Lilliput plant problem - non autoflower strain

[GreenShine]

Hope Im not considered a heretic for posting a non autoflower dilemma in this forum.

Setup :

Started of in rootriot for 3 days then transplanted into Aquafarm. (14 days in Aquafarm)

Aquafarm ( non modified )
Growlab 80 tent
300w LED GN MS006 ( 70-60cm from plant)
Exhaust fan (also work as passive intake)
Circulation fan

Strain: CBD crew SHARK

Temps : day 25-26C night : 21-23C
Humidity: 60-70%
Res temps: 20-22C

Lights on/off 18/6
Drippers on/off 18/6

Clay pebbles rinsed a couple of times then let it soak in a ph of 5.7 for 24 hours before adding it to Aquafarm.
Nutes: Advanced nutrients ph perfect grow-micro-bloom
Nute strengt: as recommended by Advanced Nutrients
Res change: once a week, complete cleanout of reservoir, total of 3 times with first res included.

First res EC 0.5
Second res EC 0.8
Third res EC 1.2

Water: tapwater (EC 0.2 /PH 8.0) aired for at least 48 hours. Nutes then added , finish off with PH adjustment to 5.6

Used regular White vine vinegar for ph down about 10 of the total 14 days of my plants life and baking soda for ph up. Had major problem with ph raising fast. during a 24 hour period I would go from 5.5 to 7.5 , and had to adjust up to 2-3 times per day. Im afraid I have shocked my roots with the heavy PH swing. I also read that using regular white wine vinegar was not recommeded so I switched to distilled vinegar with more stable ph. Also read somewhere that the vinegar/baking soda combo was not recommeded. So I have ordered ph plus/minus made for hydrogrow and will be getting it delivered soon.

My problem is that the plant isn't getting any taller and look kinda of frail and Im afraid that I have damaged the plant permanently with my PH circus act. Will I have to start all over again?

Any feedback would be most welcome.

PS:Sorry for the quality of the pictures added, hope they still are somewhat useful

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[namvet25]

Your girls look just fine.They will be slow growing at this time because they are concentrating on the roots.You could start to feed them a very light dose of veg nutes to give them a little boost.

 

[GreenShine]

Your girls look just fine.They will be slow growing at this time because they are concentrating on the roots.You could start to feed them a very light dose of veg nutes to give them a little boost.

So they are fine even after being in the root riot cube for 3 days and then in the aquafarm for 14 days for a total time of 17 days ? I have already fed them during the majority of this time according to the feeding information provided by Advanced nutrients for seedlings and young plants. But its the Ph swings that is killing me. When I used regular Vinegar the Ph swings could go from 5.6-7.4 in a 5 hour period. I checked and adjusted 3 times daily then and it was the same result everytime. Now with distilled vinegar I get 5.6 to 7.4 in an 24-28 hour period. Still not acceptable in any way but hopefully I will get the hydroponic PH up/down bottles I ordered online at the end of the week.

I initally thought that pebbles was the culprit and that I hadn't cleaned them enought or let the pebbles soak in correct ph long enough. I did a test with water aired for 48 hours and ph adjusted it at 5.6. I poured the adjusted water in 2 cups and then added a handful of pebbles in one of the cups. Let it be for 48 hours and did ph test again. The cup with only Ph adjusted water had risen higher than the cup with pebbles in. Think it was 6.5 in the water only cup while the pebbles cup was around the 6.0 mark.

 

[GreenShine]

Nitrogen Toxicity?

Been 1 1/2 weeks since my original post and my plant has been chugging along nicely and is no longer the "lilliput problem" i described in my original post. However I have a new problem and wonder if it could be the cause of Nitrogen Toxicity? With my last res change i thought I would up the the nutrient level to 4ml per liter according to the feeding schedule on the back label of the Advanced nutrients ph perfect grow-micro-bloom bottles. EC reading for that res was at 1.7 and I also added Superthrive at the same time. When I check the plants next morning some of the leaves start to curl down at the tips. I raise the light a bit, closely monitor temps for a few days, but nothing change for the better. So I do another res change where I lower the nut level to about 1.3 EC (about 3ml per liter). A couple of days later and things still have not changed. Should I do another res change and lower the nute level even further ? My aquafarm is unmodified, so no extra holes drilled, also no airstones used in Reservoir. Dripper is now on 24/7. Please see my original post for any additional info regarding my grow room setup.

 

[stylez]

I haven't grown in your style before so I probably cant help much:joint: just remember Autos are sensitive to nutes. I wouldn't start them out on anything higher than 1/4 strength of what is recommended on the label :thumbs:

 

[GreenShine]

I haven't grown in your style before so I probably cant help much:joint: just remember Autos are sensitive to nutes. I wouldn't start them out on anything higher than 1/4 strength of what is recommended on the label :thumbs:

Thank you for your input but I am not growing autos this time, even though I ask for help in an autoflower forum. I Just like the good vibe in this forum alot so I can't help myself
Anyways, I think your advice on cutting down to 1/4 nute strenght would be worth trying for my strain too. So thank you once again for your valuable input, much appreciated!

 

[A4]

GreenShine, I am not a DWC grower but I found this link that may help. http://www.420magazine.com/forums/d...eep-water-culture-tutorial-sh-kit-diy-10.html

It doesn't look like N toxicity, but like I said I am not an expert on this type of grow. I would highly suggest air stones from everything I have read.

Best of luck my friend. No worries on posting questions about photos. I run mostly photos as well, I just love the forum.

 

[GreenShine]

GreenShine, I am not a DWC grower but I found this link that may help. http://www.420magazine.com/forums/d...eep-water-culture-tutorial-sh-kit-diy-10.html

It doesn't look like N toxicity, but like I said I am not an expert on this type of grow. I would highly suggest air stones from everything I have read.

Best of luck my friend. No worries on posting questions about photos. I run mostly photos as well, I just love the forum.

Thank you very much for your reply and the link you included in your post with additional tips and tricks to help a novice like myself. I have already taken 2 steps to see if things get better. First I did a complete res change and lowered the nut to 1/4 of the recommended strength. I also raised the lights a bit further up to see if it gives my plant any relief. Fingers crossed that things gets better !

Thanks again, much appreciated :tiphat:

 

[JM]

When I check the plants next morning some of the leaves start to curl down at the tips.

yes... N toxicity... :check:

you can partially miigate this with a foliar feed of epsom salts 1 tsp / gallon .

the Chlorophyll molecule is 1 magnesiumn surrounded by 4 Nitrogen...

 

[GreenShine]

yes... N toxicity... :check:

you can partially miigate this with a foliar feed of epsom salts 1 tsp / gallon .

the Chlorophyll molecule is 1 magnesiumn surrounded by 4 Nitrogen...

Thank you very much, I think I'll invest in some epsom salt and try it out on my little plant. Yesterday I tried to lower the nutes strength to 1/4 the recommended strength when I did a res change. Today they are still curled down but now the whole plant also look kinda brittle.