Ph Falling 0.5+ Overnight

[bibbles]

Ever since I switched from MBFerts Early Bloom to Late Bloom, the pH of my reservoir has been falling by at least 0.5 (i.e 5.8 to 5.3) over night. This is not a recirculating reservoir, it's blumat drip system, what on earth could be causing this? I'm like a couple days away from feeding the plants bleach, so... any ideas would be great. :(

 

[KneeDeep34]

Dont be alarmed... Most of the time this happens when you first add nutes. Even tho you mix very well, it can take a few hours for full saturation... What i would do is one of two things.
1) I understand wanting to use the nutes you bought and not waste money. So next time get your ph a bit higher with the anticipation of it dropping to suitable levels.
2) buy different nutes lol
If your using tap water then it could just be chlorinated or have fluoride in it. So let the water sit over night, then add nutes and ph buffers.
Hope that helps ya cause i know ph fluctuations can be a pain to dail in especially if your using a new line of nutes or somthing your not fimilare with.

 

[bibbles]

I use RO, and I've used these nutrients before, that just seemed to be about the time it happened. I suppose this caused me to switch from adding pH down to adding pH up as well. I mean, I still add pH down after AgSil, but at the end of mixing.

And, it's not the day after mixing, it's been every day. I adjust it up, and then the bottom drops out again.

 

[bibbles]

I can't see the inside of my entire reservoir typically, blumats require elevation; however, I just had a suspicion and confirmed it, algae where I can't see. Not sure how much, will have to wait for lights on. My light sealing appears to have been insufficient due to raising the nearest light 4" higher.

This has probably been an issue since day one, and the nutrient change caused a bloom.

Lucky me, reservoir needs a refill tomorrow, so I think I'll refill it with bleach and hand water a few times (big plants, small pots), then hand water once the next morning before getting things flushed, filled, and covered up. I think I'll have enough RO for this (soaking the reservoir with tap+bleach, drain, flush with tap, flush with RO, refill).

I shall be more specific as to the conditions and issues ruled out prior to my next "advanced problem", though... this being a fairly obvious answer... this is definitely on the laziness of presumption. :/

 

[Enforcer]

I can't see the inside of my entire reservoir typically, blumats require elevation; however, I just had a suspicion and confirmed it, algae where I can't see. Not sure how much, will have to wait for lights on. My light sealing appears to have been insufficient due to raising the nearest light 4" higher.

This has probably been an issue since day one, and the nutrient change caused a bloom.

Lucky me, reservoir needs a refill tomorrow, so I think I'll refill it with bleach and hand water a few times (big plants, small pots), then hand water once the next morning before getting things flushed, filled, and covered up. I think I'll have enough RO for this (soaking the reservoir with tap+bleach, drain, flush with tap, flush with RO, refill).

I shall be more specific as to the conditions and issues ruled out prior to my next "advanced problem", though... this being a fairly obvious answer... this is definitely on the laziness of presumption. :/

Good call. I use 35% H2O2. After I scrub out the res I put some RO water in there with all the pumps and bubblers. I add the H2O2 until it starts to bubble and eat the crap off of the lines. Then I turn the pump on and let it run through the drippers (not in the plants of course). I do this at the end of each run, or when I notice the pH dropping everyday like you did. That usually means something is growing in the res. Fixes it every time.

 

[bibbles]

Why not bleach? I'm sure it's cheaper, it's got the same mode of action (oxidization), and people run bleach in very small amounts in sterile systems just as others do H2O2 or Zone without problem. I suppose H2O2 stops reacting the most quickly, but not by a large margin, it's the staying power of chloramine, as oppose to simple chlorine, which makes Zone stand out.

I do not run a sterile system, but once upon a time... #AeroponicLifeMistakes

EDIT: Dat algae was THICC. :(

EDIT: Physan 20 is the change I'd make if I were to make one, though admittedly, it's been a while since I looked into it.

 

[Enforcer]

Why not bleach? I'm sure it's cheaper, it's got the same mode of action (oxidization), and people run bleach in very small amounts in sterile systems just as others do H2O2 or Zone without problem. I suppose H2O2 stops reacting the most quickly, but not by a large margin, it's the staying power of chloramines, as oppose to simple chlorine, which makes Zone stand out.

I do not run a sterile system, but once upon a time... #AeroponicLifeMistakes

EDIT: Dat algae was THICC. :(

Bleach works too. I just have the H2O2 on hand. Plus if I really need to I can add some to the res to kill off bad stuff in my root zone. I’ve never had to though. I bought a gallon at the hydro store before my first grow on the advice of the guy. Then I decided to change my growing style and it just sits on the shelf. Until it comes time to clean the res. I also feel that the H2O2 would be more easily eliminated from the system after cleaning.

 

[bibbles]

Time to neutralization is quite similar between chlorine and H2O2, both are typically re-added every three days or so when used in recirculating systems. Hypothetically, the H2O2 leaves nothing behind, but that depends on the source, and given how much less bleach is used the difference would be negligible. Personally, I like that bleach smells, because that way you know it's still there, and that you need to rinse things out a bit better (my case).

Thoughts on Physan 20? You just missed that second edit. :P

 

[Enforcer]

Thoughts on Physan 20? You just missed that second edit. :p

I’m not familiar with that product so I did some research on it. It seems to be popular with some types of growers. However, while reading the description online, it says it’s toxic to fish and not to use it on food crops. I assume because your not supposed to consume the chemicals it uses. Well, we consume our cannabis. So I would probably advise against it. But the comments had some people putting it on their tomatoes, so who knows. I wouldn’t use it.

https://www.planetnatural.com/product/physan-20/

 

[bibbles]

I was thinking more along the lines of a cleaning agent, though as you say, some people use it on plants or in reservoirs. IIRC, it more or less breaks down into nitrogen over the course of a few days, so as long as it's not being used in the last week or so they should be fine.

Personally, I water in tea, enzymes in the tank, bleach between cycles, or, when an issue calls for it as above.