plants start drooping towards the end of the day

ive got an indoor grow tent(5'x5'x7'). using 1000w hps 3.5 feet away. plants are 3 weeks old. an AC unit keeps the temp from 70-75F with rh between 40-50%. ph is 5.6-6.0. top feed drip w 40gal res watering 4 times a day for 30 min each watering. hydroton clay pellets. 18/6 lighting. using 1/4 strength AN nutes.

Ive noticed that my plants all start to droop as if they get tired at the end of the day. ive played w water schedule, temp, rh, nutes, ph, flushed, none of which affected the drooping. they usually start drooping at around 5pm and by 10pm , when lights go out, they dont look too good, sometimes the bottom leaves touch the ground. the plants seem to otherwise be doing good. theyre still growing fast but they just dont look happy and vibrant like they do in the morning. is it normal for plants to get "tired" as the day goes on? is there something i need to do to correct this or is it not really something that should concern me? i can post pics if anyone needs me to. thx in advance for any comments.

Check out your root ball and make sure it looks healthy. The problem should stem from over/under watering, root infestation whether it pest/disease, or a ph changes/temp changes. aeration problem maybe? pics

i just looked at the roots and they look great. white and hairy. do u think a fluctuation from 5.6 to 6.0 is bad? i adjust the ph daily to keep it within 5.6 to 6.0, but i dont think i would be able to keep it at exactly one exact number. do u think i should up the nutes to 50%? i just noticed that the new growth is drooping but the old not so much. do u think i should up the nutes from 1/4 strength to 1/2 strength?

it's normal for many plants. leaves rise before lights on and droop before lights out. It'll stop once you get decent sized buds.

napa23 said:

it's normal for many plants. leaves rise before lights on and droop before lights out. It'll stop once you get decent sized buds.

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ya i noticed that this morning about an hour b4 lights on, the plants were all standing tall and happy. is it something that i need to fix? how do they know the lights are about to come on?

this is completely normal. it's called "circadian rhythm" aka lifes natural cycle of rest. my 1st grow i was freaking out, but it's perfectly normal.

McRoasty said:

this is completely normal. it's called "circadian rhythm" aka lifes natural cycle of rest. my 1st grow i was freaking out, but it's perfectly normal.

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is it even normal for the new growth to droop more than the old growth like in the pic i posted?

its kinda wierd but your plants "sleep" where it knows its schedual and gets ready for bed where it doesnt grow leafs and droops but it perks up as to wake up

ҖҗlegilizeitҗҖ;6462594 said:

its kinda wierd but your plants "sleep" where it knows its schedual and gets ready for bed where it doesnt grow leafs and droops but it perks up as to wake up

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and even wierder than that, its as if they know when the lights are gonna come on b4 they even come on. my lights are on a timer so they turn on and off at the exact same time everyday. this morning at 3am the plants were lively and standing tall waiting for the light to turn on at 4am. crazy

If they droop really bad after X hours of light on, then something else is lacking.

A friend had this problem, they drooped badly after about 6 hours of light on. But it turned out it was no big deal, as his problem went away after a couple weeks - he never figured out why it happened, and his yield did not suffer at all.

But if anyone knows, I would love to hear why this happens. It seems to be a "problem" that pops up at MJ-forums from time to time.

I say it looks like over or under watering. What is your exact feed times? What temp is your water and do you run a good fine poor airstone in the res? Also, do you know the EC/PPM of your nutrient solution?

johny1212 said:

I say it looks like over or under watering. What is your exact feed times? What temp is your water and do you run a good fine poor airstone in the res? Also, do you know the EC/PPM of your nutrient solution?

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i water 3 times a day for 30 min each: 4am lights on- 30 min of steady stream from top feed drip. 12noon- 30 min. 8pm-30 min. 10pm lights off- no water during dark. in the past ive played w watering schedule from constant water to almost none and the schedule i have now seems best but idk. water temp is 72deg F. i run 2 air stones in the res and a continuous circ pump inside the res. ppm is 440. i try to keep ph from 5.6- 6.0. but theres something i literally just noticed... looks like green algae on the rockwool starter plugs! could this cause wilting? they are extremely wilted tonight. ive never seen em this bad. but they looked pretty good all day. i covered the rockwool w some 2" diameter circular plates that i cut out of a dark blue tupperware lid. there is no sign of algae in the res or anywhere else. i flushed em day b4 yesterday and yesterday and coincidentally i threw a lil hydrogen peroxide in the pure ro water. hopefully this might help. do u think it could be the algae making them wilt? do u think covering it will kill it? anything else i should do?

Its normal. If it droops a little right before the lights go off. It means your plant is health and growing and it is sensing the cycles of light and dark. Its getting ready for dark.

yeah its normal

echlectica said:

Its normal. If it droops a little right before the lights go off. It means your plant is health and growing and it is sensing the cycles of light and dark. Its getting ready for dark.

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well that what i thought too but the pics posted yesterday are nothing compared to the wilt they got right now. they look really bad.

Mine never lay down till after lights out. Do you have good drainage under hydroton? It is hard to tell. Are any roots in standing water?

johny1212 said:

Mine never lay down till after lights out. Do you have good drainage under hydroton? It is hard to tell. Are any roots in standing water?

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im pretty sure i do. when i run the drip i can hear and see the water draining back into the res. im gonna really have to check 2moro. its hard diggin in that hydroton. ill have to hollow out a small bucket or something to dig out a section or somethin

Definitely make sure it drains completely. The algae is not a big deal. ALS, do uou have good ventilation in the tent?

ya i think so. the ac cool air is supplied to the tent w 6" inline 435cfm. the intake air alone makes the leaves flutter real good. plus the exhaust fan. i got a 9" circ fan but i usually dont even need to run it

Sounds like your environment is pretty fucking good! The only thing I question is drainage. They look overwatered to me but I could be wrong.