Drooping Leaves, Yellowing, Dark spots

[SukonmiSkunk]

that would suggest... that the water sitting in the bottom isnt being used up by the plant at all.. and has turned rancid..

 

you need to run water through , this will flush the crap away.. if your water goes in at 6.0... then you want it coming out at around the same.. like at 5.8-6.2.. ish..

 

this what i was getting at before.. you cant think just cuz theres water in the tray that the plant is getting water... it doesnt work like that.. with out aeration that water will go stagnant after about 8-10 hours.. and once the PH goes way out of the suggested range.. 5.8 - 6.8... the plants will have trouble using it.. and stagnant water lacking oxygen is just going to create more issues..

 

perlite isnt the best hand watering medium.. its better suited with a recirc system.. where the nutrients get plenty or circulation.. thus getting plenty of aeration... also the fact that perlite needs watering every few hours.. easier to put that on a timer...

 

if you have to hand water.. maybe take the plants to the bathroom.. water.. wait for them to drain.. then back into the room.. so th pots arent sitting in stagnant water...

 

my suggestion would be to look up my "how to build a recirculating hydroponics system" and build that... its perfect to use with perlite.. or clayballs..

Edited August 11, 2009 by SukonmiSkunk

[mugwah86]

allright, a recirc system is out of the question. Hand water it has to be. So i'm better off watering small bits, frequently, so the perlite just gets enough water to keep it wet as everything that flows through is wasted?

So i'll have to water 2-3 times a day once with solution, once with water or water every second day. And only use enough water so that very little comes out of the bottom?

[WhiteSkunk]

@mug...wot lights you useing ? see a pot and plant that size only needs to be watered once a day

you r over watering her and make sure the pots up of the tray sit it on a brick or something

as you r not draining all water away,you should water it once a day at the same time every day

as u rnt giving the plant a chance to search for a drink,to much water is as bad as not enough

and you should only b at quat to half strenght not full strenght eg if bottle says 5ml @ltr then you do it

starting at 1 ml @ltr add bio bugs and au root repair,not to b safe you may also have a root prob so go buy some fungi rid mix 1 sachet to 2lts of water and water until you get a good run off out the bottom

then nxt day feed just water with bio bugs then day 3 start at 1ml @ltr with your nutes

stay on that for a week then up nutes to 2mls ect

 

see in a 50ltr pot under intence lighting yes we feed 6 times @ daqy in 18hrs and 4 times in flower

but your lighting isnt intence so its not drying it out so u dont need to feed as much

 

good luck and keep us posted cheers WS

[Budman2012]

Good advice given good there

Just thought I'd add my 2c worth ...

 

My 1st grow under a HID with perlite was fairly successful personally , was hand watered also ...

It was under a 1000w light but in a large space .. the Pots weren't huge , nowhere near 50L , maybe about 9-15 Litres.

Anyway , I would hand water once a day mostly ... and I NEVER went over 3/4 recommended nutrient strength throughout the entire grow , to start with was 1/4 ... upped to a 1/3rd upped to 1/2 and eventually 3/4 when the plant was well established and thriving for more ...

I also had the Pot Trays at the Bottom which would be 1/2 filled give or take with the watering (takes a bit of practise getting the volume of water right ofc) ...

Nutrients were NOT given every single day .. and some days if for whatever reason the water/nutrients hadn't evaporated or "transpirated" they would have a day off the watering/feed.

Every week I would give them just pure water , in fact I think it was pretty much , 1 feed ... 1 water .. 1 feed ... 1 water and so on

 

Your problem seems to be both over watering and over feeding .. therefore leading to other problems such as PH going out of whack

Take the advice given about flushing (flush medium complety but gently and slowly with perlite) then once they are drained let them sit for a day or two but don't let the medium ever be overly dry either (finger 2 inches down , if there is moisture all is good).

After that just small amounts of Nutrients for a seedling ... 1/4 strength or less I reckon

Basically , the best way to give a seedling dis-ease is by over watering and/or over-feeding.

 

O.k. , Hope any of that helps and let us know how it's going

Cheerz and Happy Growing

 

Budman

[mugwah86]

I am thorougly confused. my light is a 400W lHPS.

So I water only a little bit, and let the excess drain out? Is that right? And then whatever drains out I throw out? Or I keep and recycle back into my growing formula?

how much should I water?

[SukonmiSkunk]

growing in straight perlite.. a medium that doesnt hold a lot of water.. needs more frequent waterings.. it has nuthing to do with plant size..( that is just a stupid suggestion) it has everything to do with the medium... and in this case.. under a 400 watt light.. the medium will be dry with in about 3-4 hours.. actually.. a plant this size.. that doesnt have an established root system to trap water with in the medium will need even more frequent waterings...

 

you cant over water in perlite.. and in fact.. as the water runs through the pot.. this is what draw air(oxygen) into the the root zone.. not constant watering.. its only when you stop watering.. the water draws air down.. so .. the more frequent you can water.. the more air can be drawn to the root zone.. which mean more vigorous growth...

 

ive said it before.. when im in perlite.. i water for 30mins.. every 3 hours in my recirc system...

 

ive just planted out a fresh batch of clones in clayballs... a medium that holds even less water.,. i water for 15mins.. every hour while the lights are on.. for same reason i gave before.. plants being small.. dont have an established root system.. needs more frequent watering..

 

im in chat if you need a more in depth explanation...

[mugwah86]

hmmmm, what medium is the best ofr holding water?

[SukonmiSkunk]

maybe try a blend of perlite and granulated rockwool... or perlite and coco fibre... for good drainage try it at around 50/50...

 

this will hold a little more moisture so you are only feeding once or twice a day..

 

i think daily waterings are a lot better than every 2-3 days... as plants go though a daily cycle.. and water is a huge part of that cycle... plus the more frequently you can water the more air can be drawn to the root zone assuring vigorous growth... also if you get any issues..which no doubt you will... a medium that has good drainage can be flushed a lot easier than a medium that has less drainage.. meaning a faster recovery time..

 

same thing applies with the nutrient uptake.. water with just plain water every 3 waterings.. or even go 1 to 1 as Budman has suggested... this will ensure the medium staying free from salts building up...

[mugwah86]

Allright i'm going to be watering the plant every day, or twice a day (once in the morning, once at night) and only watering until run off comes out the bottom. Once the run off comes out the bottom i'll collect the runoff and put it back itn with my water and nutrient solution and re-check PH and nutrient quantity. Once to twice a week i'll flush the system with 1-2L of water to prevent salt build up.

Does that sound about right?

 

I am also considering making a soil/perlite hybrid pot but am in the middle of fighting a scarab beetle infection (fungus gnats) in a soil pot I currently have so not 100% sure about the soil/perlite hybrid if those little fuckers keep hanging around.

[SukonmiSkunk]

once the water has passed through its probably not the best idea to reuse it.. probably wouldnt hurt.. but not the best idea..

 

water once till you see about 10% runoff in the morning.. then .. check the pots weight... come back about half way through the day.. check the weight of the pot... and if it feels a lot lighter.. then maybe water again.. youll probably get away with just 1 watering in the morning.. but it will vary as the plant grows.. checking the weight of the pot will tell you if its dry or not.. try not to water just before lights out... so with a little trial and error.. maybe use a little in the morning.. and a little more half way through the light hours.. should be fine..

 

water with plain water every 3rd watering.. and you should be fine..