# Dwc Slow Growth Wtf



## Oh high oh grown (Jan 16, 2012)

Here's the skinny

Three five gal rezzes, 400watt hps, Ph between 5.5 and 6, air temp 74-68 water temp constant 64. Using dynagrow Grow nutrients recommended by local hydro store at recommended strength, 7-9-5. 12"long airstones in each rez bubbles aplenty. Good ventilation and air movement. Been about four weeks now and only 6" tall, but with three opposing leaf sets and two inch shoots from nodes. Stems r 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Definitely growing but seems slow to me. Using tap water, maybe chlorine? Any way to dissipate chlorine from water? Roots healthy, change water and clean rez twice a week no algae or slime. Water level just touching bottom of pots.

New to playing in water so be gentle. Getting digital Ph meter today. Light is three feet above plants in grow cabinet. Any suggestions and ideas welcome. 

NOTE: ALL POSTINGS ARE FICTIONAL AND FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY


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## Metal n Weed (Jan 16, 2012)

Not a hydro pro but I will try and help. Well first a ph meter is pretty important, you using ph strips right now? I kinda had issue like u when first starting also. Do you use something to cover media? I use netpot covers it seems to keep the media from completely drying out. Do you have roots sticking out the bottom of netpot yet? 

Like I said I used to this have kinda issue also, I did 2 things. One I got the netpot covers and 2 I started putting a little submersible pump in the bottom of my buckets, run a line up and created a drip ring for my plants and I have not had the issue since. Matter of fact my veggers seem to grow almost as fast as the flower now.

Here is what the little pump would look like.


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## 2layz2p (Jan 16, 2012)

You can remove chlorine, just let the water sit out 24 hr or longer, I would go to the store and get RO water if you don't have a pH or EC device... to grow without them is like driving a car with a blindfold on, you may, or may not get where ur going...... but what will the car look like?


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## Oh high oh grown (Jan 16, 2012)

Roots are in the rez. Trying to avoid using pumps. I'm thinking that chlorine or choramine in the tap water is messing with nutrient uptake, I mean I can smell the chlorine in the tap water, can't be good right? Bubbling some water in a five gallon jug and will test Cl content. They look healthy just trying to speed growth to the Max possible. Can anyone offer insight into chlorine and its effects (affects?) on hydro growth?


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## thepaintedchef (Jan 16, 2012)

Go with to water. You can get it for like 25¢ a calling at your local super market


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## BluBerry (Jan 16, 2012)

*Some pictures would be nice but I don't think the chlorine smell in your water is hurting you that much considering in my first couple grows I added bleach to my rez to keep it clean but have since gotten away from that unless it is needed. The chlorine should dissipate in about 24 hours and that water pump is not necessary unless it is being used to do rez changes. Starting out the first week of growth you will not need to have any nutes in the rez til the second week then you should be around 150-300 ppm. If you are using a small aquarium air pump I would recommend getting a commercial grade air pump for maximum DO (dissolved oxygen) bubbles in your rez. Healthy roots equals bigger healthier plants. You want to make sure that no light is getting into the rez. You say you change the rez twice a week. Leave it alone and let it be. I changed my rez once during veg and that was a week before I switched to flower and am now 5 weeks into flower and haven't changed it once. Invest $15 and get a mini pvc float valve and an exterior rez and it will replenish your grow rez with fresh water and nutes constantly and you won' have to slave to clean the rez so often. If you have roots in the water and are using rapid rooters or rockwool then you need to lower your water level to have about an inch or so gap between the pot and the water. Check out my current grow in my sig Round 3.*


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## Banditt (Jan 16, 2012)

Really need some pics to make an assessment here. But I started out growing in DWC. So I'll chime in.

First of all, don't worry about the chlorine unless you are trying to run beneficial bacteria. It will not hurt the plant but kills beneficials.

Secondly, how do you know your ph is between 5.5 and 6 if you do not have a meter?

Slow growth in DWC can usually be attributed to a few things:

Root rot, extremely common in DWC and a pain in the ass to fix. Try more oxygenation of the water (flumeing would be the best technique) and adding some sterilization products like DM Zone, chlorine or h202 as a last resort.

