help! plants looking sickly

I am a first timer. No stranger to the trade but never raised them before. I'm not even sure if I'm posting this in the right section. I started two auto #1 from seeds in small pots. I used mg expand n gro because i grew peppers with it and they did great. I thought it would work good because its fluffy and seems like it will make for good drainage. Plus it contains nutes so I wouldn't have to feed them right away. I have them under two 32 watt 6500k cfls and two 55 watt 2700k bulbs. I noticed that the ends of the leaves after the first week started turning yellow brown. Now they are all starting to turn yellow. I was misting them 2 to 3 times a day until a few days ago now I only water them when the soil is really dry like 3 days. I decided to transplant one of them into a 3 gallon container yesterday into the same soil. I am out of soil until I can get to menards or home depot Sunday. I'm keeping the lights about 3 inches away. I have an idea what's wrong but would rather ask some pros out there. Please help and thanks in advance.

I forgot to mention I'm using tap water. I don't have a ph tester or temp meter. I would imagine the temp stays right around 75. The room is dry and temp controlled. The 55 watt lights are hot. Is that normal for cfl?

You probably won't get much useful information without putting up a picture.

Firstly if there seedlings u have way too much light, use one of the 32 watts at 4" away, secondly, Do Not Mist Seedlings! Its not needed, thirdly sounds like your real problem is early nute burn, seedlings shouldn't be given nutes until a week or two old.

I agree with dirty jerz, sounds like your problem is nute burn. I'd flush the soil out really good or if the burn is that bad transplant it and cut your soil with some perlite or something that doesn't have any nutes in it. But without a picture that's all I got. Good luck!

I will post pictures when i get off work in a couple hours. I'm using my phone and am not sure how to upload them yet. Can anyone tell me how to upload them to this thread. Thanks for the quick

16 days old

17 days old

17 days old View attachment 2897874

Im not certain, but i dont think its overdose from nutes. The leaves dosnt look too dark green and the tips arent donig the "nirtogen claw".

If u think its going worse, or the leaf burning continues, then id say its defiency due wrong PH or nute defiency in general
Keep and eye on then new growth and remember that once the leaves are damaged (burned) they wont go back to normal

What kind of nutes should I get? I haven't fed them anything besides water andam going to get some now. I think I am going to get more expamd and grow and cut it with perlite. Also getting a ph tester. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Well, on the one plant it seems the newer growth isnt that badly afflicted, it seems to be really bad on the round set of conds. It really could be a PH issue, because different nutrients get "locked out" at different ph ranges. First steps I would take would be to check the water supply, thats one of the biggest things you need. A reliable water source is key, or those fancy expensive nutrients wont do a thing for you, because they cant get absorbed!!! Good luck!

Get some fish emulshion

Would 32 10 10 be good for nutes?

I got nutes and superthrive. I also got a ph tester. I tested my tap water and it was 8.2 or a little higher. I added a tiny bit of superthrive and 1/4 tps of the nutes. I put it in a gallon jug and then tested it. The ph meter read 7.2. I added 1200ml to each 3 gallon pot but it seemed like it was hardly enough water to get the pots completely wet. Just enough to get wet around the plants. How much water should I use when feeding? And when I water should I always use the super thrive and nutes? If not how do I get the tap water ph down to a suitable level.

next time u water put the ph around 6,5. over 7 is too high.

You should water when the soil is quite dry. Try lifting ur pot before and after watering. If its heavy = lots of moisture in soil etc, u will learn it while u do it ^^

cant help u with the nutes tho :c

thanks for the help everyone. Much appreciated. This site is a great tool. It has helped me learn so much avoiding many mistakes through trial and error. Does anyone have any suggestions on how much nuted water I can feed the plants? I let them dry completely out before feeding. Would it be ok to give them a gallon of water with nutes each time? And do I always feed with nutes? If not is there a way to adjust the ph without nutes?

Both plants are 19 days old from the day they broke through the soil. They are taking very well to the nutes superthrive and a closer ph range. What does everyone think? I feel like they are looking pretty healthy. I'm proud of my girls. When can I tell the sex? They both look like I can see female parts but I really don't know. The first part of the plant that branches out has two hairs coming out on either side.

Looking good, amazing what some nutrient's can do for a plant lacking in nitrogen eh?