My mix is 5 parts coco coir, 1 part EWC, 2 parts perlite, and a little added Bio-Tone. On my last grow with fox farms soil I used RO water that had a Ph of 6.5. This round I wanted to use my tap water. I bubbled five gallons with an airstone 24 hours and tested the Ph at 8.0. Are there enough humates in my mix to buffer the Ph? Or should I try to lower it a bit? Thanks everyone.
8.0 Ph ... Too high?
- Thread starter gaviao
- Start date
how are the plants doing?
The only pH that matters with organic soil is in the rhizosphere, and the only way a gardener can infer that is the health of your plant.
The only pH that matters with organic soil is in the rhizosphere, and the only way a gardener can infer that is the health of your plant.
A
arcticsun
8.0 PH is wayyyyy to high, you will start to get nutrient lockouts below 5,7 and above 6,5.
Over time a ph of 8 will devastate your plants.
The main key to getting high quality stash is maintaining the ph between 5,8 and 6,3... if hydro or coco grow, one should stay in the lower part of the scale, around 5,8-6,0, if a soil grow one should stay closer to 6,3.. 6,1-2 is perfect for soil grows. My advice to you is never go below 5,7 in coco, and never go above 6,3.
Be attentive with the ph levels because it could make or break your grow.
Over time a ph of 8 will devastate your plants.
The main key to getting high quality stash is maintaining the ph between 5,8 and 6,3... if hydro or coco grow, one should stay in the lower part of the scale, around 5,8-6,0, if a soil grow one should stay closer to 6,3.. 6,1-2 is perfect for soil grows. My advice to you is never go below 5,7 in coco, and never go above 6,3.
Be attentive with the ph levels because it could make or break your grow.
I think ph requirements are different depending on the medium, but for soil the most vigorous growth is seen with a ph of 6.8-7. 8 is a little high.
G
good drown
yea for soil i always read you want over 6.5
i agree with mad - if your plants look healthy then you are probably fine
good organic soil can be very forgiving on pH of water that you use, however 8 is fairly high and you might like to try bringing i down to somewhere between 6 and 7 before watering.
my water is nearer to 9 and i use citric acid to lower the pH.
V.
good organic soil can be very forgiving on pH of water that you use, however 8 is fairly high and you might like to try bringing i down to somewhere between 6 and 7 before watering.
my water is nearer to 9 and i use citric acid to lower the pH.
V.
i dissolve 2 tablespoons of powder in a pint of water, and then it takes about a tablespoon of that solution per gallon of water for me.
you can get citric acid powder from ebay cheep.
V.
you can get citric acid powder from ebay cheep.
V.
Nice tip!!
Local water PH can be high for different reasons. A naturally high PH like we have here in SoCal is caused by dissolved calcium and salts, or hard water. I'm not sure about where you live VG, but I know that on the east coast of the US, Beantown has a fairly soft water yet they add something to raise the PH quite drastically. From what I've heard, those artificially raised PH waters are much easier to 'PH down' with chemicals. Hard water is 'buffered' against PH swings and takes much more 'PH down' chemical to get down. I haven't tested our water recently, but it was around 8.2 a couple years ago. Needless to say, I just use it straight from the tap and never have problems with high PH. After all, it's a good source of magnesium and calcium and other tasty things. I personally don't have any way to test my soilmix PH, and wouldn't 'trust' the results even if I did have a tool.
hey mr.g its all chalk aquifers near me so the pH is high for that reason. the water does buffer itself somewhat but thats fine - its the sweep through the pH that im looking for really. i should try not doing it sometime but im pretty sure that my plants suffered last time i stopped doing it.
VG
VG
fishwater
Member
Mr.Greengenes, your soilmix must buffer the ph down, obviously. How much lime do you add to your mix? My first run at this location I didnt add any lime, but came up with serious ph issues. This time I am running lc#2 with lime but still having high ph troubles, not as bad, because I am trying to ph the water. I realize that lime is more for raising ph but does it buffer it down at all???
Verdant, I am returning to the citric acid today. I mixed some this morning and it had 5.05 ph, now about 6 hours later it is up to 5.24. I will monitor it for a few days.
I have been struggling with ph here. My well water was running as high as 9.1 but now that spring is here it is down to 8.6. I was using molasses to ph it down, but decided I better mellow out on that.
I am still struggling with finding the right ph down method. I have some store bought ph down that contains nitric acid, and it holds the ph down for a long time, but according to burn1 it is harmfull to beneficials.
Verdant, I am returning to the citric acid today. I mixed some this morning and it had 5.05 ph, now about 6 hours later it is up to 5.24. I will monitor it for a few days.
I have been struggling with ph here. My well water was running as high as 9.1 but now that spring is here it is down to 8.6. I was using molasses to ph it down, but decided I better mellow out on that.
I am still struggling with finding the right ph down method. I have some store bought ph down that contains nitric acid, and it holds the ph down for a long time, but according to burn1 it is harmfull to beneficials.
Hey VerdantGreen and fishwater.
