Getting Worried

[JimD]

hey all

4 days ago I moved four 8 week old plants into flowering. There was not much showing in terms of sex, but they had outgrown the space I had 8 plants in. I have 4 5 gallon buckets with hydroton in baskets. Each bucket has two 180 sprayers run from a 500gph pump in a reservoir with about 15 gallons in it. the pump is on 30minutes, off 30 minutes currently. I am using GH flora 3part nutes.

I have not been happy with my flow rate to the sprayer heads, it just dribbles. I was using a 300gph pump to start and it barely dribbled so I switched to my 500gph. The plants had started to droop when I first moved them, the pump was set to run 30on/1hroff.

I have seen little new growth in 4 days when they were adding inches every couple days. The roots are still full, with one or two showing new white growth.

Here's some pics of the roots, am I freaking out over nothing?

[MORE COWBELL]

SPRAYERS CLOG -THEY SUCK!

 

Grow shop owners will sell you the most expensive crap if you let them-there job is to make money off of us(supposedly un-informed) Public

 

best system is *Recircuting Deep Water Culture* system hands down for reliability and cost and if you use a big enough airpump you get aeroponics without the hassle of clogged spray heads!-(look at BUBBLEGROWER blogs)

 

P.M. me i will hook you up-

 

[1]first change your water -using fresh clean warm 70 degree H2O

 

[2] add "HYGROZYME" 1/2 strength

 

[3]run for two days making sure you pour thru your hydroton-'Hygrozyme' eats dead decaying organic matter

 

[4] get bubblestones and airpumps for your buckets

 

[5] connect all buckets together( in and out flow to a central reservoir)

 

[6] get rid of sprayer system (i wont go into detail on what clogs spray heads-anything will)

 

[7] add fresh adjusted PH 1/2 strength nutes run for one week-discard and refill with full strength nutes(1200 PPM)

 

[8] add Hygrozyme periodically to get rid of swampy buckets-make sure to change NUTES every other week

 

simple if you need more info PM me-Tater

Edited April 22, 2011 by MORE COWBELL

[JimD]

The spray heads in question are new? Not clogged? Do you believe I have a root rot issue?

I am all for changing methods, but I also want to understand what is going on. LOL

[JimD]

It is my understanding that the flora series from general hydroponics is one of the most widely used. Back to the htg catalog I guess! They are starting to love me!

[affordablemimeds]

I would try watering less often and not as long.

[MORE COWBELL]

The spray heads in question are new? Not clogged? Do you believe I have a root rot issue?

I am all for changing methods, but I also want to understand what is going on. LOL

 

your roots look okay not great but not horrible-should be white to off white-NEVER BROWN-if brown... something went wrong

 

[1] rot can be from pests

[2]or from fungus

[3] or from improper temp at root zone(68-70 degrees at root zone is great) higher temps can carry more oxygen but you can end up with algae and dampening off

[4] or salt buildup/PH issues

 

since water is the medium your plants are grown it it is easily remedied -change the solution and plants should ...bounce back within three days... if you have good lights and good grow temps

 

HYGROZYME IS KEY TO KEEPING Root rot/Dampening off at bay in hydro units

YOUR SPRAYERS ARE CLOGGED WITH MINUTE PARTICLES OF HYDROTON ROOTS AND PRECIPITATE-and there is no real way to fix that unless you devise a really really good filter or change out spray heads whenever they clog

 

 

go to fully RDWC your almost there...from someone who has been doing this since the 80's ( I grew with aeroponics in 1988) dirt -NFT-ebb and flow -drip emmitters-aero organic-non organic

if you need help just PM me or read all of BG's blogs-youll figure it out soon the learning curve is steep your plants die or they thrive

 

and BTW- G.H. -Lucas method is still the best most reliable method(dont believe all the hype its mostly genetics that determine your yield and potency)-when you really finger it out ...you can use un-sulfured molasses with your regiment -Namaste-Tater

Edited April 22, 2011 by MORE COWBELL

[JimD]

I have managed to correct my flow issue by changing the plumbing around. It is better to split a line into 8, than split it in half, in half and in half again. LOL

One of the four definitely has a rot issue, I rinsed its roots with fresh water when I changed the plumbing configuration. It is struggling, but there were some positive signs this morning. The other 3 have added some nice fresh root growth. The only bad news at the moment is the bigger Indica appears to be sprouting balls. Urgh.

[ToadInCan]

Dittos on the Hygrowzyme. It does wonderful things for your roots. Another indication of root rot is that they feel slimey. Sometimes the nutes tinge them off white to brown, but if they're still squeeky clean to the touch, you're ok. Also, do you have a bubbler in your rez? Some of the nastiest microbes are anaerobic, and they will thrive in stagnant water. Even if you don't switch your system, you should be pumping air into your rez. As for the balls... Good luck JimD!

[JimD]

I should probably add that I also reduced the on/off to 30min on/1hr off.

In retrospect, in looking for what was different with transplanting this one, all I can come up with is possible damage to the roots that weakened them enough for rot to set in. I went far passed the time they should have been moved. The mass of a couple of the root systems were difficult to get through a 3" hole so, while I was careful, some damage could have occurred.

Anyhoo, back to discussing the reinvention of my system...

More Cowbell, how are you connecting pvc to a tote? I made my own bushing by cutting up slip fittings, but there must be a better way.

Looks like the weak one is toast, we'll see what the night dos.