Are there any household liquids for Ph up?

[StrapAssassin42]

Soooo....Ph up is KOH...which is dangerous for me but not to my plants...correct?
I only have access to a small town grocery store for the moment...
If i adjust using baking soda one time i imagine it won't hurt anything. Or should i just give them the 3.5 nutrient water untill i get the right stuff?
Thats pretty acidic... is that right or is my 50 meter a piece of junk?

 

[Roortokeage]

Use Baking Soda


I been using it since day one and if you search my plants you will see they are not complaining

 

[Sgt.Stedenko]

Your tap cant be 3.5 unless your on a private well, and I've never seen groundwater at 3.5 unless your live near a pile of acid mine tailings.
The feds mandate tap pH must be somewhere between 6.5 to 8.5.
http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm

 

[StrapAssassin42]

Its 3.5 after i add the nutes... i use RO water that is 7.5.

 

[Sgt.Stedenko]

RO water has zero ppm and a very low/zero alkalinity. Adding nutes or pH up/down will cause wilder swings because of the low alkalinity.
Personally, I'd mix half tap and half RO to get better buffered water.
If you need to use RO and baking soda, mix no more than 1/4 tsp of baking soda per gallon of RO water before you add the nutes. The additional alkalinity from the soda will keep the nutes from lowering the pH so much.

Another option is to aerate the water with an airstone and air pump. Aeration will raise the pH by stripping out dissolved CO2 from the water.

Baking soda will raise the pH, but it's not as effective as other bases. It will raise alkalinity way more than the pH and that can be a problem. The reason we dont use water from a water softener is because the Ca and Mg ions have been replaced with Na ions, and the additional Na ions inhibit the uptake of Ca, Mg and K.

 

[LouDog420]

Or you could mix up a lighter nute solution until you get your hands on some pH up...


Down with pH meters

 

[StrapAssassin42]

thanks Sarge!
I like the aeration method because its beneficial in two ways...raise ph and oxygen in the water.
For the same reason im gona use potasium silicate, dealing with a fungus too so hopefully thatl help.
Considering going to straight tap water but mine is pretty hard water...never tested the ph of it. Would i b better off going straight tap water if i let it sit out for a day or so to get the chlorine out?
Going half and half RO to tap kinda sounds like a pain in the ass... is there a reason you suggest that instead of going to straight tap?
Is there a reason for adding the baking soda before the nutes.... will it not have the same effect if i add it after?
Thanks for your time Sarge! I certainly appreciate your knowledge of water chemistry... I'm actually a certified pool operator and a lot of this stuff is still lost on me!

 

[Sgt.Stedenko]

I suggested the mix for 2 reasons. I assumed you had hard enough water to warrant the use of RO, and by mixing tap and RO, you get a water with a lower EC but with enough buffer (TA) to keep the nutes from making the pH take such a dive.
Tap water has some benefits such as the added alkalinity and dissolved Ca and Mg ions.

I suggesting adding the baking soda first to straight RO water to raise the TA, so the acidic nutes dont cause the pH to drop so low. You dont need to add baking soda to straight tap or a mix of tap and RO. The alkalinity is already there.

Since you are a pool operator, check this out.
http://poolcalculator.com/
I use it all the time to figure out quantities of acid, baking soda, sanitizer, etc for my spa.
You just need to setup the pool volume and temp, and quantities are calculated.
There's also an ipod/iphone app.
Also, check out this link. It really helped me understand pool and spa chemisty, which has its benefits in the MJ game.

Cheers

Edit. If you're using a Ca/Mg supplement, try adding that before the nutes. It might provide the buffer you need for the acidic nutes.

 

[Roortokeage]

My tap water is 8.5

thats crazy your tap is 3.5 thats acidic and insano Ouch!

 

[StrapAssassin42]

Hey sarge,
you were seemingly correct about the cal mag supplement...Ph didn't take nearly the dive it normally does.
I'm considering going to straight tap water, i have never tested my tap for TDS....what is an acceptable level?
I am considering using a chlorine snatcher type filter, will this reduce my TDS at all?