vinegar for ph down

[bmvortex81]

Hi farmers I am currently using vinegar for a ph down cause I'm out of normal downer and the ph constantly keeps rising will this always occur or will it eventually even out when it finds its happy medium? Is there anything else I can use as a ph down? A big thank you

 

[Cort]

Some Bloom nutes hygrozyme will drop ph. Stability and EC might be a concern, depending on how much added.

 

[TALLDOG]

Am interested in the answers you get. Liquid PH down.. by Gen Hydroponics... is crazy expensive when you start thinking about what your paying per gallon... It might have a dose of "unatainium" that causes the price to go up? Are there any draw backs from using vinegar? The single reason I can think of now is printed on the side of my PH down (bottle / bag (have a 2.2 lb bag of ph down... was cheaper))... "High Quality Buffers"... These are added to keep your PH stable... even with this... I have to adjust PH everyday.... I buffer down to 5.4 to 5.8...and the next day...it's 7.1 to 7.3... everyday.??

 

[Seamaiden]

Hi farmers I am currently using vinegar for a ph down cause I'm out of normal downer and the ph constantly keeps rising will this always occur or will it eventually even out when it finds its happy medium? Is there anything else I can use as a ph down? A big thank you

If your source water is alkaline, defined as resistant to pH shift, then it's really more a matter of finding out how much you need to use to get it to stay constant than anything else.

 

[Cort]

Advanced nutes ph up/down is crazy concentrated at not much higher cost than GH.

 

[altitudefarmer]

What's your water source? It makes a huge difference...

 

[TALLDOG]

Well water.... 400 feet deep. Into the aqua fur ... Probably lime stone. Will adjust and let settle... then re adjust... in separate container... maybe this will help.

 

[TALLDOG]

What about the vinegar question.... ? Is it ok.... ? Or is it ok until you can get a good/high quality buffered compound/liquid?

 

[Seamaiden]

It's fine, you just have to figure out how much to use to neutralize/react with the available ions (or whatever) that are driving up the pH.

 

[bmvortex81]

well i keep putting in and get the ph dropped down to 5.2ish, ive had it as low as 4.8 but it seems to like 7.2 and for dwc that wont work, what the hell do i do? my babies leaves just keep getting more yellow and brown, ive lost 2 already from this pf flucuation crap, i cant get it to stabalize what am i doin wrong, now i noticed the roots are gettin slimey?????

 

[urbanfog]

I have always gotten a "slime" when using vinegar.

 

[sixstring]

molasses is also good for lowering your ph and seems to be pretty stable even with constant bubbles like in a res.

 

[TALLDOG]

never checked mine for slime...
I add noots and water, shine the light in there to check for discoloration and black spots (fungus and such), but never considered touching the roots. They survive the wet dry vac every week.. I guess they would survive me fondling them once or twice... maybe with surgical gloves?

 

[MedViper]

This is what i've been using in my reservoir for years(battery electrolyte-sulphuric acid),a little goes a long way so you use it sparingly,and use caution when you're handling it as it will burn.
it's the most stable ph down that i have ever used,stays stable for days with only a slight fluctuation of maybe several tenth's of points...at around $10.00 a quart from a local auto parts store, it can last a couple of years,and the plants really like the added sulphur.
vinegar,citric acid are unstable and do not work well in a chemical nutrient mix.
they are food products and decompose in the water as it breaks down creating muck and gunk that'll float around or settle on the bottom of the tank and the ph will really start going out of whack which will also contaminate the nutrients.
and commercial hydro ph down is too way overpriced.
I know this from personal experience.

 

[red x]

i have used it in a pinch
not very stable but it works
peace
ez

 

[xX Kid Twist Xx]

ph down will have a bit longer staying power then vinegar. are you running mutiple strains or is it all the same strain. if so some may feed differnt then others. worse case you can foliar feed a bit until you can get to the store to buy proper ph down. foliar feed works fine around a 7 ph. keep feeding regular and foliar feed the plants that are starting to yellow

 

[BakedReality]

Am interested in the answers you get. Liquid PH down.. by Gen Hydroponics... is crazy expensive when you start thinking about what your paying per gallon... It might have a dose of "unatainium" that causes the price to go up? Are there any draw backs from using vinegar? The single reason I can think of now is printed on the side of my PH down (bottle / bag (have a 2.2 lb bag of ph down... was cheaper))... "High Quality Buffers"... These are added to keep your PH stable... even with this... I have to adjust PH everyday.... I buffer down to 5.4 to 5.8...and the next day...it's 7.1 to 7.3... everyday.??

