Bubblelicious Auto Problems

[TexasFarmer]

I am in week two of a Bubblelicious Auto. I am having issues with the leaves curling up and rusty spots. PH 5.8 going in and runoff PH is 6.3. Please help with a diagnosis.
Growing in Coco/Perlite
150Watt HPS
77 Deg F.
50 - 60% humidity
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[A4]

That looks Calcium deficiency with some heat problems as well. Did you charge your coco before you started growing? I am no coco grower but from what I have read coco is bad about leaching Calcium from the nutrients and growers normally try to overcome that with adding extra before they start their plants. It also looks like the plant has been pretty hot from the way the edges are curling up, what are the temps in your room? You could foliar spray with Cal/Mag to overcome the deficiency but you probably should be getting some extra in the coco as well. I have a buddy that has grown coco before, I will ask him to stop in and have a look as well.

 

[TexasFarmer]

That looks Calcium deficiency with some heat problems as well. Did you charge your coco before you started growing? I am no coco grower but from what I have read coco is bad about leaching Calcium from the nutrients and growers normally try to overcome that with adding extra before they start their plants. It also looks like the plant has been pretty hot from the way the edges are curling up, what are the temps in your room? You could foliar spray with Cal/Mag to overcome the deficiency but you probably should be getting some extra in the coco as well. I have a buddy that has grown coco before, I will ask him to stop in and have a look as well.

I am using new coco not reusing any. I also add cal/mag to my water before feeding. Room Temperature is 77deg. F.
My other lady in the same media and same grow space is doing wonderfully, nice a healthy. It is possible I git her to close to the light while she was to small. I am using a 150watt HPS light so maybe the seedling does not like it. Any help would greatly appreciated

 

[TexasFarmer]

I am using new coco not reusing any. I also add cal/mag to my water before feeding. Room Temperature is 77deg. F.
My other lady in the same media and same grow space is doing wonderfully, nice a healthy. It is possible I git her to close to the light while she was to small. I am using a 150watt HPS light so maybe the seedling does not like it. Any help would greatly appreciated

My runoff PH is 6.6 and I have flushed with three gallons of PH 6.0 water and cannot get the PH down

 

[low_and_slow]

what brand coco?

 

[TexasFarmer]

Botanicare bag coco and perlite 50/50
I can't seem to get the runoff PH below 6.5 and don't know why.

 

[A4]

My runoff PH is 6.6 and I have flushed with three gallons of PH 6.0 water and cannot get the PH down

Ah, I see then. There is your problem. In the original post you said 6.3 which is still high but 6.6 is definitely a problem. If you are in Texas then you should have a good coop around your area. Get some Aluminum Sulfate from them, if you can't find it locally buy it at Amazon. I use about a tablespoon of aluminum sulfate per 5 gallons of water to lower ph about .3 when plants are already established so I would recommend about 3 tablespoons to get you down into the range you need to be in. Don't ph the water! Just use RO or tap with no ph down in it. You will need to mix those three tablespoons in about a liter of hot water to get it to dissolve then add it to your water. Then don't do a flush, just water like normal with about 10-20% runoff. That should drop your coco ph down to about 5.8 in less then 12 hours easily. I normally see results of it working in an hour or two. After that, then start ph'ing your water again like normal.

That should get you bro.

 

[TexasFarmer]

Ah, I see then. There is your problem. In the original post you said 6.3 which is still high but 6.6 is definitely a problem. If you are in Texas then you should have a good coop around your area. Get some Aluminum Sulfate from them, if you can't find it locally buy it at Amazon. I use about a tablespoon of aluminum sulfate per 5 gallons of water to lower ph about .3 when plants are already established so I would recommend about 3 tablespoons to get you down into the range you need to be in. Don't ph the water! Just use RO or tap with no ph down in it. You will need to mix those three tablespoons in about a liter of hot water to get it to dissolve then add it to your water. Then don't do a flush, just water like normal with about 10-20% runoff. That should drop your coco ph down to about 5.8 in less then 12 hours easily. I normally see results of it working in an hour or two. After that, then start ph'ing your water again like normal.

That should get you bro.

A4 thank you for help with this. I will get the aluminum sulfate and give it a try.
How come the RO water and the PH down does not work. I dropped my RO water to PH 5.7 with the PH down and the runoff is 6.5 and will not go below 6.5

 

[A4]

Yes, it works once you get it in the range you need it in. It is difficult to explain because I am just beginning to understand it myself. You know that Einstein saying, something to the effect of if you can't explain it then you don't know it well enough? Well, that is me bro. I am just beginning to comprehend the science behind it. Basically, whatever your medium ph is, that is what it is. The only way to change it is to effect it chemically or organically. Now, when we add nutrients, the salts build up and over time the ph starts to go down because of the build up in the medium. Well, it takes time to get that buildup. So, with time not really on our side as you have already planted. We need to get it down quickly. Water at that ph will bring it down very quickly but only for a short amount of time. There are buffers like Calcium in your case or Limestone in the case of my medium that will organically try to get the ph back to a neutral 7.0. It is a natural buffer. So adding ph down will work for a short period of time but probably less than a few hours. Then the ph begins rising again. What the aluminum sulfate does is chemically fights those buffers to lower the ph of the grow medium so that the ph stays down. Once the ph is in the range you want it in, then as you water or feed, you will set your ph for where you want it. Ideally, it will be the same ph as your grow medium and it will stay there. I hope that explains it a little bit. Like I said, I have been reading for the past month on ph alone, there is a lot to learn. I still have a lot to learn.

 

[TexasFarmer]

Yes, it works once you get it in the range you need it in. It is difficult to explain because I am just beginning to understand it myself. You know that Einstein saying, something to the effect of if you can't explain it then you don't know it well enough? Well, that is me bro. I am just beginning to comprehend the science behind it. Basically, whatever your medium ph is, that is what it is. The only way to change it is to effect it chemically or organically. Now, when we add nutrients, the salts build up and over time the ph starts to go down because of the build up in the medium. Well, it takes time to get that buildup. So, with time not really on our side as you have already planted. We need to get it down quickly. Water at that ph will bring it down very quickly but only for a short amount of time. There are buffers like Calcium in your case or Limestone in the case of my medium that will organically try to get the ph back to a neutral 7.0. It is a natural buffer. So adding ph down will work for a short period of time but probably less than a few hours. Then the ph begins rising again. What the aluminum sulfate does is chemically fights those buffers to lower the ph of the grow medium so that the ph stays down. Once the ph is in the range you want it in, then as you water or feed, you will set your ph for where you want it. Ideally, it will be the same ph as your grow medium and it will stay there. I hope that explains it a little bit. Like I said, I have been reading for the past month on ph alone, there is a lot to learn. I still have a lot to learn.[/QUOTE

Wow I guess I need to get started reading about PH. I am going to go pickup some Aluminum Sulfate and see how that does.
Thanks again for your help.