My first DWC Autoflower is dying: Help

[Brazyy]

Equipment:
2x4x5 Grow Tent
6" inch inline fan
2 10" inch fans
5 Gallon Bucket
humidifier
Spider Farmer sf-2000 at 75% power
Nutes General Hydroponics 3 part + cal/mag + H2O2

Environment/Conditions:
Temp 69.5-73.5
RH 39-50%
Rez Temp 69.8-71.5
pH 5.75-6.15
PPM 750-850
Light 24 hours

Today my plant is in week 7 or day 53 of life. I've had some problems through out the grow but things are getting worse and I'm starting to worry my plant won't make it to harvest. The issue started looking like a potential cal/mag deficiency, I raised the amount I used per gallon and this didn't seem to help at all. The leaves all over the plant are seeing issues, from dark blueish purple spots on the leaves to yellowing/browning/bronzing of old and new leaves. Early on I wasn't using H2O2 and spotted some white suds in the rez along with some slime on the roots, the roots seem to be much healthier and have lots of white tips. This is my first grow and I'm having a very hard time diagnosing my plant, it seems like she's got every deficiency in the book but as far as I can tell I am doing everything right, this morning when I checked the pH and PPM of the rez the pH and PPM had increased while the water level decreased, please help.

 

[Bill284]

Equipment:
2x4x5 Grow Tent
6" inch inline fan
2 10" inch fans
5 Gallon Bucket
humidifier
Spider Farmer sf-2000 at 75% power
Nutes General Hydroponics 3 part + cal/mag + H2O2

Environment/Conditions:
Temp 69.5-73.5
RH 39-50%
Rez Temp 69.8-71.5
pH 5.75-6.15
PPM 750-850
Light 24 hours

Today my plant is in week 7 or day 53 of life. I've had some problems through out the grow but things are getting worse and I'm starting to worry my plant won't make it to harvest. The issue started looking like a potential cal/mag deficiency, I raised the amount I used per gallon and this didn't seem to help at all. The leaves all over the plant are seeing issues, from dark blueish purple spots on the leaves to yellowing/browning/bronzing of old and new leaves. Early on I wasn't using H2O2 and spotted some white suds in the rez along with some slime on the roots, the roots seem to be much healthier and have lots of white tips. This is my first grow and I'm having a very hard time diagnosing my plant, it seems like she's got every deficiency in the book but as far as I can tell I am doing everything right, this morning when I checked the pH and PPM of the rez the pH and PPM had increased while the water level decreased, please help.

Hello @Brazyy Hope your doing good today.
Looks like root rot, sorry.
Do you have any Hydroguard?
Helps with roots.
I'll ask a couple hydro guys to check your set up as I'm not versed.
@Rexer @KCCO 77 can either of you help this member?
Stay safe.
Bill

 

[Brazyy]

Hello @Brazyy Hope your doing good today.
Looks like root rot, sorry.
Do you have any Hydroguard?
Helps with roots.
I'll ask a couple hydro guys to check your set up as I'm not versed.
@Rexer @KCCO 77 can either of you help this member?
Stay safe.
Bill

I looked into it and GH 3 part usually stains people's roots this way, also they don't smell at all. Every now and again I'll see a bit of slime but it's not much at all. If it is root rot should I just chop her and start over?

 

[Bill284]

I looked into it and GH 3 part usually stains people's roots this way, also they don't smell at all. Every now and again I'll see a bit of slime but it's not much at all. If it is root rot should I just chop her and start over?

Wait until you get advice from a hydro guy.
I'm a coco grower so not a great help.
I just talked to Rexer hopefully he can help.
Stay safe.
Bill

 

[Rexer]

Hey Brazzy,

Definitely do not chop or give up on her. A few things to ask, try, if you have $ to buy, before even considering giving up on 53 days of work and investment.


First, I gather your running a sterile system. What kind of h202 are you using, and at what amounts? (I.e. 29% H202 at Xml per gallon)

Your mixing of nutrients, can you please let us know what mixing order you are using.

What kind of cal mag do you have? And how many PPM worth are you using?

 

[Brazyy]

Hey Brazzy,

Definitely do not chop or give up on her. A few things to ask, try, if you have $ to buy, before even considering giving up on 53 days of work and investment.


First, I gather your running a sterile system. What kind of h202 are you using, and at what amounts? (I.e. 29% H202 at Xml per gallon)

Your mixing of nutrients, can you please let us know what mixing order you are using.

What kind of cal mag do you have? And how many PPM worth are you using?

I'm using 35% food grade H2O2 that I've diluted to 3%, I use 3 tea spoons per gallon and I'm using 3.5 gallons of water. Every 2 days I add an additional 5 tea spoons and when I do a complete rez change I use 10 tea spoons.

As for nutes I am using General Hydroponics 3 part + Cal/Mag, this is what I fed her as of this Thursday - 16.1mL Micro, 16.1 mL Gro, 23.1 mL Bloom and 18mL Cal/Mag. I also wait a full 60 seconds before adding in any new nutes and use 3 gallons of distilled water + a half gallon of tap water. As for the order I put the nutes in the rez I didn't think it mattered at all and it just depends on what I grab first honestly, although I always start by adding in the H2O2 first.

The brand of Cal/Mag I use is Botanicare Cal/Mag Plus and I'm unsure as to the exact PPM I'm using but as I said last week I used 18mL in a 3.5 gallon rez.

I appreciate your help man, I'm really sweating over here.

 

[Rexer]

Ahh yes there is a need to mix in a specific order. You are correct to be waiting between mixing the nutrients.

Question. Why are you adding the tap water when you have access to the distilled water?

