LED+CFL Closet Coco grow

Got the PPM of the runoff down to 1040, need to flush more but I noticed the runoff PH seems to be at 6.8 now... I don't know how this is possible as I have been putting in 5.9... What should I do? What could have caused this?

SativaGrows said:

Got the PPM of the runoff down to 1040, need to flush more but I noticed the runoff PH seems to be at 6.8 now... I don't know how this is possible as I have been putting in 5.9... What should I do? What could have caused this?

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As you flush, it is not uncommon to see this. When you flush, the bottom of the container is flushed out first, followed through to the top of the container. The excess nute/salt ratio can changed as you flush, and change the PH. The PH of the salt content is typically 7.0, so you are likely just seeing more salt. The more important measurement at this point is PPM. Keep going!

Ok sounds good. So After I get the PPm down then worry about PH? Sounds good.

SativaGrows said:

Ok sounds good. So After I get the PPm down then worry about PH? Sounds good.

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I would get the PPM level down to 400-500 first, and then just check the PH to see what it is. It is more important that the water going in is at 5.9 or close to it. You may find that the runoff PH is always a little higher than what is going in. If you get down to 400-500 PPM, any remaining salt content that is giving you a higher reading, will be at such a low PPM level, that I would not worry too much about it. Going from just under 5,000 PPM to 500 PPM is almost a 90% reduction.

Mazeeff I thank you so much for this info! You may have saved my plant! So glad that you joined the forum in time. Probably sittin' there lurking like look at this fool killing his girl, let me make an account and show him the ropes. Regardless of how it happened welcome to the forum I would give you more rep if possible, I hope others that find your knowledge useful will. Thank you for all the help and quick replies.

Going in:
PH 5.92
PPM 118

Coming out:
PH 7.20
PPM 325

Success!

So now PPM is under control. WHat's next? Let her rest? Or how about this foliar feeding?

***edit*** Also i just checked the PPm of my normal nutrient solution seeing as I have some mixed, I usually put in 1000PPM.

You are welcome. We ALL make mistakes when we start our first grows. I have 7 coco grows completed, and am still learning. I never felt comfortable posting until I was sure that I had something useful to share. Just out of curiosity, how much water did it take to flush all the crap out? At this point, I would do a full foliar feed with just 5.9 water. After the foliar feed, I would let it rest a day, before watering or feeding again. At the next watering/feed, I would create a little runoff again and test it. The big question you are faced with, is whether to just do 5.9 water or a full nutrient feed from this point on. Since the plant was a bag seed, you probably don't know who the father was. The flowering time could vary quite a bit. If the Trichomes are still all completly clear, then I would consider going back to your nute bloom formula. If the Trichomes are starting to cloud, then you may want to stick with just PH water. It's your call. Regardless, your grow is one of the best that I have seen for a first time grower.

It took roughly 10-12 gallons to get it cleared out. I'll have the check the trichs out, I only have a 30X so it is difficult to see but I'll see if I can tell, if not I'll get a better loupe.

Radio Shack makes a 60x-100x magnifier that works OK. I typically cut a small sample of leaf with Trichomes on it, and secure it to a 3x5 card with two paperclips. This keeps the sample flat, and makes it a lot easier to use the magnifier.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2179604

Tried looking with the 30X it was pretty difficult plus my vision is a little fuzzy, pretty tired at the moment. Many of them looked milky but many clear. Alot of the pistils are brown but other buds are still all white including the main cola(sp?). I think I'll have to pick up a stronger one soon. Wow I paid $19 for a small 30x at a grow shop, I thought they were probably over priced. I want to support local but it makes it difficult when companies charge you a ton.

The Radio Shack one is hard to use as well. It takes a lot of patience. Try using the 30x while highlighting the Trichomes with a led flashlight. Try to shine the led flashlight through the Trichomes. I like to wait for about 50% of the Trichomes to be at a Amber color, but you will get a lot of different opionions on this. I like to wait a little longer than most because it tends to give me a better couch lock effect. When I harvest early, I get a more "head" high. Do a google search for "Amber Tricomes", and study the images. It helped me a lot. Picture #3 in this link is what I look for. It is very hard for new growers to wait this long, but patience pays off! By the way, if you are seeing some milky Trichomes, you are more than likely 10-15 days from harvest. Based on that you may want to consider going with plain 5.9PH water from this point. Flushing the final 10-14 days is pretty standard practice. I would ask for a couple more opinions here on that. Everyone does things a little different. Also the stress the plant went through with the high PPM may have altered the timing of the plant. The Trichomes may be turning milky early due to this. I have never encountered this high of a PPM level, so my personal experience on what this can do is limited!

https://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/188324-everyone-should-know-about-trichomes.html

How is the Girl looking this morning? If my math is correct, you are on day 44 (little over 6 weeks) of flowering. Is that right? If so, you are looking at about a 8 week harvest. The trick is to keep your eye on the Trichs on a daily basis. The high salty PPM in the media, was just like a person drinking sea water. Not many plants do well in salty conditions, and dyhydration is the result. I think this condition accellerated the plants finish. I also think the low RH made the plant dyhydrate even quicker. Once those new clones go into Veg, I would reccommend a RH of 50-60%, and frequent flushing. You have a unique opportunity to test these new methods on the exact same strain in grow #2!

