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hydroponic Is that a nutrient lockout ? Hydroponic Bhut

Beorn

Beorn

Few months ago I started two hydro Bhuts and for some  reasons  they are showing signs of nutrient deficiency and slowed growth. It's only my second years growing peppers and I'm not very good at pinpointing problems yet (or finding a solution to them). Here is my guess at what's going on.
 
I suspect nutrients lockout due to overfert inducing a low pH in my solution. When I changed the solutions about a month in, I got the solutions to about 1200 ppm (1000 ppm floranova grow, 100 ppm cal-mag, and 100 ppm base water). At this time the pH was around 5.8 so I tough it was ok so I let them go without monitoring the solution daily (had other business to attend). Two weeks later I looked at it and my pH was very low ( around 4) and I noticed signs of burning on the edges and tips  of some leaves. It looked «dry» and the leaves show signs of yellowing ( or is it chlorosis ?) . On top of that, I noticed two days ago that my timer switch was «off», so my lights may have been on 24/7 for at least 1 month!
 
I washed the solution and prepared a weaker one ( around 700 ppm, pH 6.0 ). Three days after my pH was back at around 4.4 and the plant showed no sign of recovery (but It didn't get worse though). I also noticed that the roots had brown like tips and random spots so I used a bit of H2O2 in the solution before washing it again today.
 
My ultimate guess : I really overferted (probably because I was heavily feeding my pepper trees of last years)
                                The overfert induced low pH then nutrient lockout (chlorosis , slowed growth)
                                 Lack of solution monitoring  and probably solution duration use (more than a month) - root problems
                                 Forgotten lights on 24/7 - I don't think much of a problem since light intensity is quite low on these tubes
 
So what I did today : Tried to remove the brown soft roots ( is that pythium?  or just solid nutrient accumulation? or simply dead root cells?)
                                  Reworked a solution of roughly 350 ppm + 100 ppm cal-mag
                                  Put about 10 ml H2O2 in 13L of solution
                                  Reworked my «grow tent» so that the temperature stays a bit higher. It  was around 20C (68 F)  before to around 27C (80 F)
                                  Reworked my lightning setup from 4 T8 grow light tubes to a 400W MH and my homemade 225W led panel
                                 
 
Some pics!
 
Chlorosis or yellowing           

 
Brown roots 

 
Whole picture

 
Burned tip and edge   

 
Two newcomers



                                                                              
So now is there anything I should do other than wait and sit ? :P
Does this all make sense ?
Insights are most welcome !
 
 
 
I don't grow in dwc so take this for what it's worth.

A ph of 4 is way too low. 5.8-6.2 is about where you want to be. You'll need to figure out what's causing the drop and stabilise it.

It sounds like you were a too high in the ppm department as well. 1200ppm at this stage in the plant life is way more than they need. Seems to be 1000 is the upper end during the flower stage.

Someone with experience in dwc should be able to come in and steer you right.

Neil
 
does your ferts have calcium and mag in it.. because i know a lot of people add calmag to it even though their 2 part or 3 part or w/e it is they are using has all the trace minerals they need including calcium and mag and they add calmag and kill the plant or nutrient block it or damage it
 
Let's deal with a couple problems. Those roots look like hell. Get rid of any slimy dead root and get more air in that water pronto.
 
Next get your PPM in the 500-800 range using a balanced nute (balance of grow and bloom nutes).
 
Report back in a few weeks and show off all the new white roots and new growth.

Oh, and I forgot the pH. Get that between 5.5 and 7. Ideally somewhere in the low 6s.
 
does your ferts have calcium and mag in it.. because i know a lot of people add calmag to it even though their 2 part or 3 part or w/e it is they are using has all the trace minerals they need including calcium and mag and they add calmag and kill the plant or nutrient block it or damage it
 
Agreed. FloraNova Grow has Cal-Mag, I'd hold off unless you know it's a pimp on those nutes. Changing the tank more frequently and working within a pH range (rotating from the high to low end) should help. My experience is with coir, but hydro is hydro, no? :)
 
Flush with hydrogen peroxide and no/very little ppm concentrate(100-200ppm) on your nutes for 3-5 days, then slowly introduce back up to 1k range.  Bring your ph up to the 6.8 range - as you are prepping for the drop, it sounds like it is not ideal for you to check daily, so you want to prep for the drop - s ph of 4 is toxic!  Continue with the hydrogen peroxide until plants are healthy again.
 
Thanks all for the replies, pH has been stable at 6.3 for 2 days now. I removed most of the dead roots and tried cleaning root surface of the slime. Got a couple other questions though
 
Is there a genuine way to clean the roots easily? I did it gently with a water mister and my fingers but It doesn't seem to be the right way to do it.
 
How often should I add H2O2 to the solution ?
 
Should I prune the roots a bit or?
 
Should I foliar feed to help recover from the lockout ?
 
And yes I can tend them daily now my basement is not box-crowded anymore!
 
I'll report in 2 weeks with new pics!
 
Beorn said:
Thanks all for the replies, pH has been stable at 6.3 for 2 days now. I removed most of the dead roots and tried cleaning root surface of the slime. Got a couple other questions though
 
Is there a genuine way to clean the roots easily? I did it gently with a water mister and my fingers but It doesn't seem to be the right way to do it.
 
How often should I add H2O2 to the solution ?
 
Should I prune the roots a bit or?
 
Should I foliar feed to help recover from the lockout ?
 
And yes I can tend them daily now my basement is not box-crowded anymore!
 
I'll report in 2 weeks with new pics!
Click to expand...
If anything, I would prune some top growth since your root structure is in bad shape. H2O2 if you must, but you really need more air and keep the rez temps fairly cool. All you need to do is posted below. It really is that simple.
 
Jeff H said:
Let's deal with a couple problems. Those roots look like hell. Get rid of any slimy dead root and get more air in that water pronto.
 
Next get your PPM in the 500-800 range using a balanced nute (balance of grow and bloom nutes).
 
Report back in a few weeks and show off all the new white roots and new growth.

Oh, and I forgot the pH. Get that between 5.5 and 7. Ideally somewhere in the low 6s.
Click to expand...
 
good I'll do that , thx
 
Edit: Just had an illumination, stupid me! I just remembered that for a couple of days/weeks my air pump was plugged in my timed power bar with my lights .. so it was off during night time for a while... :confused:
 
Looks like your out of the woods but just in case GH produce a root/system conditioner called Florakleen.
 
I got some but haven't used it yet....waiting to pick the runt pods then will probably use every 4-6 months.
 
At some point hydro roots go soft but I'm still trying to find out how long they can last...a 2 year old hydro would be nuts.
 
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