I can't get past 1 set of leaves!

[iak1001]

Hello, I have a serious problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The below has happened twice but first time it happened because light was loosely secured and it came down and burnt the plants overnight.

I have a 1.2m2 grow tent with temps between 27-28C, a 125 watt CFL bulb, a fan blowing air out.

I got 10 seeds and germinated them in a paper towel. I soaked my 1" inch rockwool cubes in water [weight went from 4 grams to 25 grams after squeazing out]. Placed 10 seeds in 10 cubes and put them under 125W Blue CFL light, about 2 inches from rockwool.

Day 1 - All 10 came up and got their first set of leaves. Moved light up to keep at 2 inches away.

Day 2 - I saw each rockwool cube looked very dry [8 grams weight each] so I watered them about 15ml each [weight upto 20 grams]. Plants looked healthy.

Day 3 - Was out most of the day came hoom late at night, checked the plants and two of them had fallen to the side with yellow leaves which looked crispy, the stalks had also withered down and the plants had fallen to their sides. Some of the others also looked unhealthy. I figured it was too hot and the rockwool looked very dry indeed [weight was at 4grams each] - so I watered them again and also moved the light to about 3 inches away.

Day 4 - More plants died! Out of ten half are now dead. their leaves have gone yellow and they look to have dried out completely [it seems], the stalk has also gone very thin and collapsed. Of the ones remaining, 2 seem to be healthy-ish.

Question - Am I overwatering or underwatering? Are my lights to close?

 

[dbodabomb]

Hello, I have a serious problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The below has happened twice but first time it happened because light was loosely secured and it came down and burnt the plants overnight.

I have a 1.2m2 grow tent with temps between 27-28C, a 125 watt CFL bulb, a fan blowing air out.

I got 10 seeds and germinated them in a paper towel. I soaked my 1" inch rockwool cubes in water [weight went from 4 grams to 25 grams after squeazing out]. Placed 10 seeds in 10 cubes and put them under 125W Blue CFL light, about 2 inches from rockwool.

Day 1 - All 10 came up and got their first set of leaves. Moved light up to keep at 2 inches away.

Day 2 - I saw each rockwool cube looked very dry [8 grams weight each] so I watered them about 15ml each [weight upto 20 grams]. Plants looked healthy.

Day 3 - Was out most of the day came hoom late at night, checked the plants and two of them had fallen to the side with yellow leaves which looked crispy, the stalks had also withered down and the plants had fallen to their sides. Some of the others also looked unhealthy. I figured it was too hot and the rockwool looked very dry indeed [weight was at 4grams each] - so I watered them again and also moved the light to about 3 inches away.

Day 4 - More plants died! Out of ten half are now dead. their leaves have gone yellow and they look to have dried out completely [it seems], the stalk has also gone very thin and collapsed. Of the ones remaining, 2 seem to be healthy-ish.

Question - Am I overwatering or underwatering? Are my lights to close?

i think you should post some pics. that way it would make it easier to help you with your prob. but good luck

 

[iak1001]

i think you should post some pics. that way it would make it easier to help you with your prob. but good luck

I will do that later tonight [6hours or so] but at work so not possible right now. Thanks for a quick reply though.

 

[woolypudding69]

What kind of water are you using? If its tap does your area have chlorine in the water? You need to let your tap water sit out open for at least 20 hours to breath off its additives. Those are poison to your plants.
Other than that, I cant say much else without seeing a picture or several.

 

[iak1001]

What kind of water are you using? If its tap does your area have chlorine in the water? You need to let your tap water sit out open for at least 20 hours to breath off its additives. Those are poison to your plants.
Other than that, I cant say much else without seeing a picture or several.

I did let the water sit out for 24 hours. However one thing I failed to mention is that I used Rhizotonic on the Day 1 watering. So not for soaking the Rockwool cubes in, but after the plant poppoed out I mixed Rhizotonic into the water. pictures later however.

 

[smppro]

Just go buy a gallon of distilled water for the seedling, no nutes, just water, no problems. Your water might have chloramine in it instead of chlorine which wont evaporate like chlorine does, chlorine isnt necessarily poisonous to plants because a tiny bit of chlorine is in the nutrient list for plants, but younf seedlings cant really handle a lot at all.

 

[RyanTheRhino]

you guys might think its the ph or chlorine, but my geuss is that the lights are to close for a baby seedling 1 day after sprouting.. plz let me know what watts you are using the higher the watts the hotter the bulb..exp.. where a 14 or 26 watt could touch the plant with no damage(ps. I would not let bulbs touch plants tho) a 42 watt will burn it in 1-2 hours

 

[iak1001]

you guys might think its the ph or chlorine, but my geuss is that the lights are to close for a baby seedling 1 day after sprouting.. plz let me know what watts you are using the higher the watts the hotter the bulb..exp.. where a 14 or 26 watt could touch the plant with no damage(ps. I would not let bulbs touch plants tho) a 42 watt will burn it in 1-2 hours

Thanks.

I think it is the bulb too maybe, it is a 125 WATT [blue] CFL and it has never been more than 2 inches away.

All reports I have read everyone says keep them 1 - 2 inches away. However I am sure the hydroshop said 8 inches, but I went with the forum advice instead.

 

[mkay420]

125 actual watts or 125 equivalent watts. if you are using equivalent terms its pointless and means nothing. you need to use the actual watt rating, this will be the rating of how much power the bulb actually uses.

 

[RyanTheRhino]

the 2-3 inches away rule is for weak cfls like 14, 24,26,42 but when you start getting the more powerful watts they get hotter and need to be further with a fan mabey

 

[mkay420]

yeah i have a 105 actual w cfl that i use as part of my veg setup and its good to keep it around 4-5 without worrying about burn but i also have a fan blowing on my plant... usually if you use a 26-42 w you can get away with 2-3 without burn. fan is a must though as it also helps promote strong stem growth... yo udont want it blowing your plant over you just want it to give your girls a good lil breeze

 

[KaleoXxX]

no nutes for seedlings, i really sugest as a first time grower, that you use soil instead of hydro, its a lot more forgiving and harder to mess things up

good luck on all future grows

 

[RyanTheRhino]

well dam you got a 600 watt hps you can use that for veg also why did you drop another 75-100$ on a high powerd cfl ..

 

[iak1001]

well dam you got a 600 watt hps you can use that for veg also why did you drop another 75-100$ on a high powerd cfl ..

Ok sorry I don't actually have the 600watt yet, but can order it anytime - that sort of thing.

I got the 125 Watt CFL because I was told you can veg fine with it, that it will save electricity and not create heat problems - seeing as its on between 18 and 24 hours a day I thought yeh why not. And to make things worse. I just bought a 250 watt CFL to replace the 125.

These are classic noob moves right?

What a frikkin waster I am.