Hi first time growing im using 3 gallon pots with coco and perlite plants are droopy very bad and starting to get algae on top of coco i have read this may be overwatering but was told i cant over water coco really need some help here i was watering 3 times a day for 30sec at a time with spider farmer irragation setup been using cyco grow a+b and b1 booster ph 5.8 ec atm is 1.3 i did stop watering for a day and they come good so i watered them the next morning and now there like this again i have stopped watering again hoping they will come back is there anything i should be doing different or anything i can do to bring them back thanks.
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Im not familiar with Spyder Farmers irrigation. Does your res have an air stone?
Also, your watering three times a day. Are you doing 18/6 light cycle. How much run off do you get each watering cycle?
Oh, as far as the algae on top, you could cover the top to block the light, foil will work, and just lay it loosely over the top.
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What are your temps? Air and rootzone if possible. They look cold to me which will affect uptake. Without adjusting temperature and watering frequency that pot will just sit cold and wet.
Now to me that coco doesn’t look wet. So I assume you’ve been giving it some time to dry. Just be aware as coco drys out salts remain as the water is either used or evaporated. When you water next you need to feed to run off and check your EC.
So I’d do two things. Get that rootzone over 20c and the leaf surface temp up around 26/27. I’d also get that coco where it needs to be. Check your run off. Get it so what’s coming out is around what you’re putting through.
Make a habit of checking your run off EC once you’ve corrected it. If run off is high it’s either too much food or too dry and needs more watering events. A couple of points over is normal. Spiking EC’s need correcting. If it’s too low up the feed.
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No im not running an air stone i was thinking about it but was told it might clog up cause of the nutriunts not sure how true that is yes im doing 18/6 lights and when i was doing all the feeds there was maybe 500ml of run off a day
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How do i correct the coco just run more water with nutrients or just up the feeds to get more run off till the ec is almost same as what im putting in ?
To me the coco I can see looks like it can take a watering. So …
Step 1. Make sure your res/nute mix is right. 1.3ec and 5.8/6.0 is fine.
Step 2. Water as normal until run off
Step 3. Collect some of that run off and test the EC. Forget pH for now.
You might have to repeat the steps until you are getting around 1.3 coming out.
Most importantly it’s no good doing this without sorting the environment. What are your temps? Without supplementing heat they can get a bit nippy.
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Yeah temp humidity air flow are everything and you can actually waterlog coco if other factors are out of sorts been there done that.
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Just one other point. I’m English so I had to translate gallons. That’s an 11 litre pot but not an 11 litre plant. When did it go in that pot?
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Ok so water till run off test if its high do it again right away ? Sorry first time grower learing as i go also temp is normally around 25 to 27 however i had an itake pipe setup and at night temp where getting down to 18 maybe cause a/c is on in the room tents in so sucking cold air in i have now taken the intake out too see how cold it gets tonight.
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At about 2 weeks old it was put in that pot its now around 3 or 4 weeks old
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Humidity is always right around 60%
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I do not use a water system myself.
I encourage folks to know the weight of the pots with medium, when dry, and then after a good watering.
My medium, I can go 3-5 days between watering/tea application.
Coco coir bricks need handled differently than coco coir bagged up and prewashed, it is ready to use.
I also prefer some perlite or coco husks in my mixed in with the brick coir that I hydrate an rinse out, a couple of times before I use it.
So, I’d let her dry out, till I see the medium pull away from the insides of fabric pot, lift it up feel the weight of it, then water it till it weeps a bit of juice from the bottom pot the pot.
Repeat as needed.
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Yeah 18 at night is pretty cold. Try keep that rootzone at least above 20.
Okay so it’s still trying to root out that pot I’d say. So most likely was getting a bit water logged. Especially if it was a big jump in pot size.
Once you’ve reset the coco to 1.3 allow it to dry out a bit. This will make those roots go searching for moisture. A decent rule of thumb is to let the top look as if it’s drying out. Then go back in. Remember EC will go up as it drys so you need to check it. Too low it’s hungry and needs more food. Too high it’s either over dry or too much food. You’ll know which it is.
I tend to water in and set EC at pot up. They usually take 3 days or so to appear dry enough to water again. When I water again I’ll check run off. Keep your EC as consistent as possible. Make checking EC a habit 
at this point I’ll intend to water a day on then a day off until they tell me it needs more frequent watering/feeding.
So your job for today is to get their home nice and toasty. Set the EC at your chosen level then let them do their thing. Once your environment is sorted and they root out a bit they should be fine.
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Also no need to apologise for asking questions. It’s the only way to find out
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Thanks heaps for the help i will try getting temps up a bit and water till my runoff ec is close to whats going and wait one question iif i keep watering in to get the ec close to whats going in will it matter how much water i have to give to achieve this ? Like can i over water them doing this ?
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Only if you persist giving them a drink when they don’t need it.
Coco is super well draining. I’ve noticed Americans love big pots so it could take a fair bit of water to adjust 11L of coco. Just get those temps up and it’ll be fine.
As a rule of thumb coco is fully saturated at 50% of its volume so it might feel like you’re using a lot of feed.
For future reference when you pot up, to fully saturate the coco to the correct EC just make a bit of a stronger mix. So say go through with 1.6/1.7 and you’ll achieve your 1.3EC using less liquid. Likewise if you have spiking EC, let’s say 2.2 - make a mix of say 1.0 and bring it back down much quicker.
The problem we have is we don’t know the EC of your coco. Get a bit of run off and let us know what it’s saying
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I did test some runoff yesterday it was crazy high 5.0 ec so im guessing i definitely have a salt build up so have to correct it fast.
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Also should i have an air stone in my reservoir ?
Fucking hell. Yeah that’s a bit bonkers. I’d be tempted to pH plain water and get that right down to be honest bud. But keep keep keep checking EC. Plain water that thing down until you’re almost target EC. Then I’d probably go in with a 1.3 mix and hand water it in preferably with some Root Excelurator or summat. Root feeds smell like shit but worth it. They tend not to be reservoir friendly though so beware of doing that. Just try hand feeding until they’re more established
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I don’t. I have a 1000L/ph pump tied to a bottle so it floats. It makes lapping waves at surface level. Just keeps things moving preventing stagnation. My res is only about 60/70L and I only start to use the res it once it’s necessary. I do however put Liquid Oxygen/H2O2 in my mix
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