HELP! new to hydoponics urgently need advice for my babies

[jollygreengiant]

Hey I'm new to hydroponic growing and was hoping I could get some advice on my first grow.

The set up is a dutch bucket system using an old 75 litre aquarium for the reservoir. The substrate is clay pellets. I adjusted the water to 6.4 ph (tap water is 8.2 naturally here) and added 90 ml of fertilizer when setting up the nutrient solution. Instructions said that you need 1-5 ml of fertilizer of A+B for every litre of water, and I thought you give seedlings a lower amount, so I thought that would work.

The seedlings look deformed. I put them into the hydro system about a week ago after sprouting them in rock wool. They are under some T5 flourescents on an 18/6 schedule, which worked fine for the soil based crop I did before.. One is pretty unwell, the other looks aright but still kind of weird for now. I noticed a white substance appeared on the clay pellets - it seems salty. Maybe that means there is too much fertilizer and it is leaching into the clay?

I have no idea if this is a nutrient deficiecy, overfeeding, or something else. I feel sad for my babies. Please help!

[gbauto]

Yes, it does look like the nute solution may have been a bit too hot. Do you have a ec/ppm meter? Very important bit of kit for hydro.

[jollygreengiant]

thanks i think I will amend the solution by topping it off with just straight water

[RagWeedDWC]

From all the salt buildup on your clay pellets, I would flush for at least 24 hours with RO, then go back with a much milder solution.

[Eliot Pryor]

My chart for nutrients says ml per gallon. Not ml per liter. Maybe your solution is too strong ?

[DW2]

Howdy jollygreengiant, Looking at the photos, there is too much algae growing in the buckets. I keep the light out by covering the Hydrotron with aluminum foil (or something impenetrable to light). Brown algae can start in the buckets with very little light (and water temperatures above 72° F as well).