DWC - Plant looks droopy and dark green
- Thread starter 987anon
- Start date
987anon
Member
Hello all,
Looking for some advice here on trying to save this (hopefully) little girl. I received this plant growing in some big box store soil looking horrible and tiny after a month of growing, first picture. It had some decent root structure and they looked healthy. I setup an emergency mini DWC with a 20 oz bottle, single outlet air pump from an old small aquarium, disk air stone, tap water, and some Floranova.
Tap water: pH 7.4, 130ppm, sat out for 24 hrs
-pH'd down using some vinegar to 5.8
Nutes: added a few drops of Floranova since the cotyledons were gone
The first week it took a bit to bounce back, but looked great (in my opinion). The second and third picture is the plant at 1 week after DWC. Two days later, today, the leaves looked dark green and sort of droopy, the fourth picture. I checked the pH and it had creeped up to 6.8. I flushed the res, mixed .5ml Floranova to 1 liter of tap water that had sat out for 24hrs, pH'd to 5.6, and filled the res. Within 5 hrs the pH had risen back up to 6. pH'd down again to an appropriate level. I also tested the remaining nute liquid in the 1 liter bottle which was still at 5.6, so I know it isn't water/nute related for the creep.
I'm not sure what caused the pH rise in just a few hours, there is no algae growth and the res is covered completely to prevent light. I'll have to check it again tomorrow to see if it has risen again. With this being my first go, I'm a little worried on the pH rise and the now condition of the leaves. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Looking for some advice here on trying to save this (hopefully) little girl. I received this plant growing in some big box store soil looking horrible and tiny after a month of growing, first picture. It had some decent root structure and they looked healthy. I setup an emergency mini DWC with a 20 oz bottle, single outlet air pump from an old small aquarium, disk air stone, tap water, and some Floranova.
Tap water: pH 7.4, 130ppm, sat out for 24 hrs
-pH'd down using some vinegar to 5.8
Nutes: added a few drops of Floranova since the cotyledons were gone
The first week it took a bit to bounce back, but looked great (in my opinion). The second and third picture is the plant at 1 week after DWC. Two days later, today, the leaves looked dark green and sort of droopy, the fourth picture. I checked the pH and it had creeped up to 6.8. I flushed the res, mixed .5ml Floranova to 1 liter of tap water that had sat out for 24hrs, pH'd to 5.6, and filled the res. Within 5 hrs the pH had risen back up to 6. pH'd down again to an appropriate level. I also tested the remaining nute liquid in the 1 liter bottle which was still at 5.6, so I know it isn't water/nute related for the creep.
I'm not sure what caused the pH rise in just a few hours, there is no algae growth and the res is covered completely to prevent light. I'll have to check it again tomorrow to see if it has risen again. With this being my first go, I'm a little worried on the pH rise and the now condition of the leaves. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Last edited:
987anon
Member
Cleaned roots thoroughly (gently) with straight from the tap chlorine water as found suggested on an older post another site. Thoroughly cleaned res with tap water, rubbing alcohol, flushed with a lot more tap water then dried. Put fresh tap water, pH'd to 5.8, and placed plant back in just the water with air stone. 2 hrs later it was up to 6.3. Roots do not feel mushy, dark (other than the light staining from the Floranova), nor have a smell.
Onto the next test, checking the hydroton.
Onto the next test, checking the hydroton.
Green__Zer0
Active Member
Cant fix plant ive tried everything...
Medium FFOF which i wont be using again
water tap PH 6.5 from seedling
FF nutrients 1 feeding at 25% + 20% runoff @week 4 flowering
Fed FF nutrients @25% once it started to show a deficiency on week 4 flowering and the tip burned.
Which is weird because burning tips indicate back off the nutrients but yet its showing a deficiency.
And if it is lockout how is that when ive ph all water at 6.5
Medium FFOF which i wont be using again
water tap PH 6.5 from seedling
FF nutrients 1 feeding at 25% + 20% runoff @week 4 flowering
Fed FF nutrients @25% once it started to show a deficiency on week 4 flowering and the tip burned.
Which is weird because burning tips indicate back off the nutrients but yet its showing a deficiency.
