FLBud,
I use a tool called a tri meter, measures ph temp, and tds/ppm
I find this very usefull and was great when I was learning (still am after 6 years)
If you PH is to high or to low it will lock out your food. If you are using a meter you will see this in your ppm, it will not go down as useual because your plant isnt takeing anything up. Also, if your ph is messed you can use ph up or down bought from any hydro store to fox it, but I would want to figure out why my ph is going up or down. Could be your food. I have used some that dropped the ph hugely. Other like what I use know are ph buffered so if your good with just water you are good when you add the food. This I find to be helpfull because when you ph does go up/down your food is one less reason.

Aceshigh,
Could be root rot, when was the last time you rinsed you system completly. Also check your rez temp, if that is high (above 70) it will mess with you ph.
I would check your roots first, one look should tell you, you should be able to root rot as well. If they are, I would do a full rince and clean on my system. I have use a product called Plantacillin to rid me of root rot. It works well at helping rid root rot and gives plants sort of a shot in the arm to help fend off problems. Also use a Vitam B called Super B. Big help on decreasing stree in you plants.

hey blue cheese,
I am real familiar with the hydro stores in most areas, (past life) if you give me aprox area I may be able to recomend the best to offer. Every little bit helps. With clones i use a product called propogator made by future harvest development. Great for building root mass.

Well I was finally able to get my ph to stabalize... After countless hours researching calling my friends and numerous other things, I finally was told to flood my trays in the desired ph range that I wanted. So I brought my PH up to about 6.4 but that makes its 6.2 at the roots. So I pluged my trays and let them soak in that solution. After an hour I let the water run out and turned my pumps back on. I havent had to mess witht the PH for the past 2 days. It atcually went up a little bit because my plants starting eating again. So I just added a little GH mix to restore the lost food and bring my ph back to 6.2. I think Im finally getting the hang of this. Thanks for all of the help u guys have given me here!!!!!

I just joined and posted my first thread a couple days ago.. Got a couple views but no replies, I was wondering why then after reading about how to never buy a complete hydro setup either online or from a store I knew why.. In my thread i showed all the equipment that i thought i needed. the most expensive thing being the hydro NFT setup shown here at this link below for 500.00 dollars. I thought that was a great deal, but i didnt realize that i could just as easily build one for half the cost.. I have done a good bit of reading on growing ie:soil vs. hydro and I would choose to try hydro as my personal favorite.. I have a spare bedroom in which I will be able to use. It is about 10x10x7ft. and wanted the NFT system for the 6 plants.. Any help on how to build a efficient NFT system similiar to the one at the link, would be appreciated.. Again, thanks in advance for all the help..
HydroNewbie

Roadguy, I am in the Corvallis area. I found one "good" store and one not so hot. What do you think? Both these places are newer than 6 months.

Hydronewbie, I went through the same damned thing - it's been kind of expensive learning, but there's a lot to learn. It's cool, though. I have altered my plans a number of times. I thought because I have such a tiny grow room that it might be easier, but really you have to learn the same stuff. After paying $$ for seeds, I will only do seeds when I want something new to clone. Am now all set up to clone but just put babies in bloom - 1 clear cut preflower female I can grab a couple of clones off, but mostly plants of every different height - difficult to deal with having the microgarden set-up - it will be fine for clones, but all my seedlings ended up different sizes.

Lots to learn; nice to have you folks around, new and old, to bounce things off of.

Fromage,
Hey try these two places, Corvallis Hydroponics, new store but the guy is eager to help and if he doesnt have a answer to your question he can call his sister store in Santa Barbra and get great info. Also you can call a guy in Bend, th store is Bends indoor gardening, speak to the owner Nick. He does mail order and is one of the most knowlagable guys in the industry. Remember, they do not want to know what you are growing. lol

I will end up building my own setup sometime in the future after I actually get a year or so of hands on experiance.. But for my first hydro setup I think I will go with the GreenMachine from Future Garden. Someone on here reccomended it saying it was a better bang for my buck, plus its hydro/aeroponics combo.. Which is awesome..

Link to Green Machine..
Green Machine 20 w/ 400W HPS @ FUTUREGARDEN.COM

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-HydroNewbie-

Yo Potroast! How goes it? Do you know anything about salt buildup on hydroton rocks? there is a little bit starting on mine and I'd like to nip this problem in the bud if its going to harm my girlie's. I did make the mistake last Wednesday of getting some spring water for my rez. I dont recall the buildup showing up until after i used it in my rez. I flushed the shit out and I'm back to using tap water, Its easier to control the pH.

I have some pics on my journal. theres very little of it right now.

Full LED grow room/aeroponic system. first attemp

I guess you mean on the top rocks, the ones that you can see. I don't think it's anything to worry about, it's what is happening down where the roots are that matters.

HTH

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