Always mix in this order:

Silica (if adding, requires extra mix time)
Cal mag
Micro
Grow
Bloom

Ph adjust
Then add h202 at 3%

Also this is a great guide to follow

 

[Brazyy]

Ahh yes there is a need to mix in a specific order. You are correct to be waiting between mixing the nutrients.

Question. Why are you adding the tap water when you have access to the distilled water?

Always mix in this order:

Silica (if adding, requires extra mix time)
Cal mag
Micro
Grow
Bloom

Ph adjust
Then add h202 at 3%

Also this is a great guide to follow

I've been adding the half gallon of tap water because it helps to balance the pH without me adding buffers and it has chlorine which I've read helps to keep root rot away, since I'm not adding any probiotics to the rez I figured it would only help.

Do you think the issue is root rot? I'm pretty certain there is some kind of lockout occurring.

 

[Rexer]

I've been adding the half gallon of tap water because it helps to balance the pH without me adding buffers and it has chlorine which I've read helps to keep root rot away, since I'm not adding any probiotics to the rez I figured it would only help.

What's the PPM on your tap water (by the way, I'm assuming your using the x5 scale for PPM) ?
It's been done by many, and on something like an Autoflower adding tap water isn't as bad.
The biggest problem is that it's an unknown variable when it comes to your NPK.

Do you think the issue is root rot? I'm pretty certain there is some kind of lockout occurring.

It is possible to be root rot, the mention of slime is concerning.

But first let's get her on a properly filled reservoir. I'll be on and between myself, Bill, and any others who can help, we'll get you to where you need to be, hopefully. There never is any guarantees in life, but I can promise that even in the process of trying to get her back on track, you will learn a lot, and it will help younin the future.

Long term wise, look to invest in an RO system if you can. There's plenty on the zon, and it will save you money and is the best way to go with hydro.

Are you dead set on a sterile system, or is using beneficials something you would consider? There's nothing wrong with a sterile system (kcco runs sterile, but I love the differences I've noticed with beneficials.

 

[Rexer]

Also, I'll tag in @West Hippie, a DWC guru to see what his thoughts are.

She does look hungry as well as the Cal mag deficiency.

PS- aim for 100 PPM worth of cal mag as the base for your nutrients to see how see responds, that number is totally open for other suggestions

 

[Smokey0418]

I don’t run sterile but slime is not your friend .

It’s actually suffocating your plant.

First thing I would do is wash it by hand and rinse that crap off.

Then make sure your water it’s going into is sterile with your method.

I could be wrong but I would think this system would be treated every 3-4 days to keep it clean.

Also I would check every day for the next few days and if you see the slime wash it again and maybe double check your method.

Enjoy your grow

Personally had the slime but I run bacteria so that’s slightly different than just killing everything off

 

[West Hippie]

Also, I'll tag in @West Hippie, a DWC guru to see what his thoughts are.

She does look hungry as well as the Cal mag deficiency.

PS- aim for 100 PPM worth of cal mag as the base for your nutrients to see how see responds.

Thanks Rex , the site of the roots are covered . I did not see any new roots , it’s blocking the uptake of nutrients. At this point your not going to hurt her by putting a quart spray bottle with a third h2o2 with water . Get an empty bucket and hold the root to the side and wash as much off as you can . That way you can open the roots for uptake . Before you put her back rinse the roots with ph water . It may take a couple days for you see the results !

 

[Brazyy]

What's the PPM on your tap water (by the way, I'm assuming your using the x5 scale for PPM) ?
It's been done by many, and on something like an Autoflower adding tap water isn't as bad.
The biggest problem is that it's an unknown variable when it comes to your NPK.

It is possible to be root rot, the mention of slime is concerning.

But first let's get her on a properly filled reservoir. I'll be on and between myself, Bill, and any others who can help, we'll get you to where you need to be, hopefully. There never is any guarantees in life, but I can promise that even in the process of trying to get her back on track, you will learn a lot, and it will help younin the future.

Long term wise, look to invest in an RO system if you can. There's plenty on the zon, and it will save you money and is the best way to go with hydro.

Are you dead set on a sterile system, or is using beneficials something you would consider? There's nothing wrong with a sterile system (kcco runs sterile, but I love the differences I've noticed with beneficials.

I am using the 500 scale yes, the tap water in my town is between 100-140ppm

 

[Brazyy]

Thanks Rex , the site of the roots are covered . I did not see any new roots , it’s blocking the uptake of nutrients. At this point your not going to hurt her by putting a quart spray bottle with a third h2o2 with water . Get an empty bucket and hold the root to the side and wash as much off as you can . That way you can open the roots for uptake . Before you put her back rinse the roots with ph water . It may take a couple days for you see the results !

Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try right now and update y'all.

 

[Rexer]

Thanks Rex , the site of the roots are covered . I did not see any new roots , it’s blocking the uptake of nutrients. At this point your not going to hurt her by putting a quart spray bottle with a third h2o2 with water . Get an empty bucket and hold the root to the side and wash as much off as you can . That way you can open the roots for uptake . Before you put her back rinse the roots with ph water . It may take a couple days for you see the results !

Thanks West!

 

[Madddogg]

I am using the 500 scale yes, the tap water in my town is between 100-140ppm

Looks and sounds like root rot.
Watch water temps and don’t allow any light to reach the roots.
Get some Southern AG plant friendly bacteria, mix up a batch and pour some over the roots. Then use it every time you add water to or change your reservoir.
Good luck with your grow

 

[cjsbabygirl313]

I know you said you run a sterile system, but I had a very similar issue in my last grow about 1/2 way through and a combination of Hydroguard and +life brought them back