Alternatives to PH up and PH down

[CannabisJohn]

Any organic products to raise and lower PH in a hydro system?

 

[Snowblind]

Citric Acid is PH down......

You can buy it for cheap.

 

[shado]

I read somewhere you can use lemon juice for ph down and baking soda for ph up

 

[grinkeeper]

I have a bag of citric acid powder on hand in case I run out of ph down.. I had to figure out where to find it but ended up finding it rather close at a health food store and also at a bulk food and bakinf supply store.. if you havent seen it before it looke like sugar... mayeb a lil courser.. but also I bet almost everyone one of you has actualy try citric acid power.. its the exact stuff they put on candy to make it sour.. stuff is on sour patch candy and sour keys and sour soothers.. its actaully cool when your doing your ph down and you get some citreic acid on your finger because you can lick it off and it just like a sour candy...

its about 4 buck a pound and really is potent for ph down.. I mixed my powder with warm water then did the ph down prosess.. as its can give wierd readings if you just added the powder to your feed water..

here is the bonus.. plants love citic accid and there is actual many benifits to using citric acid.. I even add a little each week to my res....

 

[grnmountainboy]

you can use vinegar for ph down, im not sure about up tho

 

[OneStonedPony]

Citric acid for pH down (baking stores, health food shops), and potassium bicarbonate (brew / wine making stores) for a pH up, both of these can be had for a few bucks a pound. Don't use sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), the sodium (salt) in it causes issues over the long run. The potassium bicarbonate, can also be used as a foliar spray, to prevent PM.

 

[grnmountainboy]

i use citric acid in the form of tricarboxylic acids on a regular basis, and they are very beneficial. the brand i use is called "plant energy" by a local company called cornucopia. this stuff is really like an energy drink for plants! i get added vigor and growth rates. also, the stuff is formulated to help with ph stability.

 

[Talapika]

What would be the point? Citric acid won't hold the pH like phosphoric acid. It's only really useful for drain to waste systems, but even then if you're in hydro and using mineral salt nutrients it seems kind of pointless.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

Amberlite CG-50 I have never tried it but you might looking into it. This product is supposedly going to keep your pH in check and is reuseable. Just been to busy to play with it. JK

 

[grinkeeper]

Amberlite CG-50 I have never tried it but you might looking into it. This product is supposedly going to keep your pH in check and is reuseable. Just been to busy to play with it. JK

where in the world do you buy that stuff, amberlite cg50...looks like a pharma manufacturing product, not really acceptable to the average person I would imagine..

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I bought some on ebay. Its available. JK

 

[iscrog4food]

I use the mad farmers nuts humid acid for ph down. It works well and is beneficial to plants! Good luck!

 

[grinkeeper]

i found this really well written PDF on the topic of citric acid. there are many advantages to adding citric acid to your routines.. its not the be all and end all for ph stabilization but definetly works in conjuction with the rest of the programs you use... its not just for PH DOWN..

READ THIS :View attachment NAIH_Why_Citric_Acid.pdf

 

[Grow2BFree]

What about urine in the water? .

 

[grinkeeper]

funny that you mention urine.. for a test I collected and tested my ph a few days in a row.. ph fluctuated by 2 full points from 6 to 8.. so its not useful for ph down at all.. there is lots of nitrogen in urine.....

here is another PDF...http://www.ecosanres.org/pdf_files/ESR-factsheet-06.pdf

 

[Grow2BFree]

funny that you mention urine.. for a test I collected and tested my ph a few days in a row.. ph fluctuated by 2 full points from 6 to 8.. so its not useful for ph down at all.. there is lots of nitrogen in urine.....

here is another PDF...http://www.ecosanres.org/pdf_files/ESR-factsheet-06.pdf

b

AWESOME, great link too! For my case, that's probably why it worked so good. I used a mix of organic homemade soil mixed with pre-fertilized garden soil, the swampy/sandy soil in my area is very acidic, low ph, and my plants still were showing yellow and other deficiencies, then I added a VERY dilute formula of urine and WOW, they turned greener within HOURS, and after a few days they are super green, bluish-green almost, like a really high dose of miracle grow normally would do. I used urine on outdoor plants with mostly good results, but when I tried indoor and urine much more diluted, it's impressive!

I was wondering if not only urine nutes, but PH may have caused this. It is confusing because much research shows most urine much like your testing, varies in PH, but it appears to vary in the range that's still good for plants.

Either way, just to add to the discussion, now on with the thread!

Happy Growing and Smoking,
-Grow2BFree :cool0041:

 

[Johhny]

Cannabis John, Try whole Oyster shells. It is made out of Calcium carbonate, Magnesium, and Silica.
Keeps Ph at 5.8 - 6.0. Depends on how much nutes are in water. High nutes = about a 5.85 to 5.9. Middle range when nutes start to deplete 5.9 - 5.94. When nutes run out it rises to a 5.94- 6.04.
Hahahahha..
Never worry about ph control again. Perfect!! Most organic way of maintaining ph! Just a few oyster shells in system. Each shell Last about a 1-2 years. I buy them at Winco for 63 cents and cook them, then clean them. Easy!

 

[Winter323]

Cannabis John, Try whole Oyster shells. It is made out of Calcium carbonate, Magnesium, and Silica.
Keeps Ph at 5.8 - 6.0. Depends on how much nutes are in water. High nutes = about a 5.85 to 5.9. Middle range when nutes start to deplete 5.9 - 5.94. When nutes run out it rises to a 5.94- 6.04.
Hahahahha..
Never worry about ph control again. Perfect!! Most organic way of maintaining ph! Just a few oyster shells in system. Each shell Last about a 1-2 years. I buy them at Winco for 63 cents and cook them, then clean them. Easy!

I am sorry but there is no way putting whole oyster shells is going to do much of anything to the soil unless you factor in their breaking down over the course of hundreds of years...

 

[UncleRomulus]

I’m gonna assume you bust up the shells

 

[MIMedGrower]

They would have to be crushed into powder. Thats what is in ocean forest as a calcium buffer.


And most of this thread is from 2011.