HELP! New grower, early problems

[akron322]

I am a first time grower, growing 3 plants of Northern Lights. After 2 weeks, I am seeing yellow/brown tips, with some yellow brown spotting in the middle of a couple leaves. Also, I've noticed some of the leave tips are beginning to curl upwards...

Setup:
I am using a 10 gal tote, with 6 45W CFL lights. The lights have been set about 2-4" away (hand tested for heat)

Sequence of events:
- once all 3 seeds have sprouted, I added 1/4 tsp each of General Hydroponics FloraMicro, FloraBloom and FloraGro nutrients to 5 gal of water (recommended during seedling is 1/4 tsp/gal, so 1.25 tsp each nutrient)

- after 4 days I added another 1/4 tsp each nutrient

-5 days later I noticed the tips turning yellow. I replaced the water and went back to only 1 tsp of each nutrient. (now at 14 days since planting the seeds)

- The next day, I noticed some yellow/brown spots in the middle of the leaves, and some curling upward on a couple leaves.

I believe I was too quick to add more nutrients, but I am concerned about the spots in the middle and the curling upward of the leaves. pH range has been maintained at 5.5-6.5. Temperature stays around 70-80F

Can someone please share some advice on what this could be/how to move forward?

Are these leaves "dead", meaning they won't produce or contribute to buds?

Thanks for the help!
Mike

[LuckyAcres]

Note: I know crap about hydro grows, I do dirt. That being said, it does look like yellow tips i.e. nute burn. Can you run the tank with straight water to flush the roots a bit? Not sure how that works but that's what I'd do with soil.
Isnt a better ph at 5 for hydro, thought I read that somewhere...that'd help the plants too with curling and spots. Affected leaves won't revert, they either get worse or stay the same. Keep your good eye on the new growth and watch for signs.
Those leaves do contribute to plant growth but they'll be long gone and replaced by the time buds appear.

[NA420]

Definitely nute burn. Sprouts don't need much nutes for the first 2 weeks at minimum. Some growers go 4 weeks before introducing nutes. Ph'd water + Calmag and whatever root booster if any.

No need to worry about the spots and the curling is probably from flushing, you are in the veg stage if they turn yellow the leaves will get replaced as that's the main purpose in veg is leaf production. Relax and breathe you are doing good. Keep growing. Peace!

[NebulaHaze]

Hmm, I don't really see much nutrients burn, the symptoms look more like slight nutrient or root problems to me. In hydro you definitely need to add nutrients right from the beginning because unlike in soil there is zero nutrients in the water. They only get what you give them! If you don't give them nutrients from the beginning they stop growing almost immediately! The cool thing is hydro gives you complete control over the exact nutrient levels they do get at each particular moment

At week 2 with the Flora trio I personally would be giving 1/2 tsp of all three (Micro, Gro, Bloom) per gallon in a recirculating DWC system. This is the schedule I use. It's basically the same as the GH schedule except cut in half and converted to imperial measurements. It's a good starting guide, but (like you've been doing) it's good to observe and listen to your plants! If you're using more and they're not getting nutrient burn at this level, I wouldn't drop the nutrient levels! The ratios are most important, and levels are dependent on your plants and environment. They are using all the nutrients you're giving them until you see nutrient burn.

PH of 5.5-6.5 is perfect for growing in DWC. Lower than 5.5 and it's hard for the plants to get Calcium in hydro. Just curious, what's your starting water (tap water or something else)?

The yellow tips may have been from too high levels of nutrients, but I think the drooping, curling and brown spots were triggered by the reservoir change. Whenever there's drooping you know it's always involved with the roots in some way, and root problems can trigger nutrient deficiencies and other odd symptoms, especially in hydro. I've found that young plants are very sensitive to reservoir changes and any other root disturbances when they're this young. I try to leave the roots untouched and unmoved as much as possible until week 4 or so, after which they are much less sensitive and their roots can handle being touched and reservoir changes.

If you want to raise or lower the nutrient levels without a full reservoir change, I've personally gotten the best results with toppping off with plain pH'ed water (if you want to lower nutrient levels) or nutrient water (if you want to raise nutrient levels or replace with the same levels). That can help avoid the need to do a reservoir change for a few weeks. (Just FYI: In the vegetative stage they don't need many full reservoir changes, but in the flowering stage they should get one every week if possible because the roots are very strong but the plants get a LOT more picky about nutrients)

Are you using something like Hydroguard in your reservoir in order to prevent root rot and protect your roots? I consider Hydroguard almost necessary in a DWC grow! I always had droopy plants other root rot symptoms until I started using it regularly!

Honestly overall your plants look great, you have pretty small symptoms and all those leaves are still definitely working for your plants!