Keeping pH stable in rez

[mellofello]

At the moment I'm having to keep a check on the pH of my rez every day or at most every other. I'm using canna coco range with boost etc. I'm also using their grow pH-. I find if I check the next day it has often risen too high.

I know that I have very hard water in my area but I can't install a RO water unit here. Is there anything else I can do to get a more stable pH. Really I'd like to be able to leave it for atleast 3 days at a time.

peace

mello

 

[REGISTRD]

unfortunatly there really is no solution...Ive used the hardwater micro before and it seems to stabilize it alot better but still a problem... The PH will rise in hardwater overnight...unless you got an automated setup that can monitor and add as necessary

 

[HypnoToad]

Actually this chemist who dabbles in Hydroponics has a blog that breaks down hydroponic principals unlike any other reading I've done online. But one of his articles talks about how he uses Baking soda and citric acid to make a self buffering nutrient solution.

Here's the link to the article:

http://allhydroponics.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-ph-balancing-system-for-hydroponic.html

I have never tried this, but intend to.

Peace,
HT

 

[Rolln J]

one thing that could help is an airstone or a small pump that comes on for 10 minutes every few hours to aerate and keep your nutes mixed...

when you do add ph down to your res dilute it in a few gallons of water and I have also had a bit of success with gh hardwater micro. anything more then 2 days though and your gonna get drift. I like to addback diluted nute mx to my res every 2 days with a bit of extra ph down - I change out my res every 10 days.

a small amount of drift is good...

I also know somebody who doesn't use ro, never changes the res and gives them a set nutrient schedule every time, never plain water in between and uses not a single thing beside ph down, micro, grow and bloom and rocks it constanly!

 

[mellofello]

Thanks for the replies guys. I forgot to mention that I'm running my nutes drip to waste, not sure if that makes a difference. I've tried using an air stone but I find that it seems to speed up the rise in pH.

I can't install an RO filter into my plumbing but is there a way of using an RO filter and a regular tap?

peace

mello

 

[FastForward]

MF -

I've had this problem repeatedly. Do you have an airstone in your res? If so, that, coupled with the Rhizotonic and hard water will cause pH rises. If you just bubble your hard water overnight, it will rise from pH 7 to pH 8.5ish. I found the best solution was to remove the airstone and replace it with a waterpump to keep the res moving. Another thing to do is to add H&G Root Excelurator instead of Rhizotonic because it has a much higher dilution ratio (0.3ml/l) so you put a lot less in your mix, and therefore less pH effect.

Also FWIW I find that the B'Cuzz nutes are really pH stable with my water. They rise a bit, but nothing like the Canna stuff did.

HTH

FF

 

[HypnoToad]

Maybe this will help?

or this?

http://www.purewaterclub.com/

HT
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009FJ1RY/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

 

[mellofello]

Hey FF hows it going buddy, thanks for the tips. I wondered about trying different nutes. I've read those plant magic coco nutes are quite stable in pH.

peace

mello

 

[yezmar420]

Here you go...

http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/ro-counter-detail.htm

just screw it in and you are done, works like a charm...I never PH problems unless I'm messing with organics and stuff...clean water is the key.

 

[greenthumbdanny]

Your PH swings are a huge problem bro.
This is what to do.
Now- how to control your PH...
There are a couple factors that cause your PH to drift. The most common is running the nute solution too strong or too weak. If it's too strong, your PH drops. If it's too weak the PH rises. You have to find the balance point. If you find that your nute recipe is say, a little strong, and say you have a 20 gallon ressy, mix the nutes for 18 gallons. If it's a little weak, mix it for 22 gallons. You follow?
The other common mistake is mixing your nutrient solution and trying to adjust the PH right away. You have to allow time for the ph buffers in the nutrient solution to do their job. Mix the nutes up, and bubble or circulate for 12 hours before even looking at your PH. You will find the PH to be almost right on target.
I use little or no ph adjusters. (Except during flush). I use tap water, with a starting PPM of 300-400 and a starting PH of 7.4-9.0 (Thats crazy you say! The water is too hard, you will never get stable PH and you will have too much Ca, causing a lockout of Mg!) Bollocks I say.
Every week, on Friday I drain the ressy and fill with plain water. I let that run overnight giving the plants a little flush. This also allows the chlorine and ammonia to evap. On Saturday morning, I mix the nutes into the ressy. I DO NOT adjust ph at this time. Let that run as is overnight. On Sunday morning, I check ph and adjust if needed. Usually don't have to.
Doing things this way has saved me from constant PH drifts, and using about 150 ml of ph down every ressy change, and a little here and there throughout the week to keep it in the desired range. Now, the most I ever have to use is about 30 ml.if any at all. (I have a 100 gallon ressy btw) My Ph stays at a constant 5.5-5.8.


