Aeroponic issues....Need help from Aero users.

Hello all.

I am having some minor issues with my aeroflo 60 and was hoping for some help.
Story goes like this..........
using ro system
Using sensi 2 part bloom (250 ml each/40 gal rez) first 2 weeks every thing was fine, ph increased slightly, ppm decreased, all was good. ppm max was 550 and ph maintained at 5.6-5.8

- I did a rez change. added slightly more A & B (300 ml/40 gal rez) and little bit of big bud (150 ml), and just a dash of silica (15 ml) ppm maxed out @ 680 ph was stable
Everythign was fine until week 4
- same thing did a rez change added same stuff (didn't want to push the ppms too high/playing it safe) but added some b-52. I figured out that I added too much. (drained, flushed within 36 hours of realizing mistake and put everything back with 25% strength of b-52)
-seemed fine. well............
ph started going down and ppms up. ok so plants are drinking water and not taking up the nutrients. So I flushed them again with just a bit (100ml of clearex and ro water in40 gal rez). Drained 12 hours later and flushed with straight ro for another 12 hours.

Here I am now. Just refilled the rez and added a&b (200ml each and 100ml of overdrive in 40 gal) ppm maxed out at 640 ph is stable for now.

What if the Ph goes down again? should I just continue to correct it? they are 3 weeks until done and Im hoping that there is a chance that they will recover.

Any suggestions from Aero users would be greatly appreciated.

Props to Earl and Maseo. Excellent work.

any input???

Air temp? Min and max temps day and night?

Min and max water temp?

I've grown in an aeroflo for many years but never bloomed a plant with such a low ppm of bloom food.

I've had plants sucking up water and no nutes when the temps have been too hot and the plants cannot breathe at night-- too much humidity, too warm. This is called evapotranspiration and is very important. Keep fans running at night too.

Also, above 85 degrees F, plants stop sucking up micro nutrients in aeroponics, hence the importance of keeping the water/air cool.

You do not want more than a 18 degree F differential between your water and your air.

Please stop flushing for so long. You do not need to flush like that for so long with no medium around your roots. The metabolic rate of the plant in aeroponics is very fast. You are compounding the problem (the other way) when flushing for so long.

Give me an idea about air and water temps.

Sorry, what are the symptoms on the plants? You didn't say. Be specific.

I'm running 2900 PPM in flower with:

Botanicare Nutrients:
126ML Cal-Mag Plus
180ML Liquid Karma
540ML Pure Bend Pro Bloom

I start my flush two weeks before harvest. 24 hours clearex and the rest just plain tap water.

symptoms are that plants are not feeding as much as they should. They look fine, but this has never happened before.
I run a low ppm because with nutrients so readily available and changing rez every week they have every thing they need.

I think i may have figured out the problem. My ro water ph is 6.3, which is much lower than 6 weeks ago (around 6.9/7) So with the natural buffers in the nutrients the ph is going down further than normal because the ro ph is lower than normal.


2900 ppm seems astronomical. depending on rez size. that seems high.
in addition to that I believe that when using organics the ppm meters are decieved because of the sediment suspension (stuff floating around) and therefore you may not get an accurate reading. This is why i only used synthetics, plus they are easier to clean up after.

air and water temp. water temp is held at 68 degrees constant with the help of a chiller.
Air temp at night 68-74 degrees
during day 74-80 at the very hotest.

The ppms are run low for this particular strain, which seems to be sensitive.
check out this link.....
This guy maxed out at 600 ppm.
http://www.hg420.com/showthread.php?t=7891

further input is always appreciated.

What is the exact humidity at night? This is the key factor.

thesublime1 said:

air and water temp. water temp is held at 68 degrees constant with the help of a chiller.
Air temp at night 68-74 degrees
during day 74-80 at the very hotest.

The ppms are run low for this particular strain, which seems to be sensitive.
check out this link.....
This guy maxed out at 600 ppm.
Cannabis and Marijuana seeds :: HomeGrown420 - Heaths, Aeroflo 56, Green Giant x Ak-47 feminized grow

further input is always appreciated.

