View Full Version : What am I doing wrong?
riley22
08-21-2008, 10:56 PM
Hi Everyone! this is my first post, I have spent the last month or so reading through all the wonderful information on this site. My plants are about 3 weeks old and the leaves are starting to get droopy. I was hoping somone could help me out. It is a cabinet grow 4'X2'X5' with 400w hps. We have an ac unit blowing cold air into the cabinet as well as two passive vent holes. The fan we have is a 265cfm, which pulls through the light. Hopefully that makes sense, my husband built it and I just take care of the plants.
E-indoor or outdoor Indoor
E-soil, soilless, coco, aero, or hydroponic soil
CSL-Soil type/brand 2/3 FFOF 1/3 perlite
SCL-Anything you have added to the soil FF Grow Big 1/4 strength
SCLR-Soil or slab runoff pH have not tested run off
E-Water source RO Water
E-Source water pH 6.0
E-Age of plant 3 weeks
E-Type of fertilizer FF grow big 1/4 strength
E-Rate of application (if hydro, this is your PPM number, preferably after each component is added)
E-Lighting source and distance from plant 400w HPS. 6 inches away
E-Air temperature (both day and night if you are running a dark period) day temp max 84 night temp 68. running 18/6
E-Air % Relative humidity 30%
E-Lighting schedule 18/6
E-Type of ventilation your room has ac inline, 2 passive vents. 265cfm
riley22
08-21-2008, 10:58 PM
more pics
SunnyD
08-21-2008, 11:09 PM
It seems to me buddy that you are watering the fuck out of it...make sure the soil is dry before giving the little baby another drink
Dreadscale
08-21-2008, 11:52 PM
Welcome riley22
I would have to agree with SunnyD.
Also I would bring the water PH up a bit.
I personally use PH 6.5 with good results
And then I would put my hand on top of my plants for a minute or 2 to see if it gets hot.
If your hand gets hot so will your plants.
GOOD LUCK
veggii
08-22-2008, 01:19 AM
good lord your drowning them !! let them dry out maybe put more holes in pot ... goodluck also that light is prolly to close HOT!!
riley22
08-22-2008, 01:25 AM
Thank you everyone I will let them dry out before I water again. The temp at plant level right now is 81 degrees, is that still too hot?
tyrodogg
08-22-2008, 03:38 AM
I went through something simular. It really want hurt to go without watering. Let the get dry. It may take a couple of days or more.
Mcnizzlebery
08-22-2008, 03:59 AM
It might just be me, but im pretty sure the light is to close especially for little plants. I would say at least a foot away. Could be overwatering too though. Mabey that will help.
Rusty Trichome
08-22-2008, 03:09 PM
E-indoor or outdoor Indoor
E-soil, soilless, coco, aero, or hydroponic soil
CSL-Soil type/brand 2/3 FFOF 1/3 perlite
SCL-Anything you have added to the soil FF Grow Big 1/4 strength
SCLR-Soil or slab runoff pH have not tested run off
E-Water source RO Water
E-Source water pH 6.0
E-Age of plant 3 weeks
E-Type of fertilizer FF grow big 1/4 strength
E-Rate of application (if hydro, this is your PPM number, preferably after each component is added)
E-Lighting source and distance from plant 400w HPS. 6 inches away
E-Air temperature (both day and night if you are running a dark period) day temp max 84 night temp 68. running 18/6
E-Air % Relative humidity 30%
E-Lighting schedule 18/6
E-Type of ventilation your room has ac inline, 2 passive vents. 265cfm
Now THAT'S how to fill-out a troubleshooting form, ^^^ lol. (gotta love the "bold" responses) :thumbsup::thumbsup:
ph is low. You'll want to raise it a bit to around 6.6 to 6.8 for soil.
Too small for nutes yet. You may want to flush them once they've dried-out a bit.
Overwatering (already mentioned)
R/O water will need a CalMag type of suppliment.
Light may be too close for seedlings/clones unless it's very well cooled. Especially if they are stressed. (which they are) When you put your hand just above the canopy, (back of hand twords the light) if your hand get's too warm, it's too warm for the seedlings.
riley22
08-24-2008, 10:10 PM
OK...so I let them dry out and flushed them today with just tap water. I also moved them down to about 12 inches from the light. Will the leaves eventually spring back up?
Rusty Trichome
08-24-2008, 11:05 PM
Depends on how extensive the damage. The thing to look for will be new growth. Have you adjusted the water ph?
Puffzter
08-24-2008, 11:27 PM
These plants will certainly make it if you get the problem under control.
If the temperatures are as u said at plant level the light is probably not the problem.
pH is a bit low for soil but they dont show signs of that being a problem either but they do look overwatered for sure.
Are the pots drained? If not fix that.
In soil water well, let dry and water again. Be very careful with nutes so far but I can't say that they look overnuted so my guess is that it is most likelly the watering schedule that is the problem here.
It's easy to overdo the care. ;)
Good luck.
Puffzter
riley22
08-25-2008, 09:49 PM
The pots i have them in only had 4 drain holes at the very bottom, I carefully drilled more holes on each side, but I'm thinking of re-potting them in some 12" pots. Is it too soon to re-pot them? oh, the ph of my tap water is about 7.4, is that ok? Or can I mix tap water with RO water to bring the ph down? Unfortunately i did not test the run off ph. Thank you so much again, you guys are great! :)
riley22
08-26-2008, 11:10 PM
So I repotted them in the 12" pots and they seem to be a little more happy. Its a good thing too, because I think they were a little root bound. here are some updated pics. I really hope the leaves spring back up to where they are supposed to be. Also, there is a TON of new growth which makes me feel better.
FloydOtisChacha
09-05-2008, 06:12 AM
Try some thrive alive! The green bottle its organic! Works wonders.. Let the plant get dry before you get excited with the water.. Soil is very forgiving..Good luck!
irydyum
09-06-2008, 03:27 PM
All of this talk about watering and no guidelines for amount of water so you can keep it under control. With larger pots now, your soil will hold exponentially more water, so fight the urge to wet the top layer and fill the drip trays and crap like that every time you enter the room. Let your pot dry out. Let me say that again, let your pot dry out until you have that nervous feeling in your stomach, then add only enough water to your pot until it BEGINS to run to the drip tray. Let it dry again. Figure out how many days it took to dry out in between waterings then make yourself a schedule that you can stick too. This process takes discipline or every idiot would be doing it. A good rule from Soma and Jorge is to stick your finger in inch or 2 into the medium, if it feels like there is moisture, don't water. You must have abundant oxygen in the root zone to stimulate growth, and every time you water you displace that oxygen in the medium, causing the plant to suffocate a bit. Back off on the watering and you will notice dramatic changes very quickly.
Also, I'm shocked to see that no one has mentioned that you are vegging under an HPS lamp. HPS lamps have great lumens/watt and plenty of light for growth, but unfortunately the plants light requirements change with growth, and HPS should be used for flowering. HPS is way in the red spectrum on light, simulating autumn in most places, about 2700K or so. Great for flowering. But when you are vegging the plant needs blues also which your plants aren't getting. You should run a lamp with at least a 4000K rating to get more of the proper light for vegging. Consider getting a conversion bulb to run a Metal Halide on your HPS ballast, or getting a switchable ballast that has both types. I would say though, if you are only going to run one type of lamp for both stages of growth, a MH would be much better for you.
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