1st time worried grower :( pics included....please help!!

Wondering if anyone could help me out....got 4 (19 day from seed) auto seedlings ongoing....they have went yellow over the past week, and are now developing brown patches, also, I am sure their growth is WELL behind! I am a first time grower, so would appreciate helpful advice. Heres what I'm using etc.

2mx2mx1.8m grow tent
Exhaust fan on 18/6
Oscillating fan on 24/7
600w hps around 1m away from top of plants on 18/6 (have now found out not the best type to use...but hey ho...)
Using 100% coco coir
pot size 10L
Plenty holes for drainage etc.
Haven't fed ANY nutes as yet
Water when the pot is almost dry
Temps range from 70-80
Humidity ranges from 40-50%
Using water ph'd to 5.5
soil ph probe reading 7 (dont know how accurate those things are)

So, after all that hope I've not missed anything out!

Out!!

From what ive read coco coir has no nutrients in it at all. Even basic potting soil has nutes to support a seedling, the fact that there is absolutely no nutrients or beneficial bacteria or anything could be causing issues. Also your light is 6ft Above? That seems way to high. Also 7ph is not in a safe range for hydro growing, must correct that.

^^^exactly when planting directly in coco you need to add in some basic amendments such as worm castings and high (N) bat guano in small amounts because coco by its very nature is almost nuteless unless listed on the label. I would also highly recommend that you pick up a much smaller watt bulb in a blue spectrum for seedlings.

Growingforpeace said:

From what ive read coco coir has no nutrients in it at all. Even basic potting soil has nutes to support a seedling, the fact that there is absolutely no nutrients or beneficial bacteria or anything could be causing issues. Also your light is 6ft Above? That seems way to high. Also 7ph is not in a safe range for hydro growing, must correct that.

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Yeah, I kinda presumed that when I got properly reading into it! Can I add nutes to compensate? How do I go about adding stuff to the coco? As for the light, I was really worried they would get burnt.....is it ok to put a 600w hps closer to seedlings? I know I really need to invest in better lighting for starting off

Thanks for the speedy replies guys. Much appreciated!!

Mr. Anomaly said:

^^^exactly when planting directly in coco you need to add in some basic amendments such as worm castings and high (N) bat guano in small amounts because coco by its very nature is almost nuteless unless listed on the label. I would also highly recommend that you pick up a much smaller watt bulb in a blue spectrum for seedlings.

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I have a dual ballast....would it be beneficial to buy a MH bulb? Is that what you meant? As I said, I'm new to this.....and as we all know google can give some very conflicting answers!!

Just to compare, these were started germing on 7/28 and then i planted them in oil early morning 8/1.. in this picture they are ALL 13 days old. I have given them fox farm big grow since they were about 1 week old at every other feeding (1 teaspon per gallon). i have two that have grown great and those two small ones have taken forever!!!!!! some are just slow growers and i keep my lights about 2-4 inches from them. good luck on your grow!!
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MizzMellow said:

Just to compare, these were started germing on 7/28 and then i planted them in oil early morning 8/1.. in this picture they are ALL 13 days old. I have given them fox farm big grow since they were about 1 week old at every other feeding (1 teaspon per gallon). i have two that have grown great and those two small ones have taken forever!!!!!! some are just slow growers and i keep my lights about 2-4 inches from them. good luck on your grow!!
View attachment 2778382View attachment 2778383View attachment 2778384h

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Oh wow. Big difference! Big ones look like how I wish mine looked. lol how close can I put 600w hps to them?

Keep it a long ways away. At least 24". They need barely any light. In fact, make that 36".

Feed them, 1/2-3/4 nutes and watch them take off. When I say feed them, I mean water them with nutrients GENEROUSLY. You're not screwed, just pH and feed. Maybe even twice a day. I bet they have some rowdy little root systems for some seedlings lol. Just be careful not to dislodge them by pouring water all over the rootball or anything. Be gentle with it.

honestly i would start with cfls and then switch once their big enough cfls are easy to controll when you need closer lights

your soil looks roughly dry. i use grow big by fox farm, they grew like crazy and they love it one teaspoon per gallon. works great i mist right at the root but not on the leaves and sometimes i give a little pour.

FLOJAS8783 said:

I have a dual ballast....would it be beneficial to buy a MH bulb? Is that what you meant? As I said, I'm new to this.....and as we all know google can give some very conflicting answers!!

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For seedlings and newly rooted cuttings i would recommend a T5 system for larger gardens or a 125 watt horticulture CFL for smaller personal gardens.
You should be looking for a florescent bulb with a rating of 5500K (blue spectrum) after plants have fully rooted and are showing lots of bright new growth i would say switch them over to a 400-600 watt MH if you can or just into your HPS garden (note that if you use HPS to veg you are going to have more space between nodes and less budding sites which in turn could mean less yield) Really hope that helps! Let me know if there is any other questions i can answer!

