December 10, 2008 by anonymous
Posted in
The beginning of me acquiring a 48x48x20" grow tent with four 4' Flourescent T-5 lights and buying an English made AutoPot system gisette turned me on to is chronicaled here , so I'll spare most of the uglier details. Quite a bit of frustration, aggravation and thought went into getting it running. It took three weeks from arrival to the first planting but all is going well as I write, two weeks into the first grow cycle.
The 62# package arrived early 11.4.08 and it took about 5 minutes to tear into it and see what I had. Surprisingly the grow tent itself was in the smallest box, the 48" 4 tube flourescent fixture with 4 6500K grow tubes and 4 3800K bloom tubes seemed HUGE. Next thing to do was see just how bright these T-5 tubes really are. They use 200 watts and put out 20,000 lumens so I was expecting a decent amount of light but I thought my eyeballs were frying when I turned them on. This picture was taken on our dining table about noon on a bright, sunny day.
It took about five minutes to set up the tent, everything snaps together and I already had a table ready for it in a spare bedroom. I installed the lamps, put in the velcroed double waterproof liner, a remote temp and humidity sensor from my weather station and put in an old bedraggled tomato plant we'd rescued from the cold outside. The first problem arose when I found the lights hung down 16" from the top so I had to tear them apart and install some eyelets for the high/low hangers to attach to. Now they only hang down about 6" and I can raise and lower them as needed.
After much tooth gnashing grief trying to find a hydro system that wouldn't take more of my quickly shrinking headroom, gisette finally turned me on to Autopots that were exactly what I needed. A mixture of coco coir and perlite resting on a bed of growrocks makes for a perfect growing medium. A $3 brick of coco coir mixed 50/50 with perlite will fill more than two 8.5 square x 6" deep pots and it's fun watching the hard brick turn soft and fluffy. Soon the system was installed and planted with Big Jim green chiles in the left two pots and Anaheim green chiles in the right two. I planted 4 sets of seeds in each pot, two in Rapid Rooters and two in dampened "soil" and covered them with cling wrap to hold moisture. The planting date was 11.24.08.
12.01.08 - 7 days after planting and most of the seeds were germinating
12.09.08 - 15 days after planting and already done thinning of weaker double plants
I'm using a weak mix of General Hydroponics Flora Micro, Grow and Bloom liquid nutrients with an EC of 1.0 in the 12 gallon tank using intermittent airstones to keep it in solution. It's develeped a thick tan colored percipitant on the bottom of the tank that just won't mix. My one gallon jars of the mixes are also accumulating this stuff. For now I'm stumped as to what causes it and if it will hurt anything. Any ideas?
Tomorrow I'll top off the pots with growrocks to help contain moisture and prevent algae.
My weather station is always live so you can see just what the conditions inside the tent are as well as a lot of other Albuquerque North Valley weather info.
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 19:03
#2
Aw Bruce! I am sooooo sorry
Aw Bruce! I am sooooo sorry that happened! 
Your plants are amazing!
I dont know if this will help in the future (or if you may know it already) but I read somewhere that plants need you to simulate wind for them so that they can develope stronger stems. It recommended putting a fan on them 2x a day for 5 to 10min as they grow. I have one of those big strong honeywell fans that blow alot of air fast. I think its helping my little tomato plant.
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 19:33
#3
It's probably all the fruit
It's probably all the fruit on them, Bruce, and leaning on each other and the tent for support. 
You would have had them staked outside. Did the stems break, or can you kinda of jiggle them back up with the tent back in place?
This is kinda what it was like when I had to wash the aphids off my pepper plants. The plants really weren't up for that...
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 17:24
#4
This would not have happened
This would not have happened if you had not done such a good job at growing them.
Really sorry about that, I can relate to your disappointment as I've had plants collapse on me, after all the TLC that's been given them it's pretty annoying.
One positive, if the top half has been broken then they will probably bush out more?
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 17:40
#5
Thanks, Peat. We were
Thanks, Peat. We were planning on moving them outside in a few weeks anyway and this will make it easier but it sets things back a month or two. I have no idea if they will keep blooming - determinate/indeterminate sort of thing. In the fields, they grow during the summer and ripen all at the same time, they're picked and plowed under. Guess we'll find out in a month or two.
Funny, I was trying to edit my post to add a picture of what they were like but the site kept saying I was forbidden. It makes sense now that I see you posted soon afterward. Anyway, here's what they looked like a little over two weeks ago after a severe trimming, they were growing into and around the lamps...
