Stunted growth and yellowing plant in hydro

Hi, im very new to hydroponics, my only experience is a very successful planted aquarium.
I set up a diy ebb/flow system and have 2 habs and a bonda ma jaques in it.

Basically the weather has picked up and theres plenty of sun and my hab growth is very dense and fruits are forming but there is no height to them.

Also the bonda ma jaques turns yellow each time I change the nutrients, and slowly greens up over the next month. It is not growing at all. I have been using half dose of the nutrients. Even tried a bit of thrive in there.

Any ideas?

Do you replace the oxygen in the water? Like using a bubble stone?

What is the ph of your water?

Hi mate, no air stone. Its just the pump running for 15 mins 3 tmes per day. No idea on the ph, just rainwater.
The bit that puzzles me the most is they are the same species of chilli, and green up nice and the other is yellow untill the nutrients get used up.
Might have to buy a test kit. What ph do I want?

It sounds like you are just on the borderline of using too little nitrogen in your feed.
Don't worry though as this is a good thing, many growers use this as a zero mark, a place to work from.

The fact that some plants leaves turn yellow as the other whole plant turns yellow tells us a story about different plants. Ideally each plant variety needs to be dialed in.

To begin with the ph should be around 6.5 There are really cheap ph meters you can get for like three dollars from ebay, they work and are digital, accurate to .1

Nitrogen is a little more difficult, I must ask if and or what kind of nutrients you are adding to your rain water. There are salt (nutrient) meters available as well. Plants need food, more than normal h2o can provide.

Any details of your set up would help provide accurate advice, also get an air stone. Plants love oxygen
My gut feeling is that your ph is way off whack and there is too little oxygen in your water. Remember it is h2o not h2-o

cool the pic worked...
 
ok so the 2 habs are on the left, cannot really see the other one behind the front one but it is there.
then in the middle is the bonda ma jaques, not really enjoying life too much.
and on the right is a little basil saved from the frosty mornings we have been having. it seems to like it too.
 
i will get back to you tommorow about the nutrient mix, its just the cheapest one at the hydro shop, and i mix it half rate (what was recomended). its a 2 part mix.

Root shot?

Nutrient lock out would be my uneducated guess. This might help
http://blog.mygrowponics.com/post/72221111788/what-is-nutrient-lockout-and-why-does-it-happen

Grass Snake said:

Nutrient lock out would be my uneducated guess. This might help
http://blog.mygrowponics.com/post/72221111788/what-is-nutrient-lockout-and-why-does-it-happen

Click to expand...

Nute lockout is a possibility.
 
Could be a lack of Nitrogen as well (may or may not be due to lockout)
 
Root depth in the hydroton may be an issue as well if the tub does not drain entirely and leaves the roots sitting in anaerobic water.
 
FWIW, every one of my hydroponic systems has an air stone - no matter the hydroponic method. The higher the reservoir temperature, the greater the need for an air stone. Some of the need can be eliminated depending on how your plumbing works. I let mine drain in to mid air above the reservoir and have a sort of low pressure home made shower head type cap on the end that gets more air in to the water as it falls from the plumbing.
 
For hydroponics you really need a PH+EC meter - otherwise you are just flying blind. There are plenty of options, some expensive, some not so. Water temp is good to know as well, you can often find this in a combo meter.
 
This is the PH meter I'm using: http://shop.hannainst.com/hi98130-ph-ec-tds-tester.html?id=040003&ProdCode=HI%252098130 It was around $100 to get it from amazon vs through their store.
 
I chose a more expensive model for the replaceable electrodes, automatic compensation for water temp, high EC range (not necessary for most people), and 2-point calibration, among a few other features.
 
I've used cheap meters before (HM Digital), and they did work well for a while. That is, until stuff gets stuck on the electrode that can't be removed, at which point your readings are permanently altered. 1-point calibration isn't as accurate as 2-point.
 
Here are some other models I have used that are less expensive.
http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity%C2%AE-Accuracy-Measurement-Resolution-Handheld/dp/B00FJFEB2O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1415814726&sr=8-3&keywords=ph+meter
 
http://www.amazon.com/HM-Digital-Thermometer-Measurement-Resolution/dp/B0002T6L5M/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1415814726&sr=8-14&keywords=ph+meter
 
Be sure to read up on the care and maintenance of a PH/EC meter as well. They need to be kept very clean. I buy RO water to clean my electrodes after each use FWIW.

No air stone, not measuring your ph and not knowing the EC of your nutrient mix puts you at a dis-advantage from the get go.
 
