Dyna-Gro pH issues?

I've been reading around and wanted to try a new line instead of my usual so I decided to pick up some Dyna-gro due to a lot of people liking the results as well as the side by side comparisons I've seen. Another point that sold me was the pH stability it has or supposedly has. I'm currently feeding my plants at 0.4EC and initially, after adding the Foliar pro and Pro-teKt to it the pH shot up to 8 (tap water that reads 5-15ppm). I wasn't surprised at the high pH due to adding silica which raises pH usually. Where I started to get concerned was when it took over 200mL of 1M H2SO4 to bring it down to 5.8 (res size of 50 gal). When I tested it the next day it was up at 6 and thankfully only took 10mL to bring it back down to 5.8; when I tested it again today it was up at 6.5. I figured it had a decent buffering capacity but not 200mL of 1M sulfuric buffering capacity and that it would stabilize at that pH for a while instead of rising over a 12 hour period. Granted, the EC lowered slightly so the plants were feeding which could and most likely affected the pH of the solution; but im honestly surprised that it hasnt been more stable than my previous nutes (head formula). Any ideas what's going on and why the pH is fluctuating so wildly? Thanks for the help.

-BD

You have air stones in there?

@Dyna-Gro

Yes I do; Im using it in a RDWC system

I do know that airstones have been pinpointed as a major culprit in pH flux issues. Replacing them with a waterfall setup may be the way to go.

I have a waterfall as well as stones, I like my water with a lot of dissolved oxygen in it. Not to be argumentative, but I disagree. Air stones pump atmospheric air through the water and the limited amounts of CO2 in the air acidify the water; GRANTED, O2 is considered a hard base, but, I don't think that there's pure O2 floating around my set up in that large of an abundance to raise the pH that drastically. Also, if heads formula using GH nutes can hold a constant pH over a day or so, why wouldn't the much higher buffering capacity of DG not be able to do so being that the only varaible that has changed is I am now using DG nutes instead of GH? I'm just kinda stumped on this one, especially being that I am only using Pro-TeKt and Foliage pro. Thank you for your help trying to solve this Renfro, I do appreciate the help.

- BD

I wish I could be of more help. Perhaps dyna grow will chime in.

I am going to try and raise the EC to see if that will help stabilize the pH due to an increase in ions within the solution. Hopefully, this works...

BDGrows said:

when it took over 200mL

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holy crap! that's a LOT.

rkymtnman said:

holy crap! that's a LOT.

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That's why I'm so concerned. GH nutes using heads formula takes MAYBE takes 50mL to bring it down from 6.5 to 5.8 with an EC of 2.0. I dont know if I got a bad bottle or something, but this does not seem normal.

- BD

have you tried the FP without the protekt??

i've used FP before and i don't remember it needing so much down to lower it. it did need Mg especially at lighter EC's.

i personally wasn't that impressed with it in bloom. it was awesome in veg.

BDGrows said:

That's why I'm so concerned. GH nutes using heads formula takes MAYBE takes 50mL to bring it down from 6.5 to 5.8 with an EC of 2.0. I dont know if I got a bad bottle or something, but this does not seem normal.

- BD

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yeah, for maxibloom it takes 3 capfuls or 15 mL from high 6's to 5.8 in 15 gals for me.

rkymtnman said:

have you tried the FP without the protekt??

i've used FP before and i don't remember it needing so much down to lower it. it did need Mg especially at lighter EC's.

i personally wasn't that impressed with it in bloom. it was awesome in veg.

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Being that the ratio is a 3-1-2 I suspect it's intended for Veg, whereas the bloom + grow along with their line up in the dosage they list comes out to a 1-3-2 ratio, which I like for flower. And no, I wanted to add a silica in there but I think I am going to cut back on the dose a little bit to see whats going on.
@homebrewer do you have any tips or help?

BDGrows said:

Being that the ratio is a 3-1-2 I suspect it's intended for Veg, whereas the bloom + grow along with their line up in the dosage they list comes out to a 1-3-2 ratio, which I like for flower. And no, I wanted to add a silica in there but I think I am going to cut back on the dose a little bit to see whats going on.
@homebrewer do you have any tips or help?

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i think there is a mix of foliage pro and bloom that would work for hydro for the bloom phase. i played around with it for a few grows but never could get it right. straight up bloom in hydro is horrible, way too much P.

i just ditched it and went back to maxibloom.

i also had the issue of crystals forming in my foliage pro which made going back to powder an easy decision.

rkymtnman said:

i think there is a mix of foliage pro and bloom that would work for hydro for the bloom phase. i played around with it for a few grows but never could get it right. straight up bloom in hydro is horrible, way too much P.

i just ditched it and went back to maxibloom.

i also had the issue of crystals forming in my foliage pro which made going back to powder an easy decision.

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Yeah, I am torn between going back to the head formula I was using cause it simply works. I was wanting a better formula so I branched out to the DG. I used to do Jacks 3-2-1 due to the simplicity it offered as well as the cost but I found it on par with Heads formula. Im a lazy grower, so if I dont have to do the extra steps of mixing or anything like that, I usually prefer those methods. Im going to give the DG a go and if its not better than heads, I think ill just go back. Its unfortunate, DG offers a "full line up" for dirt cheap, but if the pH isnt as stable and im constantly having to baby the formula, then the cheaper cost isnt worth the headache.

BDGrows said:

Yeah, I am torn between going back to the head formula I was using cause it simply works. I was wanting a better formula so I branched out to the DG. I used to do Jacks 3-2-1 due to the simplicity it offered as well as the cost but I found it on par with Heads formula. Im a lazy grower, so if I dont have to do the extra steps of mixing or anything like that, I usually prefer those methods. Im going to give the DG a go and if its not better than heads, I think ill just go back. Its unfortunate, DG offers a "full line up" for dirt cheap, but if the pH isnt as stable and im constantly having to baby the formula, then the cheaper cost isnt worth the headache.

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for my brief stint with coco, i used H3AD's too. i already had the flora series and a bag of epsom is dirt cheap.

hopefully homebrewer will chime in. his posts are why i tried dyna gro. i don't think he's a coco guy though from what i remember.

A few things: 0.4 EC is too low for any plant, even seedlings. I'm assuming since you're feeding so low that you're in veg and in veg I'd recommend a minimum of 0.7 EC (I'm also assuming you're in true hydro?). I'd also recommend balancing the low pH of foliage pro with protekt. In my experience this has been a 4:1 ratio of FP: protekt. Do you understand what I mean? The mix of FP and protekt together in your res in a particular ratio will put you in the high 5's meaning no pH adjusting solution will be needed. Maybe experiment first with the ratio mentioned above in gallon of water?