pH During Flush
- Thread starter KoolCat
- Start date
You should alway ph your water plain or not. It doesn't matter if it's ro or tape.
I
Illegal Smile
Guest
Interesting, I guess I would differ. I would use ro water because it still matters what is in it. But I wouldn't care so much about pH unless it was way off. pH matters mainly to nutrient uptake and since there are no nutes being used by the plant, it shouldn't be critical. Anything between 5.5 and 7 should be fine.
horribleherk
Well-Known Member
this harvest im gonna try distilled water only for flush & nothing else havent harvested hydro enough to give you any input with evidence to support my theory good luck
KoolCat
Active Member
That's what I was thinking, I also thought I could just put a little of that lemon juice in my fridge in the water to lower the pH a tad if it's too high. Only if it's like 7+ and only a very small amount. It may also give the buds a lemony scent. Most likely not though, because I was planning on just doing plain water the day before the cut.
You may be right, I just make it a habit to do it no matter what. Hell I don't even flush anyways, I have never noticed a diff. from when I don't flush to when I have flushed so I don't waste the time too.
smokeydoesitagain
Member
illegal smile is correct, ro water is best for flushing. 0 background EC. by adjusting ph you are adding more chemicals, which at flush time, is not what's needed
smokey
I use tap water no PH adj. No ill affects RO would be better. Are you talking end of grow flush or Res. change flushillegal smile is correct, ro water is best for flushing. 0 background EC. by adjusting ph you are adding more chemicals, which at flush time, is not what's needed
smokey
. This is my Res.change flush every 2 weeks
GreenThumbSucker
Well-Known Member
You want your PH within normal range for hydroponics. Outside that range certain fertilizer components are non water. soluble, thus they will stay in your medium. Change out the reservoir every day the first few days of flushing until the medium rises less than 50 ppm in a day.illegal smile is correct, ro water is best for flushing. 0 background EC. by adjusting ph you are adding more chemicals, which at flush time, is not what's needed
smokey
eurasianfarmer
Well-Known Member
As the plants are not taking up nutes from a H20nly tabk, leaving the ph as it is out of the source seems fine... why add more of what you're trying to remove?
GreenThumbSucker
Well-Known Member
If you choose to flush, the water should be adjusted to the same pH as when using nutrients. It is better to use water with some ionic content not straight RO water. That means if using RO water add about 10% tap water or about 10$ of the fertilizer you were using.
superstoner1
Well-Known Member
adjusting ph of flush water does nothing but waste time and ph solution. ph is what allows roots to absorb nutes, not water. there is no need for it. do you ph cloner water? no need. no roots to absorb nutes, no ph .
GreenThumbSucker
Well-Known Member
pH balanced water should always be used, no exceptions. Every nutrient is available at a pH between 5.5 and 5.8, but all nutrients are not available at pH of 7, so if some of the nutrients are not available due to the high pH then those nutrients can not be removed.
Roots by drawing up or releasing ions attempt to maintain an equal balance of pH and an equal TDS between their internal fluids and the reservoir water. Yes use a water as free of TDS as possible (though some is necessary to maintain PH), check it daily and as long as the PPM keeps rising change it daily. The higher the difference in the PPM the quicker the flush. As per the balance the plants try to maintain the same positive and negative charge (pH) as the water. If you grew the plants at a pH of 5.5 to 5.8 the ratio of the elements drawn up are based upon a pH of 5.5 to 5.8. Why would anyone think that using RO water with a pH of 7.0 is proper?
If your solution is at 7.0 PH then internally the plant fluids are also at 7.0 PH. Nutrients stored in plant tissues are not mobile at that PH, thus they are not used/removed. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are highly mobile at a PH between 5.5 -5.8, and thus can be removed from the plant leaves in 1-2 days. Any flush beyond 1-2 days is not necessary.
In short, the PH of your solution is the PH of your plants internally, thus you must maintain a PH at which these elements are mobile and can be used up or expended by the plants.
superstoner1
Well-Known Member
ph and nute uptake is done at the roots, not in the plant. if no nutes are in the water ph does not matter.
GreenThumbSucker
Well-Known Member
Your post makes no sense whatsoever.
The point of flushing is to remove excess nutrients from the roots and the leaves.
If the PH is not in range, nutrients are locked up (insoluble/immobile) in the plant tissue and the grow media, and no 'flushing' occurs.
Warlock1369
Well-Known Member
When flushing I'll do 2 tank changes. First with just tap water no ph. Run it a day or 2. Empty it and last with RO no ph. Souls watch ppm. If it gets above 300ppm I'll do another RO change. Ph is pointless in flush. If ph if off the plants stop taking up nutes. And that's what your trying to do anyways by flushing out the nutes so there is none for them to take up right?
Warlock1369
Well-Known Member
Your never going to flush the stored nutes from the leaves. Your making the plant use it and can't replenish them.
drgreentm
Well-Known Member
in order for the plants to absorb nutrients, then they must be soluble in the solution first, so essentially if they are in the plant they have already been absorbed at a correct ph so ph will not effect its ability to use the nutrients it has already absorbed. the only reason we ph water in hydro is for the availability of certain nutrients at certain ph's (in the water). it always makes me laugh when people say "you stress the plant when ph isnt correct" yes and no the one thing to understand is the plant is not stressed from the actual ph of the water but rather stressed because the availability of the nutrients it is trying to get are very low at different ph's thus casing strain on the plant not being able to get what it wants when it wants it. i have never heard a plant not being able to use nutrients it has already taken in through the root structure. i dont see this being true because the same plant in soil will like a much higher ph which makes no sense to me then the plant would suffer greatly if what you are saying is you have to have a hydro ph with cannabis. the ph of the plant is not the ph of the medium.
not looking to get into a argument over this ether so to the OP the answer to your initial question is ph'ing flush water is just silly no nutrients in water=no ph of the water its a waste you are trying to make no availability of nutes for the plant why ph it then.