PH fluctuating with hydro?

[plutok420]

Hi All. Just wondering if its normal to have to adjust ph several times a day? I am using a hanna pen meter and find that each time I check my waterfarm res the ph needs to come down. I use ph down and check 4-5 hrs later and its high again. Just wondering if that is normal or if I am reading the meter wrong or doing something incorrect. This is my first experience with hydro and am experimenting with tomato and oregano cuttings till I get it tuned in.

Thanks!

[latewood]

Well. It would be a good idea to include the type water being used, and the nutrients mix you are using, when asking this type of question.

With many tap waters, the ppm of metals, chlorine etc...will cause your ph to fluctuate. You should go buy an RO Unit off ebay(it is too expensive to maintain an entire grow off distilled water), and use GH 3-part with a built in ph buffer. your problems will become minimal. remember to add calmag+ to your mix if you get an RO unit. Peace

[WiscGrow]

I too am experiencing this problem I have Well Water that is testing @320ppm and PH of 8.4 I have a 10 gal. reservoir I just bought the Control Wizard 24-7 tri-meter Yesterday, and it seems that my PH will not stay down I get it @5.4 and within the hour I'm back to 6.4 I'm using Dutch Masters Gold Nutes.
Guess I'm going to have to shell out $$$ for a R.O. filter.

[Steeldiehard]

RO is a great way to go and works excellent. If you don't have the money, have to pay for the water bill, or are concerned with wasting water, an RO system is not necessary. RO systems take anywhere from 7-10 gals of water to make one gal of RO water. Huge waste.

I use tap water for my hydro system and have learned to work with it. My base water has approx 350ppm and 8 pH. I've found that if I draw my res water from the tap and let it sit 24 - 48 hours w/out a lid the chlorine (and maybe other additives) is significantly reduced and I'm able to maintain a more stable pH level.

As I understand it, pH is gonna fluctuate based on PPM, nutrients, and plant feeding. Try stabilizing/treating your water before introducing plants. :)

RO is a great way to go and yields fantastic results. I'm not willing to waste the water and I've produced some very fine bud in my short gardening experience. Totally a personal choice. :)

Have fun,

Steel

[Cyclonite]

You can restrict the flow of your waste water to make you RO much more efficient....at the cost of lower filter life, but hey I still use the same ones from almost 1 year ago and make good water.

[Steeldiehard]

You can restrict the flow of your waste water to make you RO much more efficient....at the cost of lower filter life, but hey I still use the same ones from almost 1 year ago and make good water.

Nice, Cyc...how do you do that? Is it system specific or is there someway in general. For me, I'd much rather pay for a filter than waste the water. :)

Steel

[latewood]

RO is a great way to go and works excellent. If you don't have the money, have to pay for the water bill, or are concerned with wasting water, an RO system is not necessary. RO systems take anywhere from 7-10 gals of water to make one gal of RO water. Huge waste.

I don't get this. I have my RO unit hooked up to a coldwater line, and I don't waste any water. Now there is a waste line, but that is for a weekly flush of filters, as I understand it, not to allow water to run down the drain. I run my unit with self tapping valve open for 2 days to fill a 30 gallon water rez, no water waste. Then every once in a while, I flush unit by opening drainline. Hope this helps. and it is a lot cheaper, than any alternatives. I paid 89 bucks for my RO unit 2 years ago. If you only use 20-30 gallons a week. The filters will last forever. Peace


As I understand it, pH is gonna fluctuate based on PPM, nutrients, and plant feeding. Try stabilizing/treating your water before introducing plants. :)

RO is a great way to go and yields fantastic results. I'm not willing to waste the water and I've produced some very fine bud in my short gardening experience. Totally a personal choice. :)

Have fun,

Steel
they are always available on ebay for 69-89 buckaroos

[Steeldiehard]

Sup latewood. :) I have never used an RO system, just researched them and read the manual. You may have a different system that does not waste water...very cool. :) What I have read (gotta look in the fine print) is that it takes 7 - 10 gal of water to make 1 gal of RO water. If I'm off on this, please someone let me know...'cause if it ain't the case...I'll go get an RO system tomorrow. :)

Peace,

Steel

[latewood]

Hey Steeldiehard. I am glad you didn't take my post the wrong way.

If you could link me to info on using 10 gallons to make one gallon RO. I will be glad to read same.

As far as info. For 2 years; I have used a 3 stage RO - DI unit...inlet is selftapper to inlet pex pipe cold water line. I put the outlet (it's all 1/4" water tubing) in a vessel. I like to keep 30 gallon surplus, so I can walk in, decide to make a mass water change, & I can.

Coming off the coco filter, there is a valve. if you were to open this valve, all the way, then you would use a lot of water. I don't do this. I have it cracked, and My well water measured 167 ppm at a ph of 6.8-7.0.

I open the valve attached to the inlet cold water pipe, and 24 hours later, I have approximately 20 gallons, of water in 24 hours that measures .003 ppm. ph is only mildly affected.

I don't know bro. it works for me. Please link me to your info. I would like to see the source. Peace, and good growing. Xmas is gone, and a New year is coming :)

[Cyclonite]

Yea all R.O units operate with waste constantly running to drain....now if you get a 1/4" compression valve fitting on the end of that just shut it off and you will have a system similar to LWs...most of these systems are rated at 110 GPD or so that we all use. Most of us dont use close to that so...slap that valve on and your good to go.

It will take longer for water to be made and shorten your filter life...but your not using it to capacity so no biggie

[latewood]

eggactly! :p mine is rated at 110, but with valve almost closed...I get 15-20 overnight. pretty much by dinner the 2nd day, I better turn the inlet valve off.