Click to expand...

I quickly scanned the many pages of that dude's grow. Nice plants he grew, no doubt. That being said, 600 ppm is what you would normally feed a freshly rooted clone. It is close to starvation. I've never grown your strain but I have a hard time believing that it would be so radically different from every other norm and rule that hold true. Old apartments with really old pipes have 600 ppm coming out of the tap.

humidity at night between 40-45% depending on weather.

what is your suggested ppm in an aero setup?



600ppm out of the tap is extremely high. the part of the country you are from and where your city gets it's water determines water quality. our tap water in the winter is 300+ ppm, but in the summer it floats around 200.

thesublime1 said:

2900 ppm seems astronomical. depending on rez size. that seems high. in addition to that I believe that when using organics the ppm meters are decieved because of the sediment suspension (stuff floating around) and therefore you may not get an accurate reading. This is why i only used synthetics, plus they are easier to clean up after.

Click to expand...

I didn't believe it when my mentor gave me the formula. I said exactly the same thing you did!
Guess what? It worked better than I ever dreamed!

PPM meters measure salts only. A lot of the organic particles are non-conductive. There is most likely more solids in the water than actually shown by the meter.

Res size has nothing to do with PPM. Any size res can be run at any PPM you want.

Gallery dude...photos never lie

This is my first post here, but have been growing for years. I have grown in Flood and Drain, DWC and currently Aero. This was my max nute for each system.
Flood&Drain 1600ppm
DWC 850ppm
Aero 850ppm
Of coarse it depends on your strain, but this was most common. F&D got a higher ppm because you only water every 3hrs or so. DWC is constant and Aero is every few min. They have a constant supply of nutes. At least this has always worked for me.

stinkb:
rez size is unimportant, but I was trying to guage how much nutrients you were using to obtain that number.
I have used botaincare before in 40 gallon rez w/ 1600 bloom, 700 karma and 500 sweet. ppm was never greater than 1500.
I am just curious how you are getting that very aggressive number.

I agree with diesel on keeping them low. Someday when I a feeling crazy I may try a higher ppm, but I like to play it safe.

thesublime1 said:

stinkb:
rez size is unimportant, but I was trying to guage how much nutrients you were using to obtain that number.
I have used botaincare before in 40 gallon rez w/ 1600 bloom, 700 karma and 500 sweet. ppm was never greater than 1500.
I am just curious how you are getting that very aggressive number.
`
I agree with diesel on keeping them low. Someday when I a feeling crazy I may try a higher ppm, but I like to play it safe.

Click to expand...

Botanicare Nutrients:
126ML Cal-Mag Plus
180ML Liquid Karma
540ML Pure Bend Pro Bloom

Fills an 18 gal res to 2900 PPM

Cycle timer set to 1 min on and 5 mins off.

Check out my mentors buds.

i guess if it works than use it. Pretty noce work. I may have to try it sooner than later.

StinkBud said:

Botanicare Nutrients:
126ML Cal-Mag Plus
180ML Liquid Karma
540ML Pure Bend Pro Bloom

Fills an 18 gal res to 2900 PPM

Cycle timer set to 1 min on and 5 mins off.

Check out my mentors buds.

Click to expand...

So with the aeroflo2 36 pump, the manuel says to run 24/7. but would you recommend 1on/5off for this system? Im already running your amazing system now, I was just wondering if you think all your rules would apply to the aeroflo2, since it is very similar..?

I would lower your ph to 5.9, I have grown in aero for years and usually run my nutrients up to but not more than 1300ppm. I have noticed over the years that the ppm will climb due to water being used by the plants and evaporation, the nutrient salts will stay in the reservoir even when the water evaporates. The humidity being around 45% means that the air will actually increase evaporation in your room. Top off your rez and keep adjusting your ph with the new water you have added. you should be fine. a ph of 7 is far too high for aero. hope this helps.