PH just drops in 9 site UC

[Doodaa]

I am using AN and entering 5th week bloom and I can't get ph to steady anywhere it needs to be.I change nutes and get a 6.1 then 4-5 hrs later down to 5.5 then by lights out it's 4.1.I had root rot in the begining of veg and took care of it with UC roots and ionic nutes then switched to an for bloom.The plants are doing ok but I have to keep adding up on ph like about 10-15 mil/day to keep it up.The roots have a light tan color to them and do have a slight slime,I was told to use an EWC tea?this is my second time with UC first time was no issues now this one has been a battle and this is my 3rd hydro gro.I have H2o2 but just recently found out that might not help my situation.Thanks for any help in advance

 

[HydroRocks]

Usually what will cause a ph drop like you described is a outbreak of micro-biology in the solution. Your nutrient levels might also be to high as well. I would lower your PPM's as well as sterilize the system using a bleach or other sterilizing agent. Once you get the bacteria population or outbreak under control you can resume to a more normal feeding schedule.

What is your source water? Tap, RO or well water? Have you had your water tested?

You should stick with Ionic IMHO as it is a much better suited nutrient for your method of growing which is water culture. The Ionic bloom with the PK Boost is a excellent nutrient system and very ph stable in normal conditions.

The tea is a good suggestion, but I would want to get the existing issue under control before I added anything else to the mix.

Note: Bleach makes a excellent additive at the dosage rate of about 1ml per 10 gallons of water as "maintenance" dose. A known fact is that plants use chlorine in trace amounts. Greenhouses have used bleach for well over 30 years now at least.......

Be Well
HR

 

[Camnibus]

Solution strength or temperature are to high. After whichever is fixed, earthworm casting tea will eat all the bad shit and Ph will stabilize.

 

[Doodaa]

I am running well water with 50ppm out of tap and around 7.5 ph I have been growing 3 yrs with this water,this is my 3rd and most difficult hydro gro and boy am I learning some things. I am draining system down now and will flush with 5ml/gal h202,the an guy said use 15ml/gal but that seems to high any thoughts on that?all the roots in the tubs look the same kinda goldish color.the roots looked like this at the end of my first run.what about some stuff I saw called Mad farmer it's 39%,(kinda scares me lol.)I'd like to be done with this problem thats for sure and so far this has been very helpful

 

[HydroRocks]

The well water could have pathogens in it, which may or may not be a problem. As a general rule of thumb you always want to get your source water tested (especially well water) so you know what your dealing with and you can then begin to develop a "nutrient profile" for your environment and conditions. Takes the guess work out of the equation you could say.

If this is your 3rd grow in the same system, then probably what has happened is there is a buildup of the organic compounds (sludge) and other decaying organic material like dead root ends, ect...that has built up on the inside of the walls of the plumbing.

One thing you can use to help prevent or slow this build up that can lead to problems is by using a enzyme treatment as well as a ACT type tea that will supply house keeping type bacteria.

A good product to use and is especially designed for hydroponic systems is a product called Z7 made by flying skull plant nutrients. It is a 2 part product (A&B) and one bottle contains the enzymes and the 2nd bottle has the specially selected bacteria. Good stuff and very concentrated so it is affordable.

The other thing is to limit the organic inputs that you use during your grows.

And finally a complete cleaning and sterilizing of the system between grows is a must. This usually means taking the system apart to clean all the hard to reach spots where bacteria and sludge can hide.

The H202 suggested for use is 29% and used at a rate of around 3ml to 5ml per gallon used every 7 to 10 days as a maintenance dose. More can be used but that is the highest I like to use. The 39% H202 from Mad Farmer is probably a better value and the dosage would be lower. I prefer bleach as it is cheaper, easier to get than H202 29% or higher and very effective. The H202 can be difficult to get for some people if you do not have a local source as it is a hazard to ship which is expensive.

I am sure you already know but you can not use H202 or any other sterilizing agent if your going to use a tea or a "live" product as that would be counter productive and a waste of products.

What you can do though is develop a schedule where you drain and refill the system on a 7 to 14 day cycle. You add your inoculates at the start of the week, then the day before you drain and refill the tanks, you apply the H202 or other sterilizing agent to kill off everything. The following day you drain and refill the tanks and inoculate again. Keep repeating this cycle until harvest.

This is one of many ways to maintain a "balanced" tank of not only the nutrients but also the biology needed to process the organic compounds in your formula as well.

Be Well
HR

 

[Doodaa]

The well water could have pathogens in it, which may or may not be a problem. As a general rule of thumb you always want to get your source water tested (especially well water) so you know what your dealing with and you can then begin to develop a "nutrient profile" for your environment and conditions. Takes the guess work out of the equation you could say.

