HYDRO Drinking during flowering

[Rj420]

My girls are mid week 8 of bloom (from 12/12 switch) and have been drinking 1/2 gallon every other day pretty consistently during bloom, this week is different my smaller plant only drank 1/4 gallon in 4 days. My other plant has been drinking it’s normal 1/2 gallon every other day. Does this mean the smaller plant is finishing up? The trichohnes are mostly milky some clear. My friend who gave me the strain said he blooms for 10 weeks. There hasn’t been a change of temp or humidity in my cabinet 38-40% Rh 77-72 degrees Fahrenheit.


1st grow 36x18x72 cabinet 600w dual switch full spectrum led (veg) 1000w ds full spectrum led (bloom). Using a 5 gallon dwc system with advanced nutrients ph perfect sensi grow A+B and advanced nutrients ph perfect sensi bloom A+B and orca microbes. Growing strain OG-18

[Tersky]

Not necessarily. It could be having an issue. Do you have a TDS meter to test ppms? If not, get one. Makes a world of difference for hydro growing. When you get a ppm /tds meter test the ppm of the water and take note of what it is. When you next check the res test the ppm again. Has it gone up or down? If the ppm goes up that means its drinking more water than it is taking in nutrients and your nutes are too strong. If the ppm goes down then that means that it is taking up more nutes than water and your nutes are too weak. If it stays the same that means the nutes are at the perfect strength.

I dont use its drinking habits to determine harvest window. If you want to know if it's finishing up check the trichomes. Not saying that it isn't finishing up but it's not an accurate way to tell as some root issues would cause it to do the same thing.

[YYCannabis]

Thank you for explaining TDS/EC use. Very interesting.

[Tersky]

Yeah I use ppm to determine nute strength but if i were to record anything i would use EC as there are different conversions for ppms that different TDS meters use so one person's 500ppm would be another conversion's 800ppm.

[Rj420]

So are you looking for the reservoir change with nutrients ppm to stay the same throughout the week while the plants are drinking to determine the correct nutrient levels?

[Tersky]

It doesnt have to be perfect but yes. It will change a little but if it's +/- 50 ppm then it's a balanced nute solution. It is always dependent on the plant as different plants drink at different rates. If you notice it jumping or dropping 100 ppm's in a day then you can adjust it by either adding plain water if nutes are too strong, or adding some nutes.

Now to determine how the nutes will effect ppm what i did was get a gallon of water, test the ppm and record, put a 0.5 tsp of nutes (did Grow and Bloom separately) in water and mixed (used that measurement cause thats how i add nutes to water) then test the ppm and see how much it raises ppm. This way i know if my ppm is too low how much nutes to add. If i'm in veg i add a grow and flower i add bloom. It's a little bit of a process in the beginning but once you get the initial measurements out of the way it becomes easier to know how to feed. It sounds more complicated than it really is lol.

[Rj420]

Another issue I’m experiencing is a pretty consistent lowering of my ph during bloom. I’m noticing a drop in ph as the plants drink. I’m having to ph up after topping off reservoir. Could this be related to my nutrient ppm issue? I was having the opposite problem during veg, my ph was consistently getting high and I would have to ph down about mid week.

[Tersky]

Are you using tap water or RO water. I used RO water and found that it tended to fluctuate a lot so i started adding tap water to keep it stable. I do 3/4 a gallon RO and 1/4 tap water. Also i have found is that when the plant gets closer to harvest the ph starts to drop. I cant really say why but it's something i have noticed. I have had res ph drops where there was an underlying issue, but im noticing in my current grow sometimes it drops. I wonder if it has to do with the increased phosphorous by-products meaning what the plant secretes after taking up nutrients specifically phosphorous (plant pee?) . Or maybe its releasing something as it ripens in prep for harvest? I wish i had an answer for that question.

[Mr.furley]

Got any pictures?

[Rj420]

Just before 12/12 switch. I’ll have to get some current photos later today. Plants vegged great, no major issues. A bit of root rot on my smaller plant, started using orca microbes and that helped. Just rising ph during veg and falling ph during bloom. They are producing good now, buds are fattening and trichomes are mostly milky little clear now. I’m looking for mostly milky some amber. I’m trying to figure out what I can do for my next grow to increase yields and avoid any ph nute problems that may affect the plants ideal conditions.

[Mr.furley]

Any pictures in nature light of the 8 weeks old plants you are concerned with?

[Tersky]

Rj420

RagWeedDWC just posted this really helpful cheat sheet that is more helpful than i was for dropping ppm and ph. Wish i would have had that a long time ago!

https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum/growing-community/351235-falling-or-rising-ph-guide