Noob Attempting Hydro. Need advice!

A_String

A_String

Well-Known Member
Okay so...I bought a bucket, an air stone (with pump) and a lid with the mesh cup. I filled the bucket with the water/nutrient solution and added mesh with clay pebbles and put in my seedling. a month later, I have a beautiful plant.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the new leaves were coming in lemon yellow. I figured it was a Nitrogen deficiency but didn't think much of it as, the lower leaves were still fine and the new ones eventually greened up (from the veins out). Then, one morning, I opened the grow tent and the plant was drooping REALLY badly. It was water change day so I did my water change but, by the next day, the plant was dead.

Now...before I make another attempt at this...I thought it prudent to seek advice from people who know WAY more about this than I do.

Go easy on me! I'm a noob and know NOTHING!
 
S

spek9

Well-Known Member
Welcome to RIU!

What was the pH of the nutrient solution in the bucket?

While you're at it, let us know the rest of the details. Lights, temperature, humidity, nutrients, reservoir water temperature etc.
 
A_String

A_String

Well-Known Member
Thanks so much for the quick response and welcome!

I have 15 seeds and thought I'd take a stab at keeping it simple (ie. read cheap, lol). Water temp was around 68F. As for the Nutrients, the lady at the Hydro store sold me 20-20-20 and something else for flowering (although I never got to that stage). I assumed the yellowing was an N deficiency (based on what I read online). The drooping was sudden. I went to bed with a very healthy, slightly yellowed new leaves, plant and woke up to a dead one. I have ordered a PH pen for my next attempt. The lights are this one https://www.homedepot.ca/product/feit-electric-2-ft-2-light-19w-white-led-full-spectrum-linkable-grow-light/1001089719 and another grow bulb I got from Home depot. I know they aren't a lot, but I have the plant inside a grow tent and anything I've grown in soil has done fine with it.

Anyway...I know it's not a lot to go on so at this point I'm looking for advice on my second attempt (nutrients, PH pen brands, etc. etc.) anything that will help me out without breaking the bank (I have a teenage daughter to feed! lol).
 
A_String

A_String

Well-Known Member
fragileassassin said:
Sounds like you may have run into root rot.
Were you running peroxide or anything as a preventative?
Click to expand...
No. But I will in the future! lol. Shoot. So much work lost. Okay...sad days behind me. What do I need to do to do this better!

...and thanks again for the help and advice. Sorry if I'm a bit new at this.
 
A_String

A_String

Well-Known Member
So did a bit of reading on different types of root rot. Looks like that may have been the culprit. The yellowing may have been because the roots were coated and not getting enough nutrients. Eventually, they were coated entirely and the pant stopped getting water.

The air tube that goes into the top of the bucket MAY have been letting light in. Plus, it was getting warm from time to time... So..my next step is going to be preventing root rot. I can block off the opening where the tube is with electrical tape etc. But how do I keep it cool? Also...is Hydrogen Peroxide the best way to prevent future blooms and...if so, how much/how frequently?

Again, thanks for bearing with me as I stumble my way through all of this.
 
GBAUTO

GBAUTO

Well-Known Member
If you can't keep the room below 80 degF, I think that running a sterile system is the only way hydro will work for you. If you can keep it below that, I've had multiple grows using bennies like hydroguard or GFF.
 
Darkoh69

Darkoh69

Well-Known Member
You need lots of air bubbling around the roots & by lots I mean lots & lots, like frothing!! So a real big air stone not much smaller than a soda can & an air pump grunty enough to push heaps of air through it. The entire surface of the water should be foaming with bubbles all the time constantly till harvest (idealy)
 
A_String

A_String

Well-Known Member
GBAUTO said:
If you can't keep the room below 80 degF, I think that running a sterile system is the only way hydro will work for you. If you can keep it below that, I've had multiple grows using bennies like hydroguard or GFF.
Click to expand...
Is running a sterile system more than just keeping everything clean? Is there something different I'd need to do?
 
A_String

A_String

Well-Known Member
Darkoh69 said:
You need lots of air bubbling around the roots & by lots I mean lots & lots, like frothing!! So a real big air stone not much smaller than a soda can & an air pump grunty enough to push heaps of air through it. The entire surface of the water should be foaming with bubbles all the time constantly till harvest (idealy)
Click to expand...
The air stone I have now is about the size of a D Cell battery. So large but not as big as a soda can. I will look at buying a larger one.
 
A_String

A_String

Well-Known Member
Interesting. Reading up on it, a bit. I see that you can use "pool shock" or Bleach (I assume you'd need to flush all of that away at some point before harvest?). I wondered if one of those UV lights would work? The ones they use in reef tanks to kill algae and bacteria. Like this: https://amzn.to/3aOLC6L

Also,I had another close look at the roots (The plant is still in the DWC with everything running. I'm 99% sure it's not going to make it...but on the off chance! lol). The roots are clumped and slightly brown. While there isn't a build up of slime, you can see a slight glimmer too them that looks like the start of it. I'd say you guys nailed the diagnosis. Now I just have to figure out how to deal with it, in the future, assuming it's an issue with temperature.
 
A_String

A_String

Well-Known Member
rkymtnman said:
hth pool shock is by far the cheapest but you need an accurate scale to use it properly.
Click to expand...
So, would you recommend pool shock over bleach or hydrogen peroxide? And if so, how much do I add? I was changing the water in the DWC system, once a week. Do I add the chemical daily or just when I do the water change?
 
rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
A_String said:
So, would you recommend pool shock over bleach or hydrogen peroxide? And if so, how much do I add? I was changing the water in the DWC system, once a week. Do I add the chemical daily or just when I do the water change?
Click to expand...
0.10 grams per 10 gallons water is 1ppm free chlorine. up to 5ppm is safe. since it seems like you have rot, i would give it 3ppm 2x a week until it's gone. then 1x a week as maintenance.

and when you measure it out, you'll see why you need a good scale: it's not very much.
 
A_String

A_String

Well-Known Member
rkymtnman said:
0.10 grams per 10 gallons water is 1ppm free chlorine. up to 5ppm is safe. since it seems like you have rot, i would give it 3ppm 2x a week until it's gone. then 1x a week as maintenance.

and when you measure it out, you'll see why you need a good scale: it's not very much.
Click to expand...
Plant has been drooped for three days now. A lot of the leaves have died and fallen off, I'm pretty sure this one is dead. It even stopped smelling like pot. Anyway, I'm going to try again. Just want to help prevent root rot in the next one. So...once a week, with the water change so do it?
 
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