Also just to add it is a very good idea to run your flower room with both 2700K(orange or red light) AND 5500K (blue light or daylight) for flower because the red light will give you faster growth but the blue light will help an organic setup run better because microbes love it also blue light will give you more potency and a better taste (imho)

36OhBuds said:

Keep it a long ways away. At least 24". They need barely any light. In fact, make that 36".

Feed them, 1/2-3/4 nutes and watch them take off. When I say feed them, I mean water them with nutrients GENEROUSLY. You're not screwed, just pH and feed. Maybe even twice a day. I bet they have some rowdy little root systems for some seedlings lol. Just be careful not to dislodge them by pouring water all over the rootball or anything. Be gentle with it.

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Thanks for taking the time to reply! Yeah, I'm keeping the light a max height now, better to have some stretching other than 4 crispy plants lol. Ur advice made me relax....after the first few replies, I was like theyr gona die anyways if I don't do anything, so watered them really well with 1/2 strength canna coco a&b, ph'd to 5.8, soil ph reading is now 6, do I have to get it lower?? They are looking a bit droopy this morning though, I'm guessing thats cos I watered alot, hopefully nothing to worry about though, as the drainage is good in the pots. Should dry out a fair bit next couple of days....(I hope) will post pics in a few days once I see any changes.

Mr. Anomaly said:

For seedlings and newly rooted cuttings i would recommend a T5 system for larger gardens or a 125 watt horticulture CFL for smaller personal gardens.
You should be looking for a florescent bulb with a rating of 5500K (blue spectrum) after plants have fully rooted and are showing lots of bright new growth i would say switch them over to a 400-600 watt MH if you can or just into your HPS garden (note that if you use HPS to veg you are going to have more space between nodes and less budding sites which in turn could mean less yield) Really hope that helps! Let me know if there is any other questions i can answer!

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Thanks! Could do with mentor of sort....google drives me insane!! Will be investing in better lighting very soon for def. Just hope my babies pull through!!

MizzMellow said:

your soil looks roughly dry. i use grow big by fox farm, they grew like crazy and they love it one teaspoon per gallon. works great i mist right at the root but not on the leaves and sometimes i give a little pour.

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I've read alot about that feed. They are now exactly 3 weeks from seed, looking like midgets hope they take off now I've fed some nutes!!

Hey guys. Hoping you see this. Thought I'd let yous know your advice went a long way so far. Look how far they've come!! 7 weeks today and starting to flower. Thanks for the advice before!!!

Mr. Anomaly said:

Also just to add it is a very good idea to run your flower room with both 2700K(orange or red light) AND 5500K (blue light or daylight) for flower because the red light will give you faster growth but the blue light will help an organic setup run better because microbes love it also blue light will give you more potency and a better taste (imho)

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6500K is the spectrum you want for veg with fluorescent lighting not 5500K. And coco is an inert soilless medium and therefore you use hydro nutrients with it and should never add bat guano or any other additives meant for soil.

Yeah, I thought that with the guano etc. Its just plain coco with canna nutrients.

FLOJAS8783 said:

Hey guys. Hoping you see this. Thought I'd let yous know your advice went a long way so far. Look how far they've come!! 7 weeks today and starting to flower. Thanks for the advice before!!!View attachment 2822427View attachment 2822426View attachment 2822425

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hey man glad they turned out well. You mentioned using Canna nutrients so did you get check out the growguide on their website? The link is http://www.cannagardening.com/growguide and I use the light or normal feeding schedule for my grows and my plants grow very well. This probably isn't necessary because they seem to be growing fine and i assume you have figured things out but for you next grow, feed them with a light nute mix from the beginning. When growing in 100% coco you should never feed with plain water. i don't know if you have discovered these threads yet but they are where I learned everything I know about coco from.

https://www.rollitup.org/nutrients/225396-official-canna-coco-nutrients-thread.html
https://www.rollitup.org/drain-waste-hydro/163510-coco-growers-unite.html

RockstarEnergy said:

hey man glad they turned out well. You mentioned using Canna nutrients so did you get check out the growguide on their website? The link is http://www.cannagardening.com/growguide and I use the light or normal feeding schedule for my grows and my plants grow very well. This probably isn't necessary because they seem to be growing fine and i assume you have figured things out but for you next grow, feed them with a light nute mix from the beginning. When growing in 100% coco you should never feed with plain water. i don't know if you have discovered these threads yet but they are where I learned everything I know about coco from.

https://www.rollitup.org/nutrients/225396-official-canna-coco-nutrients-thread.html
https://www.rollitup.org/drain-waste-hydro/163510-coco-growers-unite.html

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Yeah, silly me didn't realise coco was completely nutrientless!! Tough first few weeks buf they took off when I gave them nutes!
I had a look at the link, I've been using 3/4 strength on them, used full strength once a couple weeks ago and noticed slight nute burn so scrapped that. Been told autos dont need as many nutes anyway? Duno if theres truth in that or not. Anyways I think its turned out not bad so far for an uneducated girls grow.(but of course some credit has to go to this forum!!)