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 18:06
#6
I think they are going
I think they are going to miss the 12/12 light cycle in your tent, back to good 'ole normal light.
So, are these determinate then? There is a little trick to get further fruiting phases, it does not always work though, it depends on how 'up for it' the plants are - genetic thing.
Once the plant has set all it's fruit and is done, put it back to the vegetative cycle (veg nutes) with the normal 16-18 hours of light, run this for 2-3 weeks so the plant establishes itself again. Then, initiate the fruiting cycle again with the nutes and 12/12 light cycle. You can probably do this again and again...
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 18:34
#7
Week 13.... The leak never
Week 13.... The leak never reappeared, I think some tiny roots kept a valve open just slightly. The chiles had grown into and past the lamps so I gave them a trimming today, setting 5 clones from the carnage. Temp and RH isn't bad, 79-83* and 28-38% since midnight. I'm leaving the lights on for 13 hrs but upping the vent fan to 4 hours every night.
I upped the nutes to an aggressive bloom mix, there are so many chiles on the plants they are hardly growing and they're not ready for ripen mix yet plus a few new leaves and chiles are a lighter green than normal. My new mix is 10ml Micro and about 35ml Bloom per gallon. With PH down, the mix is 2.7 EC and 5.85 PH. Anyway, here's a whole gallery of pics from today...
Tue, 02/17/2009 - 22:07
#8
The grow tent chiles 2/15,
The grow tent chiles 2/15, about 12 weeks. Gisette's suggestion of heat mats in addition to her original suggestion of AutoPots have turned out fantastic. I did a little damage to the left two plants putting the heat mats under them but nothing fatal. They've gotten so tall I had to tie the lights to the very top of the tent and the plants are still reaching them. Temp is averaging about 80*F and RH around 30%, pretty close to what I think I want. Lights are on 13 hours a day and the vent fan comes on in the middle of the night for a few hours to simulate outdoor conditions. I'm using 2.5 EC, 5.8 PH GH Bloom mix and they're back to using a gallon or more a day.
Wed, 02/18/2009 - 03:39
#9
Peat stares in envy... You
Peat stares in envy... You must be really pleased with the results of these, you have masses of growth. Not bad for your first foray into hydro eh? 
Wed, 02/18/2009 - 11:05
#10
Gisette stares in envy, too.
Gisette stares in envy, too. Those plants are just laden, and so happy looking... You have cool toys, and know how to use 'em, Bruce!
Thu, 02/19/2009 - 02:52
#11
I'm in awe you two would say
I'm in awe you two would say that, thank you, thank you, that means a lot! It's almost spooky how all the plants have turned out, guess it's beginner's luck and I'll be back crying on your shoulders in a month or two.
I just had my first problem with the AutoPots and don't yet know what it is... at 11 PM or so I noticed the temp and humidity had gone wonky about 5:30 today. I looked inside and found a couple gallons of water on the tent floor. I checked the autovalves best I could in the middle of the night and used two rolls of paper towels to sop up all the mess. There's only one T connector inside and it doesn't seem to be leaking. I wrapped it in a paper towel to see if that's where the leak is. I'll check the valves in the morning to see if one was leaking but it didn't look like it. Next thought is a cracked base on one of the AutoPots. That's no big deal but removing the plants and taking them out is going to do some serious damage, the plants can hardly hold themselves upright outside the tent.
More tomorrow, there's been a wootoff going on since 11 last night and I've had about 4 hours sleep in the last 48 hours.
Thu, 02/19/2009 - 11:00
#12
Bummer! I hope the new heat
Bummer! I hope the new heat mats didn't cause a problem. 
Thu, 02/19/2009 - 22:42
#13
I dunno, we sopped up all the
I dunno, we sopped up all the water and there was more this morning. I removed the autovalves and put the tank below so no water is coming in. I filled both double pots to the same level this morning and think the right one has a slow leak, I'll know for sure tomorrow. I can't imagine the little 17 watt heat mats would have done any damage. Thank goodness I have an extra base. More tomorrow.
Fri, 02/20/2009 - 06:58
#14
I'm sorry to hear that, I
I'm sorry to hear that, I hope you are able to trace the problem quickly Bruce.
Fri, 02/20/2009 - 11:17
#15
Yes, good luck!
Did you buy
Yes, good luck!
