fluctuating ph with timed drippers in coco

siftedunity · Jul 29, 2012

hi i basically handwater in coco, im switching over to drippers soon as i wont be able to check the plants everyday so i need things on a timer.
the only thing im worried about is the ph in the res fluctuating between me checking on the plants il be basically checking them three times a week possibly twice a week.

does anyone else have this problem or have a similar setup/situation like this?

thanks in advance..

Dieselstyle · Jul 30, 2012

I'm running blumats and if the reservoir is stable and balance, your ph should go up by .1 everyday. So you would need to fill the reservoir at the lowest desired ph and let it drift to the highest ph desired. However, sometimes I notice the ph dropping and its due to bacteria imbalance or outbreak (thats what i was told by a member in one of my threads)

siftedunity · Jul 31, 2012

thanks alot man, tbh ive noticed, if i mix up my nutes and leave them standing, the ext day the ph has gone up quite high. this is what i wanted to avoid.

it generally jumped from the 5,7 to about 6.4 and i like to keep my ph in between 5.6 and 6 at the highest..

this will be rtw aswell.

DHF · Aug 1, 2012

siftedunity said:
thanks alot man, tbh ive noticed, if i mix up my nutes and leave them standing, the ext day the ph has gone up quite high. this is what i wanted to avoid.

it generally jumped from the 5,7 to about 6.4 and i like to keep my ph in between 5.6 and 6 at the highest..

this will be rtw aswell.

You should always mix your juice and let it set so the ph buffers will have time to adjust the total solution and level out before feedin the plants........

Do you have a bubbler/airstone in your rez ?......That`s the most likely culprit allowing your solution to rise in PH that rapidly over a 24 hr period.....or.....

Your nutes lack the proper ph buffers.....anyways.....a good powerhead pump in the bottom that runs constantly and keeps shit stirred up to prevent precipitation/falling out of suspension and forming sediment is your best bet....also.....

Are you using R/O or tapwater..... meaning.....there`s several things that can cause ph fluctuation in rez`s , so thoughts to ponder.....and....

DTW coco`s babyshit simple if yas make sure the medium`s stable EC wise before planting , while pre-charging the medium with Cal/Mag for the CEC ......

Used ta go to my setups once a week with no problems once dialed.......

Good luck......DHF..... :ying:

.....

Hundred Gram Oz · Aug 1, 2012

Which nutes are you using? If your aerating your rez the PH will rise quite a bit like DHF says.

HGO

Harry Lime · Aug 2, 2012

DHF said:
.a good powerhead pump in the bottom that runs constantly and keeps shit stirred up to prevent precipitation/falling out of suspension and forming sediment is your best bet
.

I bin pondering this for a while now. An air pump keeps things stirred up and oxygenates the res, presumably allowing valuable oxygen to be carried with nutes into the root zone. But it also causes a steeply rising ph.

A circulating pump keeps things stirred but doesn't oxygenate. We want to carry oxygen down to the roots but we don't want the quick rise in ph...so how what's best?

Sorry to butt into yer thread, siftedunity but sa a coco handwaterer who wants to automate this is doing my head in :laughing:

siftedunity · Aug 3, 2012

well i hand water, i use a mixture of brands. i always let my nutes settle before i water. but, im starting a new grow with drippers.

if i leave my usual nutes overnight the ph goes up. i wanted to use the same nutes but didnt want the ph to jump up aswell. if that makes sense.

i use tap water atm

dansbuds · Aug 3, 2012

You need to figure out if its your water or nutes . i went through this myself for over a year . it turned out to be my tap water after i changed nutes like 4 times . go get your self a couple 5 gallon jugs of RO water from the supermarket or walmarts ... they usually have the despensing machine right by the front door . make sure its RO water & not the filtered stuff (it doesn't remove the sodium ...salts ) & mix your nutes in that for about a week to see if theres a difference in your PH swing then . you'll use less PH down or up when mixing to get the desired PH levels cuz of the RO ... so beware of that on your first mixing .
but try it & i'll bet you'll be switching to RO like i did .

good luck bro

Harry Gypsna · Aug 3, 2012

Harry Lime said:
I bin pondering this for a while now. An air pump keeps things stirred up and oxygenates the res, presumably allowing valuable oxygen to be carried with nutes into the root zone. But it also causes a steeply rising ph.

A circulating pump keeps things stirred but doesn't oxygenate. We want to carry oxygen down to the roots but we don't want the quick rise in ph...so how what's best?

