pH rising 0.2 per day, but ppm staying the same...

[Ganja baba]

up another .15 to 5.95 today, yet my ppms are still around 340... no one can tell me why this is happening??

it is probably your pebbles they do this if not washed and washed again , will settle down soon , also if you are using sprayers to feed these , this will make your ph rise due to oxigen in the water , you can try adding ph down to make the water 5.2 the rase with ph. up to the desired range , sounds wierd but this stablisers ph from drifting ..... hope this helps you some .

 

[wolfy_9005]

bacteria could alter the ph, but as someone said above just keep it at 5.5-6.5, any higher/lower and you might have a problem...

 

[tex1969]

MJJ, the first question should be to other users of the nutes you are using. A good start to using any nute solution is to sit and monitor how it reacts to the water you are using. If the nutes and your water source is aggressively fluxing, you know that it is something you can/want to deal with. If you have a stable nute mix you will know it is an added factor. Making sure the hydroton does not touch solution is a start, but it may drip back into solution. I have to repost my solution mix, it is not the lucas form, it is upgradedshaft/littlebud/brainthor mix. 2.5micro, 2.5calmag, 5bloom, I am happy to say that my solution has stabled to 5.53 and has not moved in the last 12 hours. I would make a gallon of your mix solution and measure it for a day and if it does not flux like your rez it has to be your hydroton. If it does flux aggressively then you need to switch water or nutes. I am a productivity manager, and I strongly believe in having controlled enviroments and not just guess work.

 

[tex1969]

MJJ, the only other additive is the rez chiller, is it a dropin or a inline? If it is a dropin remove and see if it makes a diff.

 

[tex1969]

First check the one gallon mix ph flux.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Do you DIY? DIY RO Filter

 

[mayan]

FYI, from what I can see, we have similar systems and similar issues. I have a 14 hole tray sitting on top of two reservoirs (holding about 25 gallons) that continually recirculate the solution. I appear to be having a similar problem. My plants are, perhaps, a little bigger and the roots are just beginning to hit the nutes. My pH appears to go up incrementally on a daily basis. My PPM, very low to start with given the age of my plants, is also rising though. I'm using PBP and Liquid Karma (very dilute). I'm considering emptying the res and starting another batch ( a bit stronger) and seeing what happens..even though the res has only been in existence since Oct. 7.

I last grew about 5 years ago. I remember being able to achieve a fairly steady pH with this system so I'm thinking it might settledown with standard nute portions.

BTW...why is 5.8 - 6.2pH in DWC a bad thing? I thought 5.8 was optimum for hydro. What is the correct pH to shoot for in a DWC?

 

[maryjanesjungle]

Do you DIY? DIY RO Filter

awesome find! thank you. found a MrClean AutoDry online for $15 shipped

 

[FreezerBoy]

I'd love to say "search is your friend," but, search had nothing to do with this. An old thread got bumped at just the right time. Pure luck. Please, get back to us with a report.

 

[maryjanesjungle]

well at the moment pH is still doing its .2 per day rise thing. Ive been really sick though so i haven't tried anything else yet. I used pH down today (reluctantly) and the water level in the res isn't touching the clay balls so its not that. I'm hoping like someone said it will stabilize in time. I'll re-read all the ideas given and try more tomorrow as i think I'm getting over whatever bug i caught. Thanks all for the imput!

 

[maryjanesjungle]

MJJ, the only other additive is the rez chiller, is it a dropin or a in-line? If it is a dropin remove and see if it makes a diff.

i have a pump in the res that pumps out the res water via an 1/8th tube that is coiled around the cold coil of the water cooler, then pumped back into the res. really simple setup and it cools the water to like 67F. for the first day or two my res temp was in the mid 70s, now it never goes over 71F.

ima try your "one gallon mix pH flux" now, that's a good idea thanks. if its fine it will isolate the problem to the res only for sure.

 

[maryjanesjungle]

Alright tex1969, one gallon jug of distilled water mixed, 320ppm 5.32pH (no pH down needed)

..ill check it tomorrow and see if the pH moves

 

[maryjanesjungle]

Ok, 17 hours later and the one gallon test jug hasn't moved. Adding an air stone to a gallon jug isn't really doable though 00420. Besides, I think that (and the temp) is really the only difference between the gallon jug and the res anywayz, so it's gotta be the air. Well and the bubbles popping on the surface do get the clay balls a lil wet so maybe that too. Anywayz,.. since I have 2 air pumps pumping multiple stones in my res I'm going to unplug one. Basically cut the aeration in half. I don't suspect it'll stop the pH rise but if it slows it down ill know that's it. I still think .2 rise a day is too much. Doesn't make any sense though, i didn't think you could have too much oxygenation in your res. Do others have to deal with problem too? And now i wonder,.. how do i know if my roots are getting enough oxygenation? Actually I have a free air pump now so i think i will try to get a stone in the jug 00420. gonna literally be a squre peg in a round hole deal though, haha

 

[maryjanesjungle]

even with air in there and no plants i dont think your going to see a raise.... but if you where to add a plant you would

Well then why did you tell me to put an air stone in there and see if that makes the pH go up?
anywayz,...
I did, and here are the results:
I went from 320ppm 5.32pH to 324 ppm (maybe the hose or stone had some shit on it) and 5.98pH!! A huge jump in a very short amount of time, but then again it kind of makes sense since its such a small test area in only a gallon jug. None the less what the fuck am I suppose to do here??