If this is your 3rd grow in the same system, then probably what has happened is there is a buildup of the organic compounds (sludge) and other decaying organic material like dead root ends, ect...that has built up on the inside of the walls of the plumbing.

One thing you can use to help prevent or slow this build up that can lead to problems is by using a enzyme treatment as well as a ACT type tea that will supply house keeping type bacteria.

A good product to use and is especially designed for hydroponic systems is a product called Z7 made by flying skull plant nutrients. It is a 2 part product (A&B) and one bottle contains the enzymes and the 2nd bottle has the specially selected bacteria. Good stuff and very concentrated so it is affordable.

The other thing is to limit the organic inputs that you use during your grows.

And finally a complete cleaning and sterilizing of the system between grows is a must. This usually means taking the system apart to clean all the hard to reach spots where bacteria and sludge can hide.

The H202 suggested for use is 29% and used at a rate of around 3ml to 5ml per gallon used every 7 to 10 days as a maintenance dose. More can be used but that is the highest I like to use. The 39% H202 from Mad Farmer is probably a better value and the dosage would be lower. I prefer bleach as it is cheaper, easier to get than H202 29% or higher and very effective. The H202 can be difficult to get for some people if you do not have a local source as it is a hazard to ship which is expensive.

I am sure you already know but you can not use H202 or any other sterilizing agent if your going to use a tea or a "live" product as that would be counter productive and a waste of products.

What you can do though is develop a schedule where you drain and refill the system on a 7 to 14 day cycle. You add your inoculates at the start of the week, then the day before you drain and refill the tanks, you apply the H202 or other sterilizing agent to kill off everything. The following day you drain and refill the tanks and inoculate again. Keep repeating this cycle until harvest.

This is one of many ways to maintain a "balanced" tank of not only the nutrients but also the biology needed to process the organic compounds in your formula as well.

Be Well
HR

thank you that info is a big help.I think I wasn't as thorough as I should have been with the cleaning of the system and now I'm paying for it.I drained system down flushed and added just h202 and gonna run that for 12 hrs it's been an hour and ph is still 6.1 same as when it was done filling.I am off to get ionic bloom and some pk booster and some castings as well

 

[squiggly]

Just wanted to jump in and confirm the suggestion about bleach.

All living things need a bit of chlorine. Chloride ions are particularly important for maintaining a charge gradient in certain cells (more important for animals, but plants need to do this as well).

 

[Doodaa]

not sure if all set or not just yet but this last 36 hrs have been the best my ph has been steady going up and down between 5.6 and 6.3 and the plants used about 5-7 gals from res.I ended up running h202 at 5ml/gal for about 16hrs then I drained down filled and drained once more then used cultured solutions with uc roots and also tried hydro rush at 1.5ml/gal and the plants are looking better leaves are curving up nice and stiff looking I also added 5ml clorox to system which is 70gal.only thing is the ppms are high now 1230 they were 920 before the hydro rush

 

[HydroRocks]

Dont sweat the extra PPM's as that is from the HydroRush.

HydroRush has components in it that will be detected by your EC meter to cause this higher reading. Take a reading after you get all your nutrients mixed and make a note of what it is, then add your dose of HydroRush last, and then note the difference in PPM's. Doing this will make sure you can still take accurate readings to monitor the progress of how much nutrients are being consumed by your plants. It is good to make a chart with a calendar or something and mark daily levels. The more details you include the better and you will soon see a pattern emerge that will greatly help you tailor and "tweak" your nutrient profile and feeding schedules, when to drain, ect...

The only thing to worry about with HydroRush is that it will make the Nitrogen more available, which can be unwanted later in flowering cycles.

Couple of notes: you would not need to add bleach if your using UC Roots, but if you do I would cut that dosage in half at least, unless you start to notice a problem again.

Also, it is really counter productive to run HydroRush and UC Roots or Bleach. HydroRush works by providing a food source for bacteria and microbes, which will in turn induce the growth of bacteria like nitrogen fixing bacteria specifically which makes the nitrogen more dominant or available to the plants....oxygen is also one of the "by-products" produced by the micro-biology.

UC Roots and other sterilizing agents like H202 or bleach will kill off any bacteria in the solution.......

Sounds like your back on track, or at least on your way!

Be Well
HR

 

[Amber]

not sure if all set or not just yet but this last 36 hrs have been the best my ph has been steady going up and down between 5.6 and 6.3 and the plants used about 5-7 gals from res.I ended up running h202 at 5ml/gal for about 16hrs then I drained down filled and drained once more then used cultured solutions with uc roots and also tried hydro rush at 1.5ml/gal and the plants are looking better leaves are curving up nice and stiff looking I also added 5ml clorox to system which is 70gal.only thing is the ppms are high now 1230 they were 920 before the hydro rush

The UC Roots is a great product.

