Brown spots

[Txhellhound01]

Anyone know what is causing brown spots on my seedling??? This is my first attempt at DWC. Any help would be awesome.

[SirSmksAlot]

Are you spraying anything on the leaves?

[Txhellhound01]

No, just ph'ed r.o water and gh Flora trio at quarter strength plus cal- mag.

[SirSmksAlot]

How close is your light and what light are you using?

[YYCannabis]

I’m assuming your seeding is in rock wool cube...did you flush the rock wool before putting the seedling in it?

[Txhellhound01]

Yes,in 5.5 ph' Ed r.o water for 24 hours.

[alltatup]

Looks mighty wet; you may be drowning the roots...

[Txhellhound01]

I had a feeling that was the problem. I couldn't find any info on how long to leave the top feed running.

[SoOrbudgal]

Looks like a water issue to me.

[Txhellhound01]

So how long should I leave the top feed running each day?? I've been letting it run 24 hours.

[YYCannabis]

Move the top feeder a few inches off to the side of the rock wool cube. Part of the idea is to entice roots to away from the stem.
I would let the whole top area dry out for a few days then start top feeding again.

[Tersky]

What is your res temp? Any higher than 74 and you can get issues with root rot unless you are using a root inoculate (like hydroguard). I dont use top feed personally but as soon as the roots are able to touch the res water you can stop the top feed. It also looks like the top of your pebbles are wet which can promote algae growth so just make sure not to keep the top of your hydroton wet. If your top feed is literally at the top you may want to move it to the middle of the net pot instead. It looks like you have either a ph or root issue though both can look the same. Plus i would do 5.8 or 6.0 instead of 5.5 for ph. Cal gets locked out below 6.0 and magnesium at like 5.8. Check the chart i have attached to see.

[YYCannabis]

Here’s another great graphic to keep near your grow space as well.

[Txhellhound01]

Just want to say thanks to everyone for the excellent information.

[billyboy]

What did you decide was happening? Did you take a specific action and see an improvement?

[Txhellhound01]

I turned the top feed off an I'm letting it dry out into tomorrow. I'm changing the water today and adjusting the pH to 5.8-6.0. I'm using cfl's right now.I have 12 100 watt
equivalent bulbs.. All of them are no closer than 10 to 12" from the plant.

[DingusKhan]

I also recently found the exact same thing! I created the "schnorckel", a way to top feed my babies without putting a punp down in the bottom of the res. I was too lazy to set them both up, and the one with the schnorkel LAGGED while the one that got neglected TOOK OFF!. As soon as I removed the schnorkel from the smaller plant, BOOM! She's starting to catch up.

I think I'm done with top feed. I just keep the solution within a half inch of hte bottom of the cup, and the bubbles from the aeration stone keeps the pebbles moist, and the roots growing out for more soliution!

[YYCannabis]

Txhellhound01 Just a few more thoughts to mull over.

1- What is your water height in the reservoir in regards to the basket? (It should be just below the basket by ~1/2 inch)
2- If there are no roots reaching the reservoir, you shouldn’t need to do anything with it yet other than control pH. At this early stage, nutes can be hard on a little plant. You could just remove half the water and replace with pH fresh water to reduce the PPM.
3- You asked earlier about how long you need to use top feed. Since you already using it, it really only needs to be used until your plants roots reach the reservoir (Which should be just below the basket right now). Once the roots touch water, lower the water by one inch. Do that for a second time. Then the third time the roots reach water just let them continue growing down. On next water changes, keep a 1” airspace between the top of the water and the bottom of the basket. This will help prevent root rot issue from a wet stump.

I personally don’t think automatic/continuous top feeding is necessary for a small garden. I use a 60ml syringe to “top feed” with pH water at approximately 1” away from the rock wool cube. I do this once a day until roots reach water. Auto systems are just a waste of electricity and can be another point of failure in a garden.

[Txhellhound01]

The water is about half an inch from the basket. The pH is about 6.o and the notes are about 325. I'll go ahead and change half the water and turn the top feed off. I'll try hand watering for a couple of days and see how that goes. I'll post a pic in a few so you can see what I have going on.

[YYCannabis]

Good luck. Hopefully she recovers nicely for you.

[Txhellhound01]

Just wondering if I should clip the brown leaves off of just leave them???

[YYCannabis]

Wait. No hurry to get rid of them. Once there are several branches above them you can clip them back.

[YYCannabis]

Any updates? Pics?

[Txhellhound01]

Seems to be doing a hell of a lot better now that I changed the water and killed the top feed. When I took the top off the bucket, I noticed two white roots about 6 inches long lol.

[Txhellhound01]

[DingusKhan]

Very nice! Looking much better.

I personally would cut off the brown stuff. They probably aren't doing much photosynthesis like that, they look like shit, and you plant is over it, as evidenced by healthy new growth. I wouldn't want to have to keep looking at them, wondering if my plant still felt that way.