WTF Why does my RO water ppm shoot way high when adding PH down ?

[Stomata]

When making new clones and using RO water with a PH of about 7.8 and a ppm of 0
I am addinng a liitle bit of Avanced Nutes PH down -- when I get it PHed down to 5.4/5.5 my ppm go to 1580.
is there an issue with no ph buffers in the water ? what can I use to down my PH without raising my PPMs ?
already tried AN GH botanicare earth juice I have also used tap water of 250 ppm add ph down it goes to about 700
this raise in ph tends to make new clones very unhappy
Does anyone have any suggestions ??

thanks, Stomata

 

[420Gator]

yea sounds like its time to get re calibrated. when I make clones I just add a 2-300 ppm of veg nutes and that alone brings the ph down to an acceptable level, not that I think ph is very important in cloning to begin with

 

[420Gator]

forgot to add. when I was new i was worried about ph and I was inpatient when trying to change it so Id always add too much. when using straight ro youre only gonna need a few drops no matter the volume, you just gotta give it some time

 

[homebrew420]

I think these guys got it. Meter cal, Also on a side note DO NOT adjust pH before nutrient are added. he fact that we see big swings, I know yours is strange and opposite, in pH caused by lack of buffers in the clean water. give it 5 min after mixing res then take reading and adjust