Whats Your ph ??

[stj2006]

I just tested my ph levels straight from the tap, it's only a ph test strip to give me an idea. My ph is around 10, how bad is that??? I don't have a clue.

And also just realised that the water in my area is moderatly soft.

What does all this mean for me? I know that all of the above is not ideal for growing our sacred herb.

Thank You One And All

St Jimi

 

[ddrew]

Wow, that's the highest straight from the tap I've ever heard of.

I thought mine was high at 8.3

 

[stj2006]

Well it is a crappy test strip so it will be off by some degree, at the most it's 10 at the least it's 8. So somewhere between those values. Im in soil by the way.

ddrew do you do anything to amend your levels ??

St Jimi

 

[VerdantGreen]

most water companies in the UK add lime to the water to raise the pH. they told me that it makes it better for drinking.

buy some citric acid crystals off ebay - dirt cheep - mix a tablespoon with a pint of water and use a tablespoon or 3 of this solution in a can of water to get the pH down to about 6 - for soil - or whatever in hydro. citric acid also has some other benefits for your grow.

VG

 

[DocLeaf]

Take a reading everyday for a week/month ,, it will often change,, so does the EC level.

Hope this helps

 

[Blimey]

10 sounds very high for drinking water. It would probably taste extremely bad. The scale is logarithmic, so as you stray further from 7, the difference in acidity/alkalinity is much greater. That's also why you only need to add a tiny amount of lemon juice (pH 2, very acidic) to reduce the pH of a gallon of water from 7 to 6.

If you live in flats/apartments, it's not unheard of for your water supply to have softening agents added on-site.....my understanding is that these contain all sorts of stuff that you don't want to give to your plants.

Mine is around 7.7. Not great, but not godawful. I do try and alternate between tap, rain, and pond water.

VG's advice is, as always, very sound.

 

[guest456mpy]

Mine is running right around 7.5 pH and is pretty well buffered.

I have no problem adjusting it down with commercial pH adjusters (pH up and down).

 

[stj2006]

Thanks peoples good advice all round. The one thing I have gained from this is GET A PH METER ha ha ha.

I think I shall think about this for the future, Ph and EC is something I have never ever bothered with. So it may be time to take it all to the next level!!

Thanks

St Jimi

 

[Buffoonman]

I find the liquid ph tester kits better more acurate. My water was eight 3 months ago and is now 7. It changes frequently, hence I have to amend the water everytime before watering. Even then different strains can respond differently to the same ph. The OG Kush is always a pain where as other stains dont seem to mind as much what the ph is.

 

[e4ian]

if your doing water,amber/yellows perfect. i usually have yellow.

 

[nut]

mines 7.6- 7.8.

I dont think yours is 10? fook that would burn your throat drinking that shite lol. Water with a pH of 9.5 is 500 times more alkaline than water with a pH of 7.0
what part of the UK are you @? should be 7-8 where ever you are

 

[VerdantGreen]

mine goes between 8.5 and 9.

 

[daoboxer]

I use rain water from a butt in the garden with about 1ml per 1.5 litres of organic cider vinager. Keeps the soil pH around 6ish. I think soil is quite a forgiving medium, pH-wise.

 

[Buffoonman]

Strangely enough I have more ph problems with organic soil. It gets more and more alkaline over time. I know people say leave the water out overnight to evaporate off the chlorine has anybody found that it causes problems if you don't.

 

[stj2006]

I do not de-chlorinate so I hope there is not to much problem there. Never really seen a side by side with de-chlorinated water so that would interesting. Also I'm sure I was reading that different strains will have a different tolerance for how much is actually in the water.

St Jimi

 

[Hazyfontazy]

did anyone mention ,leave ya water to stand for 24 hours

uk tap is good

 

[VerdantGreen]

yeah if you are in organic soil you really want to let the water sit for a day or two to get rid of the chlorine, also a tiny bit of molasses mixed in will neutralize chlorine in 10 minutes or so, and i think citric acid does too.

they add chlorine to kill bacteria so it will compromise your organic soil.

the other thing about organic soil with lime added is to make sure you water at pH lower than 7 (hence my use of citric acid) the lime is a buffer but it will only raise pH not lower it. if you water at pH 8 and have lime in your soil then there is not much to correct the pH to more cannabis friendly numbers - which are on the acid side of neutral.

VG

 

[Scrogerman]

yeah if you are in organic soil you really want to let the water sit for a day or two to get rid of the chlorine, also a tiny bit of molasses mixed in will neutralize chlorine in 10 minutes or so, and i think citric acid does too.

they add chlorine to kill bacteria so it will compromise your organic soil.

the other thing about organic soil with lime added is to make sure you water at pH lower than 7 (hence my use of citric acid) the lime is a buffer but it will only raise pH not lower it. if you water at pH 8 and have lime in your soil then there is not much to correct the pH to more cannabis friendly numbers - which are on the acid side of neutral.

VG

Yeah right man, iirc, i was reading that its the citric acid in mollasses(or derived from it?) that neutralises the chlorine, it was certainly the citric that was neutralising the clorine as i remember. great advice as usual Verd!

 

[VerdantGreen]

hey scrogger, it was microbeman who did some tests on this, i think its the organic material in molasses. aparently a pinch of good compost will also do it because the chlorine binds to it. good if you forget to let the water stand.
i think molasses will also lower pH too. use it at 1 teaspoon per gallon, not more imo.

i just get into the habit of filling the can when i seen to my plants and let it sit for the 48 hours between that and the next time i see them - by then the chlorine should have evaporated.

as for the lime in the water, i see it as free cal/mag. as long as you see to the pH then it's a benefit imo. i use tapwater almost exclusively and my plants seem very happy.

one more thing. some water companies in the UK are starting to use Chloramine, which does not evaporate and needs treating with citric acid/molasses/ascorbic acid(vit C). if in doubt phone your water company to check.

VG

 

[Scrogerman]

Cool Verd, i was also just reading that in the pressence of ammonia or nitrogen, chlorine will produce chloramines(combined chlorine), so id say its pretty important to get chlorine out before mixing up nutes.
H2o2 ive read will neutralise chlorine, but im still looking into that one.(H2o2 dissipates after 24h or so)

Chloramines can be removed from water by superchlorination or 10x's the amount of Chlorine to chloramine, but that way seems like a hassle & not viable for us growers, easier to get the chlorine out than the Chloramines. bloody water companies! can we test for chloramines &or chlorine levels? pool test kits etc?

fwiw-one of the docs i been reading:
http://www.rhtubs.com/chlorine.htm


Cheers buddy!