getting nute strength correct

[crazybear]

Okay I'm confused, new to hydro , doing dwc, using gh flora nova. I do not have an ec , ppm or any other meters, using ph test kits drops. The ph has been drifting back up to 7 everyday. Plants are looking good so far. Help!

 

[Zendo]

"Plants are looking good so far. Help!"

huh?


p.s.--buy a real ph meter..you're going to anyway, why wait until you NEED to have it to fix a problem.

2cents given.

 

[generalgrievous]

Get a ppm meter bro... life is much easier when you know rather than guess...

 

[FreezerBoy]

If you haven't bought one yet, avoid "PPM" or "TDS". Do yourself and the hobby a favor and stick with EC.

Lacking additional info, the general rule is:
EC up, pH down=too rich
EC down, pH up=too lean

However, DWC usually needs far less nutes than recommended on the bottle so, I have to ask. Are you using RO water or vinegar for pH control?

 

[crazybear]

using tap water&ph down, yes I will eventually buy a ph meter & EC meter but right now struggling to grow meds. on a tight budget . Okay today I checked PH it's 6.0 I only placed the plants in dwc a couple days ago, is it usual to take a few days to get PH stabilized?

 

[crazybear]

Also I have noticed tip burn not enough nitrogen?

 

[wantaknow]

hold on the nutes until you get it smothed out better to have a small harvest than no harvest ,and as stated befor less is more ,if you think you have to much n ,then take out a galon and put a galon back in this will dilute it then ph again,here is something to try get and extra bucket mix it up using water from the store ro is good ,ph it let it stand a day or so then check it again ,when the one on the plant needs water added to it change it out with the other bucket and start over with the one that was under the plant ,keep in mind as the water level lowers the nutes concentate and ph will flux ,hope this helps

 

[DHF]

.........

 

[crazybear]

thanks wanttaknow I took out a gallon & added a gallon back on the one bucket & that plant really perked up. So I did the same with the other two & their looking better & thanks freezerboy I'll get an ec meter when I can afford one I think the PH fluctuated was maybe I didn't add enough PH down in the first place.. & I hope I'm not on the path to disaster need to grow my meds now can't wait to get everything now just enough to get by!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[phyberoptic]

thanks wanttaknow I took out a gallon & added a gallon back on the one bucket & that plant really perked up. So I did the same with the other two & their looking better & thanks freezerboy I'll get an ec meter when I can afford one I think the PH fluctuated was maybe I didn't add enough PH down in the first place.. & I hope I'm not on the path to disaster need to grow my meds now can't wait to get everything now just enough to get by!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK so budget PH down... I use a 30 gallon system for six buckets (including res). You'll find that PH will go up when adding fresh water, and will drop some when adding nutes.

If I have to drop PH further... I'll take a lime off my tree and add the juice of one lime to the res.

One medium lime will move my PH down a full point (from 6.6 to 5.6). Your's will vary as the strenght of the citric acid is not the same from fruit to fruit or tree to tree. So go slow and watch the results till you get the hang of your system. But on a budget it is cheap and organic.

 

[highonmt]

So if you are going to do hydro you really need good ph up and down to do it well. Limes, vinager etc etc work for short periods but they are unpredictable and you need predictability if you have no meters. I'll guess you're using tap water as your ph is buffering at 7.0. FNB buffers to about 4.9 in my ro water at 1.5 ec. (ec is electro-conductivity a measure of concentration) So drop 10$ on a bottle of good ph down you will be much happier....with that in hand... Mix up a new batch of your FNB at 7ml per gallon add ph down untill you are at 5.3-6.2 I personally start at 5.4. watch ph and adjust as needed to keep in that range also watch your water level and when you need to add back water just add back full strength (7ml/gal fnb) nutrient solution. Change your nutrients every 2 weeks and you should be fine. If you see curling tips (burn) flush from the top with phed water and change your nutrients to a fresh batch. This is essentially a weak version of the Lucas formula (8ml/gal FNB) to compensate for no meter...and when you find some cash in the laundry buy some meters and it all gets easier. Best of luck
HM

 

[crazybear]

I am not using vinegar, I did buy a bottle of GH PH down, that's what I am using. Probably a dumb question what is FNB highonmt, I am using general hydroponics flora nova I mixed at 5ml per gallon & that seems to be too much. Meters are definitely in my future. Thank you everyone for your help.