# HELP identifying pest/mite (pics)



## fortphoenix (Feb 8, 2016)

hey i found this tiny tiny mite looking bug in the water i use to water seedlings (open container) and i only notice it because it was a tiny dot. it didnt seem like it wanted to be in the water because it was it was trying to swim, but couldnt. and once i scooped it out i put it on the ground it was moving, i had to kill it to stop it so i could look at it under my microscope so its kind of crushed, any ideas what it is? i really hope its not a bug that harms the plant. Im having troubles with my plants too with what i thought was a calcium def because of slow growth and spots but maybe it could be a bug problem? also my ph keeps drifting up if that means anything, not rapidly but from 5.7 to 6.1 in 3 days and sometimes my plant droops, the drooping that happens only affects the top/middle leaves and happens every so often. I'm pretty sure the antennas/legs on the front of its mouth were sticking straight out when it was in the water, i couldn't tell once i took it out of the water though. and the magnification is 60x 

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## Grower13 (Feb 8, 2016)

not sure what the bug is......... but you do have a cal/mag issue........ tell me about your watering habits for the plant.


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## Hushpuppy (Feb 8, 2016)

That bug doesn't look like a plant muncher. It looks more to be in the ant family but I can't see any leaf munching tools on the front of it. I don't think you have a bug issue. Keep doing what you are doing.

In hydro, you will experience a lot of pH "drift". Don't fear the drift as it is a good thing. It tells you that there is a lot of chemistry activity happening which means the plants are eating and drinking. You operating range for pH is (depending somewhat on the nutrients you use) 5.3-6.2 for most cases. The optimum pH range is 5.6-6.0 (for hydro). What you need to do is develop a schedule from watching and monitoring the plants and pH, that allows you to start with fresh solution that is set at one end of the "optimum" pH range, and then allow it to drift over several days to the other end of the "operational" pH range. Then you would add back any lost water and adjust the pH back to the other end of the "optimum" range.

You will do this throughout the life of the plant. If you are thinking "nature doesn't do that", forget about how "nature" does it, as you are not growing "in nature". You are in an artificial/synthetic environment. You can't mimic nature. We aren't good enough to mimic nature so we have to do the next best thing which is give the plants precisely what they want. We can borrow tricks from mother nature, one of those is the pH drift. But all of the nuts and bolts of that is for a different conversation 

What I do (remember I use advanced Nutes' Jungle Juice which is (chemically) a little different than other stuff). My pH drifts down, so I start my fresh solution at about 6.0 and let it drift down to 5.2-5.4 (sometimes 4.8 if I can't get to them soon enough). Then I adjust back up to 5.9-6.1 and allow it to drift back down again. I usually only have to adjust the pH every 3-5 days initially but each time I top up my rez with fresh water, I find that the solution will drop the pH faster as there are less nutrients in the solution now. Once I reach a point where I have to adjust the pH and then 24hrs later, it is back down below 5.0, I know my nutes are depleted and its time to change the solution.

You will eventually recognize that there is a rhythm to the pH drift and how the plants eat/drink. When using organics or in soil/soilless, that rhythm is less noticeable but its always there as it is the rhythm of the plants themselves and the chemical world around them. I hope all this makes sense to you as I get a little long winded on occasion


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## fortphoenix (Feb 8, 2016)

Hushpuppy said:


> That bug doesn't look like a plant muncher. It looks more to be in the ant family but I can't see any leaf munching tools on the front of it. I don't think you have a bug issue. Keep doing what you are doing.
> 
> In hydro, you will experience a lot of pH "drift". Don't fear the drift as it is a good thing. It tells you that there is a lot of chemistry activity happening which means the plants are eating and drinking. You operating range for pH is (depending somewhat on the nutrients you use) 5.3-6.2 for most cases. The optimum pH range is 5.6-6.0 (for hydro). What you need to do is develop a schedule from watching and monitoring the plants and pH, that allows you to start with fresh solution that is set at one end of the "optimum" pH range, and then allow it to drift over several days to the other end of the "operational" pH range. Then you would add back any lost water and adjust the pH back to the other end of the "optimum" range.
> 
> ...



yeah i actually asked a senior member on another site and they recognized the bug as a spring tail and after further research I've come to the conclusion that theres a 90% chance its a spring tail (he also said the plants look hungry) which I'm still not happy about but atleast its not spider mites or something but yes sir it all makes sense i was actually telling myself when i change the res I'm going to start at 5.5,5.6 and let it do its thing. the other thing I'm wondering is if the ph is rising to absorb calcium or not because some charts say calcium is best absorbed at less then 5.8 and some say more then 5.8 so idk if i should drop the ph now so it can absorb calcium or if its rising now to absorb calcium but i think the calcium deficiency is why my plants are growing so slow. part of me wants to bump the ppms to like 750 but I'm afraid ill burn them


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## fortphoenix (Feb 8, 2016)

i actually just topped my res with r.o water and my ppm is back to 460,470 so i guess my ppms are on point. the water i used had a 5.6ph and the ph of my res is 6.2 I'm thinking about leaving it alone for a day or 2 to see if it bounces back down


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## Hushpuppy (Feb 9, 2016)

Don't second guess yourself on the PPM. They are growing slower because of the lack of calcium, and the lack of everything else as well because of the root damage, but they are coming back, and they are growing. At the next rez change, bump up to 600ppm with a little more calmag and you will see them begin to ramp up. Then at next rez change, you can ramp up again to 800ppm. 

Patience is more than a virtue in growing MJ it is an absolute necessity.


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## fortphoenix (Feb 9, 2016)

Hushpuppy said:


> Don't second guess yourself on the PPM. They are growing slower because of the lack of calcium, and the lack of everything else as well because of the root damage, but they are coming back, and they are growing. At the next rez change, bump up to 600ppm with a little more calmag and you will see them begin to ramp up. Then at next rez change, you can ramp up again to 800ppm.
> 
> Patience is more than a virtue in growing MJ it is an absolute necessity.



alright I'm definitely going to try bumping it up!! thanks for your help yet again, you're the man hushpuppy i appreciate it!!!


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## Hushpuppy (Feb 13, 2016)

No worries my friend


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## MeNtAlPaTiEnT (Feb 21, 2016)

I've dealt with mites in the past and I don't see any mite damage. Looks more of  nute issue. Once you've gone through a season with mites, the image of a leaf that's been marauded by mites will be in your mind forever.


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## fortphoenix (Mar 2, 2016)

MeNtAlPaTiEnT said:


> I've dealt with mites in the past and I don't see any mite damage. Looks more of  nute issue. Once you've gone through a season with mites, the image of a leaf that's been marauded by mites will be in your mind forever.



yeah i figured out it was a springtail... no harm done, thanks though. still got the deficiency issue though


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## MeNtAlPaTiEnT (Mar 4, 2016)

Ah still def's going on... I know the feeling. I hate adjusting ph in mediums with little buffering capacity... I'm sticking to soil haha.


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