Sorry to butt into yer thread, siftedunity but sa a coco handwaterer who wants to automate this is doing my head in

A circulating pump can oxygenate the water, you just need to disturb the surface. In a low tank, you can set the pump up with the outlet pointed at the side of the tank, and it should cause a good deal of disturbance. In barrel type tanks, you can use a hose coming from the pump to above the surface, curl it(or use stiffer pipe and elbow joints) so the end points to the water and fix it in place for a waterfall. You may still get a little evaporation, but not like the air pump, and you only need to have the circ pump running for a few minutes before each feed time.

siftedunity · Aug 5, 2012

dansbuds said:
You need to figure out if its your water or nutes . i went through this myself for over a year . it turned out to be my tap water after i changed nutes like 4 times . go get your self a couple 5 gallon jugs of RO water from the supermarket or walmarts ... they usually have the despensing machine right by the front door . make sure its RO water & not the filtered stuff (it doesn't remove the sodium ...salts ) & mix your nutes in that for about a week to see if theres a difference in your PH swing then . you'll use less PH down or up when mixing to get the desired PH levels cuz of the RO ... so beware of that on your first mixing .
but try it & i'll bet you'll be switching to RO like i did . good luck bro

thanks alot man. i live in the uk though so its hard to get ro water. we dont have walmart and tbh i dont really want to switch to ro water either, its just too much hassle. they defo dont sell ro water in my local super market either. thanks for the advice though

siftedunity · Aug 5, 2012

Harry Lime said:
I bin pondering this for a while now. An air pump keeps things stirred up and oxygenates the res, presumably allowing valuable oxygen to be carried with nutes into the root zone. But it also causes a steeply rising ph.

A circulating pump keeps things stirred but doesn't oxygenate. We want to carry oxygen down to the roots but we don't want the quick rise in ph...so how what's best?

Sorry to butt into yer thread, siftedunity but sa a coco handwaterer who wants to automate this is doing my head in

fluming or agitating the water surface is ment to be way more efficient in getting o2 into the water. from tests ive seen airstones are pretty shit compeared..

Lowman · Aug 5, 2012

I have recently switched over one area to drippers...and I use tap water. 0.6EC. I would suggest a hard water formula nute line ( I am using GH flora hardwater micro) and nitric acid as your ph down. You can get Canna brand ph down over there and it's made of 38% nitric acid.

Cheers,

Harry Lime · Aug 6, 2012

siftedunity said:
fluming or agitating the water surface is ment to be way more efficient in getting o2 into the water. from tests ive seen airstones are pretty shit compeared..

Thing is, getting the o2 into the mix causes oxidation or summat which makes the ph rise...I think.

I'm pretty sure I read in the coco with drippers thread stickied on here that with the right dripper the nute mix picks up o2 as it's dripped meaning you don't need to aerate the mix in the tank.

There must be a thread here somewhere about maintaining a reservoir but I'm fucked if I can find it!

siftedunity · Aug 6, 2012

Harry Lime said:
Thing is, getting the o2 into the mix causes oxidation or summat which makes the ph rise...I think.

I'm pretty sure I read in the coco with drippers thread stickied on here that with the right dripper the nute mix picks up o2 as it's dripped meaning you don't need to aerate the mix in the tank.

There must be a thread here somewhere about maintaining a reservoir but I'm fucked if I can find it!

yeah i know airstones change the ph too. tbh when i hand water i can hear the pots crackling like rice crispies. so im pretty sure the air moves down and is pulled in just buy watering anyway.

the only problem with leaving the tank is it going stagnant. im not sure if it woyuld or not. plus i guess you might jet some seperation of contents. i dont know tbh.

Wingnutt · Aug 7, 2012

In my experience:
Nutes mixed with RO water stay MUCH less stable than nutes mixed with just filtered water (Hydrologic Small Boy).

If your nutes aren't too strong it should be able to stay in an acceptable range for 3-4 days.

If your res gets warm, say above 70-75F, the water will stay stable a shorter amount of time. The cooler the res, the more stable your pH.

A larger amounts of nutes maintains its pH better than a small amount.

The simpler your recipe, the more stable it will remain. The more stuff you add, the higher chance that something will be affected by time/temp/etc.

Wingnutt · Aug 7, 2012

In my experience:
Nutes mixed with RO water stay MUCH less stable than nutes mixed with just filtered water (Hydrologic Small Boy).

If your nutes aren't too strong it should be able to stay in an acceptable range for 3-4 days.

If your res gets warm, say above 70-75F, the water will stay stable a shorter amount of time. The cooler the res, the more stable your pH.

A larger volume of nutes maintains its pH better than a small volume.

The simpler your recipe, the more stable it will remain. The more stuff you add, the higher chance that something will be affected by time/temp/etc.

cheeched · Aug 8, 2012

My rezzy(s) usually fluctuate from ~5.8-6.1 and my girls like it..
Daz it!..YMMV..

dalilguy · Aug 14, 2012

i find my ph drifting also. The culprit is usually the water if running tap. Once i balance my tank back down to 5.8 it will usually stay in place after a cpl times. Like stated above usually the stronger the mix the more stable it is. But your water source and nutes all play a role in this.

TribalSeeds · Aug 14, 2012

Wingnutt said:
In my experience:
Nutes mixed with RO water stay MUCH less stable than nutes mixed with just filtered water (Hydrologic Small Boy).

If your nutes aren't too strong it should be able to stay in an acceptable range for 3-4 days.

If your res gets warm, say above 70-75F, the water will stay stable a shorter amount of time. The cooler the res, the more stable your pH.

A larger volume of nutes maintains its pH better than a small volume.

The simpler your recipe, the more stable it will remain. The more stuff you add, the higher chance that something will be affected by time/temp/etc.

How long do you let your water settle after the RO filter? Ive found it takes about a day to stabilize after I filter mine.

siftedunity · Aug 14, 2012

ive still not solved this problem yet

fluctuating ph with timed drippers in coco

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