PH NEED HELP

[ghuser113]

Hello im using to gh water farm kits and im using 1/2 strenth gh gro micro bloom and my ph will rise very fast from 5.5 to 6.6 over a corse of a few hrs they are about 7 to 8 ins i have been setting my ph at 5.0 hoping that it will stay below 6.0 so i can set it the next day. I have a ph tester called eco tester ph 1 didn't know if anyone has used this or now pros or cons about it they are also under a 400w mh for the time being also i have had some defs going on should i go full strenth or should i add anything u can think of or should i go LUCAS thank u, ghuser

 

[Observer Tom]

I'm having a similar issue, my PH will rise to about 8.0 overnight regardless of what it starts at. I'm wondering if there's something I can do or add to stabilize it. I'm top feeding by hand until I get it sorted out because I don't want them to fry overnight.

I've been changing my res about once a week or more because after a few days I notice a buildup of what I assume is PH down solution on the walls. It's pale and tacky and if left to it's own devices it forms chunks in the res.

My roots are white and seem fine, I don't see any slime buildup and there's no noticeable algae buildup in the containers. I don't see any pests crawling around either. I'm using 6, 8 and 10" netpots.

I'm currently browsing and searching for past solutions but haven't found anything yet. If I do I'll post it here.

Are you using RO water or what's the PH of your tap water before nutes?
Anything in your water besides GH grow/micro/bloom?
What kind of PH down are you using?
Have you tried confirming the PH with drops or a second tester unit?
How are your roots looking, any slime?
How often are you changing the res and is there a noticeable buildup there?

Maybe with enough info someone can point both of us in the right direction.

 

[freeride high]

im guessing tap water straight into the res?
you in a clear container or dark one?

 

[Observer Tom]

I'm not trying to hijack ghuser's thread but I'll respond here too and maybe some of the info will help both of us.

I'm using well water straight into the res, 6 medium airstones in a 20-25 gallon black tub with no lid. My well water is 7.0 and .40 EC.

I'm bringing the EC of my res up to about .90 with nutes and using about 6 tsps each of grow/micro/bloom and starting today I added 15 tsps GH florashield to see if that would help in case the buildup is biological.

 

[jm420]

lucas 0-5-10,no additive ,airstone in each bucket,ph drop kit , ph meters will bite you in the ass if there off

 

[EvilTwin]

lucas 0-5-10,no additive ,airstone in each bucket,ph drop kit , ph meters will bite you in the ass if there off

JM420,
I agree with you except for the airstone. He's using a waterfarm which is an air-powered water pump top dripping to hydroton. It's already a hyper-aerated system.

Ghuser...did you rinse your hydroton really well? Plenty of people have reported ph problems related to hydroton dust.

Are you running the pump 24 hours on? I switched my HF to more of a E&F type schedule. 5 30 minute drip sessions/day and that seemed to work better. Less evaporation loss.

You need to provide us with more info. Why don't you answer Tom's questions and mine and I'll bet we can get you squared away.
ET

 

[stillsmokin843]

i would say some thing but evil has already summed it up man you should listen to him or atleast take his advise really know his stuff from what i have seen and quite helpfull buy the way.

 

[squatr0t]

im guessing tap water straight into the res?
you in a clear container or dark one?

hey i got my mother plants running off a res that's in a clear container.. the ph often rises back to 7-8 after lowering the ph to 5.8 countless times..?

 

[Observer Tom]

I emptied and washed my res and airstones, refilled with some GH florashield and lightproofed my res. It's probably too early to say definitively but so far the PH is holding well, rising only half a point all day. I'll find out in a couple days if it's going to remain in check.

I've heard RO water is LESS Ph stable than tap, confirm/deny?
Could it be something in the plastic of the res or drainage system that's causing it to rise?
If it's a biological algae buildup or something, do you think GH florashield will help?

I'm using 6 medium airstones for a pretty small res, I can't imagine it could possibly be a lack of oxygen.

I'm using black buckets, rain gutters and a black plastic cement mixing tub from home depot.

 

[EvilTwin]

Tom,
I'm always good for a tequila soaked opinion...but take it with a grain of salt.

Ganja forums tend to go through trends and ideas and, while most are experience based, some aren't.

Currently there are many people who believe that high Ca levels create a buffer that stabilize ph. High being 200ppm or thereabouts. And that RO and distilled water will create a labile ph situation.

Oh, I just had a flash! I know who to ask about this...will get back later.

I use RO water with Maxi-bloom. It's very stable and I adjust ph every two days. Maybe if I added some tap water, I could go even longer. But personally I don't buy into ph buffering with high Ca.

Also the whole aeration issue is up for grabs. I think excess aeration creates more problems then it solves...except with DWC.

Different nutrients buffer ph by balancing the N source with urea based Vs nitrate based ph. It's very complex and simple answers are often incomplete.

Where was I?

So Tom, without knowing more of your particular situation, I'd perhaps drop some of your airstones.

Start your own thread if you need more info...
ET

 

[Observer Tom]

Thanks ET, I came across this thread while researching PH swings and figured I'd post but it's turning into a highjacking. Seemed silly to create another thread on the same situation right next to this one.

I'll give the lightproofing and florashield a couple days to work and if it doesn't change things I'll start another thread. I've noticed the residue/buildup starts on the airstones so I'll try swapping out my 6 stones for a smaller airpump with 2.

Thanks for the tips, hopefully when GHUser comesback he'll get some good info too. =)

 

[ghuser113]

REPLY

REPLY

I'm having a similar issue, my PH will rise to about 8.0 overnight regardless of what it starts at. I'm wondering if there's something I can do or add to stabilize it. I'm top feeding by hand until I get it sorted out because I don't want them to fry overnight.

I've been changing my res about once a week or more because after a few days I notice a buildup of what I assume is PH down solution on the walls. It's pale and tacky and if left to it's own devices it forms chunks in the res.

My roots are white and seem fine, I don't see any slime buildup and there's no noticeable algae buildup in the containers. I don't see any pests crawling around either. I'm using 6, 8 and 10" netpots.

I'm currently browsing and searching for past solutions but haven't found anything yet. If I do I'll post it here.

Are you using RO water or what's the PH of your tap water before nutes?
Anything in your water besides GH grow/micro/bloom?
What kind of PH down are you using?
Have you tried confirming the PH with drops or a second tester unit?
How are your roots looking, any slime?
How often are you changing the res and is there a noticeable buildup there?

Maybe with enough info someone can point both of us in the right direction.

Ok well to start with i have kinda figured out my ph problem i had messed up the nutes and may have burned or just about killed them and since that had happend i damaged the roots so they left debry in the resavior and there for may have be the problem so i got a tds meter and went to 1/2 strenth with no additives no my ph has been stay'n a lil more stable and seems to be get'n better as the plants get better as to your problem i may be able to help i have had air stone raise the ph if there is to much air going to the res and if the air stone has been used in a previous grow and was not cleaned very well it could have a bacteria on it also you said you a clear res with no lid or may you said you had a res with no lid period sorry i didn't look at it befor i started to reply but if this is so no lid or clear res or both 1 the light can cause alge in the water so small you cant see intill its to late and can get in the medium and cause a number of problems such as ph 2.also if you had no lid air borne pathogens such as dust that you can c and many other things you can not so i would put a lid on it and drain and flush for a day with clear x and go back to your regular feeding and hopefuly it will start to balance out. i hope this helps and thanks everybody for your help you guys are great..