Another thing to keep in mind...
Your ph can flux strongly depending on your system so its important to get that dialed in along with what your strain likes and can handle..
Its not good to just keep dumping in chemicals to maintain your ph at 5.8 let it drift as low as 5.2 - 6.0 that way your plants can get everything available to it. When I see my shit fluxuate low then high I know my ladies are absorbing nutrients properly. Make sure your nutrient temp is around 68-72 deg this is important as well.. Especially if you are doing DWC At 78 deg you will get pythium.

GTD

 

[greenthumbdanny]

Thanks for the replies guys. I forgot to mention that I'm running my nutes drip to waste, not sure if that makes a difference. I've tried using an air stone but I find that it seems to speed up the rise in pH.

I can't install an RO filter into my plumbing but is there a way of using an RO filter and a regular tap?

peace

mello

They have RO units that hook up to your garden hose bro..

:passingjoint:

GTD

 

[budfarmer]

I would like to find an R.O. that would work for me but units like Hydrologic 200 for example need to piss over 500 gallons of water down the drain to fill a 100 gallon Res. This is fine if you are drawing water from a creek and returning the excess to the creek but rediculess otherwise.

 

[Rolln J]

i though ro units wasted 1/5 of water ie: 100 gallons for every 500 gallons produced.

that would be all bad to put that shit back into the creek, its toxic...

 

[convex]

Portable countertop units are available, an example:

http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/ro-counter-detail.htm

Cheers!

 

[ismokepot]

I have used the above countertop unit for over 2 years now and it's great....... I produce around 20 gallons of r.o. water every afternoon and I've never had a single problem with it- other than changing the filters once in a while.

 

[mellofello]

Thanks for the links to table top and portable units. That connector looks interesting. I think there is a tap near enough I can hook it up to.

I'm abit put off about having to waste that much water.

units like Hydrologic 200 for example need to piss over 500 gallons of water down the drain to fill a 100 gallon Res.

so is it 5 times the amount of RO water output

i though ro units wasted 1/5 of water ie: 100 gallons for every 500 gallons produced.

or just 1/5th? Makes a pretty big difference. I'd love to hear from your experience on this ismoke

peace

mello

 

[lollipopman]

i bought a ro from worms way, best one they had, it sucks for every 4 gallons i got 1 clean gallon, its slow took like 24hrs to get 30 clean gallons so i wasted 120 gallons, my ppm straight from tap was 228.... ro are a big waste of money.......

 

[audius]

i was having the same troubel at first using tap water but i started to geather rain water & buy distilled water from wallmart,,ph stays pretty stabel now

 

[Rolln J]

i bought a ro from worms way, best one they had, it sucks for every 4 gallons i got 1 clean gallon, its slow took like 24hrs to get 30 clean gallons so i wasted 120 gallons, my ppm straight from tap was 228.... ro are a big waste of money.......

wow that does suck- Im on a well and I just run a 2 stage filter - didnt realize the RO wasted so much water and that water it does supposedly toxic... joy

 

[cemchris]

Botanicare has a good amount of pH buffers in it. Likes to plant its foot right around 6.0 with RO.

Also Silica will help keep your PH stable.

One thing about a pump. They work better then airstones IMO but if you don't use a rez chiller mount the pump outside the rez. Will easily jack the temp up mid to high 70's if left running 24/7. Temp plays a very important roll in ph. Swings of 5 to 10 degrees (F) I've seen knock it a good .3 to .5. Rez chillers are your friend when it comes to hydroponics. Just like RO. I've seen H&G nutes not even move .1 over 7 days with RO.