Help!! I don't know what this is or why it's happening?! Hydro grow!!

Grow apparatus: Aerogarden (I'm aware that this isn't ideal for cannibus)
Lighting: vegetative and into the first couple weeks of flowering we used the two CFL bulbs included with Aerogarden.

About a week ago I installed a larger T5 light with two flowering spectrum bulbs because the plant was getting too tall and we felt a larger, more powerful light was necessary anyways. Along with that I added a fan. We've been using foil as a reflector but I know it can create heat spots, etc. I now have some diamond foil that we're going to implement next time. I continued using the aerogarden's CFL for lighting the lower parts.

Nutrients: Fox Farms Big Bloom, Tiger Bloom, Grow Big and Open Sesame.

Seeds: an auto flowering Indica, were not sure the actual strain because the seeds were accidently mixed up.

Ok, the plant has been looking great. I mean we had no problems at all. Actually, we had a Ph issue early but we solved that. We've been following the Fox Farms nutrient schedule. Last Friday I put in the light and the fans and changed our lighting schedule to 16/8 , we were using 12/12 the whole time. I used one of those brinks analog light timers and left my appartment for the weekend with everything looking really good.
When I get back to my apartment I noticed the plant looked to be a slightly darker shade and some of the leaves around the buds looked a little droopy. Then I checked the reservoir and saw the water was really low. This was quite strange and we had never had that issue. So, I took a jug of distilled water and filled it up and added nutrients. According to the Fox Farms schedule it was time to do it anyway. So then it all went to hell the plant started showing the issues that you can see in the pictures. I scrambled to diagnose the issue but I'm baffled. It looks like under watering as the leaves are dry and rough to the touch. Please, if anyone knows what this looks like and how to fix it let me know. I've included a pic of the healthy plant and then pics of the sick plant. Please read the important notes below. I don't know if they are important but I figure I'd include them.

- we were using a combination of bottled water and tap water. We hadn't tested the ph lately but oddly enough the tap water I tested today was way basic. I don't know why it didn't kill the plant earlier!

- the humidity was around 16-20. I tried to raise it will water pans to no avail

- today I added water that I adjusted for optimal pH with no nutrients. I use the hydroponics wide range test and the ph up/down liquids that were included.

- I turned the fans very low. I did this because the guy at the Hydro store said they can sometimes dry your plants out.

I hope I've included the relevant pieces of information so someone can make some suggestions. If I think of anything else Ill post it.

It's depressed.

you should change the res not adjust it.

I would clean your rez out and put in fresh fluid. If your plant isn't using all the nutrients and you add more you are increasing the concentration. When the concentration gets high enough the salts will actually draw moisture out of the plant dehydrating it.

Fresh reservoir for the win.

Thanks guys. I already siphoned out the nutrient rich water and replaced with nutrient free ph balanced water. I assuming you mean to take the reservoir and clean it thoroughly and then put the plant/roots back in? Unfortunately, the Aerogarden's reservoir doesn't make that an easy task. The roots have grown in such a way that pulling everything up through that tiny hole would surely not be good. I'm going to see if there is any to separate the reservoir into two parts. Oh and one detail. Could this happen because I left the light on for three days straight. I was a little concerned that I didn't correctly set up the analog timer.

How many gallons is that growing in? Maybe its rootbound. Looks like not much room from the pics. I would.nt grow in that next time if I were you.

bde0001 said:

How many gallons is that growing in? Maybe its rootbound. Looks like not much room from the pics. I would.nt grow in that next time if I were you.

Click to expand...

Yes, unfortunately I think this (root bound) may also be a problem. The quick down turn health indicates something has gone really wrong. It's grown so well with our nutrient schedule, reservoir changes so far. This had lead me to assume that it isn't a nutrient issue. I have pics from all through the grow and it's been so perfectly healthy. I mean perfect. There was some ever so slight yellow dots very early in the grow that went away with pH adjustment.

I am quite aware that the reservoir needs to be larger. My plan on the next grow was to do a professional hydro grow with all the trimmings, etc. That being said, what if I got that setup now. Like tommorow. Could I do a transplant even if its root bound?

well I never done hydro..But i imagine you could set the new system up and take the plant and roots(without disturbing them greatly) and put it in the new setup. I would ask a experienced hydro grower just to be sure though. But yes, i believe you could do that. And if its rootbound, and you transplant it. it will greatly improve...GREATLY

I've grown in an aerogarden, your plant is not root-bound.

When we say change your res we do not mean just plain pH water, we mean pH nutrient solution.

pH should be 5.8 and ppm should be 500-900 at the very least

aerogarden's are amazing just watch out for slim

you can take the whole lid off the res with the plant and then wash the res then put the lid with the plant back on

Wow, this plant looks like it two steps outta the grave but its doing ok.
I hate to say this but it looks like your rez is doing very, very bad. That whole rez looks like it needs a wash and the roots probably do too. If that was my plant id saw that poor girl off the top of that wierd thing its in and cut a hole in a DWC bucket for her. Whats going on there is all wrong.

Okay, I cleaned the reservoir really well. It was actually quite easy to take everything apart. I took the plant and gently washed the roots with pH adjusted water and put pH adjusted water in the reservoir and replaced the plant. I know the plant has been stressed badly in the last couple of days so maybe it needs time to recover?
Here are some new pics that I hope can help people diagnose. Also, thanks for the responses thus far. This is really the only way I can reach out for responses on my grow problems. Hopefully, when I gain enough knowledge I can pay back that favor.

Do you guys think this may be Phosphorus deficiency? Maybe? Arrrrrgh!! Must...save...plant.

so what are your current ph readings and ppms? u need a digtal ph meter if u wanna have the slightest success in hydroponics. if u are goin all out on a room soon then u have no reason not to drop 50$ on a basic digital meter or better yet a 150-200$ tri- meter. what about water temps? u ever check those? i think u are on the right track in it not being a nutrient issue. improper ph causes nutrients to become unavailable or locked out. check these charts out as i have found them both very useful.

thisthis too