ITTY BITTY PLANT NEED HELP!

[bubblecam91]

:wtf: Ok so this is my first grow and ive studied the science of hydorponics and bubbleponics so I fairly know what im talking about. The problem im having is my setup just isnt working and i was sure id gotten a good setup goin with the money i had. I went to a hydro store and bought a 5 gal tub with a mesh basket top and filled it with hydroton and bought a 125 lph pump with an aquarium air pump with an 8 inch airstone. I also went to home depot and bought a 2ft t5 flo light and fitted air duct metal sleeves as reflectors. I put the pump in the bottom and cut the air hose in half and fitted it to the water pump so i could put it through the mesh straight to the roots. Ive changed many things since the start but my current setup is as follows: I have the mesh bucket half filled with hydroton (just enough to cover all the holes) and have the stone pumping lots of bubbles, the water pump hose has been run up to the top to spray directly on the bottom of the stem. The light is putting out around 700 lumens and is positioned about 5 inches from the plant. The nutes are botanicare pro grow and liquid karma (3 tsp/gal of lq, and 1.5 tsp/gal of pg) I am also spraying super foliage spray on it once a day to promote branching. Its running on 18 hours of light. The water level is about an inch below the bucket.
NOW THE BAD PART
It has been damn near 3.5 weeks and the plant is only 2.8 inches tall....wtf....its really green and healthy looking with 6 branches already, but the leaves are only and inch or so long, is this normal? Am i using too much nutes? Under/overlighting? PLEASE HELP, this happened with my last plant and i gave up and started over....IT JUST WONT GROW. Ive seen plants at about 6 or 7 inches tall at this time....

bubblecam91 Reviewed by bubblecam91 on 01-12-2010. ITTY BITTY PLANT NEED HELP! :wtf: Ok so this is my first grow and ive studied the science of hydorponics and bubbleponics so I fairly know what im talking about. The problem im having is my setup just isnt working and i was sure id gotten a good setup goin with the money i had. I went to a hydro store and bought a 5 gal tub with a mesh basket top and filled it with hydroton and bought a 125 lph pump with an aquarium air pump with an 8 inch airstone. I also went to home depot and bought a 2ft t5 flo light and fitted air Rating: 5

[Charbud]

Sounds like your set up is great APART from your light. 700 lumens is nothing for a plant to properly develop. I would say a minimum per plant would be 3000-7000 lumens. I would recommend going to home depot and getting some Y splitters which hold two bulbs. Buy two Y splitters and 2 veg bulbs and 2 flowering bulbs and chaneg them accordingly. Position the light on the top and around the plant for best growth.

Do this and your plants should be glorious ! Post some pics and keep us updated.

Luck

- Charbud :rastasmoke:

[EvilCartman]

The light is putting out around 700 lumens and is positioned about 5 inches from the plant.

Like Charbud says, insufficient light.

If your temperature is good, and moving the light closer won't be a problem, try dropping the distance to about an inch away. Not a solution, but it will help for the time being.

That single 2' T5 is adequate for starting seedlings but won't support rapid growth. I've got a couple of the T5 2' 2-bulb fixtures from HD. They can be used as supplemental lighting, in a pinch, but they're pretty weak.

Good luck :jointsmile:

[GIjaneBRAD]

i know your probablly doing good but maybe if you want to get a little more out of your plant you could drop that light that has around 800 lumens down closer to the plant say maybe 1 to 2 inches..my plants seem to like this much better....happy growwing...:thumbsup:

[bigtopsfinn]

5000 Lumens per square foot, minimum!

http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-li...-lighting.html :thumbsup:

[jakester]

Yeah, you got all the details right except for light quantity. More lumens, like 10X more.

[bubblecam91]

thanks for your help guys i bought 2 huge ass flo bulbs from hd and they are 4200 lums each . HOWEVER. I DESPERATELY NEED HELP WITH MY NEW PROBLEM....the plant is getting brown like.....everywhere on the top....even my new little leaves sprouting on top are turnin brown....i have brown spots all over the leaves and its not growing at all....possibly my nute mix?....im usin botanicare pro and its worked great till now. The guy at the hydro store said only give it about half the recommended nute dosages....so that would be 1 tbs of grow and 1 ts of karma per gallon. Ive been using 4 gallons so the roots will be covered. I use 3 gallons of nutrient water and one gallon of regular water.....some leaves are also curling up and are brown and very soft and brittle....i cant post pics bcuz apparently the file size is too big :/