Waterlogged
- 20
- 3
+1Not enough buffering. Gotta use PH up
mix with tap water.Hello, I am new to this form and this is my 1st post hoping I can get some answers. I have a 30 gallon reservoir using r/o water and I'm doing drain to waste. The big problem is my ph is dropping drastically just sitting in the reservoir circulating, it goes from 5.8 to 3.8 in 3 days and I can't figure out why, I am using nutrients at about 800 ppm, any advice would be appreciated, thank you in advance.
how are you circulating the solution? venturi pump? submersible just sitting in the res? air pumps?So I'm using botanicare products, and I ph to 5.8 and it goes to 4.0 within two days, doing drain to waste using r/o and about a gallon of city water to get the r/o to 80 ppm then add nutrients to 800, it just sits there circulating and drops every day fast. Hope I answered your questions, if ya need more details please ask and I will give them, I can not figure this out. Thank you for any input.
Are you using ph up to bring it back up in range?Thank you for the replys, I am using just a submersible pump, I fill it with r/o first then tap water to i hit 75 ppm then I add cal mag then botanicare some liquid karma, floralishous and moab, then ph it to 5.8. two days later its at 4.0 just sitting in the res. Using 315's. Temp 70 humid 50, If ya need more info let me know please and thank you.
Make sure your Reservoir is coveredSo I'm using botanicare products, and I ph to 5.8 and it goes to 4.0 within two days, doing drain to waste using r/o and about a gallon of city water to get the r/o to 80 ppm then add nutrients to 800, it just sits there circulating and drops every day fast. Hope I answered your questions, if ya need more details please ask and I will give them, I can not figure this out. Thank you for any input.
And when it drops add ph up. You might find using ph up after it drops will stabilize it somewhat.Just down, after r/o and nutrients its like 6.8 and I bring it to 5.8
Im confused. A couple posts ago you said ph down only.I use ph up everyday does not stabilize, res is not covered but light is not hitting it, its under a table
I put r/o in then i put tap water in till I hit about 70 to 80 ppm, my ph then is 6.8 then I put cal mag and the rest of my nutrients in and I'm at about 6.4 then I bring it down to 5.8, then for the 1st day or two it shoots back up to 6.8 then it drops every day into the 4's and I have to bring it back up with ph up, and I do see cloudiness and white filmy crap on the bottom and I don't have a lid on res maybe a little bit of light gets in but hardly any.there's some obvious confusion in basic chemistry as well here. Sit down at your desk and pull out your notepad. This is important.
Never add a base to an acid. That's how you get volatile reactions. You always go basic then acidic. Not the other way.
The reason for this is say you have a solution of 4.0 at 800ppm. You decide to dump some potassium carbonate into the solution to raise the pH. Now, you see this shit floating in the solution and settling in the bottom of your res. This is called "crashing out." You've just create precipitates and completely destroyed the viability of those previously suspended minerals to be consumed by the plant. Not to mention, you've also introduced the potential for wild pH swings.
Now, let's go back to a link I posted earlier. I'll cliff note it here since there's obviously problems with following links and reading. I get it, it's hard to read these days. Can't make a tiktok or youtube video for yall, so this will have to suffice.
If you don't have potassium silicate, you should start with potassium carbonate. Add ~75ppm to your base water. This will be your buffer. You should have a pH of 9+. Let mix thoroughly. Now, add your pH up, likely phosphopric acid, and let mix thoroughly. Your target is 6.5. Proceed with adding your calmag and let mix five minutes or so, then proceed adding each individual nutrient part and allowing to mix five minutes each. Once everything's added and mixed, bring your pH to your target. You should have a stable pH.
The reason you add the base is because it prevents the acid from running rampant and nose diving like you're seeing. without the alkalinity the acid will do what acids do, and just keep driving the pH down.
Now, if your pH continues to dive after adding an alkaline buffer, then you've got bacteria issues and should be adding some kind of sterilizing agent since there's already a bacterial culture established and trying to use hydroguard or other beneficial bacteria simply won't take hold.
Never add a base to an acid. That's how you get volatile reactions. You always go basic then acidic. Not the other way.I put r/o in then i put tap water in till I hit about 70 to 80 ppm, my ph then is 6.8 then I put cal mag and the rest of my nutrients in and I'm at about 6.4 then I bring it down to 5.8, then for the 1st day or two it shoots back up to 6.8 then it drops every day into the 4's and I have to bring it back up with ph up, and I do see cloudiness and white filmy crap on the bottom and I don't have a lid on res maybe a little bit of light gets in but hardly any.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?