pH Down alternative?

[Core]

i use lemon juice its a cheap alternative....and in flush i also ph my water so no lockout can occeur...she needs 2 uptake all the left over nurtients so i can cut her 'clean'

Pimp aurora.....ime lockout will start way lower..everything over 7.0 ph is dangerous..... and you could be f@#kt if not corrected...

 

[Pimp Aurora]

I know nutes are easily locked out especially if you don't have a pH meter! I learned the hard way and messed up my last crop from an over feed during mid flowering, hence I don't want to see AbaZabba messing up his hard work through taking a risk on the last hurdle.

 

[AbaZabba]

Thanks for the input guys, Im headed to the store later today and will pick up some white distilled vinegar and some lemon juice.

I guess it's time I look into an RO system so I dont have to keep re-stocking the pH down all the time.

 

[Blackvelvet]

most autoparts stores sell sulfuric acid, it is used to fill batteries

This will make an excellent ph down. You can buy it at the autoparts store in quarts for about $5. You may see the name qual. Add maybe one ounce to a gallon of water. Then use this water as the ph down. Its a strong acid. Do handle with care. Gloves or socks over hands with some sunglasses might be good safety precautions while handling the pure acid. Always add the acid to the water not water to the acid.

 

[Guest]

The suphuric acid works well. I have used to with no problems at all. About $4 for a litre at advance auto. It will also add some extra sulpher to your mix.

Much more stable with less drift than vinager or lemon juice.

Cheers,
SH

 

[dankiestog]

Cal from Cutting Edge nutes... its organic and lowers Ph be carefull very strong ...trick of my trade...Organics is the way to go ...

 

[AbaZabba]

Sounds good, will head to the auto store and use the stuff sparingly.

I am just a bit hesitant as something just doesnt seem right about adding 33% acid to my plants that are being "flushed" for my lungs hehe

Might tray a tray of each as discussed earlier. Thanks for the input fellas

 

[Core]

Now i have 2 step in......look out mate....dont listen to sproutco he's on the way 2 fucking up your grow if your not carefull.....If you gonne spend 5$ on acid you better buy a bottle of ph- it only costs 3 or 4$ more...this stuff is bufferd and acid is not it will mess with ya ppm's...

 

[Guest]

.sproutco/ Blackvelvet/8ball has escaped from the infirmary. Im glad you caught this core. I was busy fucking off in the tokers den.


DONT LISTEN TO SPROUTCO/BLACKVELVET/8 BALL

 

[Core]

got you coverd :wink:

 

[Guest]

I would not recommend using sulfuric acid. It is very acidic, I think too acidic for this type of use. It also doesn't have the buffering properties(causing the pH to be stable) of a phosphate pH down(the ones used for proper growing and fish tank adjustments).

Just go with the proper materials needed to get the job done properly. Get a normal pH down! Forget about vinegars and sulfuric acids, these these are not used as much as proper pH down for a reason!


~Ninja~

 

[Hundredproof]

"Hydro PH Adjustments: PH Down (vinegar and lemon juices are good for soil, but not recommended for hydro use) Phosphoric acid during flowering and Nitric acid for vegtative growth.Thanks goes out to syko2 for that one! (Only quality PH buffers should be used to adjust ph and be sure the buffer and nutrient work's well together.) "

just read this on mynamestich's thread in the infirmary, not trying to throw anyone for a loop, doesnt say why not, should be all good tho.

 

[AbaZabba]

Hmm thanks for all the responses guys, but I still haven't exactly nailed the head on what I'm looking for.

I would think there has to be some good ol' hydro farmers out there who are using regular tap water with their own pH down solution A gallon of some diluted pH down runs $30 and with the hydro shop 3 hours away, that turns into an expensive bottle really quick.

O well, guess I will just stock up next time I make it up there since no one seems to have any firm suggestions with things that can be picked up at the local grocery store and auto shop.

I will refrain from using sulfuric battery acid for now, as this seems like a double edged sword for my purposes.

Keep pluggin away if you got anything to say, even you sproutco

 

[Guest]

Well I'm no sproutco or whatever his name is...but I can tell you from experience that sulphuric works. If you haven't tried it( and I have) then how would you know?

By all means man...get the regular ph down from the hydro shop. Nothing wrong with that. But I thought the question was "ph down alternative?"

Cheers,
SH

 

[Verite]

Ive found a hint of ferts added to water will usually lower ph too.

 

[AbaZabba]

Well I'm no sproutco or whatever his name is...but I can tell you from experience that sulphuric works. If you haven't tried it( and I have) then how would you know?

By all means man...get the regular ph down from the hydro shop. Nothing wrong with that. But I thought the question was "ph down alternative?"

Cheers,
SH

You're totally right man, the question was to find an alternative to the normal GH pH down that costs a pretty penny for what it is. While I know a gallon of pH is a minimal cost to most growers, under my current situation and urgency, driving across the state to the hydro store is not an option.

Since blackvelvet/sproutco has mucho bad feedback due to his supposed lack of MJ cultivation experience, I just didnt know how safe and what ratio to use the sulfuric at per gallon of flush water.

I guess we might just have to do a trial to settle this dispute once and for all

Keep em coming if you got 'em

 

[kid1]

lemon juice , produce section at grocery store , squirt bottles round, yellow top.
couple squirts should do it. asprin will work too .fake headache in a pinch . if your broke why not, 250 mg per gallon should bring it down about 2 ph .

