pH range for perlite and happy frog?

I'm using a 50/50 mix and can't seem to get the pH right

Ok 50/50 coco/perlite is what im using atm. Im using hydro nutrients as I find coco nutrients are not the best choice for the mixed 50/50 medium. As for ph during veg im at 5.6-5.8, first 2 weeks flower 5.9 third week flower Ph 6.0-6.3.
FEED every watering with about 30% run off and that will keep whats going in and going out bang on each time. ie ph and ec will be the same or very close to it.

I'm also trying to figure out the science behind why hydro and soil have different pH requirements. I'm using general hydroponics nutrients.

Soil buffers the Ph, hydro is inert so you must regulate the ph.

Why are you checking the pH in soil and how are you doing it? If you're checking runoff then you're not getting an accurate reading. You shouldn't need to worry about pH with Happy Frog. You'll end up chasing pH for no reason. If I had a dime for every grower fussing with pH and growing in soil. Leave the pH for hydro. pH your nutrient solution but don't waste time checking inaccurate runoff pH. Why are you checking pH anyway? Is there something wrong with your plants?

I never heard of people checking soil runoff pH until the last couple of years. It seems to be a fad these days. It's a waste of time. Must be some worthless youtube video's telling people to do it.

I use a lot of FFHF, mixed with perlite around 50/50 , and also use GH Maxibloom….
Its real, real easy to overfeed FF soils. Especially in pots bigger than say, 2 gallon....My final pot size is 7 gal, before that #1 nursery squares from a bubble cloner. They get nothing other than plain 7.0 pH tap water until just before flowering. That's 10 weeks in my system, including the 1 gal phase, with 150ppm tap water.

Those cheap little soil PH testing capsules that come with a reacting agent, while very old school, are the most accurate way to get a good neighborhood reading of PH that I know of. But I've not done soil in years. More often than not, unless you're adding nutrients oftenly, you shouldn't have PH issues. But I understand the concern.

Chip Green said:

I use a lot of FFHF, mixed with perlite around 50/50 , and also use GH Maxibloom….
Its real, real easy to overfeed FF soils. Especially in pots bigger than say, 2 gallon....My final pot size is 7 gal, before that #1 nursery squares from a bubble cloner. They get nothing other than plain 7.0 pH tap water until just before flowering. That's 10 weeks in my system, including the 1 gal phase, with 150ppm tap water.

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One of the issues I've noticed with FF is that it's not consistent. Some batches are hotter than others. But in their defense the ingredients they're mixing are not always going to be the same.

Yeah, I'm having major problems. This is my second grow, and I'm having the same problem as last time. I'm reusing the same medium. As soon as I hit flower I end up with major cal-mag deficiency. By the time harvest comes I've lost pretty much every single leaf. I only check the pH of my nutrient solution. I have been using 1tbsp pH down per 12 gallons of water.
I can check the actual pH of the nute solution tomorrow, I finally have a digital reader instead of vague strips. I think it's around 5.5, and then around 6 after 24h of chlorine evaporation . I water to waste twice a week.

Its definitely ph and its because your having to water more and your plant isn't getting the iron/calcium it needs. You should get a solution that has edtA iron calcium ect... I did the same thing when I was learning.

I use Happy frog and i started testing my run off and it's at 5.6 and i feed them at 6.3 and i'm within 1.0 from each other. And my plants are 2 weeks into flower and there doing good..

GrowBeyond said:

Yeah, I'm having major problems. This is my second grow, and I'm having the same problem as last time. I'm reusing the same medium. As soon as I hit flower I end up with major cal-mag deficiency. By the time harvest comes I've lost pretty much every single leaf. I only check the pH of my nutrient solution. I have been using 1tbsp pH down per 12 gallons of water.
I can check the actual pH of the nute solution tomorrow, I finally have a digital reader instead of vague strips. I think it's around 5.5, and then around 6 after 24h of chlorine evaporation . I water to waste twice a week.

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No need to ph if you're just adding water. Keep the microbial life thriving, and they'll adjust the ph to what the plant wants.

Hollatchaboy said:

No need to ph if you're just adding water. Keep the microbial life thriving, and they'll adjust the ph to what the plant wants.

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I will never reuse soil. I always buy new. It's a headache to get the right soil nutrition. And if it's only water your feeding them make sure it's ph properly, that's the mistake i made. I never make more feedings then what i need. And i make sure every run off, i always make sure it's no more than 1.0 what i put in.