All hell is breaking out could use some advice

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I aquired these plants a few weeks ago with some lighting equipment and i have been trying to keep these babies alive. I recently transplanted into a bigger pot. As you can tell by the last two pictures the roots where coming through the dirt. I dont know what soil it was in previously but i transplanted it into happy frog soil 6 days ago and then flushed. The run off ph has been off between 5-5.5 with 6.5-7.0 water going in. So i flushed it with 3 gallons of 7.0 water 4 days ago. When i tested the runoff yesterday it was 5.5 So i bought dolomite lime and spread it across the top ( i cant water the dolo lime becuase the plant was watered yesterday and i dont want to overwater.) The leaves on my plant are curling and turning a dark green/dark brown. The tips are becoming very brittle, they crumble to the touch. Some of the leaves are turning yellow as you can see in picture 1 and 2. I am out of option i dont know what to do. This is my first grow. The plants came with the lights and i dont want to see them die. The same thing is happening to 2 of the other 13 plants. I would appreciate any advice im in way over my head.


SOIL:


How long has this problem been going on?
2 weeks
What STRAIN are you growing?
chem dog
What was the establishing technique? (seed or clone?)
clone
What is the age of your plants?
unknown (in flower for 2 weeks)
How long have they been in the soil mixture they are in now?
Transplanted one week ago into happy frog soil. Previous soil unknown
What PHASE (seedling, vegetative or flower) are the plants in?
Flowering
What size pots are you using? (Include how many subjects to pot)
2 1/2 gallon
What brand Nutrient's are you using?
None till i figure out whats going on.
What is the pH of the "RUN-OFF"?
5.5 With 7.0 tap water going in
How often are you testing pH/ppm/EC/TDS?
PH run off is tested every time i water
What method of pH test was administered? Using Strips? pH pen?
PH PEN
How often are you watering?
About every 3 days
What size bulb are you using?
1000 watt
How old is your bulbs?
2 Weeks
What is the distance to the canopy?
About 2 feet
What is your RH Factor? (Relative Humidity)
30 percent
What is the Day/Night Temp? (Include fluctuation range)
76-80 with lights on 68-73 with lights off
Tell us about your ventilation, intake exhaust and when its running and not running ?
Lights air cooled by a fan (not sure on brand) Exhaust with a charcoal filter attached to a fan. Intake is a duct booster
Is the fan blowing directly at plants?
No
Is the grow substrate constantly wet or moist?
No
Is your water HARD or SOFT?
Not well water
What water are you using? Reverse Osmosis (RO)? Tap? Bottled? Well water? Distilled? Mineral Water?
Tap
If using tap water, what is the ppm/EC/TDS of the water right out of the tap?(Only if you have a tds pen)
No TDS PEN
Has plant been recently pruned, cloned or pinched?
Yes removed several of the dead leaves
Have any pest chemicals been used? If so what and when?
Yes Hot Shot Strips and Habanero pepper spray For spider mites
Are plant's infected with pest's?[/FONT]
They were but it has been under control for 2 weeks

Best to see clones as other peoples problems, as such it is never a good idea to start with other peoples problems, should you ever loose this grow don't give up ...but start your own grow from seed, as there is much waiting for you to learn, and well worth it too you too.
You have done well to flush, but flushing after a transplant is dumb, so call that watered well...? it will take 2-3 days minimum for you efforts to show, so please enough of the panic, as far as Ph and the associated measurements go, see these as a general guideline even for those guys in DWC Ph is a rough average, as my old gardeners often ask....How exactly does one measure the Ph of soil....?
Mixing in 30-50% perlite into todays 'hot;' potting soils is a great idea something for you to consider later, and please don't forget to allow the water to drain out of the rootzone allowing 02 to reattach itself to those roots, best done in dim light or overnight.....if in doubt always flush, as in nature it's the same as a rainstorm, ...chill for now!

The most likely problem is the lime you top dressed with. It is touching exposed roots, this is not good. Top dressing with lime now is not going to do much for soil pH anyhow, the stuff takes around 4 weeks to begin to work for that.
You are now between a rock and a hard place. You need to rinse that lime off those exposed roots ASAP. You will have to run the risk of a bit too much water I'm afraid. Also get those roots covered!
It is normal for run off pH to be quite a bit lower or higher than the water going in. It is not a fair representation of soil pH though. When the water runs through, it brings stuff with it in solution, and the pH diff between run off and water going in is more a representation of what got dissolved into your water, if that makes sense.

