Diagnosis please (pics)

I think im about 10 days from sprout.

Some plants are growing really great, others barely, and some seem to have issues. I figure this is the case when getting a new batch of seeds rather than clones.

Got 2 1000 watt lights at least 4 ft away. Temps seem to be 78-84 though i suspect its even cooler than what my cheap therm says. Humidity is sitting around 30% and its really tough to get it higher: thats what it is with a humidifier. But I am also misting the plants daily.

Only watered the 4 gallon pots once before transplant. About the water: its hard well water. ppm seems to be around 250. I let the water sit for at least 48 hours before using it and i notice alot of white particles floating around... alot. I figure its calcium and other stuff but not certain. Ph always verified at neutral. Fox farm ocean forest soil with a little added perlite.

Sorry that the pics suck as they are from my phone.

Pic 1: leaves seem to be curling at the sides

pic 2: hard to tell with this quality but notice the inconsistant green, darker closer to the stem and lighter outward but still all green.

Pics 3 and 4 are 2 other plants showing curling or inconsistant color.

I can't seem to match the discoloration with any symptom lists. At some points i even suspect the lighter color just comes from the hardness of the water.

Any Ideas?

why not use cfls, and save the life of your bulb and to be gentler to the babies? the pics are too yellow to really tell whats going on.

too much light use cfls. they are just all around better to veg with than a hps. hps will stretch your plants

them lights are prob very hot ever 4feet in a stretch for a seedling

well seems alot of people are able to grow from 1000 watts as long as distance and heat issues are handled. My seedlings really dont seem to be in heat shock or stress.. only saw one plant with slightly burnt tips. also its a hortilux bulb which is good for veg and flower. ill try and take better pics

this is what i want you to do... turn off you grow lights for a minute and use the flash off your phone if its got one, if not use a flashlight or something so we can really see the color of the plants in the next set of pictures. keep me posted

jkrif2 said:

this is what i want you to do... turn off you grow lights for a minute and use the flash off your phone if its got one, if not use a flashlight or something so we can really see the color of the plants in the next set of pictures. keep me posted

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Already one step ahead of ya bud.. just did that.

So the first one is the only one with the tips burnt a little. The third one is the one with the discoloration that i cannot understand. The other ones are from other similar plants with similar problems. I should note at this point that when the hps's are off all the plants look way better. I have some plants that arent really getting past the first 2/4 leaves also but i figure those are just bad/slow seeds.... ?

Is the curling on some of these from low humidity? my temps never exceed 85 and thats when the thermometer is placed right in the shade of one of these pots.

another thing i can add is that i didnt flush my soil before planting.

im starting to think mg deficiency.. but i dont understand how that could happen if my soil ph is good.

they don't look too fucked up or anything, have you been letting them get dry b4 watering again? is that re-used soil?

maogrow said:

im starting to think mg deficiency.. but i dont understand how that could happen if my soil ph is good.

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since you said you didn't flush i would say the next step to do is just to do that. flush with the best water you can get, really clean the hell out of that soil. then give it a few days to bounce back.

idk about mg deficiency, but i'll have to look into that further

Well im definetely not overwatering as im in day 11 and only watered once about a liter per 4 gallon pot on first transplant. I dont see any nute burns so im not convinced.. yet.. that it needs to be flushed.. besides.. im not sure i understand the idea behind flushing.. doesnt it harm the plants alot? and doesnt that go against the concept of not overwatering? Should i at least wait to flush until they need water?

So i did alot of research all day and im really leaning towards a mg deficiency caused by my hard water. I see alot of white residue and white floating particles which i assume is calcium and from what i understand that can lock out mag. Plus its still really hard to tell from the pics i showed but i really think i see early signs of it. I bet if i wait a little longer ill see it getting worse. Im getting lighter green except around stem on leaf and also the sides are curling up.

I went and bought epsom salt just now im gonna do a foliar spray since its not time to water yet.. and see if theres any difference.. how fast do you think id see a change?

ya wait for ur next water...but if u think its mg def. u r most likely right man, i have never used well water (hard water) so i cant say. but i did look it up and your right it can lock out mg... so def. try to find a new source of water perhaps?

well i just did my first foliar spray we'll see what happens

any other opinions in the mean time?

good luck bro, but I don't think it is a mag def. I would'nt mist your little ones when they are that small, the cell structure is very delicate, and you are spraying 100's of little magnifying glasses onto the surface, and they are getting torched like they are at the fucking beach. Also Ocean forest can be too much for seedlings if not flushed. It is best to cut it with a bunch more perlite, and some more spagmum. good luck.

does anyone else have an opinion as to what it could be? i really feel like theres no new growth either in a few days i just misted more underneath the plants for the second time

the older leaves on some of these plants are turning more and more light green, it actually seems to be more prominent in my pots that have a higher perlite ratio. new leaves seem to be coming in very narrow and growth does seem slow.. any ideas?

Approaching two weeks here are some photos.. what you guys think?