DIY: pH Down - EASY!

flowerpower0118

flowerpower0118

Active Member
Can this be used for hydro aswell as soil?

Ive been practicing hydro but so far homemade PH +/- 's have made my roots turn to mush in the past.
 
The Gram Reaper

The Gram Reaper

Well-Known Member
Magicole said:
Um this whole conversation is stupid. Lemon juice for ph down and baking soda for ph up. Done!!!
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https://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-Liquid-Fertilizer-1-Gallon/dp/B000FG0F9U/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=gen+hydro+ph+down&qid=1567399274&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-3

30$. It is very effective, last a long time for a personal grow, and your not mixing battery acid. pH up is around the same price.

It seems lunatic to go through that much process to save a 20. Sell an 1/8th, get your ph down.

Edit: Thank you for the insight on how PH+ and - is made.
 
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Haricot Vert

Haricot Vert

Well-Known Member
I use EarthJuice's Catalyst or citric acid for PH down. Citric acid is good for the Krebs cycle, and Catalyst has lots of good items to stimulate the soil/medium.
 
The Gram Reaper

The Gram Reaper

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
Not recommended for hydroponics...
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Heavy16 finish is a good hydroponic sweetener and so is Sugaree. Sugaree will carbonate your reservoir though, so air stones will make it bubble over. I use a 1000gph pump to cycle 50 gal reservoirs. Sugaree also seems to feed bacteria so that could clog stuff up.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
The Gram Reaper said:
Heavy16 finish is a good hydroponic sweetener and so is Sugaree. Sugaree will carbonate your reservoir though, so air stones will make it bubble over. I use a 1000gph pump to cycle 50 gal reservoirs. Sugaree also seems to feed bacteria so that could clog stuff up.
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I thought the whole point of carbs in the soil was to feed the microherd, starve the plant and thereby encourage it to finish?

Since that's not how hydro works, it never made sense to me to use it.

I'm always willing to learn, though?
 
The Gram Reaper

The Gram Reaper

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
I thought the whole point of carbs in the soil was to feed the microherd, starve the plant and thereby encourage it to finish?

Since that's not how hydro works, it never made sense to me to use it.

I'm always willing to learn, though?
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The plants seem to have a lot better uptake with sugars added to the water. I also use yucca extract. I feed light sugars all the way through and heavy at the end. Heavy16 finish is used all the way though and I use sugaree and H16finish for the end feeding. How much of this is actually effective? No idea, just bro science.

Not sure how much I benefit from microbes being in coco with mainly synthetic food, but I feed them Great White microbes when I top water and in veg. With my flood tables, the topsoil dries out and I top water ever few days. Gives the root ball a little flush out also.
 
The Gram Reaper

The Gram Reaper

Well-Known Member
The Gram Reaper said:
The plants seem to have a lot better uptake with sugars added to the water. I also use yucca extract. I feed light sugars all the way through and heavy at the end. Heavy16 finish is used all the way though and I use sugaree and H16finish for the end feeding. How much of this is actually effective? No idea, just bro science.

Not sure how much I benefit from microbes being in coco with mainly synthetic food, but I feed them Great White microbes when I top water and in veg. With my flood tables, the topsoil dries out and I top water ever few days. Gives the root ball a little flush out also.
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I also mix Great White granular 1 in the coco. It has granular glomus intraradicides in it. I get some pretty healthy roots. Next time I transplant veg I will send you some pics.
 
Pete Jones III

Pete Jones III

Member
churchhaze said:
The problem with citric acid is that the people who really need pH down the most need to break a carbonate buffer from very hard water. For this reason, a strong acid like nitric or sulfuric really is the best option. Trying to mix a weak base with a weak acid is futile.

Nitric acid is ideal in these cases, because sulfuric acid increases the sulfate level, and thus the chances of calcium sulfate precipitants. Calcium nitrate will stay in the solution easily, expelling CO2 gas from the carbonates.
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If you have elemental sulfur on hand, can it be dissolved in water then watered in to lower the ph of soil? Small quantities
 
S

SensibleSensimilla

Active Member
@Enigma - Nice recipe and write-up. Much appreciated.

This link provides an informative comparsion of acids for those interested:
ag.umass.edu

Adjusting Alkalinity with Acids

Acids have been and always will be an excellent tool for growers to exert better control of irrigation water alkalinity (mostly bicarbonates and carbonates) and growing media pH. Once the role of alkalinity is understood, the grower may consider the following practical step to control alkalinity...
ag.umass.edu ag.umass.edu
 
S

SmichiganOG

Well-Known Member
Lenin1917 said:
Why would you diy ph up or down they're not expensive, by anyone's measure really.
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I grow as naturally as I can and buy as few products as I can. I need to lower ph so why buy something when I can just reach for a jug of vinegar? I'm an outdoor grower and not a pro but that's what I use.
 
Cycad

Cycad

Well-Known Member
Ultimately when you adjust pH you are creating salts. Sulphuric acid -> magnesium sulphate and calcium sulphate. Citric acid -> citrates. Vinegar -> acetates. I'd use citric because I stock it for other things and because I don't like handling battery acid.
 
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