ive had 20 gal mixed nute solution sitting steadily for a few days (with a huge airstone) at 1000 ppm 5.8ph about 24 hours ago i added like 6 tsp of ZHO and 4 tbsp hi brix molasses. today when i checked the ppm was down to 950 and the ph fell way down to 3.8
is this norml?
does the ph up kill the bacteria?
does the huge ph swing kill them?
You caused a bacterial bloom, which in turn caused pH to drop (fairly precipitously, too, I wouldn't be surprised if they're mostly dead now). I don't know how much of a shift these groups of microbes can take, but eventually, yes, a shift large enough will absolutely kill them. And if it doesn't kill one group of microbes (the myco you mention means to me mycorrhizae, which are fungi, not bacteria) it most certainly will kill another. But to quantify any of these statements well would require a microscope and start/end counts.
If you raise the pH with something like dolomitic lime, yes, it will dissolve and it will raise pH and it
should also keep it there because it adds alkalinity, then everything ought to be alright.
the ppm continues to drop as well.....
down to 860 now
whers my ppm going and whys the ph dropping so fast?
The microbes are eating the molecules that can be measured via conductivity. PPM is simply a conversion of microSiemens/milliSiemens (uS/cm). Organic molecules are not all conductive the way chemical salts are, so when you're measuring ppm you're really not getting any sort of accurate picture of anything
except whatever molecules can conduct electricity.
With me so far?
So, the microbes are eating and they're probably eating what you're measuring. And then, when they poop it out, you can no longer measure it using ppm/EC. You might be able to measure it as NO3, but right now outside of NH4 input I doubt it. Either way, you've cultured yourself a nice mass of microbes and they're eating to their heads.