give up, i need DWC help.

Alright i have 8 bagseed plants in a 18 gallon DWC with 12 gallons water at this moment. I have 4 100w (46w or w.e) daylight CFL's and 2 20w? wal mart grow flouros. I have been keeping my PH around <6.0. and ppms are around 100 with PH tap water.

I made a big mistake by adding nutes after week one. (only 5ML GH floragrow + floramicro, the PPM only made it up to about 150..)

I thought i was helping adding nutes (when i know not to add nutes until 3-4 leaf sets, and couldnt figure out why my plants were looking worse and worse.
At first they got real droopy, like hanging down. As soon as i noticed the leaf tips started looking burnt i knew it was the nutes. So 9 days after adding nutes i changed the res and put fresh ph water. But it seemed like the problem kept getting worse, i thought my lights may be too intense for seedlings so i brought them up to about 10" instead of like 4". (I do have a fan in there also.) I also thought it might be my humidity being too low (no way to tell right now) so i put some water bottles with the caps off in the closet.

All in all the plants somewhat started looking better but they havent grown much if at all. I think that theres something else in play here that i cant figure out, i almost feel like i may be drowning my babies or something by not having enough air bubbles, when its really bubbly. Also i have noticed some brownish spots on the roots, but it rinses off. ( I think its the hydroton..)

I just want to know how to make these plants take off, I have been troubleshooting for over a week now and cant help but feel like im messing everything up. So any input is greatly appreciated.

First 2 pics from almost 2 weeks ago, second 2 are from today.

hi slappy no wouldn't say your messing every thing up your just learning. but when you get dwc tuned in its gre----at no messing. ok yes the first mistake was giving nutes to early and would have bi better to change the tub as soon as you noticed instead of waiting. bring your ph down abit to 5.6 and check your solution temps around 67 is ideal if your in the seventys you will promote root rot. there are various things out there to stimulate healthy roots and give a helping hand against slightly higher temps but over all trye and keep those down below 70. for humidity i also grow in a low figure this time of year about 33% mist young seedlings and clones i like to do mine just befor light out like about 2 mins befor once they get under way dont worry they will be cool.

growem green------------------ spike.

Thanks alot for the input! My temps are stable closet stays 67 to about 75, water temp has never gone below 70 and the root system looks really good for the most part. Ive been looking into it and im going to invest in some other additives and will def get something for my precious roots. I just wish my current Ph test would read below 6.0...

r u using the prop ph down solution and not an alternative? and what r u testing with .

growem green ----------------------spike.

try covering the top of your tub with something reflective or thermal jablite or kingspan works wonders for the temps . just cut holes in it abit smaller than your pots and place it over the top. you can also add bottles of ice to your rez about every 12 hours . but if you dont learn to control them now when you bump up lights for flowering you will have no chance and may never harvest or at least dissapointed for your effort.

sorry could of said this in the last post but im a little baked.

growem green --------------------spike.

Alright heres a little update... Havent seen much improvement, the plants started growing healthier better looking growth but they are drooping again. Room temps are about 70-73 water temps have been around 68-72, PH is about 5.8-5.9. Is it ok for the res to be about 70 degrees? i know it invites root rot but im having trouble keeping the water temp below room temp for some reason. I do have frozen water bottles ready to go if i must..

since the update i put the plants in a temp tote, and spray painted the regular one black then white over it to light proof it and maybe help keep the water cooler, and it def helped. I also spray painted chrome over white on the lid.

First i thought it was a problem with roots, so i started adding just a little bit of 3% h202 just to help put a little more 02 in the water and combat any bacteria.

Then last night i thought they were were drooping because the water was drowning them, and although the roots are established they might not be able to sit in the water or something.

A little while ago after they looked even worse i thought what am i doing... they need o2 and the o2 is in the water.. so i added phed water back in up to about 2" below the pots and phed again.

Also as of yesterday i added another dual output pump i had ordered because i thought i didnt have enough bubbles for all the plants. so i have 2 6" 2 1" and a 12" wally world one.

When i do get farther and end up with only just a few plants i can stick air stones right under them, but or now im trying to get bubbles to all my plants, could lack of bubbles be my problem?

Also even though i added nutes too early im tempted to start giving them maybe 1/4 strength now because a few are almost turning pale.. like there hungry.. but i do not want to burn them anymore.


Can anyone help me or give me some advice? Im trying here but it just doesnt seem to be working and i cant figure out why. and i am super paranoid.

By the way i am using stupid fish tank PH, it seems to stay pretty stable but i have to add alot to get it where i want it. I have the die in 5ml glass to test for ph and it only reads down to 6.0, so i add a little extra to knock it down a bit. I have alot of things on my list for this grow and a good PH meter + ph down is at the top.

hi slappy well your roots look nice healthy i think thinks will pick up for you looks like you just slowed then down a touch. chill and all will be well as a ruff guide strain dependent i keep my seadlings in an areo probogater untill the tap roots are long enough to reach my solution and use water only for the first 2 weeks after moving into my pots then start nutes at about 300ppm. but this is all strain dependent .

growem green------------------ spike.