Cal-mag droping ph too much, need advice

[Rakkasan]

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[MIway]

Stop over thinking things. You're about to talk yourself into doing something backwards... tap at 400 should be filtered, imo.

pH up isn't killing anything... and neither will tap, btw.

Really, you'll be fine. And if interested in a pH up that will also help w both mag & cal... try finely ground Dolomite Lime for your soil run. Peace

 

[Rakkasan]

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[dansbuds]

Mix your tap & RO 50/50 & see what the PPM's & PH levels are .you may not need to use calmag at all if you can get better levels by adding tap to your RO ., thats what i do . & I also use protekt or silica blast as a PH up cuz it has things the plants love .




growem green & stay safe ...Dans

 

[Dirty Harry]

Baking soda raises PH. It doesn't take much so don't over do it or you will then need to PH down. I've been there and done that.

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

baking soda for up and lemon juice for down... stay organic -=P

 

[Rakkasan]

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[dgr]

...I also use protekt or silica blast as a PH up cuz it has things the plants love .

Reread that sentence. When you add a silica product to your reservoir, you know exactly what you are adding.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Did you lime your soil? It's not so much what you're pouring in, it's what comes out. If your runoff is too low, you can top dress the soil with dolomitic lime. Wouldn't have to use as much calmag if any at all.

 

[MIway]

Reread that sentence. When you add a silica product to your reservoir, you know exactly what you are adding.

Agreed... 200 ppms or 400 ppms of what, coming from the tap? You know Calcium Carbonate is in there, not a very useful form for the plants, but how much Magnesium is in there? How much Iron? How many Phosphates?

If you can start with RO/filtered water, then you can discriminately add back whatever elements you see fit, including several that act as a pH buffer.

I just don't get adding things like Baking Soda (sodium bicarb) when you can add something like Dolomite Lime (calcium magnesium carbonate). You know exactly what's going in there, not adding anything you don't want, a totally organic source (no chem processing to make), buffers very well against acids & isn't reactive in the soil.

In this case, you can have your cake & eat it too.

 

[Rakkasan]

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[DiscoBiscuit]

Well, you got a couple of choices. You can buffer your mix, your solution or both. I know if I don't buffer my mix, a train load of pH up won't help. As soon as it hits low pH mix it'll dive. Best wishes.

 

[dgr]

Why don't you switch to General Hydro pH up? Why would you want to put sodium in your soil? Microherd? Sodium?

edit: nothing wrong with mixing tap water. Carbonates are good buffers which will slow swings vs. what is seen in unbuffered solutions made with RO. Of course, if you're mixing and feeding, buffering isn't as important as getting the pH right.