Did you buy an extra base, or did they come with a spare? I wonder if they see this problem often...
Fri, 02/20/2009 - 18:10
#16
I have a whole 'nother
I have a whole 'nother AutoPot system so have all the parts. After about 18 hours, both bases had the same amount of water in them and the floor was dry. So much for my logical troubleshooting. I put the autovalves back in place and raised the tank about noon. So far, both valves have called for more water and the floor is dry. Only thing I can imagine is something lodged in a valve and kept it slightly open, my messing with them dislodged it. Temp and RH are way high but slowly coming down so maybe things are OK. I just turned the vent fan on to cool and dry things out and will keep a close eye on it for a few days. Thanks for the concern! This is as bad as having kids. Herding cats comes to mind also. 
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 10:53
#17
Almost 9 weeks... Since going
Almost 9 weeks... Since going to 13 hours of 3000K light and full GH bloom nutes (2.4 EC, 5.8 PH) the chiles have gone into a frenzy of blooming and setting peppers. I lost some leaves and flowers while trying to get temp & humidity close to where I want it the last week or so and just yesterday discovered a 6" chile that had been hidden on one of the anaheims that I thought was being pretty stingy flowering, Now I know why. At the rate they're growing I should start harvesting in two weeks or so.
Since turning off the vent fan, transpiration has dropped a lot, I'm only going through half a gallon a day for now. I mixed the last four gallons of bloom mix with tap water and haven't seen the brown precipitant like I had before. I've used about 25 gallons of mix so far, 18 gallons of distilled water, the rest from the tap. The nute level in the pot sumps is staying very close to what I have in the tank, the PH rises about 0.5 just like the AutoPot people said.
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 12:49
#18
Gorgeous, Bruce! What happy
Gorgeous, Bruce! What happy pepper plants!
I'm curious to see whether those will ripen without underlighting? Well, maybe my mini-bells would have, had I the patience of a saint. Never having had the patience of a saint, I wouldn't know.
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 13:37
#19
Stunning Bruce, that is such
Stunning Bruce, that is such a dense, good looking plant - I'm insanely jealous of your results. Changing the light cycle, and lighting, reaps dividends for plants...
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 15:18
#20
I couldn't have come close to
I couldn't have come close to this without your help. Gisette's mention of the AutoPots and Peat's recommendations on nutes and light made it happen. I don't know what would have happened without your knowledge. Thanks!!!
Gisette, I don't want these to completely ripen and turn red, I need to find the perfect time to pick them just before they start turning red. It's a crapshoot which would be hotter - red or green but green chiles are used to make chile rellanos and green chile stew while reds are usually dried and made into chile powder or ristras. I make a kick butt green chile stew with chunks of smoked brisket, potatos and onions slow cooked for a day or two. Wish they'd hurry up. 
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 15:37
#21
You should post a picture and
You should post a picture and recipe of this stew.
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 18:02
#22
You should post a picture
You should post a picture and recipe of this stew.
Well, you skin and de-seed a bunch of roasted green chiles then chop into 1/2" pieces and throw them in a big pot of boiling water. Then add 1/2" chunks of potato, onion, and smoked brisket plus anything else you think would taste good. Season to taste with chipotle, cummin, garlic, salt, pepper, etc., cut the heat down to simmer and slow cook for at least 8 hours. Check taste, reseason if needed and add water to keep it fairly thick every now and then. When it's dinner time, dip out big bowls to cool and throw some tortillas on your gas stove burners to toast a bit, about 20 seconds a side. Slather with butter and a little salt, fold in half then fold the bottom up a bit to make a seal and roll. Sit, eat, enjoy.
Dunno about a picture, some things are best left to the imagination.
Mon, 02/09/2009 - 20:15
#24
Here's a down and dirty slide
Here's a down and dirty slide show of the chiles I keep a public site of all my daily pics but it could be real boring.They're not doing as well as I hoped and it's impossible to keep the temp and humidity like I need but here they are...
http://picasaweb.google.com/av8ndv8/GrowTentGreenChiles#slideshow/5300942942109571554
Sun, 01/25/2009 - 18:50
#27
Two months - The plants have
Two months - The plants have flowers everywhere and a few chiles almost 2" long! The grow light is now four 3000K tubes and I'm moving the nutes a little more towards bloom stage. I'll be changing the lighting from 18 hours to 13 hours a day tonight. I finally got close to the temp and RH I want by turning off the vent fan, opening the right and left lower vents and the top and upper right 6" vent ports. The high humidity took its toll though, I lost quite a few flowers and leaves before getting it right and the humidity may still be a little high for chiles. Now if I could get 82*F and 30% RH I think they'd be happy.
