platypusmann
Well-Known Member
OK.......new to DWC........done a few ebb & flow grows.
Started 10 sprouted seeds in 5 gallon DWC buckets. Only one rooted and took off. A lovely little California Orange Bud seed from UK. Not feminized.
It began life in tap water with AN Micro/Grow/Bloom nutes, with organic additives. It took off quick!!! Under 600w Sunmaster MH 18/6. Plenty of aeration. Starting pH was 5.8/TDS: 300.
Room stays between 66 and 76.....humidity between 35 and 55.......bucket temp between 18 and 22 celsius..........
Unfortunately my pH/TDS pen crapped out and I had to test the pH with a dropper kit......it was somewhere in the 5.0 to 6.0 range for the first week.
After the first week of good veg growth, the organics started making my nute bucket frothy, and being a pythium survivor, I wasn't gonna risk it again......
I did a Clearex flush and eliminated the organics.....adding in H202 @ 1.7ml/l with the M/G/B. pH was between 5 and 6 when new bucket set up.
The next day the plant looked wilted. Just not perky like she had. Roots still looking AMAZING. I received my new pH meter that day and tested water........4.3 pH...YIKES!!!!!
I decided to go buy some RO water at this point and do a bucket change.
On 1-28, just before lights out, I changed out the water with RO (pH 6.55/TDS 20) and added in fresh nutes, plus a cal-mag supplement. 2 drops of pH down brought pH to 5.73..TDS 690..water temp 18.5c.
1-29----plant still droopy.....otherwise looks green and starting to smell a little skunky. 6" tall and 7 nodes. Little bush.........at 1:00pm I tested pH 5.32/temp 22.1c.....added 1 drop ph up.....at 2:30pm pH 5.63.....at 10:30pm ph 5.4/TDS 648/temp 23.4c........
1-30------today she is still droopy and the largest fans are yellowing slightly. at 6:30am the tests showed pH 5.6/TDS 548/temp 20.6c.........at 1:00 things got weird to me.....and that is why I am writing......when I checked her the yellowing on the leaves was more evident, and the tests showed pH 5.36/TDS 754/temp 22.2c......WTF???
How can the pH drop that much and the TDS jump that much in only 7 hours???
And why the yellowing???
And the wilty look??
Should I add pH upto get back tooptimal ranges or leave it??
Does DWC lend itself to such pH shifts even with RO??
Someone some help please????
Started 10 sprouted seeds in 5 gallon DWC buckets. Only one rooted and took off. A lovely little California Orange Bud seed from UK. Not feminized.
It began life in tap water with AN Micro/Grow/Bloom nutes, with organic additives. It took off quick!!! Under 600w Sunmaster MH 18/6. Plenty of aeration. Starting pH was 5.8/TDS: 300.
Room stays between 66 and 76.....humidity between 35 and 55.......bucket temp between 18 and 22 celsius..........
Unfortunately my pH/TDS pen crapped out and I had to test the pH with a dropper kit......it was somewhere in the 5.0 to 6.0 range for the first week.
After the first week of good veg growth, the organics started making my nute bucket frothy, and being a pythium survivor, I wasn't gonna risk it again......
I did a Clearex flush and eliminated the organics.....adding in H202 @ 1.7ml/l with the M/G/B. pH was between 5 and 6 when new bucket set up.
The next day the plant looked wilted. Just not perky like she had. Roots still looking AMAZING. I received my new pH meter that day and tested water........4.3 pH...YIKES!!!!!
I decided to go buy some RO water at this point and do a bucket change.
On 1-28, just before lights out, I changed out the water with RO (pH 6.55/TDS 20) and added in fresh nutes, plus a cal-mag supplement. 2 drops of pH down brought pH to 5.73..TDS 690..water temp 18.5c.
1-29----plant still droopy.....otherwise looks green and starting to smell a little skunky. 6" tall and 7 nodes. Little bush.........at 1:00pm I tested pH 5.32/temp 22.1c.....added 1 drop ph up.....at 2:30pm pH 5.63.....at 10:30pm ph 5.4/TDS 648/temp 23.4c........
1-30------today she is still droopy and the largest fans are yellowing slightly. at 6:30am the tests showed pH 5.6/TDS 548/temp 20.6c.........at 1:00 things got weird to me.....and that is why I am writing......when I checked her the yellowing on the leaves was more evident, and the tests showed pH 5.36/TDS 754/temp 22.2c......WTF???
How can the pH drop that much and the TDS jump that much in only 7 hours???
And why the yellowing???
And the wilty look??
Should I add pH upto get back tooptimal ranges or leave it??
Does DWC lend itself to such pH shifts even with RO??
Someone some help please????