She is looking okay. Not much change from yesterday but new growth seems to be healthy. Buds are starting to appear more and more instead of just pistils and stems. A lot of the trichs look milky but many are clear, I don't know if she is getting close or not as many of the buds appear to be just stems and pistils without too many actual flowers or buds, maybe I'm just looking at it wrong? There are still a TON of white pistils but many brown ones. I have a nutrient solution mixed so it wouldn't harm my wallet or anything to feed her. I am also not impatient and if waiting longer will lead to better results I can wait. I am most concerned with quality as this is for personal use.

I think I would give her 1 more mini-flush of 5.9PH water, before making a call on nutes. Run a gallon through her and make sure the PPM remains low. After that you can try the nutes, if you continue to see bud growth. If the nutes cause problems, you just go back and run the flushing process again. The finish timing of this plant is a tough call! Keep watching the Trichs.

While looking for color does amber colored trichs mean more THC which is why is gives you more of the couch lock or does it mean because it's amber it's changed to something else CBD/CBN perhaps? Because I have an extremely high tolerance but prefer a heady high, so if I understand I want them milky for a heady high but if the amber color is simply indicating potency I would prefer amber as likely the more potent will just give me a good head high instead of putting me out. Just not sure how it works... Also when the trichs are the color I want is when i want to start the flush or I want to harvest when they turn the proper color?

https://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/516184-trichomes-harvesting.html

I am no expert, my uncle always told me the plant will let you know when its ready, but here is some helpful info bro if you are looking into trichromes and harvest
-slinger

That is a really good article. If you are looking for the "head high", you will not want a lot of amber. Keep in mind the Trichs don't change color all at the same time. You don't want a lot of clear Trichs either, as the article supports. I'm a retired oldtimer, with a lot of joint pain. For me, I like a little more CBN, which really helps me sleep. Since you are pretty close to harvest, you may not need any more nutes. If the buds are still growing, you might want to let it go a little longer. Bud Growth=More Trichs=More THC! What day of flower are you on? I thought the article was a little funny when he said this. "Sickly feeling" is not a prhase that I would use to describe how I feel after a good dose of CBN heavy meds!!!!!!!!!!!!

• The third state is amber. Amber trichomes contain degraded THC --> CBN. CBN represents a loss of 90% potency (from THC).
  CBN is not desirable in any harvest, since it not only represents a huge loss of potency but research into the substance has also shown that CBN does not produce a high like THC does, CBN produces a more sickly feeling not a true high.​
  
  

Ok so I want mostly milky.... I gave her a feeding today to see how she does. Most of the trichs appear to be clear/somewhat milky. She still has healthy new bud growth with bright white pistils.

I'm just wondering do I start the flush when trichs look right, then flush for 2 weeks then harvest or is the idea to have started the flush and get the trichs to look right during the 2 week flush and actually chop when the trichs look perfect?

When growing a bag seed, it is going to be tough call. If I am correct, you are on day 45 of flower. Is that right? I normally go from 56-70 days for flowering, depending on the strain. I normally feed only 5.9PH water for the last 10 days or so. You will have to make the call!

For sure, flower growth seems to be pretty explosive still, plus I believe this girl leans sativa meaning she probably has a longer flower period I believe. I squeezed one of the larger buds right next to the CFL and it seemed pretty solid, some of the other ones are pretty compact but not quite that much yet. I think I might want to pick up a more powerful magnifier and see what I can see in the trichs because honestly under the 30X a ton of the heads look fully milky white but the stems look completely clear so i feel like I'm seeing things wrong. I need to get a closer look, I have bad vision as is... corrected with lenses but it's still not perfect. NEED MORE MAGNIFICATION POWER! haha. Sorry just a maddening thought I've had as I stare through this 30X loupe trying to decide if it's milky or just reflecting the white LED from this loupe haha.

Now I just need to decide; do I shell out a hundred or so and invest in a nice digital USB scope or buy a cheap 60X... I like buying quality things.... Decisions....

I'm gonna snap a few pics for ya'll in a sec. I'll post them in a few.

Enjoy your saturday all.

I always have trouble telling the difference between clear and milky. My eye sight is not too good. You might consider waiting until the 1st Amber Trich appears. The Amber color is quite noticable, and as long as you check them everyday, the bulk of the Trichs will still be Milky, when the 1st Amber is seen.