Problems problems problems

[Dizzworth]

I'm confident and saying I know what I'm doing in uc. I am having problems with a specific locatin and after getting down to every trial and error problem I'm thinking its my water that could be causing me the problem. I live in the mountains where we have great water. 40-60 ppm. but my problem is my ph is at 7.8. what is up with that? At every other house who myself and friends are running their ph is right around 7 and for some reason in my area we have a higher ph. every other place the water and nutrients are doing what they are suppost to do and raise but at this place with the high ph all I get is down down down..please someone chime in that knows about water quality and tell me what they think cause I'm going crAzy! Thanks

 

[313131]

Maybe the old pipes are raising the ph maybe its w/e your village is using to sterilize the water.
are you growing Soil or hydro?
if you know the ph is around 7.8 why not add some supplements to lower it.

 

[Dizzworth]

Maybe the old pipes are raising the ph maybe its w/e your village is using to sterilize the water.
are you growing Soil or hydro?
if you know the ph is around 7.8 why not add some supplements to lower it.

Well this is a undercurrent section...but yes hydro. I down the ph to what it needs to be..around 5.4. And trying to let it swing normally back to 6.4 as most systems do. But when i down it to 5.4 the next day its at 4.8

 

[Simple]

I'm confident and saying I know what I'm doing in uc. I am having problems with a specific locatin and after getting down to every trial and error problem I'm thinking its my water that could be causing me the problem. I live in the mountains where we have great water. 40-60 ppm. but my problem is my ph is at 7.8. what is up with that? At every other house who myself and friends are running their ph is right around 7 and for some reason in my area we have a higher ph. every other place the water and nutrients are doing what they are suppost to do and raise but at this place with the high ph all I get is down down down..please someone chime in that knows about water quality and tell me what they think cause I'm going crAzy! Thanks

Where is your water source? A spring? a river? pond? if its from the community it can be a number of fluctuation problems. If you know the source, then look around it... Like what trees are around it? Often times spring water can vary do to the trees around it and the health of those trees and what those trees are having to filter around it. Also im sure your in a place where there are a lot of growers? Either way do you know what your neighbors are putting in their water? These types of variables are what is most likely your problem. All can be easily solved...

Check it, I myself have had many of water trial and errors being in the mountains hahaha. So I may be able to help.
If you have the tools, and if you have the acres.. Dig a water capturing pond that you use specifically for your indoor. Put trees around it on each axis as to filter all potential runoff water going into it and the trees will keep the water stable. Put a bubbler, fish and some food grade pvc in it (fish like pipes and stuff like that, it calms them down, seriously) then youll get great stable healthy water, that is also different from your neighbors making the opportunity for better price points :D

IF you dont have the room for the stuff outside, simply buying a very large res can accomplish the stability you seek. A good rule of thumb I go by is to have a res twice the size of your full capacity of the full volume of all your containers. Dont bubble that res.... circulate it... put a small pump with a small hose that circulates the water juuuuuust above the res water line. Then either use a very small amount of the compost tea/earth tea in it. do not put a lot cause it will start to raise. a little will only fluctuate a few points if at all which shouldnt be a problem with you feeding your plants and then filling the big res back up with more fresh water. You could even add goldfish and basically forget your nutes.... let me know what your situation is man... hope this helped

 

[MakinGoo]

Here is a great thread on ph swing

https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/perfect-ph.39118/

 

[UCMENOW]

When adjsuting the pH down with acid, you are likely getting an initial reading indicating you've brought the pH down. But sometimes it can continue to drift in the direction of the adjustment as the chemistry stabilizes.
Also sounds like you are likely dosing at slightly too high of a ppm/EC which can cause the pH drop.

Also, what nute are you using and at what concentrations?

 

[Dizzworth]

When adjsuting the pH down with acid, you are likely getting an initial reading indicating you've brought the pH down. But sometimes it can continue to drift in the direction of the adjustment as the chemistry stabilizes.
Also sounds like you are likely dosing at slightly too high of a ppm/EC which can cause the pH drop.

Also, what nute are you using and at what concentrations?

I'm using canna a b. cal mag, and dm zone. it doesn't seem as my strengh is too high because it will eat 30-50 ppm a night. I do agree with you and I am being very cautious when it comes to adding ph down and letting it mix well. I left it at 6.0 with 450 ppm last night and the ph stayed the same and ppms went down to 400. thanks for the input UC. Ill keep you posted

 

[Dizzworth]

Where is your water source? A spring? a river? pond? if its from the community it can be a number of fluctuation problems. If you know the source, then look around it... Like what trees are around it? Often times spring water can vary do to the trees around it and the health of those trees and what those trees are having to filter around it. Also im sure your in a place where there are a lot of growers? Either way do you know what your neighbors are putting in their water? These types of variables are what is most likely your problem. All can be easily solved...

