Too much light, heat? Help!

[bird mcbride]

Lime only brings the ph down if ph is above 7 (unless you're talking about lime fruit). You can't use dolomite lime as a ph-down i think - it more like buffers soil to keep close to 7 right?

Edit: I agree that adding lime to the soil when water is ph4 (which sounds crazy) sounds good. Lime should move it towards 7 - but not if you're watering with acid water like that.
You could probably adjust the water before watering, but some clean rain water would be king.

I have always used dolomite lime(from the lumberyard) as a ph down.

 

[Brimi]

I have always used dolomite lime(from the lumberyard) as a ph down.

Yes - but only when the ph is above 7 right? - i don't think you could use it to go to 5,8 for instance since dolomite lime is... well lime which is pretty neutral ph - anyway that's what i think.

 

[fred flintstoned]

Bird my man, time to get out the growbook and read up.
While it's true woodash will raise pH, lime will NOT lower pH unless it's way above 7. It's a good buffer against wild pH swings though, that's why it's in Promix, Sunshine mix, etc.
Running an intake fan without an exhaust fan/filter combo will blow stink all over the house. In a 4x4 tent, a 6in Vortex with the proper filter will exhaust/cool/scrub very well as long as the ducting has a minimum of bends. Passive intake is best, just use a damper to keep the stink in when the fan is off.

I get my plants started under CFL and then once they get going, I switch them over to the grow cabinet. It seems every time I do this the plants start yellowing out from the bottom, curl up and die. If you look on my other threads, I show pictures of some of the symptoms starting. I water them every 3rd day and haven't introduced nutes until the plant is well established, probably 3 weeks into the grow.
Start feeding earlier. Yellowing from the bottom up tells you it's deficient in a mobile nutrient. Most likely Nitrogen.

My question; is 400w too much for such a small grow cabinet?
Too little actually, 1000w will fill that space completely. Obviously you'll need bigger or separate fans to cool and scrub.

I set the light ~4.5 feet above the plants during the entire grow.
Once they're 10in or so tall, 14-16in away is best for a 400W.

I was thinking it was nute deficiency but wasn't sure, kind of hard to tell. I was using Blue Mountain Organics but I don't think they contain enough N-P-K to support growth, especially under such extreme conditions
You may not need different nutes, maybe just mix them a little stronger. Actually these conditions are quite normal

Hope this helps,
Fred

 

[420ItsDatTime]

This is more serious than that. What 420ItsDatTime just said don't make any logical sense. Lime brings the ph numbers down. Ashes bring the ph numbers up. As long as you keep your colors in the green your ph is ok. I take my tests out to the daylight because some lighting can give your eyes a false color reading. Or hold the chart and the test in front of something white.

Lime will not lower pH when it is applied in acidic conditions, as has been stated, lime stabilizes pH, but it also adds alkaline, which is what I want to move away from the acidic condition.

^^yeah that^^^
Calibrate the meter. Municipal water supplies trend toward the alkaline. Acidic water corrodes the pipes.
Fred

Meter is fine, the water is out of a well - their is a lot of ledge rock (iron) and I think this is part of the reason the water is so out of whack.

Um... Dude. Tap water shouldn't have a pH of 4. You need to contact your water company ASAP!!!

Thanks, I am aware, and I was just as in shock.

Bird my man, time to get out the growbook and read up. <-- agreed
While it's true woodash will raise pH, lime will NOT lower pH unless it's way above 7. It's a good buffer against wild pH swings though, that's why it's in Promix, Sunshine mix, etc.
Running an intake fan without an exhaust fan/filter combo will blow stink all over the house. In a 4x4 tent, a 6in Vortex with the proper filter will exhaust/cool/scrub very well as long as the ducting has a minimum of bends. Passive intake is best, just use a damper to keep the stink in when the fan is off.

I get my plants started under CFL and then once they get going, I switch them over to the grow cabinet. It seems every time I do this the plants start yellowing out from the bottom, curl up and die. If you look on my other threads, I show pictures of some of the symptoms starting. I water them every 3rd day and haven't introduced nutes until the plant is well established, probably 3 weeks into the grow.
Start feeding earlier. Yellowing from the bottom up tells you it's deficient in a mobile nutrient. Most likely Nitrogen.

My question; is 400w too much for such a small grow cabinet?
Too little actually, 1000w will fill that space completely. Obviously you'll need bigger or separate fans to cool and scrub.

I set the light ~4.5 feet above the plants during the entire grow.
Once they're 10in or so tall, 14-16in away is best for a 400W.

I was thinking it was nute deficiency but wasn't sure, kind of hard to tell. I was using Blue Mountain Organics but I don't think they contain enough N-P-K to support growth, especially under such extreme conditions
You may not need different nutes, maybe just mix them a little stronger. Actually these conditions are quite normal

Hope this helps,
Fred

Thank you Fred, all very good and well noted points, glad you stopped by for some input!

In my first grow, I really think that I was having a heat issue along with a very acidic condition that caused nutrients to be locked out. Having now discovered the water situation, I can start fresh and use distilled (bottled) water until I get my water situation sorted out.


4Twenty

 

[grygost]

the last pic I see looks like you're making a lollipop plant.

 

[420ItsDatTime]

the last pic I see looks like you're making a lollipop plant.

I pruned half the plant early, it had much fuller lower branches but due to size constraints of my cabinet, had to lop a lot off the sides and top. Plant was probably double in size.