Aeroponics Painfully Slow!

[Crazy Horse]

My plants are 16 days old from seeds and they are tiny. They are about 1" tall with 1 set of leaves. I must be doing something wrong. Here is the lowdown

-Aeroponics
-Temp about 62 F
-RH about 50
-1/8 nutes first week, yesterday changed res and at 1/4 strength nutes (DNF nutes)
-Pump on 24 hrs/day
-200 watt cfl, was 24 hr/day, but changed it to 18/6 yesterday
-PH, try to keep around 6.
-Water used, is water in them blue 5 gal jugs, reversed osmosis.

The conditions are roughly the same as my soil grows, give or take, and by now in soil my plants are usually around 6" tall. And Hydro is "supposed" to be a little quicker than soil, so I must be doing something wrong. Anyone?

 

[Stoney Bud]

My plants are 16 days old from seeds and they are tiny. They are about 1" tall with 1 set of leaves. I must be doing something wrong. Here is the lowdown

-Aeroponics
-Temp about 62 F
-RH about 50
-1/8 nutes first week, yesterday changed res and at 1/4 strength nutes (DNF nutes)
-Pump on 24 hrs/day
-200 watt cfl, was 24 hr/day, but changed it to 18/6 yesterday
-PH, try to keep around 6.
-Water used, is water in them blue 5 gal jugs, reversed osmosis.

The conditions are roughly the same as my soil grows, give or take, and by now in soil my plants are usually around 6" tall. And Hydro is "supposed" to be a little quicker than soil, so I must be doing something wrong. Anyone?

Your water temp should be at 75-80. At 62, it will slow growth some.

How much root mass is there? Can you post a pic? It might just be that your root mass isn't developed good enough yet. There are additives that will radically increase root development.

 

[Crazy Horse]

They are in 3" net pots, and there are no visible roots yet. I would love to show you a pic, but my little man thought the camera was a rubber duckie and tossed the camera in the tub. So no pics, sorry. I don't know the water temp, but I will look into it. Thanks CH.

 

[Stoney Bud]

They are in 3" net pots, and there are no visible roots yet. I would love to show you a pic, but my little man thought the camera was a rubber duckie and tossed the camera in the tub.

That's all it is man. The root system has to be down in the mist before rapid growth will start. You should find one of the rooting hormones to add to your reservoir. It makes quite a difference.

After your roots are in view, you'll see a dramatic increase in growth.

Let me know how it goes man.

That's seriously funny about the camera....little guys don't know these things!

 

[Crazy Horse]

I will check for some rooting hormone and go from there. Will let you know what happens. Thanks again CH.

 

[allgrownup]

aquarium heater can be bought for 10 bucks, you need the smallest one. put it on a timer for a couple times a day or more, don't know what your temps are like. ours are warm here in Ca so only need in am

 

[Crazy Horse]

Well some people say to keep the water nice and cool. And some people say to keep it a little warmer. My res is on the cement floor in my shop. My floor is heated, so the water doesn't get too cold. I haven't put a thermometer in there yet (even though I have been meening to), but I will soon just to find out what the temp is.

 

[bejohnst]

Your water temp should be at 75-80. At 62, it will slow growth some.

How much root mass is there? Can you post a pic? It might just be that your root mass isn't developed good enough yet. There are additives that will radically increase root development.

Just a quick question, is 75-80 a good temp for all hydro systems? I'm running at 20C which is like 68F I wonder if I should warm up the res a bit.

 

[Crazy Horse]

Instead of running at 20C, why not try walking at 20C. You don't get nearly as hot, and it is alot easier on the joints. HAHA! Just kidding.It's my thread and I can laugh if I want to, laugh if I want to. Sorry for that one BJ, just had to do it. Tired and bored lol.

 

[Stoney Bud]

Just a quick question, is 75-80 a good temp for all hydro systems? I'm running at 20C which is like 68F I wonder if I should warm up the res a bit.

Yes, 75 is the perfect temp for roots. The room temp can be as hot as 100 as long as the roots are kept at 75F.

 

[hgih]

isnt 75 a little high? im keeping my aero res at 67 with a chiller and they love it

 

[Stoney Bud]

isnt 75 a little high? im keeping my aero res at 67 with a chiller and they love it

No. It's been discovered that the plants will grow best when the roots are kept at a constant 75 degrees F.

 

[hgih]

intresting i was always told that water temps 75+ are prone to cause root rot

 

[Stoney Bud]

intresting i was always told that water temps 75+ are prone to cause root rot

No, temps don't cause root rot. Lack of oxygenation causes root rot.

If you really got the roots hot, perhaps, but I'm talking about 100+

The plant would shut down.

75 degrees at the root mass is what the botanists say is the absolute best temp for MJ's root system.

 

[hgih]

dosent higher temps cause lower levels of Dissolved oxygen in the water in turn causing root rot? thanks for all the info stony

 

[Stoney Bud]

dosent higher temps cause lower levels of Dissolved oxygen in the water in turn causing root rot? thanks for all the info stony

I've never heard of an inside grower suffering from root rot because of the temp of the water in a reservoir. In fact, I've never seen a case of root rot in an ebb and flow system.

 

[hgih]

i thought we were talking about aero/ntf? :confused2:

 

[Grownothing]

how the hell can you get root rot in a aero setup? There sprayers lol

 

[Stoney Bud]

i thought we were talking about aero/ntf? :confused2:

The same water temp applies to them as well.

NFT can be prone to root problems if the volume of roots outgrow the area allowed. With proper planning, root rot is almost impossible.

 

[hgih]

how the hell can you get root rot in a aero setup? There sprayers lol

because most aero systems still sit in trays that pool a small amount of water and by the time your half way into flowering your roots should be going down the drain into the res atleast mine are and most people i see running aero systems have there roots going through there drain into there res