I am running a continuous flow system. I use RO water from the tap. I believe this is a deficiency of some kind? Am I not giving it enough feed?
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Hi @kagour,
Kindly let us know the feed concentrations, pH, and feedng schedule. Also, what do the roots look like?
Could be a deficiency, could be lockout, could be pH or rootzone problems.
I am not an aero/flow expert but maybe, knowing some details, someone with experience with your particular setup will chime in.
Either way, more detail please. The more the better.
At first glance this reminds me of somewhat advanced magnesium lockout due to too wet (low oxygen) in a root system. I used to see this in soil lots.
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Pictures under normal light go a long way as well
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This is my first hydro setup. I have grown by soil for over a decade. I am using the vegetative growth mixture. I add more as needed, when the water gets too low. I don’t have a ph meter yet, I intend to get one asap but i have to travel to do so.
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I don’t have normal light in the grow. Without the 1000w, it’s pitch black in there.
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Hard to go hydro without a pH meter. That’s where I would start my friend
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I agree.
First step is get a PH meter you can trust. That means spend more than $10 on it 
I would also get some PH calibration solution so you know the meter is reading correctly. This is critical with ANY digital PH meter. They ALL need periodic checking and calibration. This is even more true with the cheaper models, but even the $$ ones must be checked and calibrated periodically. None of them stay calibrated over time and many of them are off right out of the box.
Another option is to get some PH test drops. Drops dont need calibration, but they will only get you in the ball park. They are not very precise. They will at least tell you if you are waaaaaaaaaaay off on PH or only waaaay off 
Im using this meter at the moment and like it a lot. There are a lot of other options.
That Apera meter comes with calibration solutions, but if you get one that doesnt come with any, you can buy separate bottles or try the dry packets for cheap.
Are you using the full strength listed on the nute bottles? if so, reduce that by half.
Even better - get an EC meter. Im in love with the BlueLab truncheon meters, but there are many options. The point is - you need a meter so you know exactly what your nute strength is. Going by the label wont cut it in hydro. You need to be able to dial in the nutes more precisely.
Anyway - the whole point here is that we cannot figure out whats going on with your plants until we know for sure what the PH and EC/PPM (electrical conductivity/parts per million) are of your nute water.
There are a number of other things to consider also.
How warm is the water in your NFT tubes and in the rez?
What are the day and night temps?
Humidity in the tent?
Is your nute rez shielded from light? That brown on the roots could be algae, or some form of bacteria (root rot) or just dying roots from over feeding or the wrong PH.
Do the roots smell rotten? Are they slimy?
Whats the rest of your system like - how big a rez? Air Pumps? Water pumps? How are you aerating the rez?
We need input as they say
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Forgot one more critical question - how often do you completely change the rez water for a 100% fresh mix?
I assume you are recirculating the nute water? If you are always just topping off the rez as the water level drops, thats not good. Imbalances in the nutes will build up over time and cause all sorts of problems. You really should completely change the nute water at least every 10 days to 2 weeks max. If you dont have a good EC/PPM meter, then you really should do it more often - like every week maybe.
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Can you let me know the water temp after the lights have been on 6 hours. Also the set up you have is NFT system . What is the water level in the PVC pipe.
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I would run that system by installing spray lines on both sides of plant,letting the nutrients gravity drain to rez.
This will apply oxygen at point of contact with the roots of each plant. These system will turn out great product when dialed in…
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You’re suggesting he change from NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) to an LPA (Low Pressure Aeroponics) system? Im curious why?
From all I know, when properly done, both will perform very similarly as far as yields, etc. As far as oxygenation, the whole point of the “film” in NFT is oxygenation of the water. It works at least as well (in theory better) as low pressure sprayers as far as I know. With a thin enough “film” it should be better at increasing DO than a sprayer close to the roots. Thats the whole point of NFT. Either way, there wont be a big difference in DO (Dissolved Oxygen) The major advantage NFT has over sprayers is no clogging issues, plus no worries about getting the ON/OFF timing dialed in, and no extra plumbing, pumps, etc. If you dont get the timing correct with sprayers, you can either end up with too dry roots, or you can actually end up with lower oxygenation by keeping them too wet.
To be fair, the same thing can happen with NFT. Too little water flow will dry out the roots and too much hurts oxygenation because the “film” is a flood. The thin film is what does the magic as far as O2 in an NFT system. A thick film, or too much spray, is no better than having the roots submerged.
Not trying to start a fight, just trying to understand where you’re coming from.
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My reservoir hold about 130 liters. I don’t actually know what temp the water is running at. It’s just whatever temperate it is. The light never gets to the water at anytime. I’ve only given it a complete change once and i did notice the yellowing stopped for a little when i did it. There’s maybe half an inch of water in a 4 inch pipe, it doesn’t reach anywhere near the actual plant. As far as actual grow room temps, they all over the place, i believe it fluctuates between 26C and around 20C somewhere. It’s not in an actual tent, rather it’s in my basement surrounded by a silver reflective film. I should mention the outside temp here right now with windchill is around -30 so. I am more than a little scared to order things by mail atm. Canada post isn’t the most reliable right now. When i get to a city again, probably in a week or 2, i will get a ph meter. I will try changing the feed again however. It seems like a deficiency at least to me not an excess. I will have to try to get some better photos. In person, the roots look quite white to me,
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Also, aeration, A dual outlet pump with a 4 inch airstone and 2 little round stones in the reservoir.
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I don’t know if this matters at all, but the plant in particular that i have shown kinda didn’t root right when i first put it in the system. I had to manually water it for a few days for the roots to drop into the water.
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I tried to get a photo of one of the more established plants roots, but they don’t want to come out of the system anymore. These plants have been in veg for about 2 months now. Normally they’d be in bud by now, but i’m waiting for some more clones to root.
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Reservoir layout.
I appear to have run out of posts for the next 12 hours. I have changed the water and am currently running water and h2o2 to clean the system. Will add nutrients in about half an hour.
So while adding the nutrients, I realized I’ve been getting the micro and the bloom mixed up. Hopefully that helps as well.
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Heath Robinson has a lot of info on the net. All his work is spot on.
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