Problems with Hydroponics!?
I started up my hydroponic system about a month and a half ago. I’m starting out with seeds, which have been growing for about 3 weeks now. They’ve been looking healthy but lately, the leaves are turning a blackish-brownish color and I don’t know why. I have a florescent white spectrum bulb on them and a small heat lamp. There’s always water in the seed tray. I haven’t added anything to the water. Is it the water, fungal, heat? Please help my plants!
PS> If it helps, they are ice burg lettuce plants and tomatoes.
Thanks
if u had a picture i could help more maybe. if u get one u can email me if u want.
you said “haven’t added anything to the water” so does that mean no food is in the water? because they need Do food. for seedlings u can start with 300-700 PPM but then if they have more than their first leaves u go up more. sometimes up to 1500 PPM. it varies a little on what u are growing. both lettuce and tomatoes are big eaters so u are ok by trying the larger doses of nutes (signs of overdose show soon so just watch changes and immediately flush with plain water if trouble).
PPM. the fertilizers have their own dilution rates on the bottles. but also you can use a “fertilizer calculator” online to see if the package directions agree with your PPM plan:
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0oGkxrl4C9K3gEACZtXNyoA?p=fertilizer+calculator+PPM&y=Search&fr=b1ie7&fr2=sb-top&sao=1
ok and also air gets added to water. Like in your reservoir u want an airstone. it runs off a small cheap fish tank air pump. lack of air can allow bacterial rot on roots; look at roots to see their color, we want white or light beige but dark brown means dead.
if u have no air stone but Do have hydrogen peroxide then add some now. how much? IF u see root rot, add one cup per gallon of water (even if u do have air stone). But if no root discoloration from rot then add only two teaspoons per gallon. repeat the 2t once weekly until u set up air stone and regulate temperature…
the hydrogen peroxide will add oxygen for the plant but the big dose will add enough to oxidize the bacteria to death. it adds oxygen because it is h2o2 and loses one o leaving h2o (water). use regular drug store bottle that says 3% (verse industrial strength bottles).
temperature. air can get Forced out Of the water by heat. so if the root water is too warm then it can get dead roots and the rotting bacteria that way too. Below 72F is what we want but 68F is best but Not lower. seems exact but once u know how hot ur house, lights and all are then u can arrange it so it is static. some people use a fan to blow on the reservoir to cool the water if necessary.
normal routine is to put full strength nutes in water then keep adding Plain water to keep it full UNTIL you have replaced equal volume to what was there…then replace Whole thing with new batch of fresh nute water at correct PPM.
whether to wait that long u can tell after a while because u will See how much your plants grow every day and know their normal rate and if they miss a day then another day but Do grow if u give them nutes then u will know.
mostly the way i know if my plants grow is i have to raise the light every day. i keep my tube fluorescents at one inch and so the plants will grow into it every day.
heat lamp seems unnecessary unless u are experimenting with spectrums. the heat itself they do not need unless it is during really low temperature nights. below 50F air temp and i would prolly give some type of heat for tomatoes and below 32F u cannot go of course because (most plant types) freeze.
pH u also need to know. pH test kit comes from garden or pool supply but i think litmus paper u could use. recommended is below 6 and most growers are using 5.7. what u do is check it every day until u get hang of how often it changes. it will be changing based on what kind of nutes u use. to correct it into range u can use vinegar.
uh lets see, lets see…i think that covers it but i guess ur next question will be what to feed. It can vary on what your delivery system is because if u had drip emitters that were really fine they acn get clogged. but otherwise it is pretty much ur discretion if they are soluable enough to get to the plant. without shopping at a hydro store, best u can get is maybe fish, kelp and african violet food. use each at 1/3 their strength so the three add to one.
see how it is animal and salty sea product they sell? totally contrary to all compost/plant texts that say no meat or salt in soil or compost piles, LOL. maybe consult this text for feeding ideas:
http://www.exoticgardening.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2040
here is some links to hydro info:
http://www.dmoz.org/Home/Gardening/Hydroponic/
cannabis EcoSystem hydroponics Vertical Grow Guide .
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