Progressing problems in flower! [HQ] Photos

Hey guys!
I'm giving growing a second try, it's been about a year since my first and completely disastrous attempt. This time around it's gone a lot better, but I am running into problems again, and they are progressing fast.
I have 4 plants in my grow at the moment, all showing the same signs with slight variation.

I started the flowering process after 40 days of vegging under a 18/6 lightcycle.
On day 58 (or 18 days after flowering started) I noticed slight yellowing/spotting on my fan leaves, and the tips begun turning pale/yellow on all leaves.
(Day 58 pictures included in post below.)

I kept a close eye on them since and the problems have gotten gradually worse, i shot some "full-body" shots of each plant as to be able to compare later on.
The first set of these are from day 60 (or 20 days after flowering started).




Now, on day 68, and 28 days into flowering the problems are getting much worse
At this point I am very unsure of how to approach the issues, I would greatly appreciate any help or input..

(More day 68 pictures included in post below.)


Technical Info:
Light: Gavita Digistar 400 Classic + 400w Philips SON-T PIA Green Power + Cooltube
Vent: S&P Silenced Pipe Fan TD-350 (380m3/h or 225cfm) + Carbon Active Filter 400
Tent: Secret Jardin DR90 II (W2.9ft*D2.9ft*H6.1ft)
Mix: Biobizz Lightmix + 15% Perlite + Hydrocorrels
Nute: Biobizz Bloom, Grow, Alg-A-Mic, Fish Mix
Pots: 2.9gal
Watering with approx 2.5L or 0.7gal per watering. This produces about 10-15% runoff.

Temperatures about 77f day / 72f night.

Tap water PH: 8.7
After PH Down: 6.5-7.0
PH Tester: Drop-Kit
Cannot acquire PPM/EEC or Electronic PH testers.
Strain: Barneys Farm - Pineapple Chunk


Journal:
Day 68, Entry 25: 14 hours after last watering the plants now look a lot more yellow, they are getting worse. Fan leaves all turning yellow with brown spots. Oh no
Posted on 01/12/15 at 03:14:40
Time passed since last entry: 30secs

Day 68, Entry 24: Watered 1,2,4 plants 1.75L + 0.5ml gro. Nr.3 Got 0.75L. This was all about 14 hours ago.
Posted on 01/12/15 at 03:14:10
Time passed since last entry: 5days 14hrs 13mins 19secs

Day 62, Entry 23: 1.5L + 16 Drops PH Down + 1L w. PH Down. Nr.3 Got only +0.5L
Posted on 26/11/15 at 01:00:51
Time passed since last entry: 1wk 2hrs 32mins 50secs

Day 55, Entry 22: 1.5L +15 Drops PH Down +2ml G +1ml B +1ml ALG --- 1.5L +15 Drops PH Down +0.5ml G +0.5ml B
Posted on 18/11/15 at 10:28:01
Time passed since last entry: 19hrs 16mins 8secs

Day 54, Entry 21: Considered watering today, but nr.3 was still pretty heavy, postponed till tomorrow. Nr.3 also very light green.
Posted on 18/11/15 at 03:11:53
Time passed since last entry: 5days 9hrs 37mins 40secs

Day 49, Entry 20: Elaboration on last post: Brown/Yellow spots, tips are turning white-green, loss of green color in the tops/flowers.
Posted on 12/11/15 at 05:34:13
Time passed since last entry: 1min 17secs

Day 49, Entry 19: All plants showing signs of an out-of-balance PH. I expect nutrient lockout to begin within the next two weeks. Despite my effots with PH Down. Sigh!
Posted on 12/11/15 at 05:32:56
Time passed since last entry: 10mins 34secs

Day 49, Entry 18: 1.5 Liter + 8 Drops PH Down + 2ml Grow + 1ml Bloom + 1ml Alg-a-mic + 1.5 Liter + 8 Drops PH Down
Posted on 12/11/15 at 05:22:22
Time passed since last entry: 5days 16hrs 36mins 57secs