 

[AriesXX]

I ran out of Ph down, and I tried a packet of some Emergen-C Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid?). It worked fine, and a half packet per gallon worked fine. .35 cents at most places per pack. My plants seemed to perk up quite a bit, but could have been my imagination.

 

[Guest]

You're totally right man, the question was to find an alternative to the normal GH pH down that costs a pretty penny for what it is. While I know a gallon of pH is a minimal cost to most growers, under my current situation and urgency, driving across the state to the hydro store is not an option.

Since blackvelvet/sproutco has mucho bad feedback due to his supposed lack of MJ cultivation experience, I just didnt know how safe and what ratio to use the sulfuric at per gallon of flush water.

I guess we might just have to do a trial to settle this dispute once and for all

Keep em coming if you got 'em

The 1st time I tried using silphuric...I took a gallon of ro water, and poured out a cup. I then added a cup of sulphuric to the gallon. I used that as my ph down for awhile. When it was mt...I tried just using the sulphuric straight from the bottle. I like it that way much better. I start with a 1/4 tespoon, and go from there.

Just remember...safety, safety, safety. Just like you would practice with any other acid.

Cheers,
SH

 

[Guest]

Sulfuric or citric are the way to go for a backup. Sulfuric's better for stability.

Sulfuric or citric are the way to go for a backup. Sulfuric's better for stability.

that 1-cup-out, one-cup of acid-back-in is my recipe. I posted it on Sproutco's alternative pH up & down thread.

I got the basis for it from an Australian site that gave a similar recipe in metric terms, and that was a little weaker. I don't recall exactly but i think his was a 19:1 ratio of water to acid, mine's like 15:1 is the only difference. He is the one who showed me how to do it in the first place, after i asked all over the pot sites about this same question: an alternative pH down.

Since none of the pot sites ever were forthcoming i looked up all the research myself. My field's electronic wireless communications and controls so i work with every industry you can imagine, a constellation of sciences, because the communications and controls of all industry is electronic. Enter me. I design maintain and repair a variety of communications and controls systems, in a lot of fields.

So, i hit the books and in a jiffy i was back up to college chemistry.

The strength it comes out to is 2.3% sulfuric acid. It's mixed to give roughly the same impact that Gen Hydroponics' pH down does, and reduce it's intensity down to the point where it doesn't discolor or eat holes in clothes. If you've ever worked around a car battery you know what it's like.

My workplace is cluttered and at any time i have out tds meters, a couple of pH test meters, pH strips, all kinds of ferts and salts based compounds around; also wet grow unit parts; to keep from dripping some acid accidentally and not realizing what the droplets are i keep mine diluted still; if you batch small batches of water it makes it easier.

You don't have to sign for it at the auto parts store, and 7.50 buys enough to make 4 gallons which means instead of paying 12 bucks a quart, you either pay 40 cents to 70 cents a quart depending on whether you buy a gallon of distilled or use your r.o. machine.

To dose water with roughly 110 ppm it takes enough sulfuric to give you from 25 to 40 ppm sulfur added. To dose r.o. water or lightly alkaline water it takes obviously- from a LOT less for the r.o. water, to just less. leaving you putting in from 5 ppm to the 25 above.

It's the worlds universal agriculture acidifier. If you eat it, if you drink it, if you smoke it, --whatever the agricultural product, from beef to broccoli, the plant life which fed it, or from which it came, is nearly certain to have had it's soil or hydroponic solution acidified using sulfuric acid.

More than 98% of crops world wide are acidified using sulfuric acid. The ground has sulfur plowed in, and bacteria convert it to sulfuric acid which acidifies the soil the crop's grown in.

Sulfuric acid is a better neutralizer- more stable, takes less, and skews the primary N-P-K ratio zero; which is why most Universities recommend sulfuric acid for hydroponics in their classes. It's also cheaper, and a lot easier to get.

Purity is controlled the way any other important product is. It's used more than any other acid in the world, due to the large demand for it in a lot of industries.

It will affect the taste of the weed: about 50-60 ppm, and a person who knows weed can make out the flavor of the sulfur. Sulfur is depended on in agriculture for flavoring various crops. Obviously a discerning palate can taste it sooner. It's part of the flavor of weed, because plants have to have sulfur to thrive, and use it in the buds.

If you use r.o. water or your water is already soft, after you use sulfuric you'll still be way under the threshold for taste.

There is no toxic dose for plants essentially. When people grow/grew hemp the dose for sulfur can be very high: many times, the 25 to 50 you'd add to typical tap water.

Sulfuric is great when you're starting out growing, and are still learning to make your water do what you say; i still use it. I don't pay 15-30 times the price because somethings in a coloredl bottle.

I grow to keep my old lady in weed; the method is up to me and i use it as a technical hobby so i don't grow in dirt. Hydroponic, primarily aero is the choice and i build and rebuild growing units and transfer the plants from setup to setup, during veg&flower both; clones get kept or tossed, sometimes i mis-mix, so if i want to make new water, i make it.

No looking over at the 15 dollar quart of pH down cringing. Since i don't sell dope either i pay for my own.

When you use Epsom's Salt to add magnesium, you're adding 10% magnesium and 13% sulfur.