help! ph up/down

[diggity-dank]

well after getting my ph meter, i tested my home water here. When it first comes out of the tap, it is about 7.43 but once its been sitting for a day or two, it goes way up to the high 8's. usually around like 8.6.

i dont really have time to order any ph up/down stuff right now and i was just wondering if there was anything else i could use to lower my ph. would ph up/down for aquariums work for hydro at all?

please help me asap so i can get the problem fixed. my clones are starting to root and i need to lower the ph.

thanks

 

[diggity-dank]

well i got some ph decreaser for aquariums at wal-mart for $2.50. gonna see how it works. hope i dont kill my plants. says on the back its safe for aquariums and plants. HOPE THEY LIVE!

 

[Thing_Fish_]

-Yea. -I think the aquarium stuff will work. >->Roots commin out?!? --Beautfull!

 

[Guest]

adding gh nutes will lower the ph

 

[diggity-dank]

-Yea. -I think the aquarium stuff will work. >->Roots commin out?!? --Beautfull!

alright i put some in and got the pH a little lower now. Hopefully this works. And yup, roots are coming out. This is my first time succesfully cloning a plant.

Originally posted by |\|!tr0u$
adding gh nutes will lower the ph

yeah i will be ordering gh nutes soon. but like i said in my original post, i needed something to get the pH down today. thanks tho

 

[Guest]

actually come to think of it, i've never adjusted ph for cloning. afterall they're not absorbing any nutes, just water.

 

[Thing_Fish_]

-My cloning's been kinda hit and miss but Im keepin my ph at 6.4 in my clone bubblin bucket. -Mabe its not nesasary,-I dont know,-but I dont think it would hurt. -Theres gotta be a ph sweet spot for root promotion amongst clones. -Im tryin 6.5 . -I run the rest of my system at this ph anyhow so mabey it will help with the transition from one system to another.

 

[diggity-dank]

well the pH never got below 7 with that stuff and by morning the water was really cloudy, tons of white shit all over everything, and white residue all in my rockwool. Maybe this isnt going to work lol. I cleaned everything and made a new DWC tank, added some airstones, and a little nutes

 

[racefan]

Some growers have been known to use vinegar as a PH down and baking soda as a PH up. I believe the exact type of vinegar was apple cider vinegar for some reason.

 

[SomeoneYouKnow]

Some growers have been known to use vinegar as a PH down and baking soda as a PH up. I believe the exact type of vinegar was apple cider vinegar for some reason.

AHHHH - VERY VERY BAD IDEA !!!


AHHH - NOOOOOOOO !!!!


VERY BAD - Dont EVER Do that!

 

[diggity-dank]

so is there anything around the house i could use to lower it safely for a couple days? i ordered pH down today but it will be a few days. is there anything? my pH is at 8.7 right now.. EEK!

 

[dcyans]

#1 diggity-dank your waters pH shouldn't increase after a day unless your meter doesn't have ATC in which case it's just a difference in temps your seeing and you will need to make that adjustment if you have the option.
#2 if the water got all cloudy then thats a nute lockout happening because of improper pH when adding nutes or adding nutes after you've adjusted the waters pH (thats a no-no).
Just let your water sit and then add nutes then add "down" you may not need much depending on whether your soil or hydro. You can add aspirin to lower pH (works) salicylic acid.

 

[Guest]

ph

ph

for clones you want the ph at 5.8,this is the recommendation from most companies,5,8 - 6.2 is usually fine,you dont want it above 7 or below 5 for optumum growth,if your ph is wrong your plants will not grow properly, presuming your in hydro.it is one of the major principles of hydro ,you must get your ph right.hope this helps

 

[kyndone]

i have used lemons, cut em and squeeze the juice into a dropper put one drop in then test, then keep dropping one at a time till its down where you want it.

 

[Ember1]

I use silica blast for pH down.

 

[supaleeb]

lemon juice will work in a pinch..

 

[guineatrippin]

I use silica blast for pH down.

umm.. doesn't silica rather act as pH up? At least mine (different brand) does...

 

[!!!]

A pH of 8.x is far too high. Anything over 6.5 is too high. Lower it to 5.2. I wonder why your tap water is rising though? I figured when CO2 is dissolved in the water (if you keep it in open air) the pH goes down. Perhaps the meter is off? but the water turning cloudy is indeed due to the high pH.

dcyans advice is good. You can also crush vitamin C tablets into the res. Ascorbic acid (vit C) is used in many hydro products like Botanicare's Sweet Organics.

 

[A is 4 PiMp]

Should an eyedropper be used with pH down?

I thought about adding some to my flowering nute mix, would a 1/2 tsp be too much (its at 7.5)

 

[John LOQUE]

if you use a chelated nutrient, you nearly don't care of the ph. It doesn't prevent you from buying a good ph down, but you can relax about ph fluctuations, between 5 and 7.5 is acceptable, between 5.5 and 6.5 is ideal...