Plants are dieing, please help!

[sum1cull911]

Hydroponic DWC Setup
Grown in rockwool with rocks on top(recently had algae on top of rock wool, thats why the rocks are on top, I think algae was raising my Ph to 8 every 12 hours or so... I recently cleaned and refilled added new nutes)
Lights 18/6
5 24" fluorescent plant lights
1 18" fluorescent light
1 18" Blacklight
ALL 3" From Plants
Lights cooled by fans
Fans on plants
3 Air pumps running on high 24/7
Temp 90
Humidity 60%
Water temp 75-80
PH 5.8-6.3
Nutes 3 part GH 1:1:1
Plants 2 weeks old
Supplemental CO2 @ 900ppm
TDS 563
Everything is extremely steady, very little flucuation in any numbers except for the ph problem i noted above

sum1cull911 Reviewed by sum1cull911 on 09-12-2010. Plants are dieing, please help! Hydroponic DWC Setup Grown in rockwool with rocks on top(recently had algae on top of rock wool, thats why the rocks are on top, I think algae was raising my Ph to 8 every 12 hours or so... I recently cleaned and refilled added new nutes) Lights 18/6 5 24" fluorescent plant lights 1 18" fluorescent light 1 18" Blacklight ALL 3" From Plants Lights cooled by fans Fans on plants 3 Air pumps running on high 24/7 Rating: 5

[headshake]

what's up 911? don't you have a post in the plant problems section already for this problem? why post one in the growing information section? people respond to posts at their leisure.

anyhow, i see you are in rockwool. did you presoak it first in properly pH'd water? rockwool can cause pH to run up.

your rez water temps are a little high. i'm a dirt farmer, but i think 70F is a good temp. i'm sure somebody else will chime in (perhpas cigarettes42?) this high temp could be contributing to the algae problem.

what are you using for your rez? is it clear or opaque? are you running in a sealed room?


-shake

[sum1cull911]

yeah sorry, wasnt sure if i posted in the right place, so i posted here too...

Yes, I presoaked the rockwool.
I noticed my res. temps are a little high as well. The roots are fluourishing though, so I think my thermometer might be off. I bought it real cheap on ebay from hong kong. Im using a gallon tuberware container with aluminum tape around it to prevent light from getting in. Everything is contained within a 55gallon aquarium.

[redaaron]

From this pics alone I would say it's a ph lockout. The plants need to stay 5.5.-6.5 to see any new green growth. This plant will bounce back. Also, 90degree temps are way too high, so think about exhausting some of that heat. It has to be done.

Those two things alone will make your plant look like that. Also , what kind of "plant" bulbs are you using? Are you using "grow bulbs?" I have found the 6500K color temperature DAYLIGHT bulbs work much better as I think they are brighter and have a better color temperature for vegetative growth.

And by exhausting the heat from the room, probably by just leaving the room open will decrease your water temps as well giving you better results in what might seem as slow growth.

Like headshake asked, "Are you running a sealed room?"

And I'm curious as to what kind of ballasts you are running.

[sum1cull911]

From this pics alone I would say it's a ph lockout. The plants need to stay 5.5.-6.5 to see any new green growth. This plant will bounce back. Also, 90degree temps are way too high, so think about exhausting some of that heat. It has to be done.

Those two things alone will make your plant look like that. Also , what kind of "plant" bulbs are you using? Are you using "grow bulbs?" I have found the 6500K color temperature DAYLIGHT bulbs work much better as I think they are brighter and have a better color temperature for vegetative growth.

And by exhausting the heat from the room, probably by just leaving the room open will decrease your water temps as well giving you better results in what might seem as slow growth.

Like headshake asked, "Are you running a sealed room?"

And I'm curious as to what kind of ballasts you are running.

First off, I Aapreciate all the responses...

I was assuming it was ph lockout so i have been keeping the ph at 5.8. From what I've been reading though, with supplemental CO2, 85 to low 90's are alright, plus the plants seem to love it. But I'm using GE Fresh & Saltwater Aqua bulbs... 5, 24" bulbs and 2, 18" bulbs... no ballasts. Plants are growing in a 55 gallon aquarium with air tight, custom-made hood. 5 of the bulbs are installed on that hood with plexi-glass covering them (lights are enclosed in the hood) and 2 computer fans exhausting the heat from those lights. (The way I have it setup, there is very little heat coming from those 5 fixtures, if any at all.) I do have a heat lamp (thats how im getting my heat in there) placed on the OUTSIDE of the aquarium facing in next to the plants, NOT on them. I have the 2 18" lights hanging on the side of the aquarium, hitting the plants from the side. I have 2 computer fans that run on a timer at night to exhaust heat and CO2.

Does anyone know why the tips are bent down on the new growth, there is no yellowing or browning, the tips are just pointing down...?

[Gatekeeper777]

Temp is 90 Holy crap bring it down to about 75. change water bring your PH to 6.5 trim off all yellow and dead leaves. That's what I would do.

[sum1cull911]

Temp is 90 Holy crap bring it down to about 75. change water bring your PH to 6.5 trim off all yellow and dead leaves. That's what I would do.

Temp is 90 because I am supplementing CO2
Water has been changed, once a week.
PH 5.8
Leaves and dead matter have been trimmed already.

[Gatekeeper777]

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I try to keep pmy PH to about 6-6.8 Your water may be too sour.

[sum1cull911]

I raised it to 6.3. Thanks for the advice.

[redaaron]

First off, I Aapreciate all the responses...

I was assuming it was ph lockout so i have been keeping the ph at 5.8. From what I've been reading though, with supplemental CO2, 85 to low 90's are alright, plus the plants seem to love it. But I'm using GE Fresh & Saltwater Aqua bulbs... 5, 24" bulbs and 2, 18" bulbs... no ballasts. Plants are growing in a 55 gallon aquarium with air tight, custom-made hood. 5 of the bulbs are installed on that hood with plexi-glass covering them (lights are enclosed in the hood) and 2 computer fans exhausting the heat from those lights. (The way I have it setup, there is very little heat coming from those 5 fixtures, if any at all.) I do have a heat lamp (thats how im getting my heat in there) placed on the OUTSIDE of the aquarium facing in next to the plants, NOT on them. I have the 2 18" lights hanging on the side of the aquarium, hitting the plants from the side. I have 2 computer fans that run on a timer at night to exhaust heat and CO2.

Does anyone know why the tips are bent down on the new growth, there is no yellowing or browning, the tips are just pointing down...?

I'm very curious about your Saltwater aqua lights. Are these the 9325K light spectrum? I'm having a hard time finding exactly the ones you have. From what I read on that spectrum and aquarium use was that it had deeper light penetration I'm assuming in water. I once thought about an aquarium grow so this is all very interesting to me. Is the aquarium glass or plastic? And what's the ambient temp of the room? Also what kind of intake do you have? Cool setup on the hood btw.