LEAVES TURNING RUSTY! Any help??

kowato12

Member
Hey everyone!!!

New member here, and I'm having issues with my plant 5 weeks in. I was wondering if anyone can help?? I'm currently growing in a 5 gallon pot Gorilla Glue (autoflower) and I'm using a "300 watt" UFO LED light around 18 inches from the plant. The temp on average is between 77-87 degrees (depending on the point of day), with my humidity running between 50%-60% on average. I recently started using a 24 hour light schedule for the plant, originally was doing 18/6.

Do pictures look like a pH issue, mineral deficiency, heat issue, underwatering, etc.?
If anyone could help that would be awesome, i'm just worried I'll lose the plant eventually.
 

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The8thChevron

Well-Known Member
Could be a fungus. You can mix 1tsp baking soda in a quart of water and spray it down (or buy a fungicide). Also check the underside of leaves for mites. There is a chance it's some kind of toxicity too in which case do a small flush and see if it improves.
This could be a lot of things unfortunately, but those are the least harmful troubleshooting options.
 

kowato12

Member
I just noticed your temps are a little hot too, get yourself an inline duct fan if you don't already have one.
I do have an inline fan ducting out of the tent. Carbon filter to inline fan to duct out. But I'm ducting into the same room unfortunately because that was my only option. I do have an AC in the same room that I turn on when it gets too hot and that seems to keep the temp around 80 degrees
 

The8thChevron

Well-Known Member
I do have an AC in the same room that I turn on when it gets too hot and that seems to keep the temp around 80 degrees
Unfortunate. Add a swamp cooler. Take you 5 minutes to throw one together. If your AC isnt pumping enough cool air, pull out the filter and clean well. They usually slide out so you dont need a screwdriver or anything. You can also make sure the vents on your tent closest to the AC are the only ones open.
 

kowato12

Member
The 24 hour cycle might not be the best idea if your hitting high 80s.
I'm going to go back to 18/6. I'll shut it off for 6 hours during the day when temps are highest, and i'll close one of my vents thats not facing the AC to see if this makes a difference. Someone in another forum site said it could be due to improper pH so I made my pH close to 6 (as visually possible, i dont have a digital meter). Will water it now with unfiltered water but pH treated water (I noticed this started happening coincidentally once I started using BRITA filtered water).
Someone also mentioned that my plant might not be getting enough light. They were concerned my UFO light doesn't actually supply the wattage it claims to supply (300w). I linked the kit I bought for the tent that came with the light.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RM6TVNS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

The8thChevron

Well-Known Member
I'm going to go back to 18/6. I'll shut it off for 6 hours during the day when temps are highest, and i'll close one of my vents thats not facing the AC to see if this makes a difference. Someone in another forum site said it could be due to improper pH so I made my pH close to 6 (as visually possible, i dont have a digital meter). Will water it now with unfiltered water but pH treated water (I noticed this started happening coincidentally once I started using BRITA filtered water).
Someone also mentioned that my plant might not be getting enough light. They were concerned my UFO light doesn't actually supply the wattage it claims to supply (300w). I linked the kit I bought for the tent that came with the light.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RM6TVNS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I just looked at it. It's very outdated but should still grow 1 plant fairly well. I understand why you went with the 24 cycle now. I would move it to within 12" if it's not too hot and your plant still gets full coverage. You lose a lot of par in those extra couple inches. You're much better off in getting a quantum board with white lights. You can get one that's much better for like $120.
I paid $260 for my Mars Hydro TSW 2000 and it can cover 4 plants easy. If you're stuck with the blurple guy for now, lower to 12-14".
 

kowato12

Member
I just looked at it. It's very outdated but should still grow 1 plant fairly well. I understand why you went with the 24 cycle now. I would move it to within 12" if it's not too hot and your plant still gets full coverage. You lose a lot of par in those extra couple inches. You're much better off in getting a quantum board with white lights. You can get one that's much better for like $120.
I paid $260 for my Mars Hydro TSW 2000 and it can cover 4 plants easy. If you're stuck with the blurple guy for now, lower to 12-14".
awesome, i'll lower it to 12 inches and see if that makes a difference. SO the following will be done and i'll report back with updates:

1) go back to 18/6 light schedule.
2) monitor temp better and not let it exceed 85 degrees (is that ok?)
3) water more (i feel I've been underwatering, i do around half a gallon of water every 2 days for my 5 gallon pot)
 

The8thChevron

Well-Known Member
awesome, i'll lower it to 12 inches and see if that makes a difference. SO the following will be done and i'll report back with updates:

1) go back to 18/6 light schedule.
2) monitor temp better and not let it exceed 85 degrees (is that ok?)
3) water more (i feel I've been underwatering, i do around half a gallon of water every 2 days for my 5 gallon pot)
It will live in 85, some strains might not even feel it, but anything over 80 is considered high and it probably wont grow as fast. Try the swamp cooler too. Just fill a bucket with water, hang some kind of absorbent cloth on the edge (half in, half out), and have a fan blow on the cloth.
 

The8thChevron

Well-Known Member
You can also get root rot at those temps so it couldnt hurt to buy a root guard of some kind. It will allow the plant to take up more nutes at that temp too. A cheap bottle will run you $10‐$20 and last you for probably more than a year if you only have 1 plant going at a time.
 

kowato12

Member
mhmm the root rot possibility does scare me...hopefully its not that and just the brown spots on my leaves are a result of improper pH, poor lighting distance, and underwatering.

I just watered the plant with 1 gallon of unfiltered water, 1 quart at a time. lowered the light to 12 inches, and the temp is around 83. in an hour i'll turn the light off for 6 hours. I also elevated the pot so the runoff went into a sauce pan (wasn't doing that before today)
 

The8thChevron

Well-Known Member
I just tested the pH of my runoff and it's blood red (super acidic). Is this an issue?
Yes! You shouldn't go below 6. I aim for 6.5 just so inaccuracies keeps me safe. Just water with 7pH water the next couple feeds and retest. This could have been your problem to begin with.
 

kowato12

Member
sounds good. yikes, now i'm a little scared haha i lowered the pH even more today (2 drops more of pH down per quart) + i watered the plant with a gallon of that... and i've never watered more than 2 quarts (.5 gallon) before. hopefully my plant doesn't die today. I'll keep you updated with results over the next couple days until I have to water again, which I won't treat at all. my soil pH tester comes in this week as well. so i'll measure the soil pH as well as the water going in, and then finally runoff to see if there's a difference
 

kowato12

Member
Yes! You shouldn't go below 6. I aim for 6.5 just so inaccuracies keeps me safe. Just water with 7pH water the next couple feeds and retest. This could have been your problem to begin with.
the company that sold me the pot mix etc said the plants in the pictures i sent them look healthy, but a big overwatered. I didn't know overwatering could be a potential reason for the brown spots on my leaves?
 
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