AACT brew at 8.0 pH

Our well water is about 180 ppm TDS and hangs right around 7.5 pH at this time of year. We've been using Advanced Nutrients pH Down (phosphoric acid is the active ingredient) to get the water back to 6.0 - 6.5 before use.

We're in soil, BTW

I'm brewing our third batch of AACT. Simple kelp meal/EWC/molasses recipe. Previously we pH'ed the water before starting the brew and neglected to check pH afterward. This time I decided to throw the ingredients together without pH adjustment, then monitor. Several hours into the bubbling and pH has climbed from 7.5 to 8.0.

Based on the results so far I'm guessing that our first two batches were at least 7 pH when we finished and applied.

Let's assume for now that the brew doesn't go any farther. That it levels out at 8.0. Next time we make tea, would you suggest sending the water down into the 5.8 - 6.0 range before starting the bubbler? Or would you treat the water for pH when you were done? Or maybe some of both - treat the water to 6.0 pH beforehand, then be prepared to add a little more pH Down when finished?

i need to do more homework, but the book teaming with microbes is a great read. I don't think you pH the aact, but rather make sure it's around the same temp as the soil, to not shock the microbes. The soil food web and what you built the soil with should determine the proper pH balance , I might be wrong on some of this though, so definitely try to really read into it

your right. if you have the right microbes theyll ph for you. you can add shit to the aact to lower ph as well.

Before anyone replied, I thought, "why not try to adjust pH while the bubblers are actively mixing things?" so I slowly dripped about 5 drops of pH Down and now the meter sez 6.5.

It'll be interesting to see what pH is after 24+ hrs. of bubbling.

Next time I won't adjust anything and we'll see what happens at the end.

OK, reporting back. This morning (roughly 27 hrs. on the bubblers and 18 hrs. since I added pH Down) the brew has crept back up from 6.5 to 7.5 pH. Any suggestions? Should I just trust the tea even though it's at least one full point above the target for soil?

Or pH Down it back to 6.0 - 6.5 when it's nearly finished?

trust the tea, let it do its thing. but i read that soma ph'ed his guano tea to 6. i use general organics cal mg+ to ph down my mixes.