 

[Capulator]

cut your ppms in half.

 

[Doodaa]

I found some slimey spots on 2 plants one was maybe size of a quarter about 2" down from bottom of pot removed that then found bottoms of some roots in another pot slimey so removed them.the plants look much better now that PH has stabalized it's 6.5 now.I am going to change out some of the water and bring ppms down but they used about 3 gal last night out of res.I had a feeling that with all stuff going in something was going to cancell another out.I guess no bennies if running uc roots

 

[HydroRocks]

IMHO I think you would be better off running sterilizing agents for a while until you know the problem is gone. It can be a task trying to get the inoculates to establish a colony when there is already known pathogens established. You either need to go all out with biology warfare or clean house of all biology and start fresh by sterilizing the system......

Since you are in the middle of a grow cycle, you can not really start fresh per say, not 100% anyhow, so it maybe is a better idea to use UC Roots and H202 for the rest of the cycle and try to remain as sterile as possible. UC Roots and the CS nutrients are super clean so you should do well with that combo and the sterile approach anyhow.

The plants are eating and doing well if your seeing a drop in PPM levels and a rise in ph as you described. If the ph starts to climb to quickly then increase your nutrient levels by about 200PPM at a time waiting at least 24 hours in between until the PH starts to level out and not climb so high so quickly.

A "floating" ph level within the accepted ranges (Hydro- 5.2 - 6.4) will produce the most healthiest plants. So the idea is to mix your nutrient at the appropriate levels and then you ph low to 5.2 and let it float up slowly to 6.4......as the plants uptake the nutrients through the root system, they will release a ion back into the water that will cause the wanted very slow rise in ph.

Note: The plants will be more tolerable to lower ph levels as I have seen it go down to 4.7 and the plants did not skip a beat......go higher up in the PH range though and the leaves will twist and deficiencies will begin to show up on the leaves.

If you do tweak the levels, just make sure you wait enough time in between making changes and make your changes VERY SLOW and gradual.

Be Well
HR

 

[woodsmaneh]

I am using AN and entering 5th week bloom and I can't get ph to steady anywhere it needs to be.I change nutes and get a 6.1 then 4-5 hrs later down to 5.5 then by lights out it's 4.1.I had root rot in the begining of veg and took care of it with UC roots and ionic nutes then switched to an for bloom.The plants are doing ok but I have to keep adding up on ph like about 10-15 mil/day to keep it up.The roots have a light tan color to them and do have a slight slime,I was told to use an EWC tea?this is my second time with UC first time was no issues now this one has been a battle and this is my 3rd hydro gro.I have H2o2 but just recently found out that might not help my situation.Thanks for any help in advance

Not sure what you mean by that. H2O2 has been used for decades in agriculture and is still used today. I started using it after my first slime attack and it is very effective. I don't run Bennies so I use H2O2 every week and have never had issues. My buddy has had root issues with his and I just go over and hit them with a 5% solution and in 4 or 5 days life is good. Most uses of H2O2 are at 3% dilution (do not use store bought 3% it's NFG for what you want) I buy mine at 35% and mix it to what I need. I use the H2O2 to clean my systems also it does a great job and any residual does not harm the plants. I suggest you do some more research on using H2O2.
Here is some to start.

http://www.jasons-indoor-guide-to-organic-and-hydroponics-gardening.com/using-hydrogen-peroxide.html

Firstly, 35% peroxide is caustic and should be treated with the same caution as a strong acid. 35% strength hydrogen peroxide should bereadily available at any quality hydroponics supply shop. The stronger concentrations do not use the added stabilizers.

The recommended dosage is to add 2-3 ml to each gallon of water, however, I use 5 ml per gallon and have never had any problems. At every nutrient change treat your fresh water using hydrogen peroxide. The general idea is to let the hydroponics system circulate the hydrogen peroxide solution for about a half hour to let the peroxide work against pathogens and to let the solution stabilize before adding your nutrients.

The beneficial effects of using hydrogen peroxide last about 4 days. There are some gardeners who add a little peroxide to their nutrient reservoirs every 5 days in between nutrient changes. If you decide to do this, stick to the guidelines and always make sure your solution is thoroughly mixed before exposing your plants roots to it. Another option is to top off your nutrient reservoir with peroxide treated water whenever it is low.

 

[Doodaa]

just found powdery mildew on a cpl plants,would that have somethin to do with issues I,m having?I have been adding h202 with new water my ph holds steady for about 24-36 hrs then starts to drop and I'll have to add 5 ml up a day just entering week 6 flower