Day 43, Entry 17: Watered all plants 1.5 Liter + 2ml PH down + 2ml Grow +1ml Bloom +1ml Alg-a-mic, +1.5 Liter CLEAN water.
Posted on 07/11/15 at 12:45:25
Time passed since last entry: 2days 22hrs 5mins 21secs

Day 40, Entry 16: Initiated Flowering Process. Darkness the next 12 hours!
Posted on 04/11/15 at 02:40:04
Time passed since last entry: 1day 5hrs 7mins 4secs

Day 39, Entry 15: 1.5 Liter + 1ml algamic + 2ml grow + 1.75 Liter - all plants
Posted on 02/11/15 at 09:33:00
Time passed since last entry: 3hrs 29mins 25secs

Day 39, Entry 14: Soil is well dry, need to water and feed today. Exciting!
Posted on 02/11/15 at 06:03:35
Time passed since last entry: 1day 17hrs 10mins 52secs

Day 37, Entry 13: Watered all plants 1.5 Liter + 2ml PH Down about 4 hours ago.
Posted on 01/11/15 at 12:52:43
Time passed since last entry: 4days 1hr 38mins 3secs

Day 33, Entry 12: Watered all plants 1.5 Liter + 2ml grow, then 1.0 Liter on top.
Posted on 27/10/15 at 11:14:40
Time passed since last entry: 4hrs 38mins 40secs

Day 33, Entry 11: trimmed all plants heavily
Posted on 27/10/15 at 06:36:00
Time passed since last entry: 2days 3hrs 1min 31secs

Day 31, Entry 10: Approx 24 hours ago, watered all plants 1.5 Liter + 2ml grow, then added additional 1.5-1.75 Liter on top of each plant. Everything looking fantastic. Worried about the mites I found int he kitchen though.
Posted on 25/10/15 at 03:34:29
Time passed since last entry: 4days 29mins 41secs

Day 27, Entry 9: Fed each plant 1.5 Liter + 2ml grow. Then watered with 1 Liter on top. Switched places around, everyone should get a fair share of our little sun here!
Posted on 21/10/15 at 04:04:48
Time passed since last entry: 2hrs 38mins 26secs

Day 27, Entry 8: looks good gotta water in a little bit though. Nr.1 looking so fine!
Posted on 21/10/15 at 01:26:22
Time passed since last entry: 3days 12hrs 40mins 11secs

Day 23, Entry 7: Watered each plant 1.5 Liter + 1ml grow. Then 0.5 Liter on top. All looking great, expect watering/nute schedule to work, and next watering should be in 3-4 days.
Posted on 18/10/15 at 12:46:11
Time passed since last entry: 2days 7hrs 7mins 33secs

Day 21, Entry 6: looking great
Posted on 15/10/15 at 05:38:38
Time passed since last entry: 2days 21hrs 24mins 26secs

Day 18, Entry 5: Watered each plant 1.5 Liter water + 1ML Grow, +0.5ML Alg-a-mic, then watered 1 Liter clean water on top. 2.5Liter total. Nr.1 Looks best, with Nr 3 and 2 not far behind, Nr 4 is a bit weaker and is showing a slightly bent stem, it also got 0.5 Liter clean water more than the other three. Watering again in about 3-4 days I expect.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 08:14:12
Time passed since last entry: 2days 8hrs 42mins 25secs

Day 16, Entry 4: watered each 0.75L just about 24 hours ago. Nr.1 looking best still, no signs of trouble. Temperatures in the low 20's even during day-time. im a little worried about watering schedule in the big pots. No temperature problems.
Posted on 10/10/15 at 11:31:47
Time passed since last entry: 1wk 6days 21hrs 2mins 29secs

Day 2, Entry 3: Nr.3 has almost caught up to Nr.1, being 1cm and the leader being 2cm, both having 2 sets of leaves already. Kim + new. Attached carbon filter today, with the fan on low this should still be okay temperature wise. today will tell, its a hot one, sort of.
Posted on 26/09/15 at 02:29:18
Time passed since last entry: 15hrs 59mins 43secs