The solution to your problem is Muratic Acid. Its a clear liquid sold as a brick cleaning/concrete cleaning acid product in hardware stores, brick or lumber yards.. It's also sold by swimming pool supply stores as it is used to lower the ph in swimming pools. It usually cost about $4 per gallon. 1 tablespoon of Muratic acid per gallon of water lowers the ph of the water by 1 full point, immediately.(most brands of Muratic acid give instructions for lowering the ph of water)
I used to live in a rural location in which the well water ran 8+. I found Alum sulfate to be too slow and somewhat unpredictable. I used the Muratic for over 2 years and this was the easiest and most effective approach i could find for keeping ph down where it naturally gravitates to the high end of the scale.
The solution to your problem is Muratic Acid. Its a clear liquid sold as a brick cleaning/concrete cleaning acid product in hardware stores, brick or lumber yards.. It's also sold by swimming pool supply stores as it is used to lower the ph in swimming pools. It usually cost about $4 per gallon. 1 tablespoon of Muratic acid per gallon of water lowers the ph of the water by 1 full point, immediately.(most brands of Muratic acid give instructions for lowering the ph of water)
I used to live in a rural location in which the well water ran 8+. I found Alum sulfate to be too slow and somewhat unpredictable. I used the Muratic for over 2 years and this was the easiest and most effective approach i could find for keeping ph down where it naturally gravitates to the high end of the scale.
OrganicMonkey
Member
Don't hydrochloric acid, DS toker flunked out of organics school. That is awful industrial acid, only a meth head finds it to be food grade...accept the humor Dr.
Sounds like you put more Bio-tone than you thought in, it's alkaline. I have no idea what EWC is, but coco is quite stable so not sure why it's high. Citric acid is good, tartaric acid would probably work or a combo. Tartaric acid is in bananas and grapes, as well as wine.
Not sure why it's not lowering, probably the fact that nothing acid is given. I thin it's just the bio-tone, not adding new nutrients and that coco is flat even.
Sounds like you put more Bio-tone than you thought in, it's alkaline. I have no idea what EWC is, but coco is quite stable so not sure why it's high. Citric acid is good, tartaric acid would probably work or a combo. Tartaric acid is in bananas and grapes, as well as wine.
Not sure why it's not lowering, probably the fact that nothing acid is given. I thin it's just the bio-tone, not adding new nutrients and that coco is flat even.
OrganicMonkey, your stomach functions properly due to the hydrochloric acid contained therein. Do a little research and you'll find that hydrchloric acid is used in making gelatin,aspartame, fructose and numerous other food additives. The organic, mineral based acid has zero inorganic ingredients. Water, hydrogen, Chloride - all naturally occuring compounds.
Yes, if the concentration is strong enough, the product is dangerous in the same way that Morphine might be dangerous. Small amounts of morphine help people in severe pain. Larger amounts are deadly toxic and the drug is labeled categorically as "poison" for humans.
Even a quick read here will provide some basic info and confirm the use of hydrochloric acid in lowering ph in solutions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrochloric_acid#pH_Control_and_neutralization
Further, the "Garden Primer" by Barbara Damrosch states that ".... one of the quickest methods for creating the acid conditions required to impact the bloom color in hydrangeaceae is to dilute 1 tbsp of muratic acid with each watering..."
Its use is recommended by garden manuals to lower the ph were potatoes are to be grown in soil that is more nuetral as potatoes require acid soil.
I first heard of using muratic acid to lower ph in one of mel franks-How to books.
While it may sound radical to cannabis growers, the use of muratic acid in traditional gardening is an old, established and uncontroversial practice. There is no danger in small, weak concentrations.
Yes, if the concentration is strong enough, the product is dangerous in the same way that Morphine might be dangerous. Small amounts of morphine help people in severe pain. Larger amounts are deadly toxic and the drug is labeled categorically as "poison" for humans.
Even a quick read here will provide some basic info and confirm the use of hydrochloric acid in lowering ph in solutions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrochloric_acid#pH_Control_and_neutralization
Further, the "Garden Primer" by Barbara Damrosch states that ".... one of the quickest methods for creating the acid conditions required to impact the bloom color in hydrangeaceae is to dilute 1 tbsp of muratic acid with each watering..."
Its use is recommended by garden manuals to lower the ph were potatoes are to be grown in soil that is more nuetral as potatoes require acid soil.
I first heard of using muratic acid to lower ph in one of mel franks-How to books.
While it may sound radical to cannabis growers, the use of muratic acid in traditional gardening is an old, established and uncontroversial practice. There is no danger in small, weak concentrations.
I think ph down is phosphoric acid, but similar in effect and nature. Ph down, just like muratic acid is dangerous in higher concentrations and is only safe in dilluted strengths.
I used the Muratic acid because garden primers recommended it and it was much much cheaper than the ph down. My cannabis operating fund runs really low sometimes.
I used the Muratic acid because garden primers recommended it and it was much much cheaper than the ph down. My cannabis operating fund runs really low sometimes.
you are in the organic soil section
more fungi = lower pH
more bacteria = higher pH
more fungi = lower pH
more bacteria = higher pH
