problems with my coco setup, advice appreciated :)

[coco_chris]

Hello there!

Having some issues with my first ever crop, and I was hoping some of u masterminds could gimme a pointer or two

My setup is as follows :
Strain of Mj? : Jorges Diamonds feminized
Hydroponic or soil? Coco
From seed or clone? Seed
Age of plant in question? 8 plants, approx. 3.5 weeks into vegg
Container/Pot size? 13 Liter
Have they been transplanted, if so how long ago? No
Water runoff Ph? 6.7 (runoff of nute water, my nute water mix is approx. 7.1 Ph when mixed and ready. Im starting to realize this might be behind much of the probs, just got my ph-meter yesterday
Nutrients added? HESI starterpack for coco(root complex, TNT complex and supervit)
Ratios of nutrients (N% P% K%)?
Feeding schedule? 50% mix of nutes in the start(first 2 weeks, standard rec. dose as of the last few weeks.
When were they last fed/watered? Been watering with nutes every 24 hours, with a few breaks to check for reactions.
TDS/EC/PPM? not avaliable yet
Tap/RO/Distilled water? TAP
Ph before and after adding nutrients? 7.2-3 , and 7.0-1 when ready with nutes
Is your Ph equipment properly calibrated? yeah
Light intensity/Age of bulb/Wattage? HPS, 600w , brand spanking new
Distance to the canopy? 1.2 meters approx.
Temps at canopy? 26degrees celcuis ( about 76-80 F )
Temps at root zone or reservoir? 23-25C - 70-72 F
Day/Night temps (Min.-Max.)? Same all 24h, 26-28C, 76-82F
Current air flow (CFM)? Lots
Is there air blowing directly onto plant? Yeah, medium sized fan
Using CO2? not yet
Relative humidity? 50-55% give or take most of the time
Growing technique (Scrog, Sog, Supercropping etc.)? Vegg stage
Has plant recently been pruned, clones taken, fimmed or pinched? A few have been fimmed and one clone taken, probs were there before this tho.
Pests? no
Roots: Looking good and white, growing out of the drainholes of the pots
So I used hps from the start as I didnt have any other source, not too smart since they've of course stretched alot right away and are rather skinny.
No heat issues and hum has been good as well.

If Im forgetting stuff u guys need to help, please ask

Any help really appreciated, would be nice to survive this scare and finally try some of my "own" product comin next year.

If you would like other pics of some specific thing on the plants just let me know

 

[mitchyboy89]

ouch, in coco, ph 5.5-6.2 min/max. 5.8-6.1 optimal

 

[Weezard]

Yer only right!

Yer only right!

ouch, in coco, ph 5.5-6.2 min/max. 5.8-6.1 optimal

Spot-on!
I've run as low as 5.2 for weeks with no problems.
Coco just is not dirt.
It's more like a very firm hydro.

Aloha,
Weezard

 

[coco_chris]

Figured as much, should really have invested in a ph-meter earlier.
But u guys mean the faulty ph-value would account for the yellow "spots" and general pale looks of the plants?
Like in some kind of nute lockout?

Thx for taking the time guys, helps to get my suspicions confirmed

 

[EvilTwin]

Hi CC,
I grew with coco for a year so I've experienced a lot of the usual problems. It's a finicky medium I'm afraid. Might I ask what brand of coco? And did you do a thorough flush to rid the coco of excess sodium? Some high end coco's are pre-flushed, but bricks need the flush. Also it's becoming common practice to pre-soak the coco with a nutrient and cal-mag mix to load the cation bonding sites. I didn't know this while I was using it.

Especially in the third pic I see some striped appearance to the leaf. (interveinal chlorosis is the fancy name) That's a classic sign of Magnesium deficiency. So looks like you may have multiple early nutritional deficiencies but perhaps getting your ph dialed in will correct things.

Is your tap water pretty hard? Excess Ca is a common cause of lockout of other nutrients. Like Weezard said...coco is more like hydro then dirt and hydro is all about the water. Your tap could be a major issue...
ET

 

[coco_chris]

Hi CC,
I grew with coco for a year so I've experienced a lot of the usual problems. It's a finicky medium I'm afraid. Might I ask what brand of coco? And did you do a thorough flush to rid the coco of excess sodium? Some high end coco's are pre-flushed, but bricks need the flush. Also it's becoming common practice to pre-soak the coco with a nutrient and cal-mag mix to load the cation bonding sites. I didn't know this while I was using it.

Especially in the third pic I see some striped appearance to the leaf. (interveinal chlorosis is the fancy name) That's a classic sign of Magnesium deficiency. So looks like you may have multiple early nutritional deficiencies but perhaps getting your ph dialed in will correct things.

Is your tap water pretty hard? Excess Ca is a common cause of lockout of other nutrients. Like Weezard said...coco is more like hydro then dirt and hydro is all about the water. Your tap could be a major issue...
ET

Hey ET, and thx for taking the time

Cant recall the brand of the coco, it was from an online growshop. Did a soak of the cocos when I planted, in the same nutemix I have listed as feed in the first post. Did not rise the coco first tho, I guess i figured it would be done when ordering from a growshop but you have a point there.

Am yet to figure out the tap-water chars(other than PH level).
Would perhaps have been wise to start out with dirt the first grow

Ill get started with adjusting the ph, giving them a good flush and see where that takes me

 

[EvilTwin]

chris,
I recently learned that looking at your ice cubes is a good way to determine level of solids in your tap water. If your cubes are white, milky and opaque...then high Ca in the tap water.

If the coco was bagged and not bricks, you're probably OK. But if they were coco bricks...you may not have given them a good enough flush.
ET