Grow Mediums Mephisto-Reserva Autopot run #1

[MANNIK]

Ugh... PH issues. Res kept rising up to 6.2 from 5.8 within hours of adjusting. Kept adjusting to compensate, this was the mistake.
Figured my PH pen was effed up Went and finally bought a Bluelab pen, got it calibrated and realized that the other one was waaay off. It was all over the place so it must have dried out.

The girls got a dose or two of some 4.8-5.0 solution.

Some of the more sensitive ones got a case of the twisties/swirlies. Some got burnt from the excess PH down.

Drained all Nutes, cleaned out res while I was at it, and filled with a perfect 5.8 solution and lowered to 500 total PPM to help with recovery, will raise strength as needed. I have been feeling like the girls were getting too much Nitrogen anyway. May add a tiny bit of Bud Explosion around day 40 after recovery.

Live & learn...

 

[CannaRuss]

If you're in coco it would probably be easy enough to pull the containers and flush with nutrient at the proper pH.

 

[MANNIK]

If you're in coco it would probably be easy enough to pull the containers and flush with nutrient at the proper pH.

Yeah, they are in coco but flushing by top watering seems risky with a bottom feed system. The salts gather at the top and would be washed into the root zone by top watering.

I drained all pots and the res and replaced with fresh nutes. They have bounced back seemingly without skipping a beat!

Also did a minor defoliation on the back three girls that were nothing but bushes.

Early morning photo right after lights on so they look sleepy.

 

[CannaRuss]

Yeah, they are in coco but flushing by top watering seems risky with a bottom feed system. The salts gather at the top and would be washed into the root zone by top watering.

I've heard this before. Not sure if it's fact or bro-science. You've been top feeding for almost a month before starting on the system for how long, a week ago? If we are getting so much salt accumulation with no way to flush I would say that's a considerable flaw in the system or the Nutrients. Whether due to overfeeding or product quality. I believe you should be able to flush an Autopot. Especially if you are in Coco. If such a significant salt load is accumulating in these systems, flushing a few times throughout a run as preventative maintenance might be in order.

Looks like they are coming back without to much shock though. Good run so far!

 

[MANNIK]

I've heard this before. Not sure if it's fact or bro-science. You've been top feeding for almost a month before starting on the system for how long, a week ago? If we are getting so much salt accumulation with no way to flush I would say that's a considerable flaw in the system or the Nutrients. Whether due to overfeeding or product quality. I believe you should be able to flush an Autopot. Especially if you are in Coco. If such a significant salt load is accumulating in these systems, flushing a few times throughout a run as preventative maintenance might be in order.

Looks like they are coming back without to much shock though. Good run so far!

Good point, not sure if it is true myself. If push came to shove I would do a full flush. Truth be told, I didn't have enough water, time, or patience to pull every pot and pour 9-12 gallons of nutes through them. I buy my RO and am close to out. Need to go on a run to town and get more.
PH is much better in the res and trays, hopefully it stays that way. If not, I will perform a flush.

Plus it takes half a day to flush 9 plants. It is a last resort!

My fault was trusting my PH pen even though inside I knew there was no way my water would swing that hard. Should have trusted my gut and got a new meter sooner.

 

[CannaRuss]

My fault was trusting my PH pen even though inside I knew there was no way my water would swing that hard. Should have trusted my gut and got a new meter sooner.

Good on you for catching it quick enough though. I like your setup with the XL's and fabric containers. I may pick up a couple of those and have a go.

 

[MANNIK]

Hello all!

Day 39 | 78 F | 60% RH | Lights = dimmed (180W each) between 16,000 (shortest) - 30,000 (Tallest) Lux/234-438 PPFD

Feed is as follows:

200 PPM Calimagic to RO water for base​

3g per gallon MC 3.0​

.25g per gallon Bud explosion​

Drip clean​

650 PPM total feed | 1.3 EC​

5.8 PH into res, natural drift brings me to 6.0 within a couple of days.​

Trays are within 6.0 - 6.2 at most times​

Looking good, flowering is in full swing for most! A couple of the girls are doing better than the rest of the room. The tent is getting comfortably full. I assume the stretch is close to done at this point for most of them. These are the biggest set of autos I have had to date!

One minor issue that I need to keep an eye on or address is what looks like a couple deficiencies. Not sure if they are hungry or overfed? Maybe it was the cause of my PH issues from last week. The yellowing has progressed on the leaves with what looks like a calcium deficiency. This is only on a couple lower/mid leaves.

Front left plant looks hungry but is only really light green/yellow up top. She got too close to the light for too long and it really took some color from her.

First run with Megacrop, coco, and Autopots so still trying to figure it out.

Any suggestions or ideas to help correct the issues? Nute mix? PH? PPM's?

 

[CannaRuss]

Looking good, flowering is in full swing for most! A couple of the girls are doing better than the rest of the room. The tent is getting comfortably full. I assume the stretch is close to done at this point for most of them. These are the biggest set of autos I have had to date!

One minor issue that I need to keep an eye on or address is what looks like a couple deficiencies. Not sure if they are hungry or overfed? Maybe it was the cause of my PH issues from last week. The yellowing has progressed on the leaves with what looks like a calcium deficiency. This is only on a couple lower/mid leaves.

Front left plant looks hungry but is only really light green/yellow up top. She got too close to the light for too long and it really took some color from her.

First run with Megacrop, coco, and Autopots so still trying to figure it out.

Any suggestions or ideas to help correct the issues? Nute mix? PH? PPM's?

They look happier today. I think your right about the calmag issue. Could be due to the pH swing. A light Foliar calmag feed would probably help. I don't think you should go any higher on the calmag in the res though.

 

[elcoloan]

....I don't think you should go any higher on the calmag in the res though.

Agreed, and also I would've expected you to be at 4 g/Gal of MC by now... so maybe increase MC could help with those symtoms?

 

[MANNIK]

Agreed, and also I would've expected you to be at 4 g/Gal of MC by now... so maybe increase MC could help with those symtoms?

Every time I went up on MC it caused claw tips on my leaves making me think that it was too much N, plus they were really dark green.

I am already at a 1.3 EC and 650 PPM. Doesn't that already seem high? Maybe I will bump the res up 0.5g per gallon and see how it goes.