Doing a res change, have a question..

I did a res change tonight and am upping my nutes from 1/4 strength to "mild".. which is less than veg.. so I'm assuming it's the next step up.
Anyway, I am having a hell of a time lowering my PH now that I have the nutes in.. I've added like 3cc's of PH down and it's still stuck at 6.6... Do the nutes gradually rise the ph of the water? or make an immediate impact? I stopped adding PH down, but don't know if the res should sit? or just keep adding it till the testor read 5.5? The testor is working and calibrated.

Thanks guys.

I always find and immediate PH change when using PH down. What size tank ? What is the concentration % of the PH down. In my tank if I use a 40 litre water and added 3cl that would take my PH down by about 0.3, my PH down is like 81% strength.

Ensure nutrients are very well mixed in before using PH down and also mix tank very well when you have added PH down (sorry if I'm telling you how to suck eggs)

You can find that the PH can change very quickly and can need adjusting daily.

krustofskie said:

I always find and immediate PH change when using PH down. What size tank ? What is the concentration % of the PH down. In my tank if I use a 40 litre water and added 3cl that would take my PH down by about 0.3, my PH down is like 81% strength..

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Well, that's what I mean.. I usually find an immediate reaction too, but I just upped the nutes and as I add a bit at a time I'm stirring it, went on for like 20 minutes, adding a little at a time, stir... check, repeat.
The tank is only filled with 5 gallons right now. and you say 3 cc will lower your ph .3 on 2x my res size, which is why I stopped adding it as it's registering a constant 6.6.

krustofskie said:

Ensure nutrients are very well mixed in before using PH down and also mix tank very well when you have added PH down (sorry if I'm telling you how to suck eggs).

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I have been. I have a long ec testor stick that makes for a good stir stick, and added nutes, and gave it a stir for about 4 minutes, put in my air stones, pump and return lines and set to checking PH. tested it at like 7+ at start and hit it with 2cc's and it brought it down to 6.6. added another 2cc's at 1/2 a cc at a time and stir.. and it didn't move, which is why I wondered if the nutes slowly increase your ph.
I know the PH testor is working and calibrated so that's not an issue.

krustofskie said:

You can find that the PH can change very quickly and can need adjusting daily.

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I ususally check my PH every night after the last water of the day so that the tank is ready for the first watering in the morning. I ph down to 5.5 -5.6 and then usually it has been up to 6.4-6.8 range at night. and seriously only a few drops and it settles it back down.. another reason why I stopped adding the ph down.

Thanks for your help. Does anyone have any insight as to if nutes gradually raises ph or if that doesn't happen?

ur ph fluncuation could be due to foreign objects in the water...such as rockwool,dead roots,etc...

moash said:

ur ph fluncuation could be due to foreign objects in the water...such as rockwool,dead roots,etc...

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Not in this instance, I just cleaned it out, and I clean my res really well, fresh water, and even cleaned the pump out (no floaties currently)

There was stuff floating in the res before I changed it, but it was only a week ago I changed it out last, and I have 2 airstones in a 5 gal res.. The temp in the res is 25.5 degrees pretty much anytime I check it.

I hope that helps you, help.. me..

a few hours later, added more ph down, and gave it a good stir, and it's up to 6.7 now... when I added the ph down, the testor read down to 5.6, so I was getting happier, then stirred and it's at 6.7, Any input on it? Thanks in advance

Get a new tester.

DSoHigh said:

Get a new tester.

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As I said, the testor is not the problem. It's new, it's a good one, and when I put it in the 3 buffers it reads them all dead on... again, not the testor.

it takes a while after you add your nutes for you res to level out.. when i change my res i adjust the ph first thing... and then a few hours later go back and it usually needs dropped again...

when you added the ph down and stirred and got a 5.6 reading and then a 6.7 its because you were stirring the concentration of ph down at that moment.. and then when it circulated more it rose again.. make sense??

typically adding nutes will lower you ph.. but if it doesnt you just have to keep adding ph down until you get it right.. as the solution concentration rises, ie when you start feeding them heavier amounts of nutes, it should lower itself more and more..

when i started out my ph was 7.0 to 7.4 after i added nutes.. i used a SHIT load of ph down to keep it down.. but now that i am using a higher concentration of nutes the ph is lower, 6.2 to 6.5, after i add them... so it takes less ph down to keep down.. and for the most part i have little to no flucuation in ph after i level it out...