TimeIsDancing
New Member
Hi all,
I apologize in advance for the extremely lengthy post. And I did scour all forums (this and others), books, etc. as much as humanly possible before creating this post. I don't want to be one of those lazy people just asking questions when the answers can easily be found.
I'm a first time poster, so please forgive me if I'm not posting in the correct location or if I'm doing anything else stupid in regards to forum etiquette. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong...I won't take any offense.
I'm currently at day 30 of my first grow. I'm experiencing mostly good growth and overall health with some pretty significant hiccups along the way. I'm hoping those more experienced can help me before it's too late.
My setup:
I'm in a Supercloset Deluxe 3.0 running a Kind LED K3 - L450 with a 15 gallon DWC reservoir (Superponics 16, I think it's called). I'm using the Technaflora nutes that came with the closet package. They call it the "Recipe for Success" but I'm not so sure. I plan on changing my nute program next time around, but that's a topic for another day.
After germination and moving the babies "upstairs" into the veg/flower chamber, I started with 25% of the suggested nutrient levels. I have, over the course of three weeks increased my levels to 65%, having done a step by step increase on each reservoir change (started at 25%, then 40%, and now 65% as of yesterday).
My current stats:
Ambient air temp - 77 F (goes up and down a couple degrees over the course of the day)
Water temp - 66 F (I installed a chiller after my last scare with pythium)
PPM - 860
pH - 6.8
Relative humidity - ranges from 45-51% depending on time of day in relation to lights on/off
I have successfully germinated 10 seeds only to realize after the fact that I should probably only keep 2-5 of them in order to have enough space for the stretch and flower. I plan on culling all but a couple/few biggest soon, but I was hoping to get through this second reservoir change before doing so. The reason being is that each time I change my reservoir, I introduce the beginning stages of root rot. I'm certain that I'm not just observing a discoloration of the roots due to adding nutes, though I do have some of this as well.
Last time I got root rot, I reacted in two ways to address the issue...
1) I added Hydroguard. Over the course of several days, the roots were showing new white growth. For this reason, when I mixed my 65% nutes yesterday, I added Hydroguard as a preventative. NO LUCK!
2) I installed a chiller rather than dealing with ice bottles which I was concerned was likely causing shock due to the extreme cold when first placed in the reservoir. Also, I was never able to keep a constant temp with the ice bottles. The chiller does the trick nicely.
I'm once again at the beginning stages of root rot and in a bit of a panic. As I mentioned above, I used Hydroguard yesterday after mixing all of my nutes. I did this as a preventative measure and it didn't do the trick.
I also added SM-90. I know there's a ton of conflicting information out there on whether or not SM-90 can be used in conjunction with Hydroguard or anything else with beneficial bacteria. I ultimately decided there was a fair amount of disinformation in regards to the topic. Supposedly the company has produced tests showing that SM-90 does not impact beneficial bacteria. This could have been a big mistake?
I suppose my hunch is that I'm doing something wrong when doing the actual reservoir change. The process I follow is essentially:
- turn off and raise LED
- turn off inline pump to chiller
- raise top of the DWC lid (I've done this by installing a pulley system so that I can lift the lid straight up and out of the way
- siphon old soup out
- clean reservoir with H202, removing as much buildup as possible, though I haven't had a ton of "scum"
- siphon new water (I'm using deionized which is similar to distilled) into the reservoir
- mix in nutes as per instructions
- add in Hydroguard in amounts as per instructions
- add in SM-90 in amounts as per instructions
- correct pH (though this soup has almost always been right at my pH target)
- lowering lid back into place, ensuring roots make it back into water without getting stuck on any of the tubing in the reservoir
- lower and turn on LED
I am able to achieve all of this in less than 45 minutes, and my roots are out of the water for less than 30 minutes (am I killing my roots with a half hour air bath?).
As an aside, can I (should I) add Hydroguard or SM-90 to the reservoir again today to address the problem? I'm worried about using either product too frequently.
Again, sorry for the stupidly long post. I just wanted to included as much information as possible to help with diagnosis.
I truly and sincerely appreciate any help that can be offered.
