hydro help please, growing advice needed,

HELP...NOT SURE WHAT TO DO NEXT.....beginner on hydro
plants are two weeks old,
lighting is at 18 hours 400w
ph meter reads 6.8 to 7.0 ( paper tester) i have a ph digetal coming
using 20-20-20---- 25 mil for each 4 gallOns IS THIS RIGHT?
pump is the 3500 model fish pump, , i have it running all day all night
see pic of plants and any proper advise would be greatfull, my plants are for personal use only the room i built is 6' x 8',
the pic on the side is the mother which is seperated from the hydro
any advice or comments would be appreciated
thank you and happy smoking

I am a newbie to this forum, but your ph is too high. Should be 5.8 target. The nute lockout can be seen in the yellowing tips. The plant can"t eat right so they have taken to eating themselvs.

The single plant really needs to get some light on!

Looks like you have some nice stuff to work with.

Keep reading and working at it and everybody will be TOKIN

thanks i will do that, the one by itself is the mother, its keep in a separate room, lighting is at 12 hours on 12 hours off, MOTHER ONLY
i will increase the lighting for the mother and post new pics in a few days
as for my hydro plants that are almost two weeks old on monday, i will make sure on monday when i change the water that the ph is proper as suggested at 5.8, i am using 20-20-20- should i change now my formula and the amount i am using is this right, and a big THANK YOU to all

thanks i will do that, the one by itself is the mother, its keep in a separate room, lighting is at 12 hours on 12 hours off, MOTHER ONLY
i will increase the lighting for the mother and post new pics in a few days
as for my hydro plants that are almost two weeks old on monday, i will make sure on monday when i change the water that the ph is proper as suggested at 5.8, i am using 20-20-20- should i change now my formula and the amount i am using is this right, and a big THANK YOU to all

When the pH meter gets there, return it and get an EC meter instead. pH indicators (drops)/strips are more accurate and precise than a meter could ever be.

E S said:

When the pH meter gets there, return it and get an EC meter instead. pH indicators (drops)/strips are more accurate and precise than a meter could ever be.

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Umm what?

I am not sure how you ever came to that conclusion. Even without proper calibration, a meter will always be more accurate than trying to guess the exact ph using different hues of color.

Bottom line: Strips/Drops are unreliable. Digital read outs give a ph within a .01 accuracy.

If you're color blind a meter might be for you. Anyway.... an EC meter is going to be more help for you than a pH meter.

i will research what a ec meter is, and defently get one,

the digetal ph meter i have comeing does PH, tempature, cost about $90.00 canadaian by the time it gets here....

EC METER? not sure what that is but i will research and use
thanks for the advise,

E S said:

If you're color blind a meter might be for you. Anyway.... an EC meter is going to be more help for you than a pH meter.

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what is a ec meter?

You may know it as a TDS meter.... total dissolved solids... measure the salinity/strength of the nutrient solution. Most important when dealing with a recirculating hydro setup.

atrumblood said:

Umm what?

I am not sure how you ever came to that conclusion. Even without proper calibration, a meter will always be more accurate than trying to guess the exact ph using different hues of color.

Bottom line: Strips/Drops are unreliable. Digital read outs give a ph within a .01 accuracy.

Click to expand...

thank you , much appreciated

You're actually listening to that moron? When dude gives you bullshit... you don't say thank you... capiche?...... OMFG!

A PH meter is more accurate than strips or drops, it's not even debatable. If you were only allowed to know, either the EC or the PH throughout a grow, you could still have success with just knowing the PH.

PPM = parts per million
EC = electric conductivaty
TDS = total desolved solids
(information provided by syko2)




If you are running in hydro its good to change your water every 2 weeks to keep out bacteria growth and to keep your plants with a good supply of fresh water.
A good rule to go by for how much PPM each part of your plants growth has is as follows:

Seedlings should be around 50-150 PPM
Unrooted clones to be around 100-350 PPM
small plants to be around 400-800 PPM
large plants to be around 900-1800 PPM
Last week of flowering use plain water.

Hope this helps

Sensay said:

A PH meter is more accurate than strips or drops, it's not even debatable. If you were only allowed to know, either the EC or the PH throughout a grow, you could still have success with just knowing the PH.

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Apparently it is debatable......

Maximum Yield - Indoor Gardening

E S said:

You're actually listening to that moron? When dude gives you bullshit... you don't say thank you... capiche?...... OMFG!

Click to expand...

wow ok dude, calm down.

atrumblood said:

....... Even without proper calibration, a meter will always be more accurate than trying to guess the exact ph using different hues of color.....

Click to expand...

Yes.... you really said that.

wait what... but I didn't call any one a moron. Did I ?

I apologize.