throw that out there for you for future reference.

One thing that will help you with heat when using hydros is getting you 3 or 4 bottles of water and freezing them daily. So actually you need 8 bottles so youll always have 4 frozen and ready to swap out. What youll want to do is get a plastic or rubber dish pan and then place the bucket inside of that. Then get 4 of the frozen bottles of water and place them on one end or the other of the bucket. Get a towel to help the bottles stay pressed to the side of the buckets plus it helps to insulate the frozen water as well. Otherwise your lights will have those bottles melting fast! Just dont place the frozen bottles inside your buckets as the roots will stick all over it when its frozen and some of the roots will break off by doing this. Also never place ice inside it either as ice for the most part is nasty unless its some higher dollar ice that you buy. Talking about throwing your ph off, haha.

Also I use all Canna nutes for my grows in hydro and they work GREAT! the Canna Vega and Canna Flores both have built in protection guard that will maintain your ph level for you for the entire grow. Just mix it up and let it sit for a few hours. Then youll mix the nutes together and add whatever more water you need for the bucket. Pretty much whatever you ph your water to while making up your nutes it will stay ph balanced until its time to make up more nutes. The Canna line isnt that expensive either, at least I dont think it is. They also have Cannazym which is great when it comes to any root issues. It eats all the old roots inside your buckets and then converts them to certain sugars which the plants love. Then the Canna Boost ROCKS! Now that stuff is expensive but I'll tell you this. Using the boost does actually do a great number on your plants! They explode in size big time. Youll def notice an increase in bud size by using that! I've done side by side testing and theres no comparison by not using vs using. And NO I dont work for Canna, haha. I'm going to sub to your thread and follow you around, not stalking though, lol. With that, if you need any help with your hydro just ask. Take care and have a great day!

 

[JimmyV]

Growchick,

One more thing about your temps. I don't know what your grow room layout is. But if its all in a tent the easy thing to help with the heat of the pump is to just move the pump to the outside of the tent. Or you can put a small fan on it blowing the hot air off of it. Those units do creep up to 100 degrees easily! How many stone are you using inside your buckets? If they are 5 gallon buckets you'll want a minimum of 2 larger stones per bucket. Otherwise, one just wont cut it when they get bigger! Oh, I also use one pump per bucket as well. Ive got some that are 4 and some that are 6 slots for running more stones instead of splitting it. Splitting it just isn't the same as each stone having their own line running into them! Also on your buckets if you haven't already done so. Run you a colored tube on the outside of the bucket so you'll know your water level at all times. Sometimes I prefer to just add water via the top instead of opening the lid and sliding it over to add water. With the tube on the side of the bucket you can easily see how much water you need to add. Just place a marker on the tube when you first fill them so you'll know where your ideal water level is for you. Once those plants start growing larger you're not going to want to have to slide that lid all the time to add water! For checking you nutrients theres not much choice but to slide the lid though. Or you can purchase a manual hand pump, a type of siphon that you can run the smaller line down the tube on the outside of your bucket to get a water sample that way. They sell these siphons at Lowes and well as Wal-Mart for $12.99. They work great and are a BIG help! Also once your plants get huge, which they will in hydro. You're not going to want to lift the lid all those roots and stones hanging off of them to change out your nutrients the week. So with that, all you'll have to do is slide the lid over and place the siphon inside the bucket and within a minute whatever water is left inside your bucket you'll be able to take it out! Then all you have to do is add the fresh mix while the lid is open! Now youre probably thinking you have to always change your buckets out each time you mix fresh nutrients up. Well thats not the case at all. If you think the bucket is getting too dirty inside like from maybe some of the roots not looking so good. All you have to do is wipe the inside out on the bottom the best you can as well as the sides. But when using the Canna line you wont have to worry at all about anything forming on the inside of your buckets! Let me put it to you this way, at least I never have had to worry about it. You'll, only really have to use the siphon method for around 5 to 6 weeks. The time prior to that, the lid, roots, and stones aren't to bad to lift out all at one time. It just when they start putting size on you'll just about have to do the siphon method unless you have a helper there right with you grabbing stuff up and helping you move it to your new bucket. The only thing that collect any type of substance on it inside the bucket is where the tube on the outside affixes to the inside of the bucket. Its a ring fitting that has a slight lip on it and stuff can possible grow around the ring. But thats a simple thing to deal with while the bucket is empty and drained out. Just get a paper towel or rag and wipe around the rim of the lip and you'll be just fine. Sorry for the info overload, but I'm trying to help you as much as I can, take care!