Day 1, Entry 2: Nr.1 Has sprouted and has 4 leaves already. 1cm high approx, tiny thing. Soil still very moist. Temperatures around 27-29c
Posted on 25/09/15 at 10:29:35
Time passed since last entry: 9hrs 2mins 20secs

Day 1, Entry 1: No progress, soil still very wet. I wonder if I left it too wet when i planted sprouts. Time will tell, got the light at 440w and its hanging at around 26-27c temp wise, fan on LOW POWER. No env fan yet.
Posted on 25/09/15 at 01:27:15
Time passed since last entry: 16hrs 30mins 50secs

Day 0, Entry 0: Started sprout 48 hours ago. Nr.1 is great, Nr.4 is shelled still. Had to mix new soil into old and water it cause it had dried out entirely. 18/6.
Posted on 24/09/15 at 08:56:25
Time passed since last entry: 0secs

Day 58:


Day 68:

Did I miss it or aren't you givin these beauties any Calcium or Magnesium?

Looks like mg def. It's normal for lower leaves to fade away at that stage of growth, especially if not enough light is reaching them. Sidelighting with some Cree lightbulbs always helps my grows.

It looks like mg def (maybe some ca def). At that stage of growth I would assume salt buildup. (I go for 20-30% runoff.). What are the ppms of your nutrient solution and runoff? I just watch those and keep the runoff below 2200 (at 2500 it starts showing defs). I like to see 1600-1800 runoff in flower. This is something it's better to watch through the grow so you can see a trend.

Without a ppm tester, I think you're guessing. If it were me, I would feed 3/4tsp/gal epsom salt, enough for 50-100% runoff. Then resume mild nutes.

Is there a reason you can't get a ppm meter? The HM EZ-TDS or TDS-3 costs about $20 US on Amazon. You can make your own calibration solution with 1g table salt in 1L of distilled water. That will give you 1000ppm.

az2000 said:

Looks like mg def. It's normal for lower leaves to fade away at that stage of growth, especially if not enough light is reaching them. Sidelighting with some Cree lightbulbs always helps my grows.

It looks like mg def (maybe some ca def). At that stage of growth I would assume salt buildup. (I go for 20-30% runoff.). What are the ppms of your nutrient solution and runoff? I just watch those and keep the runoff below 2200 (at 2500 it starts showing defs). I like to see 1600-1800 runoff in flower. This is something it's better to watch through the grow so you can see a trend.

Without a ppm tester, I think you're guessing. If it were me, I would feed 3/4tsp/gal epsom salt, enough for 50-100% runoff. Then resume mild nutes.

Is there a reason you can't get a ppm meter? The HM EZ-TDS or TDS-3 costs about $20 US on Amazon. You can make your own calibration solution with 1g table salt in 1L of distilled water. That will give you 1000ppm.

Click to expand...

My Primo goes to - - - above 1500 PPMs, what PPM meter you using?

orbo said:

My Primo goes to - - - above 1500 PPMs, what PPM meter you using?

Click to expand...

HM EZ-TDS. About $15 US on Amazon. If I bought a new one I would get the HM TDS-3 for $20. It has automatic temperature compensation. Nothing we do requires precision like that. But, for a little more it seems like it might be worth it.

I don't even bother with PH anymore. I mix tap with RO water to get a starting 150ppm. I add about 200-400ppm nutes (depending on stage of life). No ph-up nor down. No "calmag". (I add 1 to 1.5 Tbsp/gal dolomite to the soil. The dolomite has about a 2:1 ratio of Ca to Mg). I water for 20-30% runoff to avoid salt buildup. I monitor runoff ppm. Like I said, at 2000ppm I start to be concerned. I'm heading for deficiencies above that. 2500ppm seems to be where it happens.

I don't even monitor runoff ppm much now because I know how much to feed (to avoid buildup).

Note: The HM meters will flash x10 when they exceed 999ppm. That can be a little confusing. When it says 120 it means 1200. For a long time I thought I should put a "1" in front and call it 1120. But, that's not how it works. Above 999 it rises quickly (120, 140, 160, 180: 1200-1800).

orbo said:

Did I miss it or aren't you givin these beauties any Calcium or Magnesium?

