Man...I am battling hard with PH!!!

[platypusmann]

I got this High Tech Garden Supply on the way...should take two weeks between getting there then here to me....hear HTG is good.....so WTF. My "buddy" wanted 250 for the same one.....marked downs from 300.....maybe he is not my buddy after all. Maybe insurance rates just went up....god I am long winded tonight.

 

[platypusmann]

........got some nice compressed shitty tasting yuk to take my mind off it..........

Quoting myself, vaingloriuos bastard, but I found a healthy viable seed in this wad of gooey shitbud.......maybe I should plant it. Name it Earlene and she just may be the best plant of the bunch.

 

[TetraHyC]

Thats going to help you a lot. Do you flush your media ? I use flora clean every 2 weeks.

 

[TetraHyC]

That brick weed is easy to grow.thats why its $20 an 1/8

 

[Seamaiden]

I am running a 40 gal res ebb&flow, and my ph is driving me nuts!!! I have been using a solution drop test, and have been able to stabilize my ph in the orange zone (5.5 to 6.5). THEN....I got a digital PH tester that apparently doesn't work.

How have you verified this? Can we assume it was first calibrated, then used?

I changed out res completely, and tested ph with digital tester....7.8. Added 50 ml of PH down, and 7.7......added 50ml more (it usually takes 150~250 ml for my res) and 7.6.....so I added 100 ml more.....and tested again with digital......7.3. WTF!!!

A nifty "feature" of some water sources is high alkalinity (not referring to base versus acid or in regard to pH). Alkalinity is (also) a direct measure of a given water sample's resistance to pH shift.

I decided to test it with the solution tester and BAM.....in the red, which means UNDER 4.0. So I added one tablespoon of baking soda.....and now my res is cloudy as hell, and ph is over 8.5!!!

Thank GOD these aren't fish. pH bounce takes time, and it takes even more time to stabilize to a new pH if the water is very alkaline.

SO...I began adding PH down (from my aquarium set up, as I ran out of GH brand) and have added over 150ml and PH is still over 7.0, and res is still cloudy from baking soda. I am 4 hours from next feed, so the plants are as yet unaffected but I am at a loss......I need stable ph!! Any suggestions????

* Calibrate electronic pH meter (assuming it's of quality anyway).
* Ensure that test being used is both a quality manufacture (not all are the same, Salifert is far better than Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, for instance).
* Ensure that chemical testing reagents are fresh.
* Learn about water chemistry instead of just adding chemicals to try to fix a problem that substance removal (not addition) is more likely to "fix".

Reverse osmosis is one means by which to try to address alkalinity and chemistry, however, in my experience it is far cheaper and simpler to pass (filter) the water through peat. I have used this method for fishes that prefer soft, acidic waters for years with excellent results and NO pH bounce.

No offense to the others, but it appears that a lot of people who are growing using water as the medium don't know much about water chemistry or how these things really work. It can be a complicated subject, to be sure.
reduce buffering capacity water - Google Search
reduce buffering capacity water - Google Scholar

For instance, you mention baking soda (SODIUM bicarbonate), yet you want a low pH, yet you can't shift it. Did you know that baking soda makes water more alkaline? It makes water's pH base (higher pH) AND it makes it more difficult to change the pH.
Sodium bicarbonate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[platypusmann]

Never have flushed but am only 4 weeks in.....will research and procur what I need. Thanks again...you are my new hero. Attatched are some pics of my best girl....28 days old from first sprout....either NL, COB, Ice or Widow (I mixed up seeds) if 420-seeds sent genuine......she looks good to me, but small...though she has been through alot. The last pic is overhead shot of the garden.

 

[platypusmann]

How have you verified this? Can we assume it was first calibrated, then used?

A nifty "feature" of some water sources is high alkalinity (not referring to base versus acid or in regard to pH). Alkalinity is (also) a direct measure of a given water sample's resistance to pH shift.

Thank GOD these aren't fish. pH bounce takes time, and it takes even more time to stabilize to a new pH if the water is very alkaline.



* Calibrate electronic pH meter (assuming it's of quality anyway).
* Ensure that test being used is both a quality manufacture (not all are the same, Salifert is far better than Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, for instance).
* Ensure that chemical testing reagents are fresh.
* Learn about water chemistry instead of just adding chemicals to try to fix a problem that substance removal (not addition) is more likely to "fix".

Reverse osmosis is one means by which to try to address alkalinity and chemistry, however, in my experience it is far cheaper and simpler to pass (filter) the water through peat. I have used this method for fishes that prefer soft, acidic waters for years with excellent results and NO pH bounce.

No offense to the others, but it appears that a lot of people who are growing using water as the medium don't know much about water chemistry or how these things really work. It can be a complicated subject, to be sure.
reduce buffering capacity water - Google Search
reduce buffering capacity water - Google Scholar

For instance, you mention baking soda (SODIUM bicarbonate), yet you want a low pH, yet you can't shift it. Did you know that baking soda makes water more alkaline? It makes water's pH base (higher pH) AND it makes it more difficult to change the pH.
Sodium bicarbonate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

First off thanks, rep, and humility on my part to you for making me feel like a real dumb ass. I deserve that. I researched alot of things...not water itself. This will change and I will honor you with it.
As for the baking soda, I had a ph under 4...was using only thing I had to bring water up......fucked up. Will learne next time....now off to read alot about how ph in my water works, and water in relation to itself and ph, not just in botany......I am oldish and stonedish, and I need setting right even when it stings like hell, Seamaiden....you cut me, but you just made me better for it, what every padawan seeks in a master. Thank you friend Jedi! (GODDAMN I AM A NERD!!!!!)

