HELP! Can't stop my babies from stretching

I’m using a 3x6 Ebb and Flow system, SOG Style, with just hydroton as a medium.
Once the clones are rooted I place them directly into net pots filled with Hydroton and place them in the table. By week 2 they are 3-5 times the height they started.

I’m using 2x400W HPS and 1x250W MH inside glass tubes. These lights are only 24 inches above the surface of the hydroton. Root Temp is kept between 74-76 during day and 68-70 at night (I use a remote digital thermometer so temp is very accurate). Table is flooded for 15mins on 45 mins off during day and once every 2 hours at night. Because clones are new I kept PPM's in 650-750 range for first 2 weeks. Up to about 950 after that. The strain is called OG Kush. It is an indica made for SOG. I do not know the humidity level of the room but would assume it is high as I live in a very rainy climate.

This problem seems to only be affecting the plants in the hydroton. I have a small soil container with babies’ right beside the table and these plants have tight internode spacing. The plants I grow in soil are father away from the light but are averaging about 12 Grams per plant. In the Hydroton under 6 Grams.

Sorry for being so long winded. Just wanted to get the facts out. Any suggestions?? Anyone heard of this problem with Ebb and Flow or Hydroton?

hey r543 .. is this your first grow ?

Is the stretching in the first 2 weeks of flowering? Plants can stretch because of a lack of light. Sounds like you have enough light but how far are they from it?

its a bizarre 1 but all you can do is move the lights closer or bend over the tops tie them down untill they have stopped stretching.

Toast Master: Nope. I have some experience. Only been having stretch problems since I got my ebb and flow table.

Blow4Life: I dont really think light is the issue. The bulbs are 24 inches away from the top of the table. maybe 15 from the canopy. As I said I have some clones in soil on the side of the table, further from the bulbs, are not stretching at all. Just the stuff in hydroton.

Supernova: I have tried tieing them down and this has seemed to help. I just want to not waste all that great energy building thin stem instead of flower sites.

Does anyone think a higher does of fert will help?? Maybe find a way to rootbind the clones in a small, enclosed container instead of a net pot??

as you can see 4 weeks in the plants have grown 5 times their own height. All at 12/12.

The hydroton provides explosive growth. I just want to channel the energy in the right direction.

P.S. The tallest one at the very back is a Sativa clone a buddy hooked me up with, also no veg on that one. Rest are indica.

what about using some bushmaster that stops streching.just a though

ha check out my stretch on these they are three weeks into bud but it gets so dam hot in there so i have to have the light far away cant afford vents im poor

nathanshair said:

ha check out my stretch on these they are three weeks into bud but it gets so dam hot in there so i have to have the light far away cant afford vents im poor

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don't sell yourself short sir, you certainly can stop the stretch! most likely its caused from the light being too far from the plant. also, someone said if its th4e fiorst few weeks of flowering, this will also cause it. onlyotehr reason i know of for stretching is the use of supplimental carbon dioxide. this can also cause stretching during entire use fo co2. however, i've only heard iof it causing stretching in high amounts. not so much from the old yeast and sugar water trick, but more a timer with a tank. sorry if someone alreay said this!

Too much phosphorus can cause stretching. Hydroton no matter how much they try to advertise to the contrary takes up huge amoumts of nitrate and potash making it much less available to the plants. It does not take up phosphorus. Mosts soils have do have higher CEC values but the tend to cause inbalances like hydroton.

This is especially a problem when anyone uses a high Phosphorus budding formula during the normal stretch stage. With most hydro with an absorbancy or any real CEC potential the phosphorus ratio should be no more than about 1/3 phosphorus to the nitrogen so as to not cause a lot of stretching. Ie 3:1:3, 6:2:6 etc The only time in budding you will need more phopshorus than that is when the pH rises.

http://www.onhort.com/What-Really-Causes-Stretch-article2891

sweeeeeeeeeeeeet