[sttony]

I just came across a good FAQ on pH over on the General Hydroponics website.
Check it out here. (http://www.genhydro.com/genhydro_US/faqph.html)

[simple]

I am having the same problem with my plants. I don't have an RO system, and my water really sucks, so I am buying lots of water from the store. I found a brand that pH's at 6.0 right out of the jug. Some of my plants are fine for days, but there are 2 older ones that I have a hard time keeping the pH down with. I was using vinegar to lower the pH until I heard Zandor mention on the show that this is a bad idea. I got some pH down solution and the label says 15% citric acid. Is this the right stuff? Are my pH problems related to me using vinegar in the past (just started using the new stuff today) or is something wrong with those plants that causes the pH to rise quickly? Vinegar worked fine for the rest of the plants (in a sense that pH stayed stable). I read thru the pH FAQ Stony linked to, but it didn't answer my question. It says citric and sulfuric acids as well as vinegar are short term solutions, but it does not mention a better solution.

I'm growing in DWC buckets using advaced one part and spring water.

Thanks for any help on this

Best Regards,

Simple


PS -
I'm a bit confused on where the water level should be in the DWC bucket. Zandor said in his DWC hydro show that you do not want to floor the pot, but everywhere I look online says that the bottom 2" or so of the pot should be submerged. Which one is correct? I have my pots sitting about 1" in water. Could this cause the roots to drown and maybe could this be related to my pH being so high in certain plants? Sorry for so many questions guys, this is my first grow and I get confused.

Thanks

[Steeldiehard]

Hey Steeldiehard. I am glad you didn't take my post the wrong way.

If you could link me to info on using 10 gallons to make one gallon RO. I will be glad to read same.


I don't know bro. it works for me. Please link me to your info. I would like to see the source. Peace, and good growing. Xmas is gone, and a New year is coming :)

Sup, latewood...I can't find that information again for the life of me. :) Truly, I would not just make that up. I was intent on an RO system until I read that in the fine print of the manufacturer installation instructions...sadly, I don't recall which brand and can't find the info again yet.

I do like what I'm reading from ya'll and how you are operating your RO systems to get the most production with the least amount of waste. :)

Steel

[sttony]

...I got some pH down solution and the label says 15% citric acid. Is this the right stuff? Are my pH problems related to me using vinegar in the past (just started using the new stuff today) or is something wrong with those plants that causes the pH to rise quickly? Vinegar worked fine for the rest of the plants (in a sense that pH stayed stable). I read thru the pH FAQ Stony linked to, but it didn't answer my question. It says citric and sulfuric acids as well as vinegar are short term solutions, but it does not mention a better solution.
The only pH down solution I've ever used is General Hydroponics. It contains phosphoric acid, citric acid and ammonium bisulfate. Way back when I started... I asked the grow store people what they recommended and was told to use General Hydroponics brand.

PS - I'm a bit confused on where the water level should be in the DWC bucket. Zandor said in his DWC hydro show that you do not want to floor the pot, but everywhere I look online says that the bottom 2" or so of the pot should be submerged. Which one is correct? I have my pots sitting about 1" in water. Could this cause the roots to drown and maybe could this be related to my pH being so high in certain plants? Sorry for so many questions guys, this is my first grow and I get confused.

The nutrient solution should be keep at a level of 1" above the bottom of the net basket when a new plant/clone has been introduced to the bubbler.

After a good root system has been established, the level can drop down in the bucket (1"-2") and will create a nice aeroponic type atmosphere for the roots to thrive in. Make sure to keep an eye on your TDS however, as a significant drop in the reservior level can mean a significant increase in your TDS level. With frequent checks using a TDS meter, you should have no problems. When TDS levels rise in the bucket, you can add plain pH adjusted water to top off and adjust TDS to the correct levels.

[simple]

Thanks sttony. That's exactly what I have been doing - topping off with plain ph'ed water. I had been keeping the water level just above the bottom of the pot. My plants are in their 3rd week in veg, and have huge roots. Since I dropped the water level to 1.5" below the pot, the ph has seemed to stabilize. I'm not sure why this is, but I'm keeping it there. I only have to adjust ph once a day now with the water level lowered, so I guess problem solved. Thanks again.


Simple

[Zandor]

I'm a bit confused on where the water level should be in the DWC bucket. Zandor said in his DWC hydro show that you do not want to floor the pot, but everywhere I look online says that the bottom 2" or so of the pot should be submerged. Which one is correct? I have my pots sitting about 1" in water. Could this cause the roots to drown and maybe could this be related to my pH being so high in certain plants? Sorry for so many questions guys, this is my first grow and I get confused.
Thanks

The bottom 2" is not flooding the bucket. Your roots will sit at some point in the bottom too and you can trim them some or not that is up to you but don't let them clog your overflow if you are using one or clog your air stones either.

What I was talking about not to flood them is to have the water level up so high that ALL your roots are sitting in water. Some have water levels up to the bottom of the net pot and even higher. That is NOT a good idea to do you will most likely end up with root rot before you are finished.

As for Ph fluctuation that is normal try not to play the Ph up down game if you can. I always re-balance once when the lights come on and once when they go off. The rest of the time the plant us using up nutrients of one type or the their and depositing back others it does not use. That will change your Ph but for the most part the buffers will take care of that. A point change here or there over the day for an hour or so is not the end of the world. Most of the time it's the plant growth effect on the water.

I said that when I switched to store product's for Ph up and Ph down I had less problems with Ph swings and they did seam to work better with my nutrient buffer too. The vinegar, lemons and baking soda just does not last as long and after thinking harder about baking soda I wonder about the salt level that I am adding too. The sodium is something to think about.

Hope that helped some


Peace

Z