I apologize in advance for the extremely lengthy post. And I did scour all forums (this and others), books, etc. as much as humanly possible before creating this post. I don't want to be one of those lazy people just asking questions when the answers can easily be found.
I'm a first time poster, so please forgive me if I'm not posting in the correct location or if I'm doing anything else stupid in regards to forum etiquette. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong...I won't take any offense.
I'm currently at day 30 of my first grow. I'm experiencing mostly good growth and overall health with some pretty significant hiccups along the way. I'm hoping those more experienced can help me before it's too late.
My setup:
I'm in a Supercloset Deluxe 3.0 running a Kind LED K3 - L450 with a 15 gallon DWC reservoir (Superponics 16, I think it's called). I'm using the Technaflora nutes that came with the closet package. They call it the "Recipe for Success" but I'm not so sure. I plan on changing my nute program next time around, but that's a topic for another day.
After germination and moving the babies "upstairs" into the veg/flower chamber, I started with 25% of the suggested nutrient levels. I have, over the course of three weeks increased my levels to 65%, having done a step by step increase on each reservoir change (started at 25%, then 40%, and now 65% as of yesterday).
My current stats:
Ambient air temp - 77 F (goes up and down a couple degrees over the course of the day)
Water temp - 66 F (I installed a chiller after my last scare with pythium)
PPM - 860
pH - 6.8
Relative humidity - ranges from 45-51% depending on time of day in relation to lights on/off
I have successfully germinated 10 seeds only to realize after the fact that I should probably only keep 2-5 of them in order to have enough space for the stretch and flower. I plan on culling all but a couple/few biggest soon, but I was hoping to get through this second reservoir change before doing so. The reason being is that each time I change my reservoir, I introduce the beginning stages of root rot. I'm certain that I'm not just observing a discoloration of the roots due to adding nutes, though I do have some of this as well.
Last time I got root rot, I reacted in two ways to address the issue...
1) I added Hydroguard. Over the course of several days, the roots were showing new white growth. For this reason, when I mixed my 65% nutes yesterday, I added Hydroguard as a preventative. NO LUCK!
2) I installed a chiller rather than dealing with ice bottles which I was concerned was likely causing shock due to the extreme cold when first placed in the reservoir. Also, I was never able to keep a constant temp with the ice bottles. The chiller does the trick nicely.
I'm once again at the beginning stages of root rot and in a bit of a panic. As I mentioned above, I used Hydroguard yesterday after mixing all of my nutes. I did this as a preventative measure and it didn't do the trick.
I also added SM-90. I know there's a ton of conflicting information out there on whether or not SM-90 can be used in conjunction with Hydroguard or anything else with beneficial bacteria. I ultimately decided there was a fair amount of disinformation in regards to the topic. Supposedly the company has produced tests showing that SM-90 does not impact beneficial bacteria. This could have been a big mistake?
I suppose my hunch is that I'm doing something wrong when doing the actual reservoir change. The process I follow is essentially:
- turn off and raise LED
- turn off inline pump to chiller
- raise top of the DWC lid (I've done this by installing a pulley system so that I can lift the lid straight up and out of the way
- siphon old soup out
- clean reservoir with H202, removing as much buildup as possible, though I haven't had a ton of "scum"
- siphon new water (I'm using deionized which is similar to distilled) into the reservoir
- mix in nutes as per instructions
- add in Hydroguard in amounts as per instructions
- add in SM-90 in amounts as per instructions
- correct pH (though this soup has almost always been right at my pH target)
- lowering lid back into place, ensuring roots make it back into water without getting stuck on any of the tubing in the reservoir
- lower and turn on LED
I am able to achieve all of this in less than 45 minutes, and my roots are out of the water for less than 30 minutes (am I killing my roots with a half hour air bath?).
As an aside, can I (should I) add Hydroguard or SM-90 to the reservoir again today to address the problem? I'm worried about using either product too frequently.
Again, sorry for the stupidly long post. I just wanted to included as much information as possible to help with diagnosis.
I truly and sincerely appreciate any help that can be offered.