PH is still a problem using distilled water and I finally bought some odd PH up mixture called EcoChem. The hydro store had no GH brand. The bottle had crystals I added water to and it got HOT but cooled off quickly. Instructions said 1 tbsp per gallon would raise PH 1 point - NOT. 2.5 tbsp in 4 gallons raised the PH from 4.8 to 6.8 so I had to add another gallon of 5 PH grow mix to make it halfway decent. So far this has been fun but I really miss seeing them every day like we do the AGs.
Ahh... can't get lightbox to work right..... check out http://picasaweb.google.com/av8ndv8/20090124# The lettuce and peppers are there too...
Mon, 01/26/2009 - 11:36
#28
Those plants look really
Those plants look really good, plenty of light to bathe in. 
What's going wrong with your pH? It's normal for it to drift up, not down - you usually set it at the lower end (5.5) and it drifts up, giving the plants the full range of pH and nutes.
If the plants are taking up little nutes and only water, the pH will go down and the EC rise in the left over solution - are you getting this?
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 02:30
#29
Thanks ya'll, I'm pretty
Thanks ya'll, I'm pretty happy with them, I'm getting fewer dropped flowers and more chiles are starting to set once I got temp, RH and PH about right. I think I have plenty of light but time will tell. I see what you mean about lower *K lamps putting out less light, gisette. Dunno if it's a eyeball spectrum trick but it definitely is dimmer in there than it used to be but the temp is a tad higher. If you look hard at one of the pics on my Picasa link above you'll see how the AG peppers are doing - they're going wild, twice the peppers and bigger ones than before. One little 2"x2" area has 7 or 8 peppers growing. I've never seen plants do so well and look so nice.
Peat, as for the nutes, I've been using distilled water like you suggested and standard GH grow mix formula comes out ~PH 5 and EC 2.2. I made 4 gallons of intermediate bloom mix and the PH was ~4.8 and EC is 2.4. It stays steady because there's no feedback, the pots just take whatever is in the tank when the autovalves open. I haven't tested the soil and haven't tested the PH in the pot sumps for a few weeks. Can't check the EC level in the pot sumps, it's only 2.5 mm deep max but the plants are doing beautifully so I'll leave it alone.
The humidity graph is really odd since I turned the vent fan off. Before, the RH would rise during the night and drop when the lamps and fan came on, then rise when they went off, just like one would think. Now the RH drops about 20% when the lamps come on then within an hour is back up and slowly rises during the heat of the day. Here's the really odd part - when the lights go OFF, the RH immediately drops about 15% then slowly rises during the night but never to the daytime level. The only things I have running (and both on the same timer) are the lamps and the internal circulation fan.
Oh, gisette - I know you don't want to hear this but I started my (your) lettuce in a 1.2 EC grow mix and they've done fantastic, I've raised it slowly to 1.7 and they outgrow weeds.
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 10:01
#30
No, I want to hear it... My
No, I want to hear it... My lettuce grows better on the GH nutes too, I think. Just need to flush and refill often, since I can't measure/control it very well... I should probably switch the pro100 back to GH nutes, but haven't yet. I do add a little GH nutes even to the tanks where I'm using Aerogrow's.
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 12:42
#31
Since you asked, here comes
Since you asked, here comes the truncheon chorus again. I've changed the water in my AGs maybe twice since getting a truncheon and using the GH flora mixes, 4 or 5 months now I think. I usually check the EC levels before adding water and either add more GH mix or water, depending on the readings. It would have been impossible without the truncheon - my lettuce has fluctuated from 1.0 to 2.2, the peppers from 1.4 to 2.9 and the herbs from 1.2 to 2.4. Those extremes were in the early days mostly but I'm amazed how fast it can change, sometimes the lettuce changes from 1.6 to 2.2 in two days, no doubt due to harvesting and regrowth.
The only alternative is like you say, drain and refill every week or two and two might be pushing the envelope. I'm lazy, Maere doesn't like the mess, and it disturbs the plants so the truncheon is a godsend. I wish there was a guideline to give you like use plain PH 6 water every third top-off but it's impossible, the plants determine how much water and nutes they need.