I have been a faithful GH user for probably going on 14 years...most of your PH problem is GH PH Down. Stop using it....it does not stay stable very long and it takes a lot of it to get it down. I use Advanced Nutrients for PH Down...it is pharm grade concentrated...but for me in any type of water using it takes way less to get it down and it will stay stable for a week. IMO..some fluctuation is not so bad...but you have a crazy swing. Have you tried just getting it down to 6.0? I wouldn't shoot any lower than 5.8...my first recommendation would be to change PH Down product as soon as you are able to.

It could possibly be the nute mix...nute strength and how the plant eats. If it is too weak...the plant might take the nutes and not so much water...too strong and it might just try to take up water only cuz it's thirsty...causing swings....just some thoughts.

This is what i've been using in my reservoir for years(battery electrolyte-sulphuric acid),a little goes a long way so you use it sparingly,and use caution when you're handling it as it will burn.
it's the most stable ph down that i have ever used,stays stable for days with only a slight fluctuation of maybe several tenth's of points...at around $10.00 a quart from a local auto parts store, it can last a couple of years,and the plants really like the added sulphur.
vinegar,citric acid are unstable and do not work well in a chemical nutrient mix.
they are food products and decompose in the water as it breaks down creating muck and gunk that'll float around or settle on the bottom of the tank and the ph will really start going out of whack which will also contaminate the nutrients.
and commercial hydro ph down is too way overpriced.
I know this from personal experience.

This is very interesting...thanks for sharing!

well i keep putting in and get the ph dropped down to 5.2ish, ive had it as low as 4.8 but it seems to like 7.2 and for dwc that wont work, what the hell do i do? my babies leaves just keep getting more yellow and brown, ive lost 2 already from this pf flucuation crap, i cant get it to stabalize what am i doin wrong, now i noticed the roots are gettin slimey?????

Out of curiousity...Why are you shooting so low for PH? I would shoot for 5.8 to 6.1...been running all kinds of hydro for many years...I find for me things work best if I PH right at 6.0 and let it fluctuate a bit. What kind of PH product are you using? It could be the nute mix like I mentioned before...

 

[Seamaiden]

well i keep putting in and get the ph dropped down to 5.2ish, ive had it as low as 4.8 but it seems to like 7.2 and for dwc that wont work, what the hell do i do? my babies leaves just keep getting more yellow and brown, ive lost 2 already from this pf flucuation crap, i cant get it to stabalize what am i doin wrong, now i noticed the roots are gettin slimey?????

Try dropping it down to 4.0, see how far it bounces back in 24hrs. Hopefully that's low enough that the bounce doesn't go any higher than 6.2-6.5 or so.

 

[GR33NL3AF]

I'm on well water as well, used AN's pH down until I started using bennies, now using Earth Juice pH down. It's granular but organic. My pump is down 300' and comes out 6.0-6.2 in summer and higher in fall/winter. I noticed I have to check pH before each watering (if I leave a full res) because if left untouched will raise all the way up to 7.5.

-Lemon juice is OK, but contains sugar as well...Sometimes I don't want that additional sugar.
-I've found only the Hi-Brixx molasses is acidic and I don't use that anymore because of it's negative effects on my tea.

I would never use vinegar as well-water is too finicky, play it safe and grab some organic pH down like Earth Juice.

 

[bmvortex81]

g it down to 6.0? I wouldn't shoot would be to change PH Down product as soon as you are able to.

It could possibly be the nute mix...nute strength and how the plant eats. If it is too weak...the plant might take the nutes asing swings....just some thoughts.
we




This is very interesting...thanks for sharing!




Out of curiousity...Why are you shooting so low for PH? I would shoot for 5.8 to 6.1...been running all kinds of hydro for many years...I find for me things work best if I PH right at 6.0 and let it fluctuate a bit. What kind of PH product are you using? It could be the nute mix like I mentioned before...[/quote]