Can't keep PH up...

[BCrocker]

I know I've read it on here before, but I couldn't find it again.

Friend has a DWC setup and he just can't keep the PH up.. it keeps falling no matter what he does. What does this mean generally? Meter has been calibrated and tested another meter as well.

 

[Farmer Jon]

Drop the EC and the PH should rise. Adjust as needed to maintain a ph of around 5.3-5.8 in RDWC (allow your ph to swing a bit).
FJ

 

[kamdavs]

Ph drop

In hydro if your ph is rising daily you are all good. If it is dropping daily you got root rot. Check his roots they are going to be brown and slimy. To fix this prob you need to sterilize the system and roots the cut off dead roots then you need to either keep it sterile or run alot of good bacteria.

 

[drunknbass]

What kind of water?

 

[wheeelman]

In my experience with brown slime the ph will rise so you probably don't have brown slime. I have dealt with this significantly and sterilization works for some but most often it will return...if you can't fight it off that way a microbe tea will eradicate brown slime without even having to trim roots which shocks and stunts plants.

Anyway you are having a ph drop which is quite weird...are his rez temps stable? Also, how much are they eating?

 

[sedate]

Friend has a DWC setup and he just can't keep the PH up.. it keeps falling no matter what he does. What does this mean generally? Meter has been calibrated and tested another meter as well.

Um. The pH should be constantly swinging - it isn't going to be pegged to whatever he leaves it at.

Adjust it to 5.8 once per day. It'll be fine.

 

[green punk]

A ph that continues to drop indicates something biological (in a bad way) occurring in the system. Root rot is usually first on the list to look for, then pests.

If res temps are high then the system is more prone to the root rot. Get the res temp stabilized, then try using a bene product. I like Benefox. Stuff is amazing. The microbes that have been isolated in the product can with stand ppm levels of 4000 and maybe even beyond. awesome stuff. If its gnats, or worse yet the Root Aphids you need to wipe them out to save your crop. The decaying carcasses from the pests will cause the ph to drop too.

If it is root rot and you want sterile I would suggest getting some Dutch Masters Zone.

hope this makes sense haven't had my coffee yet.

 

[sedate]

A ph that continues to drop indicates something biological (in a bad way) occurring in the system. Root rot is usually first on the list to look for, then pests.

If it is dropping daily you got root rot.

^^ These comments are wrong.

The osmotic processes of nutrient/mineral/waste exchange between the roots and the rez is very complex. As roots exchange salts and sugars and what-not, the pH will absolutely swing - sometimes wildly depending on what additives a grower has added and whether or not you have a sterile or living rez.

Perhaps a grower is using a bloom-boost with asorbic acid? Maybe there is a few ml/gallon of molasses? How about silica? What application rate for beneficials? What kind of oxygenation is provided to the system? Is it tap or RO water? Is the cal-mag package calcium nitrate or calcium carbonate?

Anyway - drawing those definite conclusions from the bare-bones information the OP provided is kinda sloppy.

We have no idea why the pH is dropping.

 

[HighAltitude]

^^ These comments are wrong.

The osmotic processes of nutrient/mineral/waste exchange between the roots and the rez is very complex. As roots exchange salts and sugars and what-not, the pH will absolutely swing - sometimes wildly depending on what additives a grower has added and whether or not you have a sterile or living rez.

Perhaps a grower is using a bloom-boost with asorbic acid? Maybe there is a few ml/gallon of molasses? How about silica? What application rate for beneficials? What kind of oxygenation is provided to the system? Is it tap or RO water? Is the cal-mag package calcium nitrate or calcium carbonate?

Anyway - drawing those definite conclusions from the bare-bones information the OP provided is kinda sloppy.

We have no idea why the pH is dropping.

well said

 

[green punk]

^^ These comments are wrong.

The osmotic processes of nutrient/mineral/waste exchange between the roots and the rez is very complex. As roots exchange salts and sugars and what-not, the pH will absolutely swing - sometimes wildly depending on what additives a grower has added and whether or not you have a sterile or living rez.

Perhaps a grower is using a bloom-boost with asorbic acid? Maybe there is a few ml/gallon of molasses? How about silica? What application rate for beneficials? What kind of oxygenation is provided to the system? Is it tap or RO water? Is the cal-mag package calcium nitrate or calcium carbonate?

Anyway - drawing those definite conclusions from the bare-bones information the OP provided is kinda sloppy.

We have no idea why the pH is dropping.

A healthy ph swing might be from 5.5 up to 6.3. Anything beyond that is sloppy. IME .

the conclusion is based on that the initial post states no matter what he does the ph drops. Which indicates biological processes not necessarily good ones occurring. Pretty basic stuff there.

Also continually adding up will eventually lock nutes up and cause a precipitate build up with the zero benefits to the plants

not sure about the osmotic processes and what have you but i have taken down a plant or two as well as raised up a few.