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 22:33
#32
I understand. And I believe
I understand. And I believe you. I just can't afford a pricey truncheon now. These other dodges sort-of work, so it's a truncheon vs a-whole-lot-of-other-things. Within limits...
I just put together my third replacement pods for my pro100 lettuce garden. 
This time I'm going to try starting them in a separate bowl of weak soup... Pretty sure the nute levels killed 'em. As in, lettuce seedlings just can't cope with the soup strength of grown lettuce.
Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:17
#33
Since lettuce needs very
Since lettuce needs very little/no nutes to germinate and grow the first week or so, you could add half a small AG tab when you start them then add the 2nd half in a week or so once they're growing. I think the small tabs that came with an herb garden had an EC of 1.6 to 1.8 so that would bring you close. I raised the nutes from ~1.0 to 1.7 in about a month and they're thriving. May have to get Maere a machete.
Sun, 01/25/2009 - 19:01
#34
Ooh, growtent peppers looking
Ooh, growtent peppers looking great! I wonder if they too will need light to ripen? Could be tough down there.
Are the other AG peppers still producing well?
I finally yanked my latest starter pods out of the pro100 and put them in a bowl of plain water. I think maybe the Aerogarden soup is too strong for starting lettuce seeds, because I'm sure not having much luck starting another two pods. 
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 17:20
#35
OK, I just dumped 7 gallons
OK, I just dumped 7 gallons of mix, cleaned the tank (filter was clean, whew!) and mixed up two gallons of slightly weak Peat's grow mix using distilled water. Final EC is 1.2, PH is a little bothersome at ~5.3. I don't want to add anything extra to change it and since they recommend 5.8 I think it might be OK, what do you think?
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 20:00
#36
Since it's a logorithmic
Since it's a logorithmic scale... I'd try to get it up to 5.8. Don't have any pH up?
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 21:25
#37
No PH up, never thought I'd
No PH up, never thought I'd need it. Wonder if a little baking soda would work at least temporarily?
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 22:02
#38
Used a bit of baking soda
Used a bit of baking soda mixed in water - a little goes a long way! PH about 6 now, EC at 1.4. Bottom of tank is clean as a whistle so far.
EDIT - The original mix was 6.3 PH so I think I'm OK, it'll take a while for the PH in all the coco and perlite to change. I hope.
EDIT again... You got my curiosity going, the PH in the pot tray is almost 7! Maybe should have left well enough alone.
Fri, 12/12/2008 - 08:29
#39
If you can Bruce, try and
If you can Bruce, try and stay away from kitchen chemicals that adjust the pH.Whilst they do work, they are not designed for hydro and aren't as stable, the pH can drift - which is not what you want. Also, baking soda adds sodium to your water, it can cause problems if the amount is too much.
Proper hydro pH up and down is the better solution.
Thu, 12/18/2008 - 17:07
#40
You're not kidding about PH
You're not kidding about PH drifting. I added another gallon of distilled grow mix and a little PH down to keep it below 6.0. I still have the tan/brown precipitant but it's not quite as bad, of course I'm comparing 3 gallons to problably 10 with tap water. The Rapid Rooters are showing a little spurt of growth now, I'd say they're 2-3 days ahead of the plants in plain soil mix. Here's the Big Jims at 24 days....
And here are the Anaheims at 24 days...
Thu, 12/18/2008 - 22:07
#41
Happy plants!
Hey, good luck
Happy plants!
Hey, good luck with the tests tomorrow!
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 21:38
#42
Baking soda would work to
Baking soda would work to raise the pH... Add sodium, too. Dunno that you want to add sodium... For outdoor gardens you add limestone dust (lime).
<shrug> It's been a while since you refilled - what's the nutrient-water pH in the AutoPot tray? If it's above 6.0, you're probably fine.
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 12:58
#43
Great to see this, I was
Great to see this, I was wondering how it was all going. You don't seem to be running into any growing problems, so far (and I hope you don't), with this tan precipitant.
Did you ever get your test kit for measuring the different nutrients? This may show you what the consistency is in there, it looks like rust? Could it be some form of bacteria, pythium type?
I'm loathed to recommend any treatment until we know what it is.
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 14:32
#44
No test kit yet, can't find
No test kit yet, can't find one I like that I'm willing to pay the $$ for but might get one of the cheap ones to get an idea of the NPK level. They say to add to soil, wonder if putting a little of my coco/perlite mix would work or would it work with straight liquid mix?
