Problems in my first DWC grow (pics)

Hey all,

I'm new here and to growing in general and any help would be greatly appreciated. Now please feast your eyes on my sad plant

~3 weeks in (I think)
Medium: Hydro
Lights- one 63w LED, one 90w led
Nutes: GH Flora Series
pH- 6.2
700 ppm
temp 72
humidity- 45%

pic 1: first set of 3 bladed leaves, curled and mishapen.
pic 2: plant as a whole
pic 3: inner branches seem to be growing better than the top. decent node tightness
pic 4: roots are in the water and are a healthy white.

looks to me as if the main cause of her drooping is that you have your water level to high. at this point in their life you just want the water to splash the bottom of the net pot from the bubbles bursting. around two inches, and can drop it more the larger the roots get. try to keep your ph at 5.8-6.0 in veg. 5.6-5.8 in flower. are you ppm stable with each check? if it goes up each day, too strong. drops, too low. good luck.

Your PPM is far too high. You are seeing nutrient overdose. It should be around half of your present level or less at this age.

Lower ppm to 350ish. Lower PH to 5.6-5.8. Watch plant explode with new growth.

Thanks so much for the fast responses guys. I just lowered the water level to half of what it was and got the ppm down to 460! I'll keep y'all updated on if she perks up

GUNTH said:

Thanks so much for the fast responses guys. I just lowered the water level to half of what it was and got the ppm down to 460! I'll keep y'all updated on if she perks up

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Dump more water to get the PPM down more. Yes - it is that important. Far better to have a super low PPM with little plant growth and raise it. The plant will live but not thrive on low PPM - hell even plain water. High PPM stunts plants and can lead quickly to lockout and then you have trouble as an inexperienced grower.

hotrodharley said:

Dump more water to get the PPM down more. Yes - it is that important. Far better to have a super low PPM with little plant growth and raise it. The plant will live but not thrive on low PPM - hell even plain water. High PPM stunts plants and can lead quickly to lockout and then you have trouble as an inexperienced grower.

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Ok I will! I just feel like such an idiot for literally pouring money down the drain but thats life I guess. I forgot to mention that it has been in 12/12 since seed, so I will start flowering nutes if I see it shows female hairs? Thanks again for helping an old dog learn some new tricks haha

You could have bottled the overdose and water down then have a back up of good to go...lol

You haven't mentioned PH at all. If you haven't adjusted it you should, 6.2 is a bit high. Mind if I ask what light you will be using to flower with?

Edit: Just saw your 12/12 from seed statement so I assume the LED's will be it. Goodluck with that, I will be interested to see how "she" produces.

thanks again everyone I would rep if I could! ppm is down to 360! now the waiting game haha. time to load up a bowl

GUNTH said:

thanks again everyone I would rep if I could! ppm is down to 360! now the waiting game haha. time to load up a bowl

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NOW - like the other poster has said twice - get that pH down! 5.6-5.8 is a good target range to aim for. Once those 2 tasks are accomplished you will see rapid change.

I only mention that because I have had it happen and needed to pour off excess so I put it in bottle 2.5 gallons of water that was ph'd and pre-nuted...

exabits said:

You haven't mentioned PH at all. If you haven't adjusted it you should, 6.2 is a bit high. Mind if I ask what light you will be using to flower with?

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oh yeah. I mixed a teeny bit of ph down in when I completed flushing it got to 5.9-6.0 and I decided that was good enough. I have a hyrogrowled 63w led penetrator grow panel and a 90w ufo both of which have light spectrum's tailored towards flowering.

wcrazy78 said:

I only mention that because I have had it happen and needed to pour off excess so I put it in bottle 2.5 gallons of water that was ph'd and pre-nuted...

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you sir, are a genius and have just won a lifetime supply of happiness

Continue to gradually lower your pH.

View attachment 2530934

Keep this and look at it once in a while. Keep in mind where your plant is in growth. I let my pH rise gradually as they enter flower to utilize the magnesium and calcium they need.

hotrodharley said:

Continue to gradually lower your pH.

View attachment 2530934

Keep this and look at it once in a while. Keep in mind where your plant is in growth. I let my pH rise gradually as they enter flower to utilize the magnesium and calcium they need.

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Very cool and informative!! That explains why some of my leaves are yellowing... I think N was locked out for a while when my pH was too low in the 5.0 range

GUNTH said:

Ok I will! I just feel like such an idiot for literally pouring money down the drain but thats life I guess. I forgot to mention that it has been in 12/12 since seed, so I will start flowering nutes if I see it shows female hairs? Thanks again for helping an old dog learn some new tricks haha

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I suggest using grow nutes well into flower. At least the first 3 weeks. Note on that chart that if the pH rises much above 5.9 then calcium uptake is hindered, much lower than 6.0 and magnesium uptake is impaired. Bottom line - screw the PPM daily once you start reading the plant and not RIU posts. But check that pH daily - I do twice.

To the OP - DWC is easy and you are on it. A little daily regimen of checking your levels and adjusting them and soon you will literally have most of it down in your sleep. I cringe at the thought of growing indoors in soil anymore and simply do not do it.

hotrodharley said:

I suggest using grow nutes well into flower. At least the first 3 weeks. Note on that chart that if the pH rises much above 5.9 then calcium uptake is hindered, much lower than 6.0 and magnesium uptake is impaired. Bottom line - screw the PPM daily once you start reading the plant and not RIU posts. But check that pH daily - I do twice.

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awesome post thank you! I feel like I can salvage this plant now that I'm not just blindly making foolish decisions haha if this plant could talk it would be screaming thank you for telling him what the fuck is up!

Some wise words from Hotrodharley. You won't regret the decision to go hydro once you get it dialed in and it becomes routine. Reading the plant will come with time as you mess up here and there, most do, just learn from your mistakes and you will know how to fix it next time. Cannabis is a strong resilient plant, a weed, keep ph in check and pathogens away, it will grow and be happy. As for ppm/EC/TDS, lower is better. It's easy to over do.