Ph water

[MrGood]

Quick question.... why is my ph drastically changing over night? I ph to 6.5 I let it sit a couple minutes and I test it again it’ll read 6.5. Then I go to water the next day or so and I retest the ph it comes out to 7.1. I don’t leave the water in the sun. It’s in a cool dry place out of heat range and nothing touches it. Or could my ph meter be bad? I even have the testing solutions I use before I start ph my water. Any idea what could be the problem?

 

[Beachwalker]

What are you using to adjust the pH?

 

[MrGood]

What are you using to adjust the pH?

An APERA ph20 meter using ph up and Ph down

 

[Beachwalker]

An APERA ph20 meter using ph up and Ph down

Assuming you've calibrated it correctly (& I know that meter well I've got two of them dead in a draw ) I'm asking you what product you're using to adjust pH with

 

[MrGood]

Assuming you've calibrated it correctly (& I know that meter well I've got two of them dead in a draw ) I'm asking you what product you're using to adjust pH with

I use ph up and ph down by general hydroponics to change ph of water. And I calibrated with the solutions included in the case

 

[Beachwalker]

I use ph up and ph down by general hydroponics to change ph of water. And I calibrated with the solutions included in the case

Okay so that's weird because I've used all those things I have some of it out there still I don't know why yours changes? My never changes in The Jug

The only time mine changes is when I put it in my bubble cloner and then it does exactly what you said overnight

I've never figured out why mine is stable in The Jug but unstable in my bubble cloner, let's see if we can both get some help from @Aqua Man?

 

[growsince79]

I use ph up and ph down by general hydroponics to change ph of water. And I calibrated with the solutions included in the case

What is the ppm?

 

[MrGood]

What is the ppm?

120ppm tap water

 

[MrGood]

Okay so that's weird because I've used all those things I have some of it out there still I don't know why yours changes? My never changes in The Jug

The only time mine changes is when I put it in my bubble cloner and then it does exactly what you said overnight

I've never figured out why mine is stable in The Jug but unstable in my bubble cloner, let's see if we can both get some help from @Aqua Man?

Not sure either. I honestly just ph and let sit until I’m ready to water

 

[growsince79]

Quick question.... why is my ph drastically changing over night? I ph to 6.5 I let it sit a couple minutes and I test it again it’ll read 6.5. Then I go to water the next day or so and I retest the ph it comes out to 7.1. I don’t leave the water in the sun. It’s in a cool dry place out of heat range and nothing touches it. Or could my ph meter be bad? I even have the testing solutions I use before I start ph my water. Any idea what could be the problem?

Whats the ph of unadjusted tap water after sitting overnight?

 

[MrGood]

Whats the ph of unadjusted tap water after sitting overnight?

7.3 unadjusted straight from tap let sit overnight I then ph’d to 6.5 let it sit over night again to then water it this morning and when I ph its 7.1

 

[growsince79]

7.3 unadjusted straight from tap let sit overnight I then ph’d to 6.5 let it sit over night again to then water it this morning and when I ph its 7.1

unless you're running hydro, you should be able to use it without adjusting. If mixing nutes you adjust after mixing.

 

[Moshmen]

Assuming you've calibrated it correctly (& I know that meter well I've got two of them dead in a draw ) I'm asking you what product you're using to adjust pH with

I got one too, and mind sometimes takes 2-3 minutes before it’s acually done reading . I don’t trust it anymore

 

[Beachwalker]

I got one too, and mind sometimes takes 2-3 minutes before it’s acually done reading . I don’t trust it anymore

Terrible customer service too! The worst thing was the second one failed mechanically under warranty

sent it to them at my expense and they told me I need a new Probe on it and wanted to charge me twenty-five bucks

but it wasn't an issue with its readings, the power button wouldn't turn on and off properly since I got it, and eventually the calibration button wouldn't work right either :/

 

[MrGood]

unless you're running hydro, you should be able to use it without adjusting. If mixing nutes you adjust after mixing.