EDIT: Those Hot Shot strips are very bad for your grow room. Sticky paper sure, but those poison strips are bad news. Get them out.

Also, when did you do the Habanero spray? That stuff can be pretty intense on plants too...

plants are not effected by capsasin at all. Or ethanol. I use it on my plants regularly. The partical size of the lime you use matters greatly. Fine powder is activated quickly with moisture as with all lime, however the granular lime does take about 1-2 weeks before it starts to have an effect. Maintaining a high microbe population in soil will help speed the rate at which elements are made available and have an effect on PH buffering as well as maintaining adequate, even moisture retention of the soil. Don't flush organic soil and dont let it dry out completely, and dont fuck with PH, the soil is forgiving and the microbes have an influence on PH along with which element the plant is predominantly/actively up taking.

Bro that was a terrible re-potting. You have got half the fucking root system hanging out of the pot. Bad transplants cause shock for weeks.

Like others said... Roots exposed not good... so cover them, with some more soil....
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Now, I would like to ask you what is your RH in the area between lamp [1000 watt] and the top of your cola?
You said 30% RH... I bet in that space close to your lights in has a RH of around 10-20%....
Cooking, through evaporation... That's why leaf are crispy...
Forget chasing your perfect soil run off... just stop that now... wasting your time....
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Whom ever had the plants probably had them much closer to lights and started having the problems you are having and gave up, and passed the issues on to you...

The damage was done 10 days to two weeks ago....

Stick your temp gauge and RH monitor in the area between the top of plant and lights... what is the RH there....

Good Luck man, taking over anyone else problems is a task...

Mad Hamish said:

Those Hot Shot strips are very bad for your grow room. Sticky paper sure, but those poison strips are bad news. Get them out.
.

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Why do you say that?

Thanks for all your responses i appreciate your time and help.

*BUDS said:

Bro that was a terrible re-potting. You have got half the fucking root system hanging out of the pot. Bad transplants cause shock for weeks.

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Yea the transplant was rough. The old pot was a little wider but shorter so thats as far down as the plant would go. I should have got a bigger pot. I think ill just finish out this grow whatever happens happens at least i learned a lot through research trying to figure this out. im almost not upset about all the problems i have been having. I think its good to get some experience with a trouble plant (a pain in the ass but better now than later).

my next steps are going to be.

Get dolo lime off roots. (its only been on there since right before i posted this)
Add Soil to exposed roots.
Put humidifier in. Try to get the rh up a little.
Take pest strips out.
Pray that this baby survives

Sand4x105 said:

Like others said... Roots exposed not good... so cover them, with some more soil....
----
Now, I would like to ask you what is your RH in the area between lamp [1000 watt] and the top of your cola?
You said 30% RH... I bet in that space close to your lights in has a RH of around 10-20%....
Cooking, through evaporation... That's why leaf are crispy...
Forget chasing your perfect soil run off... just stop that now... wasting your time....
----------
Whom ever had the plants probably had them much closer to lights and started having the problems you are having and gave up, and passed the issues on to you...

The damage was done 10 days to two weeks ago....

Stick your temp gauge and RH monitor in the area between the top of plant and lights... what is the RH there....

Good Luck man, taking over anyone else problems is a task...

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I had them too close to the lights at first. And like you said, it was about 2 weeks ago for 2 days. The Humidity meter is on top of that shelf the little black box pic 1. I wouldn't say im chasing the perfect soil ph i was just concerned it is a nutrient deficiency becuase of a bad ph or possibly a nuitrient lock. i did order a RO system which will be here today so at least i know they will be getting good water from here on out which im sure will help. These plants have been through the ringer in the last 2 weeks. Fighting spider mites, getting moved, getting transplanted, switching nutrients, bad soil ph, and exposed roots with every plant root-bound. If this guy does survive it will be a testament to this plants resilience.

hey I'm dick'n around with coco for the 1st time...just a thought but while U R at it, maybe try a clone in some coco, see if ya like that

JohnnySocko said:

hey I'm dick'n around with coco for the 1st time...just a thought but while U R at it, maybe try a clone in some coco, see if ya like that

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how do you like it so far?