Wondering if i should cut my losses, this is 3rd or 4th time, I've seen mold growing on the surface soil of my babies, originally i had watered with a milk jug, and kinda dug out trenches so i decided id put some fresh promix w/ mychrozziae on top to cover the exposed roots, 3 days later the entire surface was covered in wispy mold, i didn't take a picture, i sprayed with peroxide, and then and removed as much as a could 2-3inches where roots would allow. Then I see a bit of mold pop up by stem on Speedy i did the same thing, then i sprinkled cinnamon on the soil, next day, grey mold on the soil, through a patch of cinnamon lol on princess. I've battled fungus gnats, successfully.
This is my first honest attempt at growing, I've put in a little effort, hard to get everything tied in and climate controlled inside and outside the room. It being especially humid and hot, recently its been stable though for a month if not 2, 26 degrees inside typically dipping to 22 sometimes. and RH 45-55. I've eliminated humidity pockets around the tent, I need to add an additional fan inside the tent. Which i believe is the main contributor to my problem, the lonely box fan in my tent blowing down onto my plants.
I uploaded pictures, that i thought might be mite webbing, that was about 2 weeks ago, and the tent about once every couple weeks gets that white dust looking stuff also pictured above I scrub with 5-10% bleach solution, if i spray it with rubbing alcohol or peroxide it doesn't go away.
I've also been plagued with spots on my plants, leaf damage cuts, holes, discoloration, tip burn
I've scrubbed tent and equipment ive done the tent itself 6-8times with 5-10% bleach solution as a preventive and a clean.
Needless to say its been a battle.
Gelato#33 from crop king on the back says for experienced growers, is it because its a magnet for these things? i tried white banner first, but couldn't get the seeds to pop. is it me? Do i give up on 4 months of time, energy and money, cut my losses try scrubbing things down, and go for a mold resistant strain. That's what I'm leaning towards. But I've also read that not all mold in soil spreads to plants? but my whole time my fear has been smoking moldy weed.
Current set up basics.
4x8 tent 6ft high 192cubic feet
8inch Ac infinity exhaust(807 CFM) without carbon filter 15ft a few bends and vent filters on either end. (https://www.acinfinity.com/blog/how-to-calculate-required-cfm-for-a-grow-tent/)
600w MH air cooled light w/ 6 inch inline fan
1 Box fan blowing down over the light as pictured above
3- 10 gallon fabric pots raised off ground on milk crate/tote lid
Tent Climate:
23-25C
45-55RH
3 of 4 passive vents open
exhaust fan at 6-7speed
Room Climate:
20-25
40-60RH
AC/recently eliminated humidity pockets in closet, and other side of tent
Lights on 24/7 besides semi regular breaks for 1-2hr
Used "cultural practices" to fight the fungus gnats and went from a every second day watering, to when empty typically 5 days between feeds,(as well as neem and sticky traps)
I water 5gallon at a time, with 10-20% run off Run of PH is consistent around 5.6-6, PPM last time was 1400-1600, I had 3 TDS meters, all reading different numbers bought some calibration solution so i know this is accurate at least to 1000ppm, so I'm running high, but besides the mold, the other issues, i haven't been experiencing tip burn like I had, idk yet what that 1500ppm run off is going to mean. Ill go a bit lean next time, bring it down to below 1000