Please help them theyre dying!

[smackhead1984]

well i tested the pH and it was 5.0! im absolutely confused cos my plant pots pH dropped to 6.0 so i added water and fertalizer that was 7.0/7.5 (and i havent change the formula since then: 3.75ml BioGrow per Litre of tap water).. so i thought that would bring it up and keep it up?

anyways its 5.0, do i add pH Up to my water and fertz til it has a pH equally opposite on the pH scale, which is 9.5 to balance it out?

the plants look good, nice shade of green.. but the droopage is really bad, they were heavily watered this mornin too and still got a droop on now

heres a pic of one of em but theyre all very uniform in appearance:

http://www.freefilehosting.co.uk/files/1467/droop.jpg

[stinkyattic]

well i tested the pH and it was 5.0!
anyways its 5.0, do i add pH Up to my water and fertz til it has a pH equally opposite on the pH scale, which is 9.5 to balance it out?

9.5 is WAY too much of a shock. Go for 7.5, 8.0 TOPS. I don't like the way your soil chemistry is changing so rapidly. I forgot to check pics but if your plants are root-bound and in a peaty soil that sort of catastrophic pH drop is not unreasonable to expect.
Gotta find a better soil. Really that Agway stuff with the humus in it that you can get at farmers supply stores east of the Mississippi is DEAD ON STABLE at 6.8-6.9. The roots can spread out into the new soil and take in nutes in a rhizosphere that ISN'T a crappy pH and locking them out.

[smackhead1984]

whats really confusing me is that yesterday i repotted? so most of the soil the water ran through should of been higher pH anyways cos it was fresh an unused?

btw humidity is 47% and temps are 26-27degrees c.

my settings are wrong too im from the uk, ur a star for all ya help by the way :thumbsup:

[smackhead1984]

update... the plants are still very droopy which is really worrying me, but they are all green, the yellowing never returned green, they just dried up so i snipped em.

Ive snipped all the weak and hidden from light lower branches off too as i think im going to flower in about a week, theyre 11 inches tall having gained about 3 inches or so since repotting.

My humidity is still between 40 and 50 percent, ive placed cups of water all around the grow to try to up it a little. temperature is 26-27 degrees and im just waiting for my heaters with thermostats to arrive one for each area! then i can up my fan usage to 3 times a day (right now its once or twice)

Ive made some more clones from the offcuts too. Hopefully they'll fare better than the ones i took last week, they look ok and green, a little browning along the edge of where ive cut the leaves down, not sure if thats normal though?


let me know what u guys think!

[smackhead1984]

the plants are curling even more!

just trying to narrow it down for diagnosis:

ive raised the humidity level up to 85% with the cups of water between plants, so it wasnt the low humidity causing it...

ph should be well back up after a week of watering with fertz at a ph of 7.0/7.5...

they look a good shade of green, and no new yellowing, so its not a deficiency or over fertalizing...


only things that i havent got perfect i know of:

water is tap water not left to sit out.
air is only circulated once or twice a day.
temperature probably drops quite a bit overnight.

ive just put in a heater with a thermostat and also thermometer that records the highest an lowest temps today so it'll switch on if the temps drop overnight and will be recorded for me.
I wouldnt of thought the chlorine in the water would be that damaging, i got the impression it only made a grow slightly better, would u say it makes much difference?

maybe eventually i'll try to wire up the fan to a dimmer switch so its always on and running low, but its not likely for a good while to be honest,

any helps much appreciated!

[stinkyattic]

You don't know how much the temperature drops overnight?
And air is only circulating once or twice a day?
you need to be running CONSTANT air circulation and exhaust, and making your temperatures STEADY, with no more than 10'F difference between night and day.

[smackhead1984]

hmm gona be a bit awkward gettin that fan on all the time, its a big one, i'll have to wire it up to a dimmer switch, dunno if that'll be able to handle the wattage so might have to fork out for one of those control boxes with dails on?

the plants have finally perked up dunno if it was the heater keepin temps stable overnight or the ph finally gettin right but its al;ot perkier

[Mr. Clandestine]

i'll have to wire it up to a dimmer switch, dunno if that'll be able to handle the wattage so might have to fork out for one of those control boxes with dails on?

I think higher wattage fans and fluorescent fixtures need dimmer switches that are different from a standard light dimmer. Definitely don't install anything that's not rated for the watts being drawn for the fan.

I've seen some 3-way receptacles capable of handling 1000W, but you're right, they're wicked expensive. Still, better to be safe than sorry when you start regulating the current yourself. Used to be able to pick them up from most hardware stores, but I haven't seen any in a while. I'm sure you can find some online. When you do install a switch, you should let it power the fan for several hours at different speed settings. Go in there frequently and check to make sure the fan isn't getting too hot. You'd think this wouldn't be as much of a problem since the fan isn't running at full blast, but for some fans, it apparently can be an issue. Best of luck to ya.

[smackhead1984]

hello mr c glad ur still readin, highest watt for a dimmer i can find on e bay is 400w but i'll keep looking, what do call those proper unit boxes you see on grow dvd's? i cant find any, might be using the wrong term tho...

[stinkyattic]

Instead of a dimmer switch, consider adding a vent to the duct, like the way a vacuum cleaner has a little hole in the sucker thing that you can open to decrease suction and drop items.