And if it is lockout how is that when ive ph all water at 6.5
Cx2H
Well-Known Member
How long do you let the new PH'd water set up before you dump it in the Res or w/e you are using?
kiwipaulie
Well-Known Member
Do I have this right? You took a plant out of soil, cleaned the roots and put into dwc or doing dwc with soil in the net pots.
Dan can grow
Well-Known Member
Vinegar is what causes ph fluctuation. It will also breed a colony of slime in your res. That's how you make vinegar water.
987anon
Member
Air volume is turned down all the way.
Some water was used freshly pH'd (after sitting out 24hrs), some was used after being sat out for 24 hrs, pH'd down with 1/4 nutes, then sat 24hrs. Same result.
This plant started in soil, but all the soil thoroughly washed away before replanting in DWC. I have two seedlings started in DWC and both are doing the same thing.
I've used vinegar and pH down, both with the same result.
987anon
Member
Hydroton 'test' came back negative. Bowl of Hydroton by itself in pH water only rose by .25 in a 4 hr span (much less than what I'm seeing otherwise).
My spare solution (water, 1/4 nutes, and pH down) is still at 5.6 in the bottle after 24hrs, so I know it's not a reaction with the nutes/tap water. Now testing spare solution with an air line installed to see if it's getting too much air causing the spike. If that shows no issue I will add an air stone to make sure that's not causing it.
My spare solution (water, 1/4 nutes, and pH down) is still at 5.6 in the bottle after 24hrs, so I know it's not a reaction with the nutes/tap water. Now testing spare solution with an air line installed to see if it's getting too much air causing the spike. If that shows no issue I will add an air stone to make sure that's not causing it.
kiwipaulie
Well-Known Member
Strange. But id never transfer a soil plant into dwc, that just sounds like trouble regardless if you washed the roots
kiwipaulie
Well-Known Member
I'd also stop using vinegar
987anon
Member
I might be making some progress here. So far I've eliminated the nutes, water, algae/rot rot, hydtroton, vinegar, or bad batch of pH down.
I took some nute with water pHd down and let it sit for 24 hours. Stable pH. Added only an air line and air stone. pH climbed from 5.7 to 6.3 in 24hrs. I'm now thinking as Cx2H suggested the air is making the pH rise. Likely due to one line and one stone in each 20oz bottle res which with net pot is only holding about 10-15oz of water. I have moved one to a container that is about 3x the size and will see if the issue persist.
I took some nute with water pHd down and let it sit for 24 hours. Stable pH. Added only an air line and air stone. pH climbed from 5.7 to 6.3 in 24hrs. I'm now thinking as Cx2H suggested the air is making the pH rise. Likely due to one line and one stone in each 20oz bottle res which with net pot is only holding about 10-15oz of water. I have moved one to a container that is about 3x the size and will see if the issue persist.
Dan can grow
Well-Known Member
I run in a storage tote with about a gallon of water. I use a 5 inch airstone running off a double air pump through one stone at full blast. My ph only wavers .1 in two weeks.
Dan can grow
Well-Known Member
When I used "organic" ph solution my res would spike after about a day to over 7. I would ph to 5.8. So I bought general hydro ph up and down and my ph stays steady.
987anon
Member
That's what I'm using now. The vinegar was a quick fix when I first got the plant and had to wait for my GH pH up/down to come in. I still had fluctuation using it so used vinegar again to insure I didn't have a bad batch. I'm using Floranova Bloom which has the pH buffer, but with only using it at 1/4 strength I don't think it's in high enough concentration to help.
Dan can grow
Well-Known Member
My dwc is really a test to see if I can figure how much ppm is the appropriate level and how plants grow vs in soil which I prefer
kiwipaulie
Well-Known Member
987anon
Member
I think I might have it figured out. I'm thinking it was the amount of air (even on the lowest setting on the pump) being put into the small containers. I put in 5.5 gallons of water in my final res (the one I was waiting to use when it got bigger), 1/4 Floranova nutes, and then pH'd down to 5.5. 18hrs later I'm still sitting at 5.5. We'll see how it reacts over the next few days.