 

[platypusmann]

Thank GOD these aren't fish. pH bounce takes time, and it takes even more time to stabilize to a new pH if the water is very alkaline.

In my defense...I do have 8 hours between feedings, so my plants are only introduced to the water at certain points. But...still I bow in humble disgrace to your sharp sword.

 

[Seamaiden]

First off thanks, rep, and humility on my part to you for making me feel like a real dumb ass. I deserve that. I researched alot of things...not water itself. This will change and I will honor you with it.
As for the baking soda, I had a ph under 4...was using only thing I had to bring water up......fucked up. Will learne next time....now off to read alot about how ph in my water works, and water in relation to itself and ph, not just in botany......I am oldish and stonedish, and I need setting right even when it stings like hell, Seamaiden....you cut me, but you just made me better for it, what every padawan seeks in a master. Thank you friend Jedi! (GODDAMN I AM A NERD!!!!!)

I wasn't trying to cut you at all, I'm really sorry for that. Please accept my apologies, I did NOT mean to do that at all. You made it clear that you don't know what's going on and there's a difference between stupid (dumb ass) and simply ignorant of what's happening. I mean, we all gotta learn somehow, someplace, right?

Water chemistry is complicated, and it's taken me.. fuck.. DECADES to learn what little I know (as an autodidact), and even after all these years there is much I have trouble wrapping my head around. Google Scholar is a great resource, it's just a bitch to understand what's been written.

Then, with the other searches, you have know WHAT you're searching for. I spent several minutes searching using terms most of the people here might use, and I ended up with a bunch of "health water" bullshit (crap about how we're supposed to drink alkaline water to change our body's pH, fucking crap) and absolutely NOTHING that would have been useful to you or anyone else here. I had to go with what *I* know about aquatics, the shit that's taken me years to learn, before I got the results I did. How would you or anyone else know this, intuition?

My goal is to help where I can with the knowledge I have. Water chemistry is apparently a subject where more knowledge is needed, and this is an instance where disciplines can cross -- aquatics with hydroponics -- and success can be had.

 

[platypusmann]

AMEN Seamaiden....and I liked the cutting...I have always liked it when, to quote the poet Neil Young, a phriend tells me I'm pissing in the wind. I take that shit to heart and learn from it...I love to learn, am pretty bright, fairly succesful, and can afford the time and small invetsmanets necessary...so I want to do it right. You are helping me.....if I felt a little ignorant (dumbass in hillbilly is a person who ain't learned shit) then it is my fault for overlooking a logical step...learning about the water in advance. Shit...I change my res every 10 days.....I have ten days I can do things to my 8 5 gallon buckets to get them stable before they go to res.....you have inspired and encouraged...feel good, never bad. No apology needed. Thanks and a rousing round of applause for you, my phriend.

 

[platypusmann]

BTW...what's the bike?? Blurry pic....almost looks like a Vucan 2000......but prolly a Harley...hard to tell..too small.

 

[TetraHyC]

I wasn't trying to cut you at all, I'm really sorry for that. Please accept my apologies, I did NOT mean to do that at all. You made it clear that you don't know what's going on and there's a difference between stupid (dumb ass) and simply ignorant of what's happening. I mean, we all gotta learn somehow, someplace, right?

Water chemistry is complicated, and it's taken me.. fuck.. DECADES to learn what little I know (as an autodidact), and even after all these years there is much I have trouble wrapping my head around. Google Scholar is a great resource, it's just a bitch to understand what's been written.

Then, with the other searches, you have know WHAT you're searching for. I spent several minutes searching using terms most of the people here might use, and I ended up with a bunch of "health water" bullshit (crap about how we're supposed to drink alkaline water to change our body's pH, fucking crap) and absolutely NOTHING that would have been useful to you or anyone else here. I had to go with what *I* know about aquatics, the shit that's taken me years to learn, before I got the results I did. How would you or anyone else know this, intuition?

My goal is to help where I can with the knowledge I have. Water chemistry is apparently a subject where more knowledge is needed, and this is an instance where disciplines can cross -- aquatics with hydroponics -- and success can be had.

Heard that!!!!!

 

[Seamaiden]

BTW...what's the bike?? Blurry pic....almost looks like a Vucan 2000......but prolly a Harley...hard to tell..too small.

Hell NO I can't afford a Harley! I love those Vulcans.. jeez, I see something in almost every bike that I can get to liking. Nope, just me and my little Aero. I think that you can check out My Vehicle in my profile.. but I'm not sure.

Mmm.. Neil Young, I used to listen to him so much, yet haven't in years. Gotta do some Frostwiring, yeah?

Here.. lemme see if I can attach a pic that's easier to see (I'm getting to needing glasses myself, either that or my arms really are getting shorter).

 

[platypusmann]

Very nice.....I am just riding a 200cc Vespa right now....but love all bikes, and have owned many.....not fan of Harley (strictly due to unexplainable $$$) but they do look damn nice...my dream is a Suzuki DL1000.....on this damn eurobike kick......anyway....not really on topic anymore....think I'll finish this article, do some real work, and get to bed by midnight.

 

[Seamaiden]

G'night.

Btw, Vespas fucking kick ASS. Quadrophenia-stylee.