First Timer needs help

[MrGreen23]

Good morning everyone,

As a first timer, I hope I'm doing this right. So I am growing 3 ladies and a bag seed. This is my very first grow. I am growing Medical Skunk (Skunk #1), which is a 35% Sativa/65% Indica mix from Colombian, Afghan and Mexican parents; Special Kush #1, which is a 20%/80% Afghani x Skunk mix; White Thunder, which is a 40%/60% Afghani x Skunk mix and a bag seed. (This is also the order of the pics.) I am growing them in Roots Organic soil. They have been in the soil for 26 days and in veg for 23 days.

The setup is:
2x4x5 grow tent
400w dimmable MH/HPS grow light with reflector hood
4" exhaust fan w/ 4" carbon filter
12" oscillating fan for circulation

My issue at this point is discoloration in the leaves. I'm not sure if it is a nutrient deficiency or light burn or both. My light is 18" from the tops right now. I'm using the MH bulb for veg. I have been watering 3 times a week during veg. Plants are about 6" now. I started using the FOX Farms trio on Monday. I gave all the ladies a 1/2 strength feeding then(first one) and again this morning. I hope to see some improvement in the net few days. I was hoping to start flowering in the next 2 weeks. I transplanted them into 5 gallon smart pots yesterday. I am trying to cool the tent some more...it's at 88 right now. I also have a small fan blowing air, on low, into one of the bottom vents. I do have a pH and a PPM meter that I will use going forward. Any advice/guidance would be immensely appreciated. I really want to do a good grow. Thanks everyone!

[D-TrainCA]

Looks kinda like potassium def. but that seems unlikely at that stage. I'd keep doing what you're doing making sure to pH your water/solution to the appropriate range for your soil. I now use the simple pH tester drops since I had problems with mis-calibrated meters causing me uptake problems.

[Minnesotabrandon]

your temp is 88F? now don't quote me on this as I am a new grower as well but I had the same look to my leaves before and my temp was around 86f I added a fan and got it down to the 75-80 range and they started to look better after a day or two.. just a thought

[Royal Nugs]

I'd guess PH issues at first glance. Your input water should be around 6.5. Check your runoff too as I've heard roots organics PH drops over time.

If this is the case, it's too bad you already transplanted. You could have added dolomite lime to your mix to balance the PH.

Time to put that PH meter to work.

[NebulaHaze]

I agree the two main things to do first would be check the pH and get the temperature under 80-85° if at all possible! Those can both cause the symptoms you're seeing. Also what's the humidity in there? Overall your plants look good!

[MrGreen23]

Thanks guys! I just checked my tent and the temp is 102?!? WTH?? I have the light running at full power, so I turned it down to 75% and also have the small fan blowing through the bottom vent. The room is cool, so that light must produce some serious heat! If it's still that high in the morning, I may have to put an AC in there. Glad to know that they look good otherwise. I really, really want to this to be a good grow. Appreciate the wisdom!

[StoneyTony]

Whoa! I'm surprised they look that well at all. I have a similar setup for my veg tent and heat has always been an issue. At first I switched from the hood reflector to a cool tube and that helped a lot. But in the warmer months I still have to always be on top of it (which is why I'm switching to LEDs). Do you have your exhaust fan blowing into the room, or outside?

[MrGreen23]

O yea...humidity is around 34%. And I will definitely use my pH meter from now on.

[Minnesotabrandon]

Thanks guys! I just checked my tent and the temp is 102?!? WTH?? I have the light running at full power, so I turned it down to 75% and also have the small fan blowing through the bottom vent. The room is cool, so that light must produce some serious heat! If it's still that high in the morning, I may have to put an AC in there. Glad to know that they look good otherwise. I really, really want to this to be a good grow. Appreciate the wisdom!

Whooa!!!!! Yea definitely get that temp way down ASAP!

[kingfish]

Mrgreen, do you close your tent during lights on ?

[MrGreen23]

Yes I close the tent during lights on. Is this a mistake? I just checked again. Temp is down to 93...humidity down to 29%. I opened the tent to bring it down more. I assumed that the tent had to be closed as much as possible.

[kingfish]

I close my tent only during lights out. That sure explains your heat problem. Keep you tent open during lights on. Your tent needs to be closed solid only when you're flowering. By that I mean no light leaks. when you're vegging, you don't have to close your tent at all.

[alltatup]

kingfish So do you mean to say that light leaks don't matter during dark time in vegetative stage? I looked and looked online and I couldn't find a clear response to that question. My understanding was that strict dark period really only matters during flowering...???

[kingfish]

During vegging period there is no need to worry about light leaks. I don't even put them in the tent during vegging. Mine just sit on a table under a T5.

[StoneyTony]

I would add it's OK to open the tent in veg unless you have insect, security, pet, or dust issues

[Royal Nugs]

How is your fan and scrubber hooked up? You should be able to cool your 400 even if it isn't air cooled. We need some more info regarding your setup.

Like King recommended, keep your tent open for now but you'll want a permanent solution for when you go to flower.

[kingfish]

Nugs, during flowering I keep my tent open during lights on. Always have. Close it up when I turn my lights off. I don't do my vegging in my tent.

[kingfish]

This is my vegging area.

[Royal Nugs]

I see. Nice setup. My cats would have it in tatters. I have to use tents.

[Tika]

Now that is very fresh!

[alltatup]

Yes, very nice setup!!

[MrGreen23]

Here's my setup. I have the scrubber going to the exhaust fan and then out of the window. The scrubber is not attached to the light...the straps are just hanging. I have a small fan(out of the picture) blowing towards the light. Temp is down to 88 and humidity is 32%. I'm really diggin all this knowledge. Thanks guys! Hey King, why the mister?

[kingfish]

My humidity is about the same as yours. The humidifier raises it some and my plants really love it. Don't use it while flowering or you have to be vigil for bud rot.

[Royal Nugs]

Does it feel like 88 degrees in there? Maybe take some readings at a few different places. Something's not right...

Your plants don't look heat stressed at all to me.