 

[growchick]

JimmyV - thanks man. You've been a real help. I'll keep you posted in the other thread ^.^

 

[Rifleman]

Read through your journals - that was immensely helpful, actually. I got hydroguard on the way and I think I will adjust my nute strength down - I noticed in one of your journals you're doing less than the bottles say, and I seem to recall needing to reduce the dosage when I used to grow before. (This is my first grown in like 12 years.) I got a ph tester and ecm tester on the way also - I guess it is the difference in East Coast water vs. Texas water because I never had ph or nute issues where I used to live; like, I never even had to test that, I just kept my reservoir full and added new nutes every 2 weeks.

I can't get the link on your auto kush journal to open for me - what was the yield per plant on that one? I'm curious to see what I might end up with here.

Suggested nutrient levels are always too high. You can usually cut the manufacturer's suggestion by half or more. The key is to work the level up slowly. Watch your plants, they will tell you what they need. I fixed the link to the first journal...I think. Have a look, it is definitely better than the second journal. The BK autos gave me seven ounces from the short fat phenotype, and the classic pine tree pheno gave up eleven ounces.

 

[Growingasmile]

Growchick,

One more thing about your temps. I don't know what your grow room layout is. But if its all in a tent the easy thing to help with the heat of the pump is to just move the pump to the outside of the tent. Or you can put a small fan on it blowing the hot air off of it. Those units do creep up to 100 degrees easily! How many stone are you using inside your buckets? If they are 5 gallon buckets you'll want a minimum of 2 larger stones per bucket. Otherwise, one just wont cut it when they get bigger! Oh, I also use one pump per bucket as well. Ive got some that are 4 and some that are 6 slots for running more stones instead of splitting it. Splitting it just isn't the same as each stone having their own line running into them! Also on your buckets if you haven't already done so. Run you a colored tube on the outside of the bucket so you'll know your water level at all times. Sometimes I prefer to just add water via the top instead of opening the lid and sliding it over to add water. With the tube on the side of the bucket you can easily see how much water you need to add. Just place a marker on the tube when you first fill them so you'll know where your ideal water level is for you. Once those plants start growing larger you're not going to want to have to slide that lid all the time to add water! For checking you nutrients theres not much choice but to slide the lid though. Or you can purchase a manual hand pump, a type of siphon that you can run the smaller line down the tube on the outside of your bucket to get a water sample that way. They sell these siphons at Lowes and well as Wal-Mart for $12.99. They work great and are a BIG help! Also once your plants get huge, which they will in hydro. You're not going to want to lift the lid all those roots and stones hanging off of them to change out your nutrients the week. So with that, all you'll have to do is slide the lid over and place the siphon inside the bucket and within a minute whatever water is left inside your bucket you'll be able to take it out! Then all you have to do is add the fresh mix while the lid is open! Now youre probably thinking you have to always change your buckets out each time you mix fresh nutrients up. Well thats not the case at all. If you think the bucket is getting too dirty inside like from maybe some of the roots not looking so good. All you have to do is wipe the inside out on the bottom the best you can as well as the sides. But when using the Canna line you wont have to worry at all about anything forming on the inside of your buckets! Let me put it to you this way, at least I never have had to worry about it. You'll, only really have to use the siphon method for around 5 to 6 weeks. The time prior to that, the lid, roots, and stones aren't to bad to lift out all at one time. It just when they start putting size on you'll just about have to do the siphon method unless you have a helper there right with you grabbing stuff up and helping you move it to your new bucket. The only thing that collect any type of substance on it inside the bucket is where the tube on the outside affixes to the inside of the bucket. Its a ring fitting that has a slight lip on it and stuff can possible grow around the ring. But thats a simple thing to deal with while the bucket is empty and drained out. Just get a paper towel or rag and wipe around the rim of the lip and you'll be just fine. Sorry for the info overload, but I'm trying to help you as much as I can, take care!

Mine got wickedly hot, the way i resolved it was by using all of the ports and shutting the others down, rolled up felt and put it in the intake and kept it above the water line. It was 132f hot and now its cool to the touch