Bad PH. Self explanatory, usually you will see twisted leaves and slow growth.

Something wrong with your feedings, ie deficiency or toxicity.

get some pics up and I'll take a look at what you got.


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## Oh high oh grown (Jan 16, 2012)

Have air pump with dual outlets, not tiny but not huge. ordered Ph meter, obtained water filter. Using test strips to test Ph currently. Pics up soon.

Started some in soil, some in rockwool. No apparent difference there. Roots of oldest plants are near a foot long. Some of them are younger and have not dropped roots thru to rez yet so I keep the level in their rez a little higher. Don't think light penetration is an issue painted rez black with five coats. Will dub check.


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## Oh high oh grown (Jan 16, 2012)

thepaintedchef said:


> Go with to water. You can get it for like 25¢ a calling at your local super market


Went to local grocer, nothing less than. 99c a gallon. Where did u find it for a quarter? 

I now have two dual diaphragm pumps rated for 100 gallon use. Posting images soon. 

Also my mister bottle broke last week so I had not been misting, which I like to do early in the "day" to simulate dew. Got new bottle today so misting again


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## Oh high oh grown (Jan 16, 2012)




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## Oh high oh grown (Jan 16, 2012)

OK so as u can see I have plants of different ages here as well as some in soil. The largest ones are three to four weeks old. Lower fan leaves were blocking a lot of light so they got sliced, which seems to have stimulated growth at the nodes. I think they look healthy , am I just being impatient or are they smaller than they should be? 

NOTE: ALL POSTS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE CONTENT ARE FICTIONAL AND ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY


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## Oh high oh grown (Jan 16, 2012)

OK so there are three different age groups pictured. The most developed are about four wks old. The lower fan leaves were blocking each other and getting hand sized so they got clipped, which seems to have stimulated growth at the nodes. I think they look healthy but seems to me they should be a lot bigger by now. Am I just crazy, impatient, or are they a lot smaller than they should be? The babies in the middle just got transplanted and the others are about two wks old. The ones in soil are about four wks old so there is definitely a visible difference between the soil and hydro.

NOTE: ALL POSTS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE CONTENT ARE FICTIONAL AND SOLELY FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES


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## Oh high oh grown (Jan 16, 2012)

Oops sorry for repost


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## BluBerry (Jan 16, 2012)

*They look healthy. The best thing you can do is leave them alone as long as your pH and ppm are fine and they are not burning. They will do what they need to do without being messed with all the time but I would put something over the hydroton to block light from getting into the rez. Post pics of your roots and inside the rez for further confirmation but I would not worry about anything and leave them alone and let em grow.*


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## Oh high oh grown (Jan 16, 2012)

Roots are white and rezzes are clean, no slime or stink. Going to be covering tops of rezzes with foil (dull side up) to reflect light back up to lower nodes plus I figure it is a very easy material to shape around growing plants. I will be posting update soon. 

PPM : what device do I need to measure it? Again I am new to this so be nice. Ppm is the concentration of nutes right? Parts per million. I'm no bonehead just want to make sure I'm doing everything right. Don't want to waste my time and money!


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## craigjarvis (Jan 16, 2012)

You need a TDS meter. I got one from my local hydro store for $20. It proved to me that brita tap filters dont do much. my water went from 150ppm to 105 with one.


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## dbkick (Jan 16, 2012)

2layz2p said:


> You can remove chlorine, just let the water sit out 24 hr or longer, I would go to the store and get RO water if you don't have a pH or EC device... to grow without them is like driving a car with a blindfold on, you may, or may not get where ur going...... but what will the car look like?


The only problem with this is that a lot of places seem to be going to chloramine which is nothing more than chlorine and ammonia combined but also it doesn't outgas like straight chlorine does, to remove chloramine use any filter that filters chlorine ( such as a hydrologic smallboy). It will remove the chlorine anyway and more than likely the ammonia if chloramine is used, as far as if this is whats causing your issue I don't have a clue. sounds like you're doing everything right.


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## dbkick (Jan 16, 2012)

wait, you said you're getting a ph meter but in the same post you said the ph is set at 5.5 to 6.0, how are you knowing this?


