Closed loop fogponics system question

[smittiac]

Hello!

So I have built a closed loop "fogponics" system and have a question that someone may have figured out.

While running my res at 5.5-6.2 ph I test my immediate runoff to be 7.0+ ph. I have a noticeable nitrogen deficiency happening. I dropped the PH down to 4.5 in the res and my runoff is slowly going under 7, also bringing some nice green back to the leaves.

Does anyone else run a similar system and should I be running my res PH to whatever is needed to get my "root zone" or runoff ph to the 5.5-6.2 range? 4.5 just seems crazy low but if the immidiate ph coming off the fogger is raised by ~1-1.5 to me that would require the adjustment to make the plants optimal in uptake.

I run the res through a chiller to bring it to 68 degrees F and my EC is running ~1.2 to minor tip burn.

 

[Cashmeh]

There is a large grower in Illinois that uses foggers. Yet they are part of their aero system. They spray roots with jets and fog the roots as what they call stage 2 micros.

I didn't know it could be done without the aero part. So yea.. Imma do a deep dive into web and see if it's worth it. Im wondering if I could swap them with my airstones in my RDWC.

 

[smittiac]

There is a large grower in Illinois that uses foggers. Yet they are part of their aero system. They spray roots with jets and fog the roots as what they call stage 2 micros.

I didn't know it could be done without the aero part. So yea.. Imma do a deep dive into web and see if it's worth it. Im wondering if I could swap them with my airstones in my RDWC.

So I did a full run already with it before and had similar issues with the PH. I use a muffin fan and 4"PVC to connect everything. I also use dust collector hoses for the flexible part (in turn the flex hose is a condenser in a way) I collect from the dust collector lines to check PH through the system.

Everything seems to be running over 7 with a res PH of 4.5-5.... I dont really wanna deal with high pressure honestly I would just go coco instead.

I guess my question really is, has anyone noticed that the fog produced is a much higher PH than where it started? like at least +1 or more ie: 6.1 res was running at almost 8 on the condensation runoff. Oh this is again with a 68 degree F res temp, all veg+bloom nutrients and RO water.

 

[Aqua Man]

Your lacking alkalinity resulting in an unstable ph. This is because you are using RO water.

 

[Aqua Man]

Marijuana pH Levels for Growing Weed: A Basic Explanation

OK I'm going to do my best to explain PH since its something that is for the most part greatly misunderstood and can be confusing to new growers and even experienced growers alike. This will explain why we need both ppm and PH meters to give us informed information about PH This will be a...

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[smittiac]

Not sure that is the case considering I'm using the full RO line of vegbloom. Calcium bicarbonate is in there I'm pretty sure which would be what I'm missing in the case you are referring to.

After running the PH way lower things are leveling back down in the root chambers and the runoff is still reflecting similar gaps in PH. I think the atomizer does in fact raise the PH of the solution during delivery. Its holding a steady +2 in the condensed liquid pre root chamber and post in all runoff spots. Weird but this may be the reason people complain certain nutrients aren't delivered via fog.