PH A Basic explanation

[Frostie069]

Yea thats why your ph is not stable… citric acid reacts with bicarbonate to produce carbonic acid and then is off gasses as co2. Thats why citric acid will not work for hydro no matter what the bottke or hydro store guys say to you… its not good for hydro

ok fantastic, looking online now for phosphoric

 

[Aqua Man]

Also the hardness is a touch low so if you have trouble maintaining stability just let me know but the phosphoric acid should pretty much eliminate your issues

 

[Frostie069]

Yea thats why your ph is not stable… citric acid reacts with bicarbonate to produce carbonic acid and then is off gasses as co2. Thats why citric acid will not work for hydro no matter what the bottke or hydro store guys say to you… its not good for hydro

its actually quite funny, I purchased the ph down because it states underneath the brand (leaders in hydroponics) so I assumed it was good to go in hydro, turns out its actually quite bad! ha

 

[Frostie069]

Also the hardness is a touch low so if you have trouble maintaining stability just let me know but the phosphoric acid should pretty much eliminate your issues

thanks allot mate, I have been thinking, trying, thinking, trying, you get the hang of it, for a few weeks now, hopefully it now gets sorted.
Only other question though aqua if you can be bothered,
My last reservoir change my water climbed and stopped at 7.6, after four or so days it was 7.9, EC started at 1.3 and lowered with the ph rise (a good thing right?) at 1.1EC I topped up the res with some nutrients which lowered the ph to 7.6 and raised the EC to 1.3. the next day I raised EC to 1.4, day after 1.5. Plants have responded well to increased nutrients, growth and colour, I am a bit behind the feeding schedule as I was afraid of overdoing it with nutrients initially, as I am getting a little bit of confidence and getting used to NFT I decided to higher it closer to where they should be.

why? why am I having plants with no curled leaves, no yellowing tips, poor colouring, no growth? how can I have a ph of up to 8.0 and have flat happy leaves, growth, green, no leaf discolouration?
maybe this is an easy answer, but its got me stuffed!

 

[Aqua Man]

thanks allot mate, I have been thinking, trying, thinking, trying, you get the hang of it, for a few weeks now, hopefully it now gets sorted.
Only other question though aqua if you can be bothered,
My last reservoir change my water climbed and stopped at 7.6, after four or so days it was 7.9, EC started at 1.3 and lowered with the ph rise (a good thing right?) at 1.1EC I topped up the res with some nutrients which lowered the ph to 7.6 and raised the EC to 1.3. the next day I raised EC to 1.4, day after 1.5. Plants have responded well to increased nutrients, growth and colour, I am a bit behind the feeding schedule as I was afraid of overdoing it with nutrients initially, as I am getting a little bit of confidence and getting used to NFT I decided to higher it closer to where they should be.

why? why am I having plants with no curled leaves, no yellowing tips, poor colouring, no growth? how can I have a ph of up to 8.0 and have flat happy leaves, growth, green, no leaf discolouration?
maybe this is an easy answer, but its got me stuffed!

Which nutrients are you using? Lower light intensity means less demand maybe part of it

 

[Frostie069]

Which nutrients are you using? Lower light intensity means less demand maybe part of it

H&G aqua flakes
Amino treatment
Roots accelerator
Multizyme
Drip clean

Running MH at 400W at the moment, pumped them up to 600W a week and a half ago, they didn’t like it, been wondering if it’s still to early to pump them up again, node spacing is good so im holding off, trying not to be impatient

 

[Peat_Phreak]

I use citric acid for pH down because it's cheap. Media is peat. It works fine in peat. My pH rises gradually over the grow, but I don't get leaf defects. Starts at 6. Finishes at 7.5. Feeding at 5.5 pH.

It is not recommended for hydro tho. Good thing peat isn't hydro.

 

[Frostie069]

I use citric acid for pH down because it's cheap. Media is peat. It works fine in peat. My pH rises gradually over the grow, but I don't get leaf defects. Starts at 6. Finishes at 7.5. Feeding at 5.5 pH.

It is not recommended for hydro tho. Good thing peat isn't hydro.

cheers mate, can't wait for the shop to open, going to get some different phosphoric ph down shortly. might flush the system for an hour before adding new solution