This deficiency happens every cycle

i've used different nutrients to try and fix the problem. I'm really confused here. I always get into about 3 weeks of flower and little light spots start forming on older leaves usually around the center of the light. The spots turn into crispy pieces and brown spots appear. I've tried Calmag one cycle, didn't work. I tried pk booster thinking it was a Potassium deficiency, didn't work. Right now I was using Mbferts.com nutrient line but saw some problems so I switched to lucas formula since I had a full bottle of Floranova bloom laying around. I started with full strength 8ml a gallon and I watched ph drop daily and ppm went up. So I back off to around 500 ppms and everything started turning around. ppms drop, ph was slowly rising and I thought all was good.

I then started seeing a little light spots so I upped the nutrients to 630ppms. Nothing was changing and the light spots were moving to different leaves (always older) so I added 2.5ml per gallon of epsom salts thinking it was a magnesium deficiency and the ppms rose to 680. a day goes by and now the ppm is over 700 and the plants drank a good amount of water. So now I added ro water to drop the ppm down to 600. And last but not least I added some silica at half the recommended strength 0-0-4 for a little extra potash just incase.

are you using distilled water?

I suspect you're over ferting. the lucas formula is for the 3 part series, not floranova. lucas is when you use just the micro and bloom, omitting the grow of the series. The idea there is that the micro already has enough N in it to last you the entire grow. You say you're watching pH, but you don't mention what the numbers have been. adding fert will cause pH to drop. I suspect that you're overdoing it and perhaps have plants that are a little fert sensitive. I don't have much else right now. It feels strange to say it's over fert because usually there is more leaf tip death than what you show. Maybe try a different fert, something well-rounded. dynagrow seems pretty good. Can you put up more pics and discuss the pH issue more? also what are your air temps like?

chuck estevez said:

are you using distilled water?

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I'm using RO water and I haven't changed the filters since I bought it 2-3 yrs ago but the ppms coming out are still never past the the teens.

polishpollack said:

I suspect you're over ferting. the lucas formula is for the 3 part series, not floranova. lucas is when you use just the micro and bloom, omitting the grow of the series. The idea there is that the micro already has enough N in it to last you the entire grow. You say you're watching pH, but you don't mention what the numbers have been. adding fert will cause pH to drop. I suspect that you're overdoing it and perhaps have plants that are a little fert sensitive. I don't have much else right now. It feels strange to say it's over fert because usually there is more leaf tip death than what you show. Maybe try a different fert, something well-rounded. dynagrow seems pretty good. Can you put up more pics and discuss the pH issue more? also what are your air temps like?

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Sorry I was trying to hurry and post while my girlfriend waited for me to finish using the computer. I've used Canna's line before, i used three part Micro Grow and Bloom, I've used Lucas formula with bloom and Micro. I've used mbferts.com line of nutes with their additives. and now I revert back to Lucas since I had a whole bottle of floranova Bloom and which states:

"This is probably the easiest (but not cheapest - see MaxiBloom above) feeding plan available. If you're using General Hydroponics' FloraNova Bloom 1-part system, simply add 8ml of FloraNova per gallon of water* and feed."


yet I can't go full 8 ml's since the plants really don't like that. I'm using a Hanna ph meter 98129. I've heard some people say they have had problems with theirs. but mine calibrates every time and when I retest the solution its always at 7.01 give or take a .0x. I'm wondering if I can pick up a cheap meter to compare mine to if anyone has any thoughts on one?

My ph has been around 5.7 dropping to 5.59 and when everything was going good it was increasing to 5.95 and I would drop it back down to 5.7ish.

Air temps around 80 with lights on and 69-71 with lights off. co2 at 1000ppms. Humidity at 50-60

I'll try and take more pics tonight when the lights turn back on

Plants are Cheese by dinafem



Edit:
The only reason I can't think its over feeding is they started spotting before I added more nutes and the ph was rising and ppms were dropping. I also forgot to mention the system they are in is ebb an flow 5 gallon buckets. Also purple stems and petioles are signs of deficiency right?

Only take pics in white light, not sodium if that's what you're using because all that yellow color hides the plant's color.
Don't know why you see purple but do a web search for info. Could be a fert problem, could just be genetics.
80F is a bit warm for an indoor grow.
I'd probably shoot for 6.0 or so on the pH, not 5.5-5.7, even though others say you're okay.
Frankly, I'm stumped. It looks like either heat or nute problem, but just don' know. This problem has developed using different ferts? If so, then it may not be fert related. How do the roots look?