Bacteria hasn't crossed my mind, the tank is covered and has nothing but tap water and nutes in it and the gallon jars of mix have lids. I even got a breakdown of all our city's tap water qualities and it's darn good water in every respect. There's not enough chlorine to taste but they do use chlorine and ozone to purify the water, wonder if that would have anything to do with it? I'm at a total loss, think I'll call the big hydro store 'cross town and ask them - DUH! Been having chest pains and no energy the last few weeks so haven't done much. I have a nuclear.. oops, nuculer heart exercise test Friday morning to see what's going on.
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 17:12
#45
That's interesting with the
That's interesting with the ozone, ozone is added to water to break down excess iron. Your water looks 'rusty' from your picture on the other thread.
Is there some sort of reaction going on with your nutrients, ozone & iron that's causing this colour? Chlorine will also destroy ozone, do we have some sort of chain reaction here: far fetched theory... The clorine breaks down the ozone, which then cannot remove the excess iron which is part of your water and hydro nutes, result; rusty looking water? It sounds good in theory, but may be total rubbish!!! 
Good luck with the nuclear heart test by the way. 
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 21:59
#46
These do look great, Bruce -
These do look great, Bruce - congrats!
I have no ideas re the water... Well, one idea. If you take a sample of it in a transparent glass, and add some peroxide to it, and it makes no difference whatsoever to its color and doesn't foam, it's probably not bacterial.
Is it at all possible the feeding valve downward is backfeeding muddy water uphill?
Good luck with the test on Friday!!!
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 01:11
#47
Thanks! I've done all sorts
Thanks! I've done all sorts of checks plus the peroxide idea gisette mentioned. I've taken PH samples from the bottom and the top after letting it sit undisturbed and both are the same. I've taken EC readings from the top and bottom and both are the same. I took a sample from the very bottom, stirring up the crud a little and added 25% H2O2 with no change at all. I can stir the stuff and get it mixed with the water but it's so heavy it drops to the bottom in a few minutes. The two airstones don't move it at all. I've checked the city water dept. reports and all are very good. I'm stumped.
Think I'll call autopot in the UK directly tomorrow and see what they say.
Oh, Peat, here's what ozone is good for, excuse the C&P..
- Kill bacteria on contact thousands of times faster than chlorine or bromine.
- Kill virus on contact.
- Kill algae spores, fungus, mold and yeast spores.
- Precipitate heavy metals.
- Remove excess iron, manganese, and sulfur by a process known as micro-flocculation, thus conditioning the water naturally without chemical additives.
- Remove color and odor, leaving a fresh, healthy bouquet.
- Reduce scale build-up on equipment such as pipes and water heaters, and staining of showers, sinks, bathtubs and toilets .
- Ozone leaves no residue, it's only by-product is pure oxygen.
Thu, 12/11/2008 - 16:05
#48
One more thing I thought
One more thing I thought about...
Add your nutes to some distilled water and see what the outcome is, if it's rusty coloured then it's got to be the nutes. If it's OK then it's got to be your tap water. That should solve it once and for all.
Fri, 12/19/2008 - 15:48
#49
Those plants are coming along
Those plants are coming along nicely.
Add your nutes to some distilled water and see what the outcome is, if it's rusty coloured then it's got to be the nutes. If it's OK then it's got to be your tap water
Have you had a chance to try this solution out yet? This has been intriguing me since you raised it, put me out of my misery.
Fri, 12/19/2008 - 16:48
#50
Yep Peat, I did it
Yep Peat, I did it immediately after you mentioned it back on the 11th, check back a page. That's what caused my PH problem and baking soda mishap. There is a little gunk on the bottom but nothing like it was with tap water but I'm comparing nutes in 3 gallons distilled vs about 10 gallons of tap water. I think the distilled will be the way to go, I don't want nute goodies settling out. Today the EC is about 1.3 and PH is 6.0 so it's finally settled down. That was a great idea!
Major disaster today. I had to replace the recirculation fan which entailed taking the front and right side down and trying to fish the fan cord behind the plants. They had gotten so lush and full of chiles that the tops almost exploded out of the tent, they would have covered twice the space in the tent. Unfortunately, since the tent was holding them upright they never developed good strong stems and I've lost almost the entire top half of the plants, they just folded over from the weight.
Here's a few pictures looking through the side vent, the plants were growing into and around the lamp.....