Click to expand...

az2000 said:

Looks like mg def. It's normal for lower leaves to fade away at that stage of growth, especially if not enough light is reaching them. Sidelighting with some Cree lightbulbs always helps my grows.

It looks like mg def (maybe some ca def). At that stage of growth I would assume salt buildup. (I go for 20-30% runoff.). What are the ppms of your nutrient solution and runoff? I just watch those and keep the runoff below 2200 (at 2500 it starts showing defs). I like to see 1600-1800 runoff in flower. This is something it's better to watch through the grow so you can see a trend.

Without a ppm tester, I think you're guessing. If it were me, I would feed 3/4tsp/gal epsom salt, enough for 50-100% runoff. Then resume mild nutes.

Is there a reason you can't get a ppm meter? The HM EZ-TDS or TDS-3 costs about $20 US on Amazon. You can make your own calibration solution with 1g table salt in 1L of distilled water. That will give you 1000ppm.

Click to expand...

I'm torn between thinking its a Mag def or a N def / general starvation?

I've not given them anything besides the few Biobizz products I listed.
I do have some Epsom Salts laying around, but I've heard thats not as good as using a CalMag nutrient mix?
Although I may be able to obtain a CalMag nutrient solution within a week or so, but this is not something I can count 100% on.

Regarding the Epsom Salts I have, do I risk causing more damage than good by adding this, because of lacking Cal?
I do not have access to dolomite lime or anything like that.

Things are getting worse pretty quickly, here are some pictures from today..
Any advice or input is greatly appreciated!

Hempowering said:

I do have some Epsom Salts laying around, but I've heard thats not as good as using a CalMag nutrient mix?

Click to expand...

Calmag is just calcium nitrate and magnesium. It's really for hydro, but people use it to treat deficiencies in soil. It's a convenience thing, and peer pressure (everyone refers to "calmag" so it must be a critical component to growing). I don't think it matters one way or another. The downside to using it to treat either a ca or mg def is that you're adding ca or mg when the plant isn't deficient in those. If there's a ratio problem, it will perpetuate that ratio. It also supplies nitrogen when that may not be desirable. It adds more salts to the soil when there may already be salt buildup. And, it acidifies the nutrient mix which requires more phup, adding more pottassium, adding more salt to the soil. (It spirals like that.).

In your case, it does look like N and Mg def. So, calmag makes more sense than if it were just Mg def. But, I would use 3/4 tsp epsom salt per gallon and supply N through another form, such as inexpensive AK Fish emulsion. Or a guano, blood meal? (You can even foliar feed household ammonia using a spray bottle. dilutted 10:1 water to ammonia).

For Ca def (which I don't see, but in case you're weighing the purchase of a calmag product) I use Gypsum or dissolved eggshells (calcium acetate).

My concern is that you have salt buildup in the soil. That's common at this stage of growth. Without measuring your runoff ppms, you can't know for sure. Runoff ph might tell you something, but that's a dubious measurement (google for NCSU Pour-Through Method to see how it's supposed to be done. Most people aren't going to do that.).

I would feed 1/2 strength nutes with 1/2 tsp/gal epsom salt, enough volume to get 100% runoff. Then sit back and watch. Be sure to let the soil dry because the ph rises as it dries. If you keep it wet, and more acidic, that could prevent it from spending as much time at higher ph where N is available.

Hempowering said:

Regarding the Epsom Salts I have, do I risk causing more damage than good by adding this, because of lacking Cal?

Click to expand...

Epsom salt is 9.86% Mg, 13.01% sulfur. It's good stuff. My concern is that you're adding more salts when the problem may be too much salt (acidifying the soil, locking out Mg and N).

I think the safest thing to do is a moderate flush (50-100% of the container's volume) and half-strength nutrients. Unless you recently switched to so-called "bloom" schedule which would have cut the N too much. In that case, go back to the "veg" nutes. Or, mix the two together for a more balanced NPK ratio.