Looks like your giving em what they need as far as nutes IMO Seems like you may be running into lockout problems

polishpollack said:

Only take pics in white light, not sodium if that's what you're using because all that yellow color hides the plant's color.
Don't know why you see purple but do a web search for info. Could be a fert problem, could just be genetics.
80F is a bit warm for an indoor grow.
I'd probably shoot for 6.0 or so on the pH, not 5.5-5.7, even though others say you're okay.
Frankly, I'm stumped. It looks like either heat or nute problem, but just don' know. This problem has developed using different ferts? If so, then it may not be fert related. How do the roots look?

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Yeah can easily drop the temp to since my 11btu mini split is setup inside the tent but when I turn down the Ac during the day it'll really drop it at night probably low 60s. Roots are hard to see since in buckets inside of grow bags but I'll check to see f they made it through the bags

Indacouch said:

Looks like your giving em what they need as far as nutes IMO Seems like you may be running into lockout problems

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I'm thinking so too but I don't know why is causing the lockout. I always go half the recommend strength so I dont over do anything. I'm wondering if my ph meter is giving false reading yet can still read correct at 7.01 calibration solution. It seems the more and more I shake the ph meter the more it will drift

For example

A quick spin in the nutrients would say start at 6.7, 6.5, 6.2, 6.0. Then it baselines and if I leave it there it'll stay around the number give or take. Then if I swoosh it around the solution again it jumps to 5.9, 5.85, 5.82, and then stops at 5.78. Etc etc.

This is just an example not to say it does the every time but pretty random if you ask me. But then every time I drop it back into the 7.01 solution it jumps back up sometimes to 7.19 but if you leave it in there and swoosh (can't believe I keep typing that word) it around it comes down to 7.05

Yeah I'd be looking into your ph meter/situation honestly it wouldn't be the first time I've heard of someone's meter causing havoc in a grow ........the thing that sucks about a bad meter Is usually it takes a little time to figure out that's the problem then when you do it's annoying cause you've done all these things to try and fix the problem possibly causing more problems.......if I was you I would start there Ph/meter

Yesterday's

ph 6.09
Ppms 600

Today's
Ph 6.01
Ppms 615

Plants drank 1.5 inches in 50 gallon drum so around 1.5 to 2 gallons

Indacouch said:

Yeah I'd be looking into your ph meter/situation honestly it wouldn't be the first time I've heard of someone's meter causing havoc in a grow ........the thing that sucks about a bad meter Is usually it takes a little time to figure out that's the problem then when you do it's annoying cause you've done all these things to try and fix the problem possibly causing more problems.......if I was you I would start there Ph/meter

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What meter is relatively cheap and accurate.? If those two can actually go hand and hand

How about ph test strips work better to test

Lol those two going hand in hand is the big question I have up on meters man I couldn't tell you honestly but I'm sure there someone here who can

Are these any good. 4 stars out of 705 reviews I would think is pretty good. Thy claim .05% accuracy on ph and .2% on tds

Yeah I gave up on meters a long while back but there are really good ones that I hear people talkn about it's just been forever since I've looked I'm kinda old school I just use the gh kit it's cheap and it's always treated me good .......I always fell back on my gh kit when I didn't trust my meter so I figured why mess with a meter if I'm only guna second guess results lol and that's just my opinion I have buddies who love there meters and have great results using them

Trust me I've spent some decent amount of money ph meters

Indacouch said:

Yeah I gave up on meters a long while back but there are really good ones that I hear people talkn about it's just been forever since I've looked I'm kinda old school I just use the gh kit it's cheap and it's always treated me good .......I always fell back on my gh kit when I didn't trust my meter so I figured why mess with a meter if I'm only guna second guess results lol and that's just my opinion I have buddies who love there meters and have great results using them

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I used strips years and years ago and hats when I was growing soil and even then I didn't know if it was in range or not. Props to you being able to know the color code around 5.8-6.2 cuz 6.5-6.8 was hard enough for me.

Dude you have laid out for meters there's no doubt Obviously you've been trying to figure this out for a minute have you tried checking your meter with strips to see if your meters off just for shits and giggles yet

Indacouch said:

Dude you have laid out for meters there's no doubt Obviously you've been trying to figure this out for a minute have you tried checking your meter with strips to see if your meters off just for shits and giggles yet

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I don't have strips but I might pick some up.

It's just really weird since I have plants in veg thriving of of 400 ppms nutes and I can't get my plants to take anything more then 600. I've never ever been able to get to 1000 or higher like some people are getting too :/

That looks somewhat over-fed. To the OP, do you foliar feed also?

I have same problem right now but in soil. No the felling I looked all over and know one else had same problem till you posted. But I'm thinking mine is ph flux