 

[sedate]

A healthy ph swing might be from 5.5 up to 6.3. Anything beyond that is sloppy. IME .

Well yea. I agree with that. Sure.

the conclusion is based on that the initial post states no matter what he does the ph drops. Which indicates biological processes not necessarily good ones occurring. Pretty basic stuff there.

not sure about the osmotic processes and what have you

OMFG.

Wow.

Really?

Did you put those two statements together in a single post?!

I could tee-off on this for - like two thousand words . . . .

And somehow imply I'm not understanding "pretty basic stuff" - ?!?

Wow. Just. Just . . . Fucking shit.

Eck I have to get some rest.

Wow.

 

[green punk]

sedate:
I m not trying to have a pissing match here. It seems you really like to beat your drum and put others down rather than just stick to the the threads initial scope.

And I m sure you could tee off here. I have to go work in a garden so I wont be here to take the intellectual ass wooping you have in store for me.


BCrocker just check your res temp, check for rot and pests thats a good start. Thats all.

 

[sedate]

I m not trying to have a pissing match here. It seems you really like to beat your drum and put others down rather than just stick to the the threads initial scope.

Why is correcting bad information putting others' down?

This thread has had multiple posters now conclude - based on NO INFORMATION WHAT-SO-EVER - that the OP must have root rot or some bad biological or parasitic process going on in the rez. There is no evidence that anything like that is going on and the number of things and factors that can make the pH drop (or swing) precipitously are practically countless and we know ZERO of those factors for this thread.

The posters' who have drawn conclusions are wrong. If posters' don't like having ideas and statements critiqued and discussed, then they probably shouldn't be on a discussion forum.

If I post erroneous information I certainly would want to be called on it.

Better than effin' up someones' grow.

 

[BCrocker]

Thanks for the replies and assistance. These plants have been cut down and harvested.. They turned out ok and the ph was just a problem at the end. Last ten days. The system has been cleaned and it's rolling again without any issues.

 

[BCrocker]

Soooo. I am getting this same issue in a different system. Have a res chiller set at 64F. Using Zone at 1ml / gal. PH was 5.8 at 7PM, now next day at 4 PM it is 4.8 PH.... roots are not sparkling white, as I think they were tinged from the nutrient coloring.

 

[dank_]

I run an AeroFlo2. When I overload the bennies, the pH drops like a stone. I don't get any visible slime, but I assume there are unwanted bacteria somewhere. Well, unless it gets bad.
You won't recover from this unless you totally clean the bacteria (in tubing, in media, old roots, ect). However, I have harvested while enduring this problem since late in veg.

 

[BCrocker]

I run an AeroFlo2. When I overload the bennies, the pH drops like a stone. I don't get any visible slime, but I assume there are unwanted bacteria somewhere. Well, unless it gets bad.
You won't recover from this unless you totally clean the bacteria (in tubing, in media, old roots, ect). However, I have harvested while enduring this problem since late in veg.

hm, so the only possible reason for ph drop is unwanted bacteria?

 

[sk2004]

One thing to look at is your initial pH and what to u use to adjust. pH outta my well is 5.0 (ec .04 so haven't really bothered with ro since it's relatively constant). Use hydrated lime to raise pH (not much in the way of good hydro stores around here for pH up) and figure plants can use the Ca and Mg. Also notice pH drops over time and haven't noticed much in the way of slime or other negative effects on the plants, so figure that the plants are absorbing. Just every couple days between resevoir changes add water, check ec adding foxfarm nutes as necessary, and adjusting pH. Sure this isn't the correct way to so this, but best i can do with available materials.

 

[green punk]

Dam. same spot, same water source? whats ph,ppm from tap or filter, what nutes/additives, same system, same stage of growth as last time? How do you adjust ph, up and down (product/brand)?:wondering

 

[dank_]

hm, so the only possible reason for ph drop is unwanted bacteria?

No

Effects of Low Alkalinity

Not everybody in North America has irrigation water with high alkalinity. The primary problem associated with low alkalinity water is a tendency for media pH to drop over time. Growers often run into low pH problems when low water alkalinity is combined with a fertilizer high in ammoniacal nitrogen. Fertilizers high in ammoniacal nitrogen are acidic, and without any alkalinity in the water to balance the reaction (resist lowering of pH), acidic fertilizers will tend to drive the media pH down over time.

Fertilizers that are high in nitrate nitrogen often do not cause the media pH to increase when combined with low-alkalinity water. In fact, it is often recommended that growers with low alkalinity water use fertilizers high in nitrate nitrogen simply to maintain a stable media pH. When low media pH does occur in conjunction with a low-alkalinity water source, raising media pH with high-nitrate fertilizers may be difficult or impossible. Growers with low alkalinity should stock potassium bicarbonate or liquid lime, which raise media pH.