Check it, I myself have had many of water trial and errors being in the mountains hahaha. So I may be able to help.
If you have the tools, and if you have the acres.. Dig a water capturing pond that you use specifically for your indoor. Put trees around it on each axis as to filter all potential runoff water going into it and the trees will keep the water stable. Put a bubbler, fish and some food grade pvc in it (fish like pipes and stuff like that, it calms them down, seriously) then youll get great stable healthy water, that is also different from your neighbors making the opportunity for better price points :D

IF you dont have the room for the stuff outside, simply buying a very large res can accomplish the stability you seek. A good rule of thumb I go by is to have a res twice the size of your full capacity of the full volume of all your containers. Dont bubble that res.... circulate it... put a small pump with a small hose that circulates the water juuuuuust above the res water line. Then either use a very small amount of the compost tea/earth tea in it. do not put a lot cause it will start to raise. a little will only fluctuate a few points if at all which shouldnt be a problem with you feeding your plants and then filling the big res back up with more fresh water. You could even add goldfish and basically forget your nutes.... let me know what your situation is man... hope this helped

Thanks for the input simple!

 

[Texas Kid]

ph your static top off res/drum and keep it stable at 6.0...that will take away the dramatic swing in your buckets..

My mountain water was exactly what yours is, are you up around Carter lake..lol,,j/k 48ppm and 7.8-8.0 ph....I ph'd big volumes of water and then used that as my source, not strait from the tap

 

[woodsmaneh]

My take on this is: your issue is low ppm's to start with, very hard to stabilize your Ph and keep it there with that low PPM. This also happens to be a classic issue for people who use just RO water to feed. So here is some information you might try

Squiggg any comments on the chemistry part?

How to buffer reverse osmosis water
Here is a great tip for those who use reverse osmosis water to buffer your water and help stabilize pH. There are two ways, both efficient.



- For those who prefer simplicity, all you have to do is add 20% tap water to your reverse osmosis water.
- For the purists who do not want to use tap water, or whose water is particularly bad, here are two easy steps:
1 – First increase your pH up to 10.0 with pH Up or potassium carbonate
2 – Then bring it down to 6.0 with pH Down
In both cases you’ll obtain water well adapted to hydroponic nutritive solutions, while avoiding untimely pH fluctuations.
You need to raise pH first because the “buffer” elements have a very high pH or very low pH. You can start by adding acid, but then you will need pH up to raise your pH.
You need to buffer R.O. water simply because pure water has no buffering capacity. It is subject to big swings in pH every time you add something to the solution, making it unsuited for cultivation. Using pure R.O. is a classic source of failure.

If you’re using reverse osmosis water, add 50-100 ppm of Cal/Mg; this helps to buffer your water so nutrients absorb better. From Advanced Nutrients site http://www.rosebudmag.com/hydroponic-tips-ideas/insider-tips-for-maximum-yield-in-urban-garden

What happens is that the basic/alkaline components (mainly calcium) that are responsible for the high PH (as in 7.3 or 7.6) also buffer it together with the more neutral components. As soon as you add SOME acid, the basic elements neutralize it in 24 hours, but loose some potency, respectively get eliminated partially within the "reaction". If you repeat that process, the alkaline components- and their buffer capacity get lower and lower until the alkaline buffer is "gone". The "last" time you add ph-down/acid to your water, it will drop drastically to perhaps under 5. This mostly happens when a week PH down is used repeatedly. With Nitric acid at 75 or 95 %, this will not happen, it will get the alkaline elements down in one shot. But that is the stuff that burns through concrete floors like alien blood and it's truly not everyone's cup of tea. If ever you can lay hand on it in the US without an explosive license. ;-)
PH of boiled water of 8.4 after 13 hours of boiling is "normal" because you evaporate lots of water, while calcium and other alkaline elements (already responsible for the high pH) remain in the water and hence will be present in higher concentration and push up the pH. There may also be some chemical reaction and transformation within these 13 hours of boiling, I don't know of.
Nutrients generally lower and buffer a certain pH, that's what any mineral composition with an acidic sum, added and dissolved in water does anyway. NUTRIENTS are actually made to lower the PH, as the usual 7+ is not suited. The only difference is that some manufacturers point this out explicitly while others don't. Some manufacturers may indeed add some more of specific components like mono potassium phosphate that helps lowering and buffering such Ph, but that's pretty much it. As a side effect (when running higher EC) you may have excessive Phosphorus that will result in Ca deficiency.
But in this context it is important to know that a higher nutrient concentration will lower the pH more than a weaker ratio. Hence in some cases it's not a bad idea to simply (slightly) increase the nutrient concentration by a click or two. It's also a reason why some manufacturers recommend higher concentrations as needed, and some commercial growers push the nutrient concentration higher.
If the PH of the base water is too high, most nutrients can't bring it down to around 6 and that's (only) where pH down- as in acids or other components are required. In ANY case it is always best to have, use or get water that is around and not (much) over 7.
RO water is fine, but take care what nutrients you use, as with some extra acidic nutrients (many are developed with areas in mind that have an excessive amount of calcium carbonate in the (well)water) you may end up with an unwanted but extraordinary low PH as well.

Attention, Ph and EC are interconnected, EC reading of a nutrient solution will not be the same at PH 5.0 as it is at 7.0!