Brown leaves on seedlings. HELP

[scottcc5s]

Guys:

Need some help with what's going on with my 2 week old seedlings. Just in a couple of days the leaves started getting brown. Up to just few days ago had been using distilled water now have 5.5 PH tap water going and they are in rapid rooter cubes under florescent lights

Ideas of what is going on and how to fix?? :(

Help appreciated :)

[nexusmick]

Looks like heat stress to me. Try lifting the light another inch or two. They are babies still, so are very fragile.

[tinytoon]

PH is kinda borderline low also. if it could be kicked up a 10th or 2 wont hurt. 5.7 is a good place to be, kinda in the middle of what most say.

[LOC NAR on probation]

Go back to the distilled water your TAP water is burning them or worse Chlorine or chloramine is burning them. Flush them with distilled and wait to see if they green back up. It may take a while. You may want to start more now just to be sure.

[scottcc5s]

Thanks guys for feedback, going back to distilled and get PH a little higher (5.6 to 5.7). I will start up a few more seeds as back up.

How long is it OK to run with distilled water?

[LOC NAR on probation]

Run distilled untill you can check your tap water with a meter. It maybe ok when they get bigger.

[scottcc5s]

Run distilled untill you can check your tap water with a meter. It maybe ok when they get bigger.

Will do and very much appreciate the help/support. Just checked my tap water with my meter. PH comes in at 8.5 and my PPM is 388, I have the PH up and down but have no clue if 388 PPM means OK or not for my tap water. I just started to soak some more seeds as back up if a few current ones go down hill.

Just frustrated delays and VERY eager to use my new ebb/flow toys I bought....yes a newbie but one of these days I will figure things out.

Thanks again :)

[tinytoon]

388 if I am not wrong means you have a hard water situation from tap. That there is something I have not had to deal with so I'm not gonna lie to you.

I see you have the ebb & Grow system. That thing is the rats ass. Mine has 18 buckets atm and running really well. Make sure you clean and soak that new hydrotron in ph adjusted water. Keep checking the water you are soaking in till ph stabilizes at what you adjusted it to. New hydrotron can make ph drift upwards so thats why we soak :jointsmile:

[scottcc5s]

388 if I am not wrong means you have a hard water situation from tap. That there is something I have not had to deal with so I'm not gonna lie to you.

I see you have the ebb & Grow system. That thing is the rats ass. Mine has 18 buckets atm and running really well. Make sure you clean and soak that new hydrotron in ph adjusted water. Keep checking the water you are soaking in till ph stabilizes at what you adjusted it to. New hydrotron can make ph drift upwards so thats why we soak :jointsmile:

Tiny:

Thanks for the heads up on soaking hydroton and getting them to stabilize.

QUESTION: When my seeds get big enough I was going to put my rapid rooter's cubes into 4x4 rockwool cubes and let them veg before then going into my buckets...good idea??

[GetThisOrDie]

Whats up?
388 is on the high side for tap water but it should be ok. I use 350ish tap water for my seedlings. If I were have to guess it was probably the very low PH. Distilled water lacks minerals and such that the plants need. Its good if you supplement those minerals but tap water makes it much easier because all that shiz is already there.
Maybe you have reallly bad chlorine levels but it was probably the PH...

Just my 2 cents.

[tinytoon]

I would stay away from RW in a setup like that. When seedlings have a good amount of roots coming out of the RR then get them in the hydrotron and into their buckets. If you have an MH bulb for your lamp use it if not just keep them under a few floros or cfl's, if you can, and let them be. Your first rez should have a mix that is 1/4 to 1/2 strength, they will be way to fragile for full strength. When we first started we used nothing but RW, cubes, blocks, the whole 9 yards. Lots of salt build up in an ebb & flow setup and flucuating PH along with the salt. If you dont cover the tops of the blocks then add algae to the list. There is one thing I have learned so far and it is true with every grow ......... DONT RUSH THINGS!!!! It's not how fast you can grow them or how many you can grow, it is how they turn out :jointsmile: Allot better to grow 5 plants that come out really good than 20 that turn out like shit :wtf:

[LOC NAR on probation]

You need to look into a water filter or R/O filter. 388 is extreme. Do you know what your drinking ?

I like the setup, some day I'll get one.

To find your problem do a test. put one seedling or plant by itself and give it PH'ed tap water. Wait to see if it burns up.

My tap runs about 260 give or take. It takes this water 3 days to turn all the large leaves yellow on a 3 foot bush.

Some places care about what they drink.
Well water at even high ppm's can be great stuff. it's just a crap shoot.

Round here they put wierd stuff in the water to keep the Marines from killing the whole town when they come back and decompress.

[scottcc5s]

I would stay away from RW in a setup like that. When seedlings have a good amount of roots coming out of the RR then get them in the hydrotron and into their buckets. If you have an MH bulb for your lamp use it if not just keep them under a few floros or cfl's, if you can, and let them be. Your first rez should have a mix that is 1/4 to 1/2 strength, they will be way to fragile for full strength. When we first started we used nothing but RW, cubes, blocks, the whole 9 yards. Lots of salt build up in an ebb & flow setup and flucuating PH along with the salt. If you dont cover the tops of the blocks then add algae to the list. There is one thing I have learned so far and it is true with every grow ......... DONT RUSH THINGS!!!! It's not how fast you can grow them or how many you can grow, it is how they turn out :jointsmile: Allot better to grow 5 plants that come out really good than 20 that turn out like shit :wtf:

Tiny:

Thanks for info/help, very much appreciate it. I will pass on using RW and will go get the MH bulb. LOL on dont rush things....yep its tough not to do that. Thanks again :)

[tinytoon]

guess I'm lucky to be around 130 for my tap.

np scottcc just keep logging your grow and we will all keep an eye out and try to help when and where we can. I wont be around next week as no internet due to vacation :D

[CovertCarpenter]

...easiest way to check is to start using a br!ta filt3r, to see if just taking out the obvious villains hep's.

Or buy R/O or Distilled water, and get one with Ozone, if possible.

Just my :twocents: