Are there any household liquids for Ph up?

[StrapAssassin42]

I know i can use lemon juice for ph down but is there anything like that to raise my ph?
Just started using roots organic nutes and they brought my water down to 3.5.
Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[dagnabit]

baking soda slurry...

 

[StrapAssassin42]

just mix a little baking soda and a little water and add it to my nutrient water?? how much baking soda per gallon of water to what result? (how much will this raise my Ph)...
Is this entirely safe for my plants?

 

[dagnabit]

not sure of the amounts..
im sure a smarter poster will be along shortly with the answers..

i just remember a grower i trust on OG swore by it

 

[GoneRooty]

Can't give you specific amounts, since I don't worry about pH the way I grow, but baking soda is your best bet for pH up.

 

[dagnabit]

try a small scale experiment with 1 gal of rez water and one tsp of soda.

scale up the results.

 

[Sgt.Stedenko]

The amount you needs depends on your total alkalinity. The higher the TA, the more you need.
Baking soda is a double or triple edged sword. The more you add, the higher your TA goes.
It also adds sodium, which can fuck with uptake of other nutes.

Potasium hydroxide (KOH) used for soap making is probably the cheapest pH up.

 

[GoneRooty]

KOH may be cheap, but it is highly corrosive and toxic. It can cause burns on the skin as well as respiratory problems if inhaled, and serious long term damage if gotten in the eyes. Also, KOH is strongly exothermic in solution, meaning when you add it to water it gives off a lot of heat, requiring regular stirring to prevent hot spots in the solution that can crack glassware, and probably melt a cheap bucket. Baking soda is way safe the KOH.
Or you can go with an organic living soil and not ever have to worry about pH again.

 

[StrapAssassin42]

KOH may be cheap, but it is highly corrosive and toxic. It can cause burns on the skin as well as respiratory problems if inhaled, and serious long term damage if gotten in the eyes. Also, KOH is strongly exothermic in solution, meaning when you add it to water it gives off a lot of heat, requiring regular stirring to prevent hot spots in the solution that can crack glassware, and probably melt a cheap bucket. Baking soda is way safe the KOH.
Or you can go with an organic living soil and not ever have to worry about pH again.

tell me more about not having worry about my Ph! I've been growing for awhile but just now got a Ph tester.
I am already 100% organic...if there is a way i don't have to mess with this let me know!

 

[GoneRooty]

Build your soil, don't use bottled nutrients. Check out some of the threads in the organic soil forum.

 

[StrapAssassin42]

cool...definitley will check that out... I imagine you use castings and guanos as top dressing then.? Sounds like a simpler way to grow... i like it!

 

[Dislexus]

Basically with a good organic mix you're going to have the dolomite / garden lime that provides the PH buffering.

I'd still keep the PH meter to adjust your water to within range.. but you don't have to obsess over it.

If you do go organic I'd skip the blood meal and chicken shit.

 

[StrapAssassin42]

Basically with a good organic mix you're going to have the dolomite / garden lime that provides the PH buffering.

I'd still keep the PH meter to adjust your water to within range.. but you don't have to obsess over it.

If you do go organic I'd skip the blood meal and chicken shit.

Thanks for your input....exactly what i was wondering.

 

[GoneRooty]

With an organic soil mix, you don't need to pH your water or soil or anything else. Yes you add dolomite lime which provides pH buffering, and since dolomite never goes over pH7 you never have to worry about pH down. Aside from the buffering abilities of dolomite, it provides a source of Ca and Mg. Most of the truly organic growers on here don't even have a pH meter, or if they do, they don't know where it is. My old pH meter is sitting on a shelf somewhere collecting dust. It's a useless piece of equipment when growing in an organic living soil.

 

[Frozenguy]

I wouldn't use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).

Use Potassium bicarbonate.

 

[GoneRooty]

Potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3), can be toxic to plants if you use more than 0.5% concentration of KHCO3.

 

[StrapAssassin42]

Im gona use the baking soda for now untill i get some Ph up from the hydro shop...Sounds like the stuff that is designed for plants is the only truly safe method to raise my ph.
Any objections? Are there differences or is it all made the same? Store bought Ph up that is.

 

[Sgt.Stedenko]

AN pH up is KOH, fwiw.

 

[Z-Beeblebrox]

Sodium is toxic for the plant in large quantities and will lockout the potassium: Na+ / K+

 

[Sgt.Stedenko]

Adding 1 teaspoon of baking soda to 1 gallon of water will raise the pH by 1.26 and raise the TA by 744.
Have fun with your TA that high.