13’x30’ 8k de build, 32 site DIY top feed hydro

Little video update and a couple pics from today, had a bad potassium toxicity that took these plants from happy to sad real quick. The nutrients that I was using where VERY acidic and forceing me to hammer it with ph up to get ph stable, this in turn, because ph up is potassium bicarbonate, I’m assuming caused my K value to rise far out of acceptable range or loaded the mix with salts ether way it came on fast. I drained res and filled with ph’d RO ran for 24 hours drained, cleaned, flushed again then ran 1/4 nutrients and cal mg. They look allot better today.

What nutes are you running?

drgreentm said:

Little video update and a couple pics from today, had a bad potassium toxicity that took these plants from happy to sad real quick. The nutrients that I was using where VERY acidic and forceing me to hammer it with ph up to get ph stable, this in turn, because ph up is potassium bicarbonate, I’m assuming caused my K value to rise far out of acceptable range or loaded the mix with salts ether way it came on fast. I drained res and filled with ph’d RO ran for 24 hours drained, cleaned, flushed again then ran 1/4 nutrients and cal mg. They look allot better today.

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Try potassium hydroxide instead.

Cold$moke said:

What nutes are you running?

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Was running Cogos original simple base A&B but they claim it has no buffers. It would drop PH to 3.0 whem mixed and required allot to bring it up.

Carolina Dream'n said:

Try potassium hydroxide instead.

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Ya but you are still dealing with potassium, I’m thinking one would have to drop potassium out of the base nutrient to use so much ph up to level it out. There is sodium bicarbonate also but now you are just replacing with salt and that would also stress plants.

drgreentm said:

Ya but you are still dealing with potassium, I’m thinking one would have to drop potassium out of the base nutrient to use so much ph up to level it out. There is sodium bicarbonate also but now you are just replacing with salt and that would also stress plants.

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Could you use a silica product to raise ph?

drgreentm said:

Ya but you are still dealing with potassium, I’m thinking one would have to drop potassium out of the base nutrient to use so much ph up to level it out. There is sodium bicarbonate also but now you are just replacing with salt and that would also stress plants.

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More about the concentration of which you'll have to use. Bicarbonates are pointless and will build up. Hydroxide will break down into water with very little salt build up.

What base nutrients are you using? What's NPK?

Cold$moke said:

Could you use a silica product to raise ph?

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Only if it goes into the water first.

Carolina Dream'n said:

Only if it goes into the water first.

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Oh yea forgot about the dreaded cloudy res lol

But could he add it as a buffer before his nutes to help with adding so much ph down ?

Cold$moke said:

Oh yea forgot about the dreaded cloudy res lol

But could he add it as a buffer before his nutes to help with adding so much ph down ?

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Yes but it's still just another source of potassium if he uses potassium silicate. Maybe if he used Monosilic acid instead.

Carolina Dream'n said:

More about the concentration of which you'll have to use. Bicarbonates are pointless and will build up. Hydroxide will break down into water with very little salt build up.

What base nutrients are you using? What's NPK?

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I will definitely look at that in the future. I was using cogos part a 7-0-5 part b 1-6-6
So at parts combined is 8-6-11 for veg plus the heaps of added potassium bicarbonate who knows what actual K value was lol. Not knocking there product it just wasn’t working for me.

Cold$moke said:

Could you use a silica product to raise ph?

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I was running silica for a while and it seemed to help when adjusting ph after the mix was complete. I ran out and the problem escalated quickly but the problem was still there for sure. Had this issue Last run too and didn’t really even think of nute problem.

I figured out a few different thing while doing a load of digging. I couldn’t find much on the subject of leafs drooping and I am having taco’ing leaves still but only at the lower part of the plants, everything just pointed to over/underwatering which I know is not the problem. So only the chem’s where having problems, I add water and up the nutes from 850 to 1000 yesterday and today what do you know the cookies are now doing the same think lol well upon researching actual plant biology I find that plants actually thy quite hard to make there environment around them equal to there internal environment, inside is a complex pumping station of sorts, nutrients, carbs, enzymes all have a job like operators. When taking in water, if the water is to saturated with salts it will push water from the roots in a attemp to balance the area around it’s root structure, this causes the plant to lose copious amounts of water and essentially dehydrates giving the appearance of underwatering lol. I have lowered the ppms to 650 and we will see how they react if they look good this evening they will be going into flower.
They are definitely growing and looking almost 100% better aside from the few droopers at the bottom, I am surprised really.

8 days ago


Last night

Chem’s 8 days ago

Chem’s last night

Cookies 8 days ago

Cookies last night

Yea isnt it called vpd vapor presaure deficit?

You got one of the nicest farms bud

I alwats enjoy looking at it with my mouth open and tounge hangin

Cold$moke said:

You got one of the nicest farms bud

I alwats enjoy looking at it with my mouth open and tounge hangin

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Thank you my friend, that means allot

Been frustrating chasing this droop around like a chicken with my head cut off lol. Not sure what’s up, never had issues like this before. If it is nutrients I can say I have never experienced drooping as a symptom before. Just hope it isn’t root rot although I couldn’t imagine them coming back to decent health without the rot being eliminated. I put a heater in the room at night and cycle my ventilation frequently when lights out now, seemed to help them out yesterday.

It’s training day


These plants went from some deformed ass
three bladed, duck foot leafs to this!!!

I think they are done stressing and I am relieved.

Think it was light stress mixed with the nutrient issue, they have kinda been stalling then growing and stalling etc etc...at this point they are exactly 3’ from the lights so ballasts are at 750 and ppms at 650 and they are looking great.

Keep in mind the humidity of your room will play a large part in nutrient uptake. If your room is dry the plants are going to transpire more water than "ideal" and leave behind excessive salts in the growing medium because they are using the water faster than the nutrients. I run my rooms at a VPD of 9.0 at the start of veg and very slowly work my way to about a 13.5-14. I don't really change my nutrient strength much during cycle (1.0-1.4 EC) as my environment changes do that for me.

Carolina Dream'n said:

Keep in mind the humidity of your room will play a large part in nutrient uptake. If your room is dry the plants are going to transpire more water than "ideal" and leave behind excessive salts in the growing medium because they are using the water faster than the nutrients. I run my rooms at a VPD of 9.0 at the start of veg and very slowly work my way to about a 13.5-14. I don't really change my nutrient strength much during cycle (1.0-1.4 EC) as my environment changes do that for me.

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Yup I read all sorts of good stuff in my frustration, hell the gf was laughing because I would come in with a new diagnosis hourly lol, but ya I had very high humidity at lights out and very low in the lights on. I have put a couple heaters on a thermostat to not only bring the heat up but to allow my fans to cycle frequently without freezing the room so temps no lower than 68F and humidity no more than 50% also I’m running my fan higher temp with lights on so it cycles off and allows humidity to build, pretty solid at 30-50% last night at 73-77F, can’t check leaf temp so I can’t really figure VDP but leaves feel cool to the touch.

I have never seen plants react to over fertilization like this so I was stumped. I think everything compiled really, lights, over fertilizing, humidity and they just shut down. I saw them pick there leaves up for the first time in days when I got the temps and humidity in check.

Well fn done!

Gquebed said:

Well fn done!

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Thanks man, much appreciated.