Aqua Man
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Exactly... why pay for water.Ok cool I'm just going to go with potassium bicarbonate then. Seems pretty cheap on amazon:
And I'll get the liquid 85% phosphoric acid:
Is there a reason why you suggest the 85%? Just to get the best value for the money?
Yeah just dilute it 10 to 1 before adding. You can mix up like 500ml if you like that's enough for a bit.Yes I totally agree in and since I'm in DWC, I wanted to go all dry powder as possible. The phosphoric acid being liquid isn't a big deal though and it's nice it's concentrated. I'll just make sure I'm super careful when using it.
What's the best application for it if I should be pre-diluting it in water before adding it to the rez?
Should I take a gallon of water and add a couple of drops and shoot for a certain PH?
Is there a dosing chart or something I can following when I need to drop the PH a little bit?
How long should I let it run in the rez to settle to the right PH before adding more to hit target PH of 5.8?
Depends on the acid. Microbes coexist with acid in your gut, so more natural acids are needs to lower alkaline.I'm not a scientist but it doesn't sound like too much of a stretch that ingredients with acid in their title might be harmful to microbial life.
I think they always used it but I'm not sure.So at my LGS today & taking a look at the ingredients of GH Ph Down & Nectars Ph Down, they both only list phosphoric acid.
So did GH change their recipe and are now only making it with phosphoric acid, or are they just not listing all Ingredients?
I'm not a scientist but it doesn't sound like too much of a stretch that ingredients with acid in their title might be harmful to microbial life.
Like I said, I'm not a scientist and I dont have the knowledge to debate that. While it may not be the end of the world, I know that it's not uncommon for bennie manufacturers to direct adjusting your ph prior to adding their product. It seems odd to me that they would go to that trouble yet so many here are so absolute that it's nonsense.Not at all. There are plenty of microbes that can happily eat acids, and/or neutralize them and eat the resulting salt. Citrate (from citric acid), ascorbate (from vitamin c), acetate (from vinegar), all possible food sources for bacteria and fungi. It's one reason why using organic acids (like citric or vinegar) for pH adjustment isn't really the best idea, given a bit of time the microbiome of your system will chow down, and your pH will start to drift.
That said, it is very much a matter of concentration. Too much or too concentrated an acid (or base) will absolutely cook your soil. But the amount we use for adjusting pH are typically fine for most things.
I always add en last.Like I said, I'm not a scientist and I dont have the knowledge to debate that. While it may not be the end of the world, I know that it's not uncommon for bennie manufacturers to direct adjusting your ph prior to adding their product. It seems odd to me that they would go to that trouble yet so many here are so absolute that it's nonsense.
I wish we would have figured that out before I spent $40 on phosphoric acid and sodium bicarbonate.I think they always used it but I'm not sure.
I wish we would have figured that out before I spent $40 on phosphoric acid and sodium bicarbonate.
I'm considering just using GH PH down since it's already pre-diluted and easy to use. Plus I have some for free. So I kind of wasted $30 on the 85% stuff.
But I did get the 85% stuff delivered yesterday.
And now I'm thinking I also wasted money buying the PH up I linked to, which is just sodium bicarbonate.
Which I didn't realize is just baking soda.
So what benefit did I gain from spending $14 on a pound of sodium bicarbonate from a brewer, instead of just using $1.00 in regular baking soda from the store?
You want potassium bicarbonate not sodium bicarbonate. Do not add sodium bicarbonate ever.... in an absolute pinch but it's not a good idea.I wish we would have figured that out before I spent $40 on phosphoric acid and sodium bicarbonate.
I'm considering just using GH PH down since it's already pre-diluted and easy to use. Plus I have some for free. So I kind of wasted $30 on the 85% stuff.
But I did get the 85% stuff delivered yesterday.
And now I'm thinking I also wasted money buying the PH up I linked to, which is just sodium bicarbonate.
Which I didn't realize is just baking soda.
So what benefit did I gain from spending $14 on a pound of sodium bicarbonate from a brewer, instead of just using $1.00 in regular baking soda from the store?
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