violent PH swing...

[operator1]

Well... I had started my flowering cycle last night, changed all the buckets out and put in my samples of biobizz grow and top max with a little shot of micronutrient in each. I had all the buckets adjusted down to 5.8 ph before I went to sleep. I checked them today when the lights came on and they were 7.4 ph and the water almost looks clear now. Also, the roots have some pretty dark spots on them too. I'm wondering what is going on with the ph? The temps are 75 in the room with the lights on, the buckets are cool to the touch, not sure exact temp. The plants themselves look good, no wilting or anything, just wondering why the big swing and why the water looks like it has almost no nutrient in it after one day. The ppm is between 290 and 320 between all the buckets. I just felt the roots where they are discolored and they don't feel slimy or anything. I need some advice on this please.

[anothertime]

hope you added your nutes then adjusted your ph.if you have root problems add a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide(35%) per gallon of water.also rising ph usually indicates that you are feeding a little to much,the other thing that cases this is lockout in that case flush, decrease your ppm at 50ppm at a time till your ph straightens out.hope this helps!!!!

[operator1]

thanks. I thought maybe the load was a bit high when I did it but wasn't sure. And yes, I mixed the nutes then adjusted ph. The only problem right now is that I can't flush cause I don't have anything else to put in at the moment until I go back to the hydro shop. So I'll have to wait til tomorrow at least to flush and re dose the nutes.

[operator1]

Will the hydrogen peroxide effect my ph?

[anothertime]

no it will not

[anothertime]

also if you are guessing on water amount use a half teaspoon instead of a whole one better to error on to little than to much.

[operator1]

I have a little over a gallon in each bucket, they are only two gallon buckets to start with. So I think a teaspoon would do the trick. thanks for the advice. I think next time around I'm going to use a rubbermaid container so I only have to mix and adjust one res rather then four.

[operator1]

what exactly does the hydrogen peroxide do?

[anothertime]

repairs the root rot,not sure if this is your case but roots usually brown then blacken somewhat then start growing a white film on them.

[operator1]

yeah... looked a little black in spots, looked fine last night though. I have to go and get some fox farm big bloom tomorrow and hopefully flush and save these plants before something bad happens.

[operator1]

would you suggest adding hydrogen peroxide with every res change to prevent root rot issues, or just when needed?

[anothertime]

no i think you should only use it when needed or at least that is what i have done in the past.there is usually a reason for root root and they are many the best thing you can do is try to find the problem of the rot,rather than constantly treating.hope this helps!!!

[operator1]

thanks for the help... I'll try to make it through tonight and flush tomorrow.

[tokecrazy]

Hey Operator1, When you added the mirco did you do that first.What I mean is when using a any mirco you add it to the water first and then the grow and bloom.If you didn't this can cause the ph swing.One other thing what water are you using to grow with?Tap water must sit out for a day to evaporate the chlorine out of it.If you can ,use spring water that you buy at the store.It doesn't have any chlorine in it.For the ease of using nutr I would get the GH 3-part,for it's cheaper than most nutr and it works great too.Take a look at my dwc or cab grows and you can see what it does.The spots on the roots is from the nutrs.They didnt get mixed well in the water is all.This is what I do, I mix my nutr in a barrel or tub,I add the mirco first and let it mix with the water for a little while.Then I add the other two parts and the additives like sweet to the mix.Then I let it sit for a while like a day with a air stone bubbling in it.I check the mix and PH it if needed.Let it stabilize{stabilize by letting it bubble for a hour or so,then check the mix and see if the PH is where you need it to be.With one gallon buckets it wil be hard to stabilize the mix in each bucket.This why I use a tub or barrel to mix all the nutr in for all the buckets.Flush your buckets with plain PH water for a day or so.While that's going on mix your nutr up and let them stabilize and ph them.Dump the buckets and refill with your nutr mix.I think you will be alright then. If not holler at me I get to it. Peace

[operator1]

I added the micro after the other two nutrients, but still haven't had problem with that in the past with the ph. the nutrient was mixed well... no sediment in the water that I could see and a uniform color, so I'm not sure that was it either. The roots are not a brown color, they have black parts but hopefully will clear up today. I have a five gallon bucket bubbling since last night that I'll mix up and balance today before I change the other buckets tonight. Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll let you know how it goes.

[LeCreuset]

Originally Posted by anothertime

repairs the root rot,not sure if this is your case but roots usually brown then blacken somewhat then start growing a white film on them.

Just out of curiosity, how do your plants look? Still growing, still green, generally healthy appearance?

How long have you been using that nutrient mix? Some nutrient companies lines tend to stain the roots brown, they look like they are rotting but they arent.

[operator1]

they were pristine white before I put in the biobizz mix... then they got brown. The plants look great, except for some suspected male preflowers. I'm thinking that it might just be staining, I was a little freaked out by how dark they got in one day though. I guess that would explain why the water was almost clear and the roots were brown... I guess it makes more sense when I think about it.

[LeCreuset]

cool, hope thats all it was.









(they aint dead ar they?)