Perfect pH?

[Dizzworth]

BTW i swing between 5.4-6.3 in veg and 5.1-6.1 in flower.

If you vote swing please post the swing numbers and your media.

babies are already loving the swing. Thanks for all the info DS

 

[LexLuthor]

I see your point and yes its hard but clearly not impossible. If you know where it landed after adding the nutes its because you are familier with your nutes. If you keep in the back of your mind the concept of alkalinity and how much you start with and how much you add with the nutes it isnt hard to know how much up and or down to add to acheive an acceptable level of PH. You must sacrafice a few bucks and some time to figure these things out, it will help save money and more importantly time later on. A good way to see alkalinity in action is to start with RO water and add a DROP of PH down to it and see what it does. Then raise your ppms by 100 with your nute mix including additives then see how much PH it takes to acheive the same affect as the drop did. It is generally more because as you add nutes you add alkalinity. Keep track of how much more. Then go to 200 ppm and repeat, then 300 and so on. When you reach a high enough ppm you will will see as you stated eventually the nutes themselves will ballance it out. I would suggest to test this all the way untill you are slightly above your desired PPM or EC charting the increase of acid needed to get your desired change each time. If you then repeat this whole process with a PH up at the end of all that pain in the ass testing and charting you will have a great understanding of how nutes affect alkalinity and therefore PH. Once this is masterd as long as you dont change brands of nutes or adjusters you should be able to mix on instinct. If anything new becomes part of your regimine then yes you must figure it all out again however after all the test mixes you should be able to test the PPM or EC right out of the bottle and get a good idea of what it will do to your mix. In essence its all about understanding alkalinty, not PH.

Hahaa, you talk about saving time and money by NOT always using a pH meter, then you go on about how to do "pain in the ass testing" that takes a long time. The amount of growth you lose with out of range pH is worth alot more then a $20 meter.

And your not using your 'instinct'....your just memorizing numbers. Which will in fact not be as accurate as a pH meter because you can never add the exact same amount every time. Also, people use tap water so there pH will sometimes fluctuate before anything is added.

Measuring pH is so fast, cheap and easy I don't see why you would try to memorize the pH of every fertilizer you use. Plus, different amounts of the same nutes will result in a different pH, so thats even more to try and memorize.

If it works for you then keep doing it and good luck, but it takes me only 30 seconds to check my nutrient solutions pH. Just my 2 cents.

 

[midwestdensies]

Great read. Thanks DS for another great contribution.

Has anyone been experimenting any further with testing in ph swings and noticable differences?

 

[Papa]

Are you a phenomenologist as well? lewis is better for the broader community, but it almost seemed like you were leaning more towards merlot-ponty or even hiedegger.

DS

Merleau-Ponty and Heidegger.







:)

 

[Quantum9]

Merleau-Ponty and Heidegger.







:)

God damn papa is the man!

We gotta connect one of these days soon brother.

 

[Doodaa]

I have just started letting ph swing I am on my second grow with a uc and boy have I had my share of troubles it has been an educational experience to say the least.I was running an and started having trouble with ph dropping called an folks they were no help then I found this site and was steered in the rite direction.I had root rot so I ran 10ml/gal of 29%h202 for 24 hrs no nutes then flushed and runing cs nutes and uc roots plus 5ml/gal h202 and my ph starts 5.5 with 500 ppm and over 7-8 days it will go to6.0 and 250 ppm I am in week 7 flower.I tried higher ppm but the plants didn't use as much as at lower ppm.I also gotta ad this is only my 3rd hydro gro have been in pots for 2 years before this.Everyday is something new.

 

[Papa]

God damn papa is the man!

We gotta connect one of these days soon brother.

in all fairness bro, . . . . i had to look at the bookshelf to get Merleau-Ponty right. lol

 

[Quantum9]

haha... freeking spell check thinking he is a deep red...

 

[Growboy]

bump

 

[midwestdensies]

Bump for people trying to learn

 

[DapperDon]

Bumping just because it feels good this morning...:joyful:

 

[FlyinJStable]

when I 1st hit the farm I thought a knew a little bit about growing.
Two days of reading on @desertsquirrel @Seamaiden and alternative nutes thread
I realized I didn't know Sitz . . . . . .
Open minded enough to know I don't know is a good place to start
@squiggly Thank you too for great science and shared experiences,
I grow in passive Hydro IE hempy style and I like the PH swing from 5.5 to 6.2
IMHO the rise of the PH says exchange is occurring
and the look of the plant tells me if its happy with what it is given . . . . .
This is what works for me . . . . .more over I should say,,
it is what works for my plant,
at this time,
under this light,
at this temp,
with this amount of RH, today.....
who knows what I will learn tomorrow. . . .
FWIW this thread started in 2011 and is as rockin today as it was then
Peace and Good Vibes
always learning farmer
FlyJ

 

[Gnostic]

I have often heard of this mythical "perfect" or even "stable" pH. However this approach has failed me both practically as well as theoretically.

Practically i documented running a static pH at the start of the thread "UC actual available nutrient profiles" and it was a nightmare. Link:


Deficiencies right and left as well as constant attention to and lowering of the pH to hold it stable. In general i see a correlation between pH rise and ec reduction to a tune of .5-.6 pH rise/.25-.3 reduction in EC over each 24 hour period.

Which brings me to theory. Initially i rely upon the pH rise to do 2 things. First the rise tells me that the plants are both removing acids (nutes) as well expelling hydroxyls, both of which raise pH. Also, working with the natural swing, allows the solution to cycle through the entire spectrum of essential elements optimal uptake point; as illustrated in the chart below:

So, my question is, if it exists, what does "perfect pH" mean to you?

5.8 up to 6.1 over 5 days adjust back down change out re nute every 7 days . like Tex I don't feed heavy .8 to 1.4 ec
nutrilife ABC powders with a few boosters and beanies.

never a deficiency and if there is I F'ed up

don't get mad get high!