So I can just use 120ppm tap and let sit overnight at 7.1-7.3? Just watering no nutrients

 

[MrGood]

Terrible customer service too! The worst thing was the second one failed mechanically under warranty

sent it to them at my expense and they told me I need a new Probe on it and wanted to charge me twenty-five bucks

but it wasn't an issue with its readings, the power button wouldn't turn on and off properly since I got it, and eventually the calibration button wouldn't work right either :/

Well damn

 

[Beachwalker]

Well damn

ya but I've got other meters some of them we're half-decent to and they're all dead even though I took care of them, if I ever bought another meter I'd buy blue lab (but I probably won't)

I use fish drops now but keep a yellow cheapo to do slurry test with

 

[Aqua Man]

Can you link me your ph up and down?

The problem is tap water comes out high in carbonic acid because it's a sealed system under pressure and all CO2 created is forced in the water and forms carbonic acid. So when left out the ph will rise as the amount of CO2 tries to reach equalibrium with the air surrounding it. Once it does the ph will stabilize but that does not mean it's stable enough for our need as that will be determined by the buffering capacity.

The time it takes to become stable will be determined by the amount of exposure to air, mainly the surface area and agitation. It's good practice to take tap water and aerate it for a few hours before phing or adding nutrients. This will ensure that the CO2 in the water and air have reach equalibrium.

If you are putting it in a jug the exposure to air is low and it can take a long time for this to happen.

So here is what I suggest.

Take tap water and aerate for 2 hrs then add nutrients and ph down to the desired ph. Then if in a jug seal cap it and it should stay fairly stable. When you aerate water the ph will usually rise and this is because of the of gassing of CO2 so by aeration first you are now ph adjusting water that has been aerated and therefore when you expose it to air or further aeration it will not change any further.

There is a bit more to this all but if you can link me the ph up and down I can check for other factors that may be contributing.

Are you in soil, hydro or soiless? There are different practices that are ideal depending on which.

Also are you using any products containing silica?

What is the order that you are mixing any and all nutrients, ph adjusters or supplements?

 

[Beachwalker]

Can you link me your ph up and down?

The problem is tap water comes out high in carbonic acid because it's a sealed system under pressure and all CO2 created is forced in the water and forms carbonic acid. So when left out the ph will rise as the amount of CO2 tries to reach equalibrium with the air surrounding it. Once it does the ph will stabilize but that does not mean it's stable enough for our need as that will be determined by the buffering capacity.

The time it takes to become stable will be determined by the amount of exposure to air, mainly the surface area and agitation. It's good practice to take tap water and aerate it for a few hours before phing or adding nutrients. This will ensure that the CO2 in the water and air have reach equalibrium.

If you are putting it in a jug the exposure to air is low and it can take a long time for this to happen.

So here is what I suggest.

Take tap water and aerate for 2 hrs then add nutrients and ph down to the desired ph. Then if in a jug seal cap it and it should stay fairly stable. When you aerate water the ph will usually rise and this is because of the of gassing of CO2 so by aeration first you are now ph adjusting water that has been aerated and therefore when you expose it to air or further aeration it will not change any further.

There is a bit more to this all but if you can link me the ph up and down I can check for other factors that may be contributing.

Are you in soil, hydro or soiless? There are different practices that are ideal depending on which.

Also are you using any products containing silica?

What is the order that you are mixing any and all nutrients, ph adjusters or supplements?

Mister Aqua man why does my water stay stable for many days in The Jug but as soon as I put it in a bubble cloner overnight it goes from let's say 6.5 to 7.2 ??

I not figured this out yet,?? I gave up on the bubble cloner because of this LOL thanks in advance for any help!

Op not to step on your thread but maybe we can both get our answers here

 

[Aqua Man]

Mister Aqua man why does my water stay stable for many days in The Jug but as soon as I put it in a bubble cloner overnight it goes from let's say 6.5 to 7.2 ??

I not figured this out yet,?? I gave up on the bubble cloner because of this LOL thanks in advance for any help!

Op not to step on your thread but maybe we can both get our answers here

Was it aerated well before sealing it up? If using citric acid with a bicarbonate source the citric acid will react quickly and the ph will increase as a result of the acid being broken down. This is a big reason why it's not good for hydro and why phosphoric or sulfuric acid is better in hydro. In soil unless you need to bring the ph down to prevent precipitate then it's best to just ph right before feeding. But this also goes to my opinion that the soil will buffer ph so the only real time I feel you need to ph nutrients for soil is when using something like silica that can increase the ph drastically and cause precipitate, other than that it's not necassary but won't hurt.