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## dbkick (Jan 16, 2012)

dyna gro nutrients will drop ph heavily (I'm talking down to around 4) so unless you're setting ph after adding nutrients this could be a problem.


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## BluBerry (Jan 16, 2012)

*I use a paper plate and cut it to the size of the netpot and cut a hole in the center with a slit to slide around the stem to cover the hydroton and then tape that down with shiny duct tape but that's cuz my lid is all shiny but as long as u can cover them to block light then u will be ok. U can get a TDS meter in store or online fairly cheap. Don't stress too much over ph and stuff til u get ur meters thrn u can dial it in and have a better understanding of what is going on in the rez. They look healthy just let em grow! *


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## Oh high oh grown (Jan 16, 2012)

Currently setting Ph using liquid test so I know I'm at least between 5.5 and 6.0 give or take .2 . I adjpust Ph after adding nutes. My municipal water contains no chloramine. I know I need a much more accurate means of monitoring Ph but I'm broke right now. Been looking at multitesters but kinda stickershocked. Can I use an ohmmeter to measure EC? Point of note, tried using Brita filter, shot Ph way up to 8.0+ when tap water was around 5.0. Got my money back on that ish and bought an xtra air pump. Each rez has a dedicated pump outlet now, frothy! Started from bagseed, not by choice but by financial and security reasons. Got three good seeds from a friend two made it to transplant. Will definitely be doing some selective cloning with the strongest fems down the road and hoping to enjoy whatever else comes from my efforts. Thanks so much for all the input keep the good stuff coming


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## craigjarvis (Jan 17, 2012)

I change my rez once a week, and am using distilled water. a gallon from walmart is .88.


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## 2layz2p (Jan 17, 2012)

Our walmart has RO water for 0.37 if you bring your own jug, is a culligian station, self serve. PPM checks out at 20.


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## Oh high oh grown (Jan 17, 2012)

Ill check it out. They look happy today. My nutes are dynagrow GROW, being used at the strength indicated on the label for non recirculating hydrocultureq. The plants are lime green and show no signs of nuteburn, think I can up the concentration? Label calls for one tsp per gallon for non recirculating systems, two tsp per gal for record systems. Anyone use these nutes before? What was your concentration?


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## Oh high oh grown (Jan 19, 2012)

Turned the light cycle from 18-6 to 24-0 and they show vigorous growth.


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## BluBerry (Jan 19, 2012)

*18-6 is better IMO*


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## ^Slanty (Jan 19, 2012)

Only thing I would suggest is lower your light! Three feet is pretty damn high to say the least! As long as you have decent air flow in there, you should be able to get the light a foot lower at the very least!?


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## jphezz (Jan 24, 2012)

I quickly skimmed through the responses anyone in hydo with tell you that temps are key to explosive growth!!!!! rez temps at 64 is way to low hike it up to 72f to 74f degrees... I promise if you do that you will watch your plant explode. I live in cali and this winter I learn a valuble lesson in temp control.... I have had two really good summers in my shed but I lost everything this winter when the outside temps were in the 40's my rez temps were at 62... Hope this helps


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## ^Slanty (Jan 24, 2012)

jphezz said:


> I quickly skimmed through the responses anyone in hydo with tell you that temps are key to explosive growth!!!!! rez temps at 64 is way to low hike it up to 72f to 74f degrees... I promise if you do that you will watch your plant explode. I live in cali and this winter I learn a valuble lesson in temp control.... I have had two really good summers in my shed but I lost everything this winter when the outside temps were in the 40's my rez temps were at 62... Hope this helps


Sorry to burst your bubble... but you are incorrect. Next summer when it pours rain, go collect some and measure the temperature of it.


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## WaxxyNuggets (Jan 24, 2012)

And a res temp of 72-74 is a fucking invitation for bad microbes. Cyanobacteria by lunch anyone? You need to lower your light like suggested and stop stressing about chlorine, it's been beat to death multiple times that if you can drink your tap water, so can your plants...

On a side note your plants look pretty healthy they're just not completing photosynthesis fast enough to allow for dwc to constantly supply nutes. More light=More nute uptake = vigor


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## missnu (Jan 24, 2012)

Well the plants don't look like they are lacking anything, but sometimes too much nitrogen can cause really slow growth...I would try easing off on the N a little and just see if it works out any better...Might, might not, but they look good, but they do look very small for how old they are.