I'm currently doing 1/2 air but I feel bad about that, like I'm holding a bag over my plants heads I've always thought the more air the better. I'm thinking in all that 02 p04 talk you're doing that I don't understand one bit there is some chemical reaction shit going on that is making my pH go up. So bottom line, if I used water that was 7pH to start with would that make a difference?

 

[maryjanesjungle]

it could but i dont think so....

3ppm dissolved oxygen are stressful
growth and activity usually require 5-6 ppm dissolved oxygen
plant's thrive on 7-10 ppm
anything over 10ppm you will have a PH prob most ppl dont see this for the fact that they dont get this high ( water temp dont let them)....

fully aerated solution at 60F is about 13ppm, but as the solution warms up to 68F the ability of the liquid to 'hold' oxygen drops to 9 - 10ppm, by the time the solution has reached 80F then it's only 7ppm.
you are in no way "holding a bag" over your plants.... by cutting out the 02 as long as you keep it on a timer to where it is on/off

hmmm,.. interesting numbers. especially since my res has been dipping to like 65F at night. 1) is this TOO low? and 2) could this could be part of the pH problem?

Then again I don't know if I should ever listen to anything you ever tell me to do again 00420! Ya know that air pump line i disconnected? Well like a dumbass I left it still running to the res, and I didn't raise the end outside the res above the water level of the res,... so it acted like a syphon and drained about 2 gallons of res water out onto my carpet!

I was all thinking my plants were drinking like Irish guys at a wedding till I felt a squash under my feet. Here's to hoping it wasn't enough to appraise my downstairs neighbor of my ummmm unfortunate aquarium leak


some recent pics

 

[FreezerBoy]

65F at night

65º is perfect.

 

[00420]

hmmm,.. interesting numbers. especially since my res has been dipping to like 65F at night. 1) is this TOO low? and 2) could this could be part of the pH problem?

Then again I don't know if I should ever listen to anything you ever tell me to do again 00420! Ya know that air pump line i disconnected? Well like a dumbass I left it still running to the res, and I didn't raise the end outside the res above the water level of the res,... so it acted like a syphon and drained about 2 gallons of res water out onto my carpet!

I was all thinking my plants were drinking like Irish guys at a wedding till I felt a squash under my feet. Here's to hoping it wasn't enough to appraise my downstairs neighbor of my ummmm unfortunate aquarium leak


some recent pics

sry for your mis haps as a rookie but i never said leave the hose in everyone know's your pump should be above the water line......


sry if you don't understand or believe what i say.... here's some good web sites on Water Chemistry
http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/applychem/waterchem.html

http://www.h2ou.com/h2wtrqual.htm

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/waterq/wqglossary.html

http://www.usu.edu/cpl/research_hydroponics3.htm#pH

http://www.hydroponicsearch.com/Exp...d_Ingredients_for_Healthy_Indoor_Hydroponics/

all delete my post ......

 

[ninfan77]

With 5 gallon buckets, cool water temps and room temp that doesn't get over 75F... my ph fluctuates from 5.9-6.2 over the course of 3-7 days. I'm using Sensi GROW (why are you using bloom?) 2 part., and GH ph down granular.

I would imagine it's evaporation and o2 messing with your ph.

 

[ksac]

Ya know that air pump line i disconnected? Well like a dumbass I left it still running to the res, and I didn't raise the end outside the res above the water level of the res,... so it acted like a syphon and drained about 2 gallons of res water out onto my carpet!

Buy a check valve to put on your airline, so this can never happen again. With a check valve, the height of the air pump relative to the water does not matter. They're less than $2 and can be bought at Petsmart. Wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

Buy a check valve to put on your airline, so this can never happen again. With a check valve, the height of the air pump relative to the water does not matter. They're less than $2 and can be bought at Petsmart. Wouldn't be a bad idea.

All the pumps I have bought, included a check valve for each outlet.


2 gallons LOL. One time I messed up draing my rez and forgot to put the hose in the toilet. 200 gallons over the whole basement. I call it cleaning the floor (laminate flooring) from the underneath

My shop vac stays busy