First Grow - 5th week panic - possible nute problem? Help Appreciated

[Mike20132]

This is my first grow, and also my first post. My plants look like they've just started to flower, it's been just over 5 weeks with this Low Ryder 2 auto strain.

I am using Advanced Nutrients plus Big Bud at 2ml/L. Supplimenting with 5ml of General Organics CaMg per 2l.

I have already identified several mistakes I wont make for the second grow, and I am hopeful this first one is salvageable. Any advice would be appreciated. The plants are currently a little over a foot from the light, and I cannot raise it up any farther. Here are some pics. I am concerned about the top leaves being pale and curled upward. Thoughts?

This has been one of the best forums for my education thus far.

Also, I seem unable to get the pH down much below 6.7, regardless of how much pH Down I add. Do I need to worry? I am afraid to just keep adding acid to the solution.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Joemac879]

That looks like a possible iron deficiency


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mike20132]

That makes sense given the elevated pH. Even after adding 3mL of pH Down to a 2L beaker, the pH change was very minimal (maybe a drop of .2 to 6.7 from 6.9) Are there any iron only suppliments you recommend? Or with the elevated pH would that just be a waste of time? I wasn't really expecting this, as the pH has been pretty steady around 6.4 for most of the grow so far. I am stumped what the problem may be now.

 

[Joemac879]

I'd try flushing with straight 6.5 Ph'd water.. you could also try doing a foliar feeding with a chelated iron fertilizer


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Joemac879]

Some guys have said rusty water actually works


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mike20132]

Thank you so much for the advice. I probably should have mentioned that these are being grown hydroponically, so I am not sure if the same procedure for flushing applies. I could drain the res completely and refill with fresh nutes, but I worry about leaving the roots exposed to air for any length of time. Though given that it has been 5 weeks of topping off the res, I guess I should expect some salt buildup. There are two plants, and between them they consume about 2 Liters of water per day. Unfortunately, my replacement TDS meter wont be here until tomorrow (yeah, it wasn't as waterproof as they claimed ) so I have no way to tell the rate at which the plants are taking up the nutrients.

That said, I like the idea of flushing the res so I can at least eliminate the possibility of some salt buildup or other nutrient imbalance. Is tthis a legit strategy for hydro? Sorry for asking so many questions, and thanks again for your advice.

PS - I will probably order some iron oxide from ebay and suppliment with that if it really comes down to my nutes just not having enough iron for the size of the plants. (in proportion to the other elements) Hoping to get this squared away before I lose too much more time in the life cycle.

 

[Joemac879]

I would definitely try flushing your res also I'd buy some cal mag plus from botanicare it's got cal mag and iron in it as well


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mike20132]

Yeah I am starting to think this is more of a salt issue than anything else, too. I don't think its very likely that there just isn't enough iron, given the particular nutrients I am using, and at the concentration I am using them. I have seen dozens of success stories and am following along with their recommendations, and I do try to keep pH around 6.2. So either its the currently elevated pH or some salt buildup that is hindering the uptake of the iron ions. A res flush should remedy any salt issues, and i'll be starting with a fresh batch of known-pH solution.

I found the botanicare cal mag plus, but was a little concerned with the 2% nitrogen content. I came close to nitrogen toxicity early in this grow, and it happened at about the time I started using general hydroponics CaMg+ (though no iron in that one) and it only added 1%. I did find Microbe Life Hydroponics Iron Supplement. That seems to only contain the ions I would need to add. Might get that if things don't clear up in a week.

Anyway, thanks for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

 

[Free Flow]

Look into nutes that are for hard water. That may help. Plants dont look terrible so I wouldn't freak out.

 

[Mike20132]

Look into nutes that are for hard water. That may help. Plants dont look terrible so I wouldn't freak out.

I'm using distilled water :\