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## burrr (Jan 24, 2012)

Try running only half of the recommended dose. start with 1 teaspoon per gal, top out at less than 1.5 teaspoons per gallon.


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## missnu (Jan 24, 2012)

and I use soil now...when doing hydro it was nothing but problems for me. So I threw in the bucket and got some pots. lol.


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## Dolci (Feb 6, 2012)

Hps is for flowering. You want MH for veg.


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## Dolci (Feb 6, 2012)

Hps is for flowering. You want MH for veg. And also if your vegging light should be on 18/6. When you change out the water have a back up bucket fill it up for the next watering and let sit until next watering and so on. Good luck


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## MonsterRobot (Feb 7, 2012)

Your plants look awesome! It looks like you started from seed... Starting from seed will take longer for sure... I usually add about 2 or 3 weeks to my veg time if starting from seed... 

On a side note, you can veg and flower under both MH and HPS... I actually prefer to flower sativas under MH because the blue in the spectrum helps keep them from stretching as much... I have a combination of HPS and MH in my veg and flower... They all do the same thing...


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## SALTWATERKUSH (Feb 11, 2012)

Look bro, you need to take all this guess work out of the equation. RO Water from grocery store, 5 gallons for $1.50 buy PPM/TDS meter and up nutrients slowly depending on how plants respond. Around 1500 ppm in your time frame would suit them well. They are way small for that amount of time. Healthy looking though, so dont worry too much. Good luck and happy growing.


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## burrr (Feb 12, 2012)

SALTWATERKUSH said:


> Look bro, you need to take all this guess work out of the equation. RO Water from grocery store, 5 gallons for $1.50 buy PPM/TDS meter and up nutrients slowly depending on how plants respond. Around 1500 ppm in your time frame would suit them well. They are way small for that amount of time. Healthy looking though, so dont worry too much. Good luck and happy growing.


1500ppm is bad advice unless you are growing salt water kush. 420ppm is the magic number for dynagrow and doobage


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## microdwc (Feb 19, 2012)

wal mart pet fish section has a bottle of stuff 3 bucks removes chlorine and heavy metals immediatly to make it safe for fish


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## ATL HYDRO (Feb 19, 2012)

Well everyone has their opinion so here is mine. Without drip emitters your roots arent getting the water and nutrients they need until the root reaches the reservoir. So You would need to water and rehydrate the root zone alot until they reach the reservoir... at that point the growth will pick up like it should.


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## The bomb (Dec 3, 2018)

Oh high oh grown said:


> Here's the skinny
> 
> Three five gal rezzes, 400watt hps, Ph between 5.5 and 6, air temp 74-68 water temp constant 64. Using dynagrow Grow nutrients recommended by local hydro store at recommended strength, 7-9-5. 12"long airstones in each rez bubbles aplenty. Good ventilation and air movement. Been about four weeks now and only 6" tall, but with three opposing leaf sets and two inch shoots from nodes. Stems r 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Definitely growing but seems slow to me. Using tap water, maybe chlorine? Any way to dissipate chlorine from water? Roots healthy, change water and clean rez twice a week no algae or slime. Water level just touching bottom of pots.
> 
> ...


I had similar issues my first DWC grow ph would not stay steady plants growing very slowly,finally figured out that the ppm,s in the tap water was around 225 or higher from the start. Not knowing what was in the water causing the high ppm was exactly what was keeping the ph from staying steady and would not allow the roots to uptake,i installed reverse osmosis filter system got ppm down to around .025 at.this.point the i adjusted the ph and it stayed 5.8 for a month never had to change it,but with reverse osmosis the calcium and magnesium is removed so you must add cal.mag . As far as root rot from water temps being to high mine tirned brownish yellow so all i did was add a.tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide and within a week roots were white again


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## TIMtoKILL (Dec 3, 2018)

Bro........................... ...

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This post is from 2012...


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## fragileassassin (Dec 3, 2018)

TIMtoKILL said:


> Bro........................... ...
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Theres been several newer members that have necro'd a bunch of stuff in the last few days lol


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