Raising Nutrient Mix pH

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dan2581

Active Member
Hey, I just switched to the roots organics liquid organic fertilizer lineup. So far I like it a lot, and so do the plants. The pH is lowered to about 4.3 once a gallon of fertilized water is mixed completely. I was using GH pH up to stabilize my pH to 6.3, but it doesn't seem to work so well in the organic fertilizer mix. If I want to bring my pH from 4.3 to 6.3, it takes 3-4 TABLE spoons of pH up. When I was using chemical (fox farms) it only took a teaspoon at the most. I have been substituting with dolomite lime, or just using the pH up, it just doesn't seem healthy for the plants dumping that much base in there, which I assume degrades into some sort of salt in the soil.

Any recommendations or ideas on bringing the pH up without harming the plant?
 
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weedman82

Active Member
I had this same exact question!

different brands of ph up and down are more powerfull than others.

also I pretty sure the nutes raise the PPM, and thus takes more to raise the PH than just plain water.

add a 1/3 gal of water, mix one nutrient, stir thoughly, test ph, adjust accordingly, add another 1/3 of the gallon of water, stir test adjust if needed add the next nutrient in your line up, add the last 1/3 of your gallon test/adjust ect. you get idea?

thats what I'm gonna try myself next feeding, thanks to Stumps for that tip.
 
Lord Dangly Bits

Lord Dangly Bits

Well-Known Member
weedman82 said:
I had this same exact question!

different brands of ph up and down are more powerfull than others.

also I pretty sure the nutes raise the PPM, and thus takes more to raise the PH than just plain water.

add a 1/3 gal of water, mix one nutrient, stir thoughly, test ph, adjust accordingly, add another 1/3 of the gallon of water, stir test adjust if needed add the next nutrient in your line up, add the last 1/3 of your gallon test/adjust ect. you get idea?

thats what I'm gonna try myself next feeding, thanks to Stumps for that tip.
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This to me is a BAD Idea. One Nutrient might bring the PH up, while the next you add could bring it down. Mix your Nutrients and let it sit for 3-4 hours. Then adjust the PH. I know of a few brands of Nutrients that if you mix it and PH it to lets says 6.5, 3 hours later you could be 5.3 or 7.3. I always let my nutrients sit for 3-4 hours after I mix it to allow it time to stabilize before I PH it.[
 
Serapis

Serapis

Well-Known Member
If my nutes dropped my PH to 4.3, I'd fire them. Consider this, as a hydro plant drinks and uses nutrients, the PH in the water naturally goes up if the plant is taking in more nutes than water. Since you know the PH is going to go up naturally, maybe a better idea would be to just bump PH in fresh mix to a 4.5 or maybe a 5 and leave it alone. The plant can absorb and utilize the nutrient from about 4.5 to 6.5. Allowing the PH to start at the lower end and slowly work it's way back up naturally, will allow the plant to hit several HOT or ideal spots for particular nutrients.

Since I have adopted this idea, I rarely have to use PH down or up, very rarely. I also use GH Flora Nova and it has excellent buffers.
 
Serapis

Serapis

Well-Known Member
Lord Dangly Bits said:
This to me is a BAD Idea. One Nutrient might bring the PH up, while the next you add could bring it down. Mix your Nutrients and let it sit for 3-4 hours. Then adjust the PH. I know of a few brands of Nutrients that if you mix it and PH it to lets says 6.5, 3 hours later you could be 5.3 or 7.3. I always let my nutrients sit for 3-4 hours after I mix it to allow it time to stabilize before I PH it.[
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This is right if you are filling a new reservoir. However if you are simply topping off an existing reservoir and you are adjusting nutes as well, you have to calculate what the PM of the entire tank will be once you add your mix to the reservoir. You might have to add a mix that is at 4.0 PH just to bring the entire reservoir down a half point... And of course dirtbaggers have to adjust the mix based on runoff. I just wanted to clarify this in case anyone got confused.
 
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weedman82

Active Member
Lord Dangly Bits said:
This to me is a BAD Idea. One Nutrient might bring the PH up, while the next you add could bring it down. Mix your Nutrients and let it sit for 3-4 hours. Then adjust the PH. I know of a few brands of Nutrients that if you mix it and PH it to lets says 6.5, 3 hours later you could be 5.3 or 7.3. I always let my nutrients sit for 3-4 hours after I mix it to allow it time to stabilize before I PH it.[
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ok noted.

my RO water has never changed in ph, once its adjusted it stays the same. I've done what you've said, mixing the nutes and letting them sit un adjusted for hours even a day or two, and they never fluctuate

I'm using fox farms line, and so far each one of them only lowers the ph. I ph tested each one individually
thats just my 2cents tho

edit: actually the big bloom ups the ph, but all the bloom nutes drop it way down
 
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dan2581

Active Member
Thanks for all the replies. So can anyone explain how the soil pH will naturally buffer itself while taking in nutrients? It's hard for me to not completely adjust my nutrient solution because last grow I had lockout problems with acidic soil. If I watered when it was 5-5.5 wouldn't this over time bring the soil down to that pH range instead of up? I understand as nutrients are absorbed into the plant, that brings them out of the soil, which probably makes the soil more basic. I'm assuming this processes Serapis explained works similar in soil compared to hydro, except i'd assume hydro is more exaggerated.
 
Lord Dangly Bits

Lord Dangly Bits

Well-Known Member
This exact subject is one of the reasons I use Coco Coir for my medium. Not so sure how cost effective it would be for the big huge growers, But it sure is easy for 8-12 plants.
 
farmerjoe420

farmerjoe420

Well-Known Member
absolutely man. it sure beats buying all that expensive ph up & down. i use vinegar for down and baking soda for up.
 
Mother's Finest

Mother's Finest

Well-Known Member
If you change at least one of the fertilizers you use to an alkaline substance, you won't have to worry about how to get the mix to a higher pH. One of the best examples is Palm Bunch Ash, pH 12, 0-0-30.
 
farmerjoe420

farmerjoe420

Well-Known Member
Wolverine97 said:
I wouldn't, considering it is sodium bicarbonate, which will build up in the soil over time.
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ive done 5 straight grows start to finish using it once a week to adjust my nutrient solutions and never had a problem. what problems would you say will happen?
 
Medi 1

Medi 1

Well-Known Member
bakin soda kills microbial life,.i hate them but advanced ph shit is strong and only needs a few drops. and it should be watered down or it makes certain ellements fall out. thats what the cloud is when you add it to a food mix. temps play a big role in the right ph as well. and ph up adds slight ppm to the total
 
Medi 1

Medi 1

Well-Known Member
farmerjoe420 said:
ive done 5 straight grows start to finish using it once a week to adjust my nutrient solutions and never had a problem. what problems would you say will happen?
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your using more food than is needed by not using ph at the right level.
 
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