Pepper plants enjoy a PH of 6 or thereabouts. I measured some rainwater here at home it came in at about 4.7, if your rain water is anything near mine then that is problem number one. Nutrient lockout due to incorrect PH. Plants cannot feed when the water is at an incorrect PH value.
 
Solution- Buy a liquid test kit from your local pool shop, pet shop, bunnings etc. They are around ten dollars and will last around 6+ months, longer as you get to know your water better and how much PH adjustment it needs.
 
Adust your water with PH up if it is low (hydroponics shops sell PH up and down, also i found that a brand of rust remover at Bunnings is exactly the same thing, phosphoric acid, and is about 1/8th of the price ($18 a litre vs $11 per 125ml). The only difference is that the proper stuff has 850g/litre and they rust remover has 650g/litre). Or if it is high adjust it down with PH up. Such a smalll amount of the chemical is used that these bottles will last for years. To adjust my 50 litre res from 7.5 to 6 uses around .5ml so this bottle should last me 250 water changes, about 4.5 cents per change. A small syringe comes in very handy when working with such small amounts of chemical.  
 
After you have your PH correct you should check that your nutrient solution is at an acceptable level. This can vary wildy from plant to plant, system to system etc so you have to find out what works for you. I just received a new EC meter yesterday after my old one broke ages ago. They are not cheap (well you can get cheap ones but i wouldn't trust them), i paid around $120 delivered from fleabay but they should last near forever and mine came with a 5 year warranty.
 
I have been using Canna classic at the rate of 1ml per litre as per the guys advice at the hydro shop, without a meter i figured this the safest way to go. After testing the EC i found that it was 0.4 where i wanted to run at about 1.2 for a while and see how the plants responded. If they handle that no worries i will bump it up another .2 and so on. Canna recommends that the product is used between 1.2 and 2.0.
 
Now, if you haven't got the spare cash to throwing on an EC meter i wouldn't worry all that much. There is a very simple way to tell if you have too much food in there, the tips of the leaves will burn. Keep track of how much you feed them and when this point is reached reduce the amount of nutrients (you running half strength there shouldn't be a problem though). Also, get that air-pump and stone, other wise you will have to replace the water very often.
 
Really what you need to do as soon as possible is to nail that PH. It is the most important factor and if it is out too much your plants will refuse to grow and they may actually get together and plot your murder. 

Garretts Bitch said:

Really what you need to do as soon as possible is to nail that PH. It is the most important factor and if it is out too much your plants will refuse to grow and they may actually get together and plot your murder. 

Click to expand...

 
Agreed. Nail down the PH first, and get yourself an Air pump and air stones. If you have enough Dissolved oxygen in the water, the plants will not care if they are submersed in the root zone.
 
Not only do you need to get it right once, but you need to keep it steady. If the PH fluctuates frequently, the plant will just halt - and maybe plot your murder as GB stated. It can take a few days up to a week before the plants start showing signs that everything is okay once parameters are back in check.
 
GB also stated the even though they are all peppers, each variety may have substantially different requirements when it comes to feeding - this is important to note. Some types of hydroponic systems are better for mixing varieties than others. Generally speaking, each hydroponic system should only contain one variety.
 
Getting started with Hydroponics is a relatively large initial investment if you want to start off right.
 
It took me around a year to learn to get all of the parameters right, learning to read responses from your plants, and so on. I killed countless lettuces. I had great sprouting, but they all stalled early on because I didn't keep the PH and nutrients at the right level. I never did get to eat those lettuces
 
I usually advise people to start hydroponics with Tomatoes. They are a rigorous plant that is widely adaptable to different nutrient levels. They are also much stronger rooting than peppers, and will tolerate more abuse.
 
Greens are even better, because you don't have to worry about flowering and developing fruit.

I have found that you can keep the costs down if you are willing to make your own units, in DWC at least.
 
Tub with a lid - $20
Net pots - $ 1 each
Air pump - $ 20
Air stone - $5
 
Total- $46
 
However the costs involved with meters are rather high, say $150 for your EC meter, ph testing kit and ph up and down. These will last for a long time though and are really only "one off" costs.
 
Nutrients on the other hand seem to be on the high side of $ vs actual product. If i could find a cheaper nutrient than say the Canna that would work just as good i would be very happy indeed! I have thought about buying the chemicals in bulk and mixing my own but i really don't want to go through the hassle!  
 
As  a side note it has been found that plants can be grown with nothing but worm jizz in hydroponics. I'm not sure of the results vs your